POV-Ray : Newsgroups : povray.advanced-users : POVRay - Beyond the Basics Server Time
30 Jul 2024 10:17:01 EDT (-0400)
  POVRay - Beyond the Basics (Message 1 to 9 of 9)  
From: Peter Ketting
Subject: POVRay - Beyond the Basics
Date: 4 Nov 1999 12:46:18
Message: <3821c66a@news.povray.org>
Hello All,

I'd like to know if there's any interest for a POVRay website that covers
more advanced
techniques, as oppose to basic tutorials that seem to swamp almost every
unofficial POV Site.

My idea was to set up a page and with the help of skilled POVRay artists,
post some tutorials
about advanced object modeling, advanced lightning, advanced texture
techniques, etc.
I was thinking about collecting articles from people who'd like to
contribute to this page and
have it updated every 2 months or so...

Let me know what you all think about it.

Cheers,
Pjotr


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From: Martin Magnusson
Subject: Re: POVRay - Beyond the Basics
Date: 4 Nov 1999 14:37:35
Message: <3821e07f@news.povray.org>
>I'd like to know if there's any interest for a POVRay website that covers
>more advanced techniques
Yes, there is...


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From: omniVERSE
Subject: Re: POVRay - Beyond the Basics
Date: 4 Nov 1999 16:15:28
Message: <3821f770@news.povray.org>
Like there wouldn't be? Wish I were more fit to help, but alas I might be
too haphazard in the way I do things to try and provide tutoring.
Is there going to be a submission and review type thing about it? And then
the tutorials accepted or rejected?
I don't mind rejection so I guess if I ever thought I had something worthy
enough it could be sent in.
I could always use some more learning so it's a grand idea anyway.

Bob

Martin Magnusson <mar### [at] studentuuse> wrote in message
news:3821e07f@news.povray.org...
> >I'd like to know if there's any interest for a POVRay website that covers
> >more advanced techniques
> Yes, there is...
>
>
>
>


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From: Thomas Willhalm
Subject: Re: POVRay - Beyond the Basics
Date: 5 Nov 1999 04:38:02
Message: <qqmln8d2s91.fsf@goldach.fmi.uni-konstanz.de>
"Peter Ketting" <pjotr_@w-link.net> writes:
> 
> I'd like to know if there's any interest for a POVRay website that covers
> more advanced
> techniques, as oppose to basic tutorials that seem to swamp almost every
> unofficial POV Site.

Of course, there is.

> My idea was to set up a page and with the help of skilled POVRay artists,
> post some tutorials
> about advanced object modeling, advanced lightning, advanced texture
> techniques, etc.
> I was thinking about collecting articles from people who'd like to
> contribute to this page and
> have it updated every 2 months or so...
> 
> Let me know what you all think about it.

In my humble opinion, I suspect this not to work. Probably, there will
be a lot of people saying "That's a great idea!" or perhaps even
"I could write something about *". Some months later, almost nothing
will have happened and interest will have decreased to zero.

I have several reasons to believe this:
- Most ambitious projects I know have gone this way.
- When someone is able and wants to write an advanced tutorial, (s)he 
  would probably have done it.
- Why should someone write a tutorial, simply because there is now a
  central place? The major strength of the web is the fact, that it
  isn't centralized. A good tutorial will became famous anyway (and will
  certainly be referenced by Ken's link page).
- A site that suggest itself to provide the central page is www.povray.org.

Instead of putting much effort in creating a nice web page that contains
nothing later, I suggest that you start yourself to write a tutorial.
When others do it the same way, the different sites can still be linked 
together afterwards. I imaging that the POV-Ray documentation could also be
a possible place for the tutorials.

Please don't get me wrong. I do not want to stop your efforts to help
POV-Ray users. But I want you to investigate your time, where it's
appropriate. And as I said in the beginning: It's only my personal opinion.

Happy tracing

Thomas

-- 
http://thomas.willhalm.de/
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From: Ken
Subject: Re: POVRay - Beyond the Basics
Date: 5 Nov 1999 04:57:34
Message: <3822A929.F9433703@pacbell.net>
Thomas Willhalm wrote:

> In my humble opinion, I suspect this not to work. Probably, there will
> be a lot of people saying "That's a great idea!" or perhaps even
> "I could write something about *". Some months later, almost nothing
> will have happened and interest will have decreased to zero.
> 
> I have several reasons to believe this:
> - Most ambitious projects I know have gone this way.
> - When someone is able and wants to write an advanced tutorial, (s)he
>   would probably have done it.
> - Why should someone write a tutorial, simply because there is now a
>   central place? The major strength of the web is the fact, that it
>   isn't centralized. A good tutorial will became famous anyway (and will
>   certainly be referenced by Ken's link page).
> - A site that suggest itself to provide the central page is www.povray.org.

  You raise a lot of valid points and unfortunately I have to agree with
most of them. The single greatest problem will be getting contributors.
As with anyone else I have little time for writing tutorials what with
a job, the time I spend on raytracing, a major links project, real life,
and helping people here in the groups. I find I have little time left for
scholarly pursuits.

  I also believe that these groups here do a great job of acting as an
advanced tutorial because of their interactive nature. If you want to
do something, but don't know how, posting a message here asking about
specifics will almost always get results, and within 24 hrs. This kind
of resource could not possibly be duplicated by a single tutorial or
even a few tutorials which will tend to be specific to one feature of
Pov and could never approach the full coverage available here.

 There is a real strong need for some decent media and radiosity
tutorials which seem to confuse just about everyone. Beyond that
the docs do a pretty good job as well as the other basic tutorials
already written dealing with the basics of the program.

 I too am not against the idea in principal but the practicalities
of it do not bode well for such a project.

-- 
Ken Tyler -  1200+ Povray, Graphics, 3D Rendering, and Raytracing Links:
http://home.pacbell.net/tylereng/index.html http://www.povray.org/links/


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From: omniVERSE
Subject: Re: POVRay - Beyond the Basics
Date: 5 Nov 1999 13:40:32
Message: <382324a0@news.povray.org>
A continuation of the POV-Ray Online Tutorial would be one of the most
welcome things I can think of.  It has the most content of any other I've
seen, yet stops short at version 3.0.
http://library.advanced.org/tq-admin/day.cgi

A good (should look at it if you don't know of it yet), unfortunately it's
also 3.0 oriented. http://www2.nau.edu/~dld6/pov_lessons/index.html

Another one I just found is a school of sorts, guess you get graded.
http://www.niitrnd.com/fbees/povray/povray.htm

The POV-Ray Doc is in html form too.
http://galactose.stanford.edu/povhtml/povuser.htm

Anyway, I can see how a in-depth advanced user tutorial could be a
worthwhile effort, especially if updated to version 3.1 and beyond.

Bob


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From: Brendan Hurley
Subject: Re: POVRay - Beyond the Basics
Date: 6 Nov 1999 14:23:32
Message: <38248084.6A96CF43@saber.net>
Dear Folks,

I sure would like some experienced help with media/interior/lights/fog/etc.  I
also
agree with the others that such a project would be beyond our collective
effort.
I agree that the news groups provide this "tutorial" service in a real dynamic
way.  It's like we are all in a huge study hall where the students stand up and
yell out a question then wait for another student to call out the answer.

Writting a tutorial is like doing a major term paper on top of a full class
load.  No one really has the time.  I, however, do have time, but I lack the
3.1g experience to be of any help.  This reminds me of a brief discussion in
Pascal class:  the text was written by a doctor of computer science and
electrical engineering whose writing style was not too reader-friendly.  At
that time I imagined I could write a better textbook in a style less
university-disertation and more master craftsman explaining things to his
bright journeyman assistant.

My academic background is in literature, writing, history, math and science.
If someone could feed me the POV 3.1g code examples that solve this problem or
demonstrate that technique I could write the copy to explain them.  The results
would be posted to an appropriate news group or to an existing tutorial site in
basic HTML format (no frames, no animations, no fancy fonts, no links, no java
jive).

BCNU,
Blessings,
               Brendan
--
Michael Brendan Hurley
http://www.geocities.com/siliconvalley/network/4969/
mbh### [at] sabernet


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From: Phoenix
Subject: Re: POVRay - Beyond the Basics
Date: 7 Nov 1999 11:22:03
Message: <MPG.128fc59dec44dea98969c@news.povray.org>
'T was on Sat, 06 Nov 1999 11:24:53 -0800,
that Brendan Hurley said:
> My academic background is in literature, writing, history, math and science.
> If someone could feed me the POV 3.1g code examples that solve this problem or
> demonstrate that technique I could write the copy to explain them.  The results
> would be posted to an appropriate news group or to an existing tutorial site in
> basic HTML format (no frames, no animations, no fancy fonts, no links, no java
> jive).

This could actually work; somebody writes the code, you write the 
explanation and someone else the puts that text in HTML format on the 
web. I'd like to volunteer for that last part, if you don't mind...

-- 
Phoenix                                  http://users.telekabel.nl/eagle
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Remember the immortal words of Socrates:  "I drank *what*?"


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From: Matt Giwer
Subject: Re: POVRay - Beyond the Basics
Date: 9 Nov 1999 05:10:49
Message: <3827F328.6A0C36F5@giwersworld.org>
Peter Ketting wrote:
 
> Hello All,
 
> I'd like to know if there's any interest for a POVRay website that covers
> more advanced
> techniques, as oppose to basic tutorials that seem to swamp almost every
> unofficial POV Site.

	There is always an interest in anything. But there is a problem.
Unless it is something like trees, cities and other labors of
love, I find it easier to create myself rather than figure out
how to use someone else's idea of how to do it. 

	My way of doing things is obscure as everyones'. Just that there
are more ways to do any one thing than likely anyone has spent
the time to tally. 

	So from my 11 months experience with POV it appears to me that
the interest of such a page is for those without years of
experience in programming and math and science. Which means the
artists only. 

	But if the artists stick with it they soon learn programming and
math and science. 

	So it appears to me that the interest is for those sort of
approach the artist/programmer crossover point in their
experience. 

	Now if the artists could just create sites for us technical
types we would be very much appreciative.


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