Did you ever notice this:

When i think of "medieval" (in architecture, household devices or 
devices in general), i automatically think of "decayed, rusty 
(sorry... ;-), irregular surfaces, etc." - but that's because 
*today*, all things "medieval" are 500+ years old and were mostly 
neglected through the last 100+ years. Even better example: roman 
/greek ruins.

The funny thing: If i build something that's supposed to look 
"medieval" (in the sense of "medieval, viewed at time of 
production" instead of "medieval, viewed from modern times"), and 
i *don't* make it look "old", it's somehow "unfitting" - or is 
this just me? I mean, it's hard to imagine that blacksmiths 500 
years ago were told: "Make a horseshoe, but make it rusty and 
dented." ;-)

Just some random rant while the renderer ticks away. Maybe i've 
visited our town museum one too many times the last week ;-)

Yours,
Markus

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To add to my previous post:

My guess is that it's hard to "identify" image content quickly if 
it's too far away from what the viewer expects to see.

Take Sci-Fi (not all that far-fetched from my anim project ;-): 
Most of the time, there's absolutely no need to put impressive 
diagrams and odd blinkenlights on everything (esp. if there's no 
one except the "virtual viewer" who could possibly ever see it) - 
but what appeal would a camera flight through a truly "technical" 
control room have? I can almost imagine the storyboard lines:
"0:03:15. Camera moves through bridge. Of course, with nobody 
there, all controls are switched off to preserve energy. Total 
darkness. Bores the viewer for the next 15 seconds, but it's 
really fast to render" ;-)

In a way, i feel like i'm justifying the use of stereotypes 
here... ;-)

-Markus

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> My guess is that it's hard to "identify" image content quickly if
> it's too far away from what the viewer expects to see.

You got that right. Identification is based on association.

> Take Sci-Fi (not all that far-fetched from my anim project ;-):
> Most of the time, there's absolutely no need to put impressive
> diagrams and odd blinkenlights on everything (esp. if there's no
> one except the "virtual viewer" who could possibly ever see it) -
> but what appeal would a camera flight through a truly "technical"
> control room have? I can almost imagine the storyboard lines:
> "0:03:15. Camera moves through bridge. Of course, with nobody
> there, all controls are switched off to preserve energy. Total
> darkness. Bores the viewer for the next 15 seconds, but it's
> really fast to render" ;-)

Well, on a Galaxy class ship (SR:TNG, for the non-geeks around), there's
hardly any reason to conserve energy by turning off lights with an energy
output of some Terawatts available. :-)

> In a way, i feel like i'm justifying the use of stereotypes
> here... ;-)

No need, stereotypes are good if they make it look good. :-)

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In article <3f740bc2$1@news.povray.org>,
 Markus Altendorff <maa### [at] anthrosphinxde> wrote:
>*today*, all things "medieval" are 500+ years old and were mostly 
>neglected through the last 100+ years. Even better example: roman 
>/greek ruins.
>i *don't* make it look "old", it's somehow "unfitting" - or is 
>this just me? I mean, it's hard to imagine that blacksmiths 500 

No, it isn't just you. Go look at about any greek-style bank facade. How 
many of them are painted in bright purples and other bright colors? :*)

>years ago were told: "Make a horseshoe, but make it rusty and 
>dented." ;-)

No, but they did make it long-lasting. A horseshoe is going to become 
rusty and dented pretty quickly, I think.

In many cases, things in that much older times will look older than you 
might expect today, because they've been around for a while. It can 
still be the case in rural areas. I was back at the parents several 
weeks ago. My brother's crowbar is rusty and dented. It was given him by 
my father, who got it from his father. I remember using it back when I 
was a kid; they still use it, it works fine. I think that attitude was 
even more common 500 years ago.

Jerry
-- 
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish, and you've
depleted the lake."--It Isn't Murder If They're Yankees
(http://www.ItIsntMurder.com/)

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