> This is a bonsai scene I have been playing with on and off for a while.
I'd
> like to add some media to create a slightly dusty/hazy look that would
> highlight the light beams a little and maybe give the image a little extra
> something.  Any advice on how to create a media that would do that would
be
> appreciated.

Since you're using an area light, and area lights + media are a bad idea
when avoidable, I'd suggest this approach:

1. Put the entire scene you have right now (excluding the camera) into a
light_group.

2. Inside a separate light_group, create a plane whose surface coincides
with the backside of the bamboo wall. Make sure the tree and camera are
*inside* this plane. Make the plane hollow and transparent and give it an
interior something like

interior {
media {
scattering {2, .01}
// experiment with different scattering types (like type 1, or type 5 with
different eccentricity values)
// if the media is too heavy, lower the .01; if its too invisible, bring the
.01 up higher.
// if there's simply too much darkness for the lighting effects that are
created, then add "extinction .5" and fiddle with the .5 until it looks
good.
}
}

3. Put a light source identical to your area light inside this light_group,
but *don't make it an area light*. That way, the solid objects in the scene
will be lit with an area light, but the media will be lit with a point
light. This will speed up the render a *lot* and the difference probably
won't be noticeable.

 - Slime
[ http://www.slimeland.com/ ]

Post a reply to this message