'ambient', if too high (1 max is typical, 0.1 is default) will tend to
flatten the colors on shapes and leave you without enough contrast.  Same
can happen if adding 'no_shadow' to the object or 'shadowless' to your
light.  Takes some learning time, just keep at it.  The variations are so
endless that unless you use defaults you could end up with anything
practically.
If by "shine" you mean let the light shine off of it like a reflected glare,
that can be tough since it gets based upon orientation of all three things,
camera, light and object.  You have to think in terms of real world
instances of things and position accordingly.  Other than that, by varying
the 'roughness' for 'specular' you can change how much and how wide a
surface area gets affected.  Using a roughness of 1 and specular of 1 will
almost certainly show a highlight, unless the object is a box with only a
corner pointing in the direction of both light and camera.  Which kind of
resembles your birdhouses in a way.  Adding and raising reflection sort of
goes hand in hand with specular highlighting usually.
Anyhow the possiblities of the real and unreal are so much that it isn't
something easily taught without the basics being covered foremost.
Btw, please don't put a black 'disc' on there for the openings, okay?  : )

Bob

Tika <sum### [at] hotmailcom> wrote in message
news:37f94cda@news.povray.org...
> I saved your suggestions. :)
>
> Bob Hughes <inv### [at] aolcom> wrote in message
> news:37f8b5ec@news.povray.org...
>
> > Appears to be too much 'ambient' for the birdhouse and maybe even the
rest
> > too,
>
> What is 'ambient'? I mean, I have heard the term before but never really
> understood it's meaning. Is it too light? Too dark? Sometimes the gamma on
my
> system is different than that on others. I've noticed downloading pics,
that
> some appear too dark to see any detail. And too, the .jpg compression
(eww...)
>
> I tried to add some shine to the birdhouse but no luck yet...
>
> >the hole should probably go dark, almost black.
>
> I was thinking about that but I wanted a hole one could actually be able
to
> peer into, sort of give it realistic depth... Probably would been easier
your
> way though. Just slap a circle on the face of that cube. :)
>
> > I think this is great, has a paper cutout graphics look to it.
>
> Ick.. Here I was hoping for more realism. <G> I'm working on it though.
>
> > Nice going so far, hope to see the additions to the landscape.  You
might
> > try looking into the clouds technique which Jaime Vives Piqueres did in
> > Stsky.pov posted at the povray.text.scene-files (or p.binaries.s-f.?)
group
> > a month or so ago, I think you would like it.
>
> Problem with me is, I'm finding that most of these files are way over my
> head - very difficult to impossible to understand. I'm just learning so if
it
> looks way too complex, I just don't bother with it right now. I have
Terragen
> and Paint Shop Pro 5 so... anything's possible! <G> But I hope to make
this
> scene 100% POV-Ray... I'll get there.
>
>
> --
>
> Tika
>
> Tika's Graphics: http://www.5thpower.com/tika/
>
>

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