Thank you for the suggestions.  Adding in some errors in the tiles is a good
idea.  I'll try and add a random error to the loop that places the tiles.
I'm not happy with the wood texture on the cutting board either, as I noted
in my reply to Daniel above, my material skills are rather weak.  I believe
that wood is just one of the standard textures from one of the standard inc
files that I tried to modify, but with little success.    I suspect I really
don't understand how the 'colormap' statement and multi layer materials
work.  Here's the material.  I'd appreciate any specific ideas you might
have for improving it.

 material {
   texture  // txt_75_1
   {
      pigment
      {
         wood
         color_map
         {
            [ 0.0     rgbft <0.6, 0.35, 0.2, 0.0, 0.0> ]
            [ 0.1     rgbft <0.6, 0.35, 0.2, 0.0, 0.0> ]
            [ 0.9     rgbft <0.9, 0.65, 0.3, 0.0, 0.0> ]
            [ 1.0     rgbft <0.6, 0.35, 0.2, 0.0, 0.0> ]
         }
         turbulence 0.05
         octaves 4
         ramp_wave
         scale  <0.15, 0.15, 1.0>
         rotate -90.0 * z

      }
      finish
      {
         ambient 0.2
         diffuse 0.5
         phong 0.4
         phong_size 16.0
         specular 0.1
         roughness 0.002
         reflection {0.02 fresnel on}

      }

   }
   interior{
         ior 1.5
      }
   texture  // txt_76_1
   {
      pigment
      {
         bozo
         color_map
         {
            [ 0.0     rgbft <0.9, 0.65, 0.3, 0.0, 0.0> ]
            [ 0.1     rgbft <0.9, 0.65, 0.3, 0.3, 0.0> ]
            [ 1.0     rgbft <1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 1.0, 0.0> ]
         }
         scale  <0.01, 0.01, 100000.0>
         rotate -90.0 * z
      }
      finish
      {
         ambient 0.2
         diffuse 0.5
         phong 0.4
         phong_size 16.0
         specular 0.1
         roughness 0.002
        reflection {0.02 fresnel on}
      }

   }
   interior{
         ior 1.5
      }
    rotate <0,90,90>
      scale <5,5,5>
   }


Thanks.


"Tek" <tek### [at] evilsuperbraincom> wrote in message
news:40416642$1@news.povray.org...
> On the whole that looks very realistic, the wine glass looks excellent,
but the
> cheese looks way to "hard". Like Daniel said it, should have sub-surface
> scattering to really look like cheese.
>
> I'd also suggest adding a few errors, the tiles in the background
shouldn't be
> perfectly aligned, and I think the gaps between them should be smaller, so
they
> nearly touch. Also the chopping board doesn't look right, I think it needs
some
> work on the wood texture (compare it to photos of real chopping boards),
and
> also it should have a few scratches on the top (these can just be faked
with a
> normal map and texture).
>
> To get some cheese on the knife I would just modify the texture, so it has
> streaks up it that are less shiny and cheese coloured. Perhaps support
this with
> a few small crumbs of cheese resting on the blade and on the surface next
to it
> (as if they fell off the knife when it was put down).
>
> -- 
> Tek
> www.evilsuperbrain.com
>
> "Sun Tzu" <sun### [at] nospamhotmailcom> wrote in message
> news:40414e0f@news.povray.org...
> > I haven't POVed for about 8 months and just picked it up again.  Close
to a
> > year ago I posted an earlier version of this image.  I did more work on
it
> > and then left it alone for several months.  The cheese got me frustrated
> > because I couldn't come up with something that looked satisfactory to
me.
> > Also the picture is far to 'sterile' looking, but I'm not sure how to
make
> > things look dirty or worn.    For example I'd like to have some cheese
> > residue on the knife, but haven't a clue how to accomplish that.   I'd
> > appreciate any suggestions.  Thanks.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>

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