Bob Frew <bob### [at] ntlworldcom> wrote:

> Hi,
> many thanks for input.  I know you are right.
> Although I've been playing for years, there is quite a long list of POV
> features where my knowledge is abysmal.

Join the club.   ;)   There's just _too much_!
There's always something new to discover, and always someone who comes out of
left-field with a new twist on implementing it.

> Textures and lighting are two of them. There is only a single white
> light source in my scene.

Check out these links - I know there are other good ones out there too, but I'm
on my way out the door to work soon.

http://www.f-lohmueller.de/pov_tut/camera_light/camlit_e1.htm

http://xahlee.info/3d/povray-lighting.html

> I was originally thinking of a wheel cut from one block, but as you say
> it would more likely be "constructed" and possibly stronger in consequence.

Google Warp's tutorial on wood flooring - he's got some good things to say about
matching up the wood pigment pattern with normals, etc.
You might also check out "isowood" that makes great wooden objects using
isosurfaces.
Also, I've found that making some slight imperfections in the object ,ake it
look less plasticky. Small translations and rotations, some interesting things
thrown into the color map, slight shifts or misfits in the parts of something -
perhaps with the gaps filled in with a black "glue" to give it some character.
Something to really bring out the texture and shadows.

One could really spend an entire week or more (probably more) doing nothing but
learning how to put together wood textures.

> Have found a tutorial on radiosity on POV-Wiki so will move outside the
> "comfort zone" and give it another try.

Having gone down that road, I can tell you that the results are well worth the
time and effort you spend getting radiosity to work in your scene.
And once you just bite the bullet and do it, you'll see that it's a LOT simpler
to do than one might make it out to be (even the two-step method), and you'll be
wondering why you procrastinated for so long.


Good luck - it's coming along well!

Post a reply to this message