Thanks for all the suggestions Bob, I'll see what I can manage. For the rear
paws: they are missing on purpose. The cat will be sitting in the snow and
thus, neither front nor rear paws will be visible, which is why I didn't
spend too much detail there. The head is a very tricky part, and getting the
ears to look properly attached is near to impossible I think (they are made
of a mesh generated with my BSplines and my Mesh-Modifying-Macros). I do
want to work a little more on the head though. If I manage to get enough
time, I'll probably implement some sort of "Fur-Dropper", which will place
some textured polygons onto the cat to simulate a more hairy fur, and this
might hide some of the rather messy details... And the cat won't be featured
too large in the final image, which is why I don't need a photorealistic cat
(though I do strive for it :-), but something which will fit the final image
nicely.

That's also the reason why I'll be working on some other parts for now, as
I'm not yet sure if I can actually make it by the deadline (christmas).
Still, this friend of mine isn't so worried about getting it on time, we
always give us the presents once we have found *proper* presents, not just
something you've found and bought because you needed *something*. Last time,
she gave me her present in March or so... We have some strange and rare type
of friendship...

Regards,
Tim

-- 
"Tim Nikias v2.0"
Homepage: <http://www.nolights.de>

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"=Bob=" <robertUNDERSCOREdobbinsATmailDOTtdsDOTnet> schreef in bericht
news:41a33f63@news.povray.org...
> Hey Tim! This looks really good. I think you've done a
> great job on the fur. The back legs seem to be missing
> the paws. The eye shape seems a bit off. On my cats,
> you can distinctly see their mouths. The ears look
> a little too plastic and "attached" rather than part
> of the head. The front legs look good but the paws
> seem a little small to me. The tail looks a little bit
> thin. The head might need to be a little flatter on
> the top. The eyes might need to be set further into
> the head. But still, a wonderful picture and quite an
> accomplishment for blobs!
> =Bob=
>
I agree with Bob!
One other thing perhaps. The chest should be a little more elongated
vertically, shortening the frontlegs a bit in the process.
The mouth indeed should be more visible.

Thomas

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Tim Nikias wrote:
> So, I've had some spare time and continued with the modelling of my "Sitting
> Cat". It now features a tail, whiskers, and even a nice nose. :-)
> 
> The colors aren't final yet, I'm undecided if I want to go with this
> color-theme, or if I'll switch to something more gray/brown/black-ish, it'll
> probably depend on how the cat looks when placed inside the scene (which has
> yet to be built...).
> 
> In case anyone's wondering, I've made excessive use of object-patterns,
> trace(), pigment-functions and the like to composite and generate general
> pattern for the cat, which I then color using a simple color_map. The nose
> is actually taken off a photo and, using functions again to create a
> transparency map of off the inverted grayscale image of the nose, the image
> is placed onto a sphere and position where it is now. The whiskers are CSG
> made with a simple macro.
> 
> I'm wondering if I'll add some sort of hair to the cat for a more furry and
> chaotic look, but I want to focus on different parts of the image and leave
> that detail for later. It wouldn't harm if the cat were as orderly as it is
> now, but it would harm if other objects are missing in the final image! ;-)
> 
> Comments and suggestions, as always, appreciated!

I'm babysitting a kitten for some friends this week and I noticed 
something interesting about her fur that might be useful to you, if you 
ever end up using a hair macro or something like that.

Her fur isn't really just one color. It begins at the skin as almost 
whitish, then goes slightly darker (to a very light grey) out to within 
about 1/4" of the end. The last quarter inch is dark grey. It also has a 
nice sheen to it.

If the fur on your cat is sticking straight out perpendicular to the 
surface, the effect won't be noticed. But it will be quite evident if 
you add some wind or maybe just some bend or something. It gives it an 
effect somewhat similar to the SSS "velvet" we saw not long ago.

I'm sure my tactile senses (ie touch..she has very soft fur) have 
contributed to the effect of the fur overall, but the colors do look 
very pretty. :)

~Mike

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> Her fur isn't really just one color. It begins at the skin as almost
> whitish, then goes slightly darker (to a very light grey) out to within
> about 1/4" of the end. The last quarter inch is dark grey. It also has a
> nice sheen to it.

Ah, thanks for that inside info. I doubt that I'll script a fur macro or
something similiar for this image, but it might be useful for later scenes.

Regards,
Tim

-- 
"Tim Nikias v2.0"
Homepage: <http://www.nolights.de>

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Mike Thorn wrote:

> I'm babysitting a kitten for some friends this week and I noticed 
> something interesting about her fur that might be useful to you, if you 
> ever end up using a hair macro or something like that.
> 
> Her fur isn't really just one color. It begins at the skin as almost 
> whitish, then goes slightly darker (to a very light grey) out to within 
> about 1/4" of the end. The last quarter inch is dark grey. It also has a 
> nice sheen to it.

I have two cats, and occasionally they get into a tiff. One will 
sometimes drop a whisker as a result of the fight. It's like a hair, but 
much thicker, and easier to get a grip on what is happening:

Actually, the hair is colored more like a wood pattern. The inside is 
one color, the outside is a different color. As the hair grows, the 
outer layers get rubbed off, exposing the differences in color. As the 
portion of the hair gets older, the thinner it gets. For example, some 
cats have what is known as a "smoke" color to their coat. They have a 
thick layer of white, or beige around a central core of some other 
darker color, therefore the ends look darker. It makes the roots look 
lighter. (Not to be confused with himalayan types, or colorpoint types...)

> ~Mike

Heeey, I thought I was the only Mike that began my sig with a tilde (~) ;)

-- 
~Mike

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