Mike Raiford wrote:
> stbenge wrote:
>> Hi,
>>
>> This is my try at a classic subject: cut gemstone on a flat white 
>> plane. It could have turned out better, since the light and gem 
>> positions aren't as good as they could be.
> 
> Well done :)
> 
> Looks like I'm inspiring some people ;)

Well, yeah :) Minerals have always been a big thing with me. Slowly I'm 
building up a collection of rendered stones, and some of them will be 
cut. I use KrystalShaper to get the angles of natural stones. Some will 
need to be cut stones or cabochons. Peridot (my stone), for example, 
will probably need to be a cut gem since in nature it seldom forms nice 
crystals. Rough stones with corroded surfaces are difficult to model 
accurately1.

Cut gems seem to be a hard subject to render. A diamond, like mine, when 
rendered in such a way as to produce a brilliant white flash, will 
inevitably turn out looking, well, washed out :( Proper use of a high 
dynamic intensity range with glare might help, but I think I might have 
to include radiosity and exaggerated defocusing settings to really make 
it look real.

Your macros look promising. It would appear you are following guidelines 
very precisely.

You know, my uncle was a great gem maker. He (and Time books) is the 
reason I got into minerals in the first place. He would bring tourmaline 
from Pala, California to show me. Great stuff! I used to just get lost 
looking at different stones.

It's a fun subject :)

Sam

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