"Mike Miller" <mil### [at] gmailcom> wrote:

> Thanks BW. I really appreciate the feedback. I just updated a few things that
> address some of your comments. I do have a lot of odds and ends to add. A slow
> build up process...devils in the detail. I'm currently working on the box lid
> and hand crack...and just tweaked the outlet and plugged in the soldering gun.

The outlet connection looks a lot better, and the plugged-in iron is a good
look.  I have a very OLD one of the same brand kicking around somewhere...
Do you direct the placement of the cord with a spline?

> >>The cinder blocks are too flat
> I've deepened the mortar but it's still reading to flat.

If you're using the brick pigment pattern to do that, then you're never really
going to get away from that.   You're either going to need to place individual
blocks in order to get the slightly random/realistic look, or write your own
brick pigment function that lets you tweak some of the parameters and add in
some noise.

I'd probably go with isosurface blocks, so you can get the deep pits and voids
that most cinder blocks exhibit, with some sort of box with a noisy normal for
the mortar or another big isosurface.  (If you wanted to go that far)

> >>The galvanized conduit is far too smooth and glossy
> Yes, just tweaked but could use some work - I'll look at some reference.

I'd say kill _all_ of the gloss - the galvi usually looks a bit powdery, esp in
a damp enviro, since the oxide "blooms".  Also, crackle solid gives a better
simulation of the zinc crystal pattern, although you might want to play with the
stepnoise function we employed in TdG's granite21 texture macro.
IIRC, there are excellent galvanized bucket textures posted in the forums
somewhere.
The screw on those things is usually more of a cylinder than a shallow pan-head,
although a wrong screw type might add that element of a realistic "whatever I
had lying around" homeowner/landlord fix.  I'd back the head out and off of the
connector so it doesn't blend in as much, and it's usually an over-long shank
since it's a set-screw.

Not sure if you're just using test render setting for aa, but the box frame is
_super_ glossy, and those bright specular reflections look like they're wreaking
hell with the aa.   Seems to be a known problem.

> >>Perhaps here and there you can add some notes to a how-to document...
> It's an eclectic process - but I do have a method. I lean on Blender for a
> lot of the CSG. I've programmed a small utility that writes POV formatted code
> using the .x3d file - which handles a list of primitives. I'll put together some
> docs and screen grabs that explains and post the utility.
> best regards,
> Mike.


That would be quite nice, especially for new computer graphics enthusiasts keen
on learning to make really nice renders, as well as people like me who don't
often venture out  from the more technical / geometric realms very often.

Thank you.

Not that it looks like you need any help, but if you need any objects,
functions, patterns, or links to extant stuff (just to save yourself a bit of
time) - I hope you know that all you ever need to do is ask.

- BW

Post a reply to this message