"Jim Charter" <jrc### [at] msncom> wrote in message 
news:4613fd55$1@news.povray.org...
>
> It goes against my principles to say too much, but that I am tempted too 
> shows how interesting I find the picture.  The ivy does come off  as just 
> that, some sort of muddying of the waters.  Perhaps to cover up not quite 
> realized details, or perhaps as an element that once made sense but now 
> just confuses.  By climbing up the tree the ivy intermediates between the 
> two levels of scale, the real world scale of the miniature tree, and the 
> fantasy miniature scale of the figures relative to whom the tree is "real 
> scale" not miniature.  The leaves of the ivy seem caught in between, just 
> as the ivy is rooted in the miniature grass but climbing up the real world 
> tree.  The scale of the leaves is plausible, as some sort of grape-type 
> creeper, but not the scale of garden ivy we are more familiar with. 
> Further, there is a sense of "interference" with the leaves of the tree. 
> It does grieve me to expose you to such close critique, but then close 
> observation and mincing conception are invited by the whole precept of the 
> picture. It is deceptively casual, and really quite ambitious.  Please see 
> my critique as enthusiasm.

I'm glad to have your critique.  At this point, I believe I can handle 
comments much better than a few years ago, especially as I become more 
comfortable with my skill-level (acknowleding both my strengths and 
weaknesses).  So, always feel free to state your opinion.  It means a lot to 
me.  :-)

I initially tried a much smaller ivy, but it seemed to nearly strangle the 
tree to death.  I spent so much time getting it to look "good" that perhaps 
it's clouding my judgement now.  The Ivy Generator is awsome (like a 
rolex!), but perhaps this isn't the best place for it.  Ok, I have a few 
things to think about.

A couple other technical things that worry me: 1) I need to do something 
about the front-left foot of the bonsai stand to get rid of the "floating" 
appearence.  My radiosity settings are too low, or I need to change the 
spotlight a bit.  2) The twigs of my tree extend beyond the leaves.  But I 
can live with that, as it's not completely "unnatural".  I still have a lot 
of trouble understanding and remembering the POV-Tree parameters.

Your enthusiasm kindles my own, so I hope you'll be around when I post my 
next scene, or set of scenes.  Ultimately, I have a fairly ambitious plan, 
but maintaining my interest that long is going to be difficult.  I'll be 
fairly content if I get 3-4 scenes complete, but it's certainly possible for 
me do about a dozen.  Ideally, the "whole" will be greater than the sum of 
its parts.  I'd explain more about my plans, but I like the element of 
surprise, and the ability to change my plans.  :-)

(On a side note, it sure is difficult for me to discuss my "Art" without 
feeling extremely self-involved.  It's probably a good off-topic 
discussion.)

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