Hi!
I'm not sure if this is the correct location, but I'll ask anyway.

I've seen a lot of beautiful pictures rendered with pov-ray, and some
extremely terrific ones in the hall of fame-galleries. My question
considers the complex and beautiful models out there: do people model them
"from scratch" with pov-ray text editor, or do people use some other
modelling programs or models imported from exteral sources?

I've done myself quite a lot of modelling, rendering & animating with
pov-ray, but I've never used any modelling programs or pre-made models (you
can see my work via the link in my signature).

Cheers,
aaglo

My civ3-units - modelled and animated with pov-ray:
http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=2036938&postcount=4

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"aaglo" <aag### [at] jippiifi> wrote:
> considers the complex and beautiful models out there: do people model them
> "from scratch" with pov-ray text editor, or do people use some other
> modelling programs or models imported from exteral sources?

Going from what I've seen on here, yes, yes, and yes.   It seems like
wings3d is pretty popular for modeling, DAZ and Poser for figures.

For myself I think with one really old exception my stuff in regards to
Pov-Ray is all SDL.  I've got a copy of Poser to play with later, and I
plan on probably learning Wings3d after I finish my current slow project.

Charles


PS, the "general" section always seems safe for survey-y questions.

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> My question
> considers the complex and beautiful models out there: do people model them
> "from scratch" with pov-ray text editor, or do people use some other
> modelling programs or models imported from exteral sources?

Some people write then in a text editor from scratch.

Some people use something like Wings3D or Blender.

Some people use models from external sources.

Everyone is different. :-)

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452d3413$1@news.povray.org...
> > My question
> > considers the complex and beautiful models out there: do people model
them
> > "from scratch" with pov-ray text editor, or do people use some other
> > modelling programs or models imported from exteral sources?
>
> Some people write then in a text editor from scratch.
>
> Some people use something like Wings3D or Blender.
>
> Some people use models from external sources.
>
> Everyone is different. :-)

Some people combine modelling (even with CSG modellers as Moray) , importing
meshes and SDL :-)

We are all different! we Are all different! (I'm not!)

Marc

Always look on the bright side of life fff..Ff... FFfFFFf... (lame attempt
at whistling)

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"aaglo" <aag### [at] jippiifi> wrote:
> Hi!
> I'm not sure if this is the correct location, but I'll ask anyway.
>
[Snip]

One of the advantages of using a modeller such as Moray, I find. Is you can
see the layout of your scene as you create it. If like me you find it hard
to visualize the placement of objects this is a big help. Moray can also
use mesh objects created using other programmes. It has some limitations
insofar as it does not fully support all of Pov-Rays functions but there
are plugins that can overcome a lot of these shortfalls. There is also a
newsgroup on this server for support and help.
BTW Marc is very different :-)

Stephen

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web.452df5ab843eb1b6f1cb1e660@news.povray.org...

> BTW Marc is very different :-)

Am I?

I'll ask Brian

Marc

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"aaglo" <aag### [at] jippiifi> wrote:
> Hi!
> I'm not sure if this is the correct location, but I'll ask anyway.
>
> I've seen a lot of beautiful pictures rendered with pov-ray, and some
> extremely terrific ones in the hall of fame-galleries. My question
> considers the complex and beautiful models out there: do people model them
> "from scratch" with pov-ray text editor, or do people use some other
> modelling programs or models imported from exteral sources?
>
> I've done myself quite a lot of modelling, rendering & animating with
> pov-ray, but I've never used any modelling programs or pre-made models (you
> can see my work via the link in my signature).
>
> Cheers,
> aaglo
>
> My civ3-units - modelled and animated with pov-ray:
> http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=2036938&postcount=4

I'm mainly SDL.  Hand calculate all CSG.  But lately, I have been using some
meshes to test scenes, however, these are usually premade, I haven't got
into using mesh modelers too much myself yet (I generally focus more on
texturing and lighting rather than modelling at the moment).  But for POV
based stuff, I do it all from scratch within POV (or premade
scenes/macros/includes that I aready put together) rather than using an
external POV editor like Moray.

-tgq

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aaglo wrote:

> My civ3-units - modelled and animated with pov-ray:
> http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=2036938&postcount=4
> 


Great models!  Thought they seem incomplete without a scene or game to 
contain them.

(And this, in a way, colors your question, which might also encompass 
the larger issue of scene building.)

POV-Ray levels the playing field, in a manner of speaking, because it 
offers only the scene langauge interface.

Mesh models must either be generated with the scene language directly (a 
practice that may be quite unique to POV artists) or modelled in an 
external product then translated into scene language.

Models composed of "primitives" and employing CSG also may be 
articulated in the scene language directly or composed in an external 
product where either a model, or a complete scene, can be built and 
translated.

This stands in some contrast to renderers that have scene modelling GUI 
interfaces built into them.  These products, which may also support 
scene language, arguably, may induce a tendency away from experimenting 
with program generated effects, and away from the use of primitives, and 
toward the apparent homogeneity and flexibility that mesh can offer 
within that integrated context.

It is sometimes argued here that the modelling potential of POV's scene 
language is the unique and powerful aspect that differentiates it from 
the crowd.  Maybe so.  I tend to see it as uniquely neutral and 
encompassing.  It keeps techniques distinct by remaining neutral to them 
all.

So with POV you may find artists who model entire buildings, brick by 
primitive brick (Ib), or by hand with program generated mesh (Shay), or 
from large primitives with image and bumpmaps applied (Gilles), or from 
mesh-based height-fields tilted to form walls (Jaime), or from 
isosurfaces formed with math functions alone (Mike and others), or brick 
by preformed brick, preformed from generated mesh (Bill), or from a 
collection of primitives to suggest pillars and walls (Everybody), or 
modelled in a mesh modeller first then imported (Gilles).

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Thank you all for the replies :)

I once tried Moray, but it just didn't feel right (after getting used to the
Pov-ray "interface").

Cheers

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"aaglo" <aag### [at] jippiifi> wrote:
> Thank you all for the replies :)
>
> I once tried Moray, but it just didn't feel right (after getting used to the
> Pov-ray "interface").
>
> Cheers

You could try Bishop3D which is new and undergoing Beta testing.

http://www.bishop3d.com/

Stephen

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