Following the traditions of the group, I'd like to introduce my 
interpretation of the Sphere-on-Checkered-Plane.  Enjoy, and lighting 
recommendations are *always* welcome (radiosity* as well).

-->Jeff

*--radiosity for second version is default (radiosity{})
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Preview of image 's-n-cp_rad.jpg'

Neato!  Can't wait to see more of your stuff.

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Welcome! That looks nice, and if you want to improve the light, try adding:

   fade_distance 1
   fade_power 2

to your light source which gives it a realistic fall-off. You'll need to
increase the strength of light, until it has the desired lumiousity. To
emphasize the falloff effect you could also place it closer to the sphere (I
would still have it outside the camera view). Eventually you'll want to make
a color gradient in the sky_sphere, so it gets brighter at the position of
the light_source.

It's best to turn off 'ambient' completely in all light absorbing materials,
except the sky... You can do this by adding the following line at the top of
your code:

   #default { finish { ambient 0 } }

About gamma correction: I'm not sure if you already use it, but it's off by
default in POV-Ray. It's probably a good idea to activate it and get used to
it. Only thing is, imported image_maps will be gamma corrected as well, and
this was usually done already, outside of POV-Ray. So image_maps will need
some adjusting. If you are running a typical PC computer, gamma correction
should probably be 2.2 and you set this by adding the following line to your
code (I know it looks ironic but it's not):

   global_settings { assumed_gamma 1 }

These suggestions will change the appearance of your image quite a bit, but
it's more natural and realistic to use them ..so, good luck!

Regards,
Hugo

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Hugo Asm wrote:
> Welcome! That looks nice, and if you want to improve the light, try adding:
> 
>    fade_distance 1
>    fade_power 2
> 
> to your light source which gives it a realistic fall-off. You'll need to
> increase the strength of light, until it has the desired lumiousity. To
> emphasize the falloff effect you could also place it closer to the sphere (I
> would still have it outside the camera view). Eventually you'll want to make
> a color gradient in the sky_sphere, so it gets brighter at the position of
> the light_source.
> 
> It's best to turn off 'ambient' completely in all light absorbing materials,
> except the sky... You can do this by adding the following line at the top of
> your code:
> 
>    #default { finish { ambient 0 } }
> 
> About gamma correction: I'm not sure if you already use it, but it's off by
> default in POV-Ray. It's probably a good idea to activate it and get used to
> it. Only thing is, imported image_maps will be gamma corrected as well, and
> this was usually done already, outside of POV-Ray. So image_maps will need
> some adjusting. If you are running a typical PC computer, gamma correction
> should probably be 2.2 and you set this by adding the following line to your
> code (I know it looks ironic but it's not):
> 
>    global_settings { assumed_gamma 1 }
> 
> These suggestions will change the appearance of your image quite a bit, but
> it's more natural and realistic to use them ..so, good luck!
> 
> Regards,
> Hugo
> 
> 
Thanks for your comments and [very] helpful suggestions.  I need the 
tips.  Lighting has been a huge problem.

-->Jeff

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Aaron Gillies wrote:

> Neato!  Can't wait to see more of your stuff.
> 
> 
> 
Thanks, Aaron.  Hopefully I'll be able to get a new scene underway soon.

-->Jeff

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