This is the final version (for the time being) of a scene developed and 
discussed on the French POV-Ray n.g. The title refers to Coleridge's poem 
Kubla Khan: "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree."

With thanks to:
Ferdinand for his incredible Citroen models: 
http://lymbe.free.fr:80/Telechargement.html
Jaime Vives Piqueres for Lightsys IV
Hildur Kolbrùn for the radiosity
Gilles Tran for the extplin macro
POVtree for the palm trees
Poser and Anton Kisiel (Apollo Maximus) for the figures
Apophysis for the image used in the background height_field
GeoControl for the height_fields
Silo2 for all constructions
The POV-Ray Team for.......POV-Ray  :-)

Enjoy!

Thomas

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Attachments:
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Thomas de Groot wrote:
> Kubla Khan: "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree."

A lovely image. I'm pretty sure Kubla Khan never saw an automobile, tho. 
:-)  What's the bit on the right, under the trees below the mountain 
peak? It looks like something sticking up?

-- 
Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)

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Darren New wrote:
> Thomas de Groot wrote:
>> Kubla Khan: "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree."
> 
> A lovely image. I'm pretty sure Kubla Khan never saw an automobile, tho.
> :-)  What's the bit on the right, under the trees below the mountain
> peak? It looks like something sticking up?
> 
Looks like the entrance to a Bedouin tent to me

John

-- 
"Eppur si muove" - Galileo Galilei

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"Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet> wrote in message 
news:48ff3e3c@news.povray.org...

> The POV-Ray Team for.......POV-Ray  :-)

   <sniff> Yes. (Stoppit Thomas!) ;)

   Excellent image as always. You have a good eye for concept and proportion 
that I admire.

    One small crit? If the guy's cape blows in the wind like that, then 
shouldn't the palm tree leaves do it too?

      ~Steve~


>
> Enjoy!
>
> Thomas
>
>
>

Post a reply to this message

Very nice image!  Crispy clear, large field of vision and such a bizarre 
concept.  Xanadu!  All I remember is the bad movie with Olivia Newton 
Jones... :P

are those Komodo lizards?...

Post a reply to this message

"Darren New" <dne### [at] sanrrcom> schreef in bericht 
news:48ff4712$1@news.povray.org...
>
> A lovely image. I'm pretty sure Kubla Khan never saw an automobile, tho. 
> :-)  What's the bit on the right, under the trees below the mountain peak? 
> It looks like something sticking up?
>

Thanks! And yes, Kubla Khan would have been surprised. Coleridge, probably 
not: as you probably know, he composed the poem under the influence of 
opium....

Yeah... There is an old wall and gate over there, but that is one of those 
things that are to be changed eventually.

Thomas

Post a reply to this message

"St." <dot### [at] dotcom> schreef in bericht news:48ff6654$1@news.povray.org...
>
>   Excellent image as always. You have a good eye for concept and 
> proportion that I admire.

Thank you Steve

>
>    One small crit? If the guy's cape blows in the wind like that, then 
> shouldn't the palm tree leaves do it too?

Very true. Problem is: how to do that with POVTree meshes??? I have no 
idea.....

Thomas

Post a reply to this message

"nemesis" <nam### [at] gmailcom> schreef in bericht 
news:48ff7192@news.povray.org...
> Very nice image!  Crispy clear, large field of vision and such a bizarre 
> concept.  Xanadu!  All I remember is the bad movie with Olivia Newton 
> Jones... :P

Thank you indeed. No Olivia NJ is certainly not in this scene ;-)

>
> are those Komodo lizards?...

Yes indeed. They come from the Content Paradise site (Poser) and where free 
some time ago.

Thomas

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"Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet> a écrit dans le message de 
news: 490021de$1@news.povray.org...
>
> Very true. Problem is: how to do that with POVTree meshes??? I have no 
> idea.....
>
Just clothify them ;-)

Marc

Post a reply to this message

"m_a_r_c" <jac### [at] wanadoofr> schreef in bericht 
news:4900229c@news.povray.org...
>
> "Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet> a écrit dans le message de 
> news: 490021de$1@news.povray.org...
>>
>> Very true. Problem is: how to do that with POVTree meshes??? I have no 
>> idea.....
>>
> Just clothify them ;-)
>

That is of course the obvious answer, but it is probably not as easy as it 
seems I think. I can image a series of complications right away.... Still, I 
shall have to investigate that (along with the 1001 other things I have to 
investigate in the near future....)  :-)

Thomas

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"Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet> a écrit dans le message de 
news: 490025f1$1@news.povray.org...
>>>
>> Just clothify them ;-)
>>
>
> That is of course the obvious answer, but it is probably not as easy as it 
> seems I think. I can image a series of complications right away.... Still, 
> I shall have to investigate that (along with the 1001 other things I have 
> to investigate in the near future....)  :-)
>
> Thomas
>
Indeed I was half kidding, I imagine it is far less simple to do than to 
say.

Marc

Post a reply to this message

"m_a_r_c" <jac### [at] wanadoofr> schreef in bericht 
news:49002a1c$1@news.povray.org...
>
>>
> Indeed I was half kidding, I imagine it is far less simple to do than to 
> say.
>
I know :-)

Still, the idea was interesting. I did a rapid test and found it impossible 
to do. First of all because the mesh is not grouped adequately for efficient 
use in the Cloth Room. But second, more important even, the meshes are much 
to detailed for the Cloth Room! Imagine the hundreds of leaves/fronds that 
have to be animated at the same time while also controlling 
self-collision.... My PC gobbled up all memory within a short time and I had 
to crash/close Poser.

Thomas

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"Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet> wrote in message 
news:490021de$1@news.povray.org...
>
> "St." <dot### [at] dotcom> schreef in bericht news:48ff6654$1@news.povray.org...
>>
>>   Excellent image as always. You have a good eye for concept and 
>> proportion that I admire.
>
> Thank you Steve
>
>>
>>    One small crit? If the guy's cape blows in the wind like that, then 
>> shouldn't the palm tree leaves do it too?
>
> Very true. Problem is: how to do that with POVTree meshes??? I have no 
> idea.....

      Well, this might work:

       Produce just a palm trunk in PovTree. And then produce just the palm 
leaves, (so you have two files).

       Place your palm trunks, and then place and rotate your palm leaves so 
that they look like they're blowing in the wind.

       I like the dust behind the car in the distance, that's working well, 
so maybe a bit of wind-blown dust around the palms too?

        ~Steve~


>
> Thomas
>
>

Post a reply to this message

On 22-Oct-08 16:52, Thomas de Groot wrote:
> This is the final version (for the time being) of a scene developed and 
> discussed on the French POV-Ray n.g. The title refers to Coleridge's poem 
> Kubla Khan: "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree."
> 
> With thanks to:
> Ferdinand for his incredible Citroen models: 
> http://lymbe.free.fr:80/Telechargement.html
> Jaime Vives Piqueres for Lightsys IV
> Hildur Kolbrùn for the radiosity
> Gilles Tran for the extplin macro
> POVtree for the palm trees
> Poser and Anton Kisiel (Apollo Maximus) for the figures
> Apophysis for the image used in the background height_field
> GeoControl for the height_fields
> Silo2 for all constructions
> The POV-Ray Team for.......POV-Ray  :-)
> 
On the digital television channel cultura (http://cultura.nps.nl/) there 
was tonight a couple of programs about Carel Willink. Programs will be 
repeated friday and saturday. Not sure of course, but sometimes it seems 
that Willink may have been an inspiration to you.

Post a reply to this message

"Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet> wrote:
> "nemesis" <nam### [at] gmailcom> schreef in bericht
> > are those Komodo lizards?...
>
> Yes indeed. They come from the Content Paradise site (Poser) and where free
> some time ago.

Interesting.  Back on Komodo, the lizards consider humans an imported delicacy;
and even if they were tamed, keeping one as a pet would be as healthy as
bathing in a septic tank.

The opium, maybe?

Or do I just not know enough about Xanadu?

Post a reply to this message

"Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet> wrote:
> This is the final version (for the time being) of a scene developed and
> discussed on the French POV-Ray n.g. The title refers to Coleridge's poem
> Kubla Khan: "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree."

It's a nice image, Thomas. You have a good eye for placement.
The dome is great, and the mountains too.
Clothify the palm trees ?!?!! LOL
One thing you could do is subdivide the Komodo dragon in Pose-Ray - he'd look
better, I think. I did that with an elephant once and it was a big improvement.

~Janet

Post a reply to this message

"andrel" <a_l### [at] hotmailcom> schreef in bericht 
news:490### [at] hotmailcom...
>>
> On the digital television channel cultura (http://cultura.nps.nl/) there 
> was tonight a couple of programs about Carel Willink. Programs will be 
> repeated friday and saturday. Not sure of course, but sometimes it seems 
> that Willink may have been an inspiration to you.

Well... The answer is probably yes. I am not a big fan of Willink, but I 
find some of his paintings fascinating indeed, especially the mood and - of 
course - the architecture. Typically, I have a lot of books about all kind 
of artists, but none about Willink...

Thomas

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"Cousin Ricky" <ric### [at] yahoocom> schreef in bericht 
news:web.4900f77cdcbb2ff185de7b680@news.povray.org...
>
> Interesting.  Back on Komodo, the lizards consider humans an imported 
> delicacy;
> and even if they were tamed, keeping one as a pet would be as healthy as
> bathing in a septic tank.

Absolutely! I guess that the character in the image has to brush the 
lizard's teeth thrice a day at least (using steel mesh gloves) :-)
To be frank, I was inspired to this combination after seeing a photo from a 
west african country, showing a man with a hyena on a leash.

>
> The opium, maybe?
>
> Or do I just not know enough about Xanadu?

Xanadu is just what we ourselves put into it, with our without some 
stimulating substances. Without is more gratifying though. You know what 
happened to Coleridge? He lost a major part of his poem when, while 
transcribing his opium dream, he was interrupted by a visitor. He took the 
opium for medical reasons by the way, not as a stimulus for his art.

Thomas

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"Janet" <par### [at] attnet> schreef in bericht 
news:web.49014adbdcbb2ff1eb539d6c0@news.povray.org...
> "Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet> wrote:
>> This is the final version (for the time being) of a scene developed and
>> discussed on the French POV-Ray n.g. The title refers to Coleridge's poem
>> Kubla Khan: "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree."
>
> It's a nice image, Thomas. You have a good eye for placement.
> The dome is great, and the mountains too.

Thank you indeed, Janet!

> Clothify the palm trees ?!?!! LOL

Yes... Were it not so impractical, the idea would be interesting.

> One thing you could do is subdivide the Komodo dragon in Pose-Ray - he'd 
> look
> better, I think. I did that with an elephant once and it was a big 
> improvement.

You are right! I forgot about that. Especially the dragon's tail is showing 
its mesh. I shall put this on my ToDo list...

Thomas

Post a reply to this message

"St." <dot### [at] dotcom> schreef in bericht news:490035b1@news.povray.org...
>
>      Well, this might work:
>
>       Produce just a palm trunk in PovTree. And then produce just the palm 
> leaves, (so you have two files).
>
>       Place your palm trunks, and then place and rotate your palm leaves 
> so that they look like they're blowing in the wind.

Thanks Steve. I shall have to think about this a bit. This might work indeed 
without too much trouble. It might give me some other ideas as well...

>
>       I like the dust behind the car in the distance, that's working well, 
> so maybe a bit of wind-blown dust around the palms too?

There is some dust blowing behind the car and palms to the left. Still, this 
is something I am not entirely happy about.

Thomas

Post a reply to this message

"Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet> wrote:
> This is the final version (for the time being) of a scene developed and
> discussed on the French POV-Ray n.g. The title refers to Coleridge's poem
> Kubla Khan: "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree."

Stately indeed.

I love the dome, very nice, very credible in size. It does bother me that the
man in the foreground obscures it though! Trees and mountains look amazing, and
the cars really fit in, they make it feel like 1920s Egypt or something (not
that I was ever there ;-)

If this is an ongoing work, I look forward to the next instalment!

(How long did this take to render, by the way?)

Bill

Post a reply to this message

"Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet> wrote in message 
news:49017b6a$1@news.povray.org...
>
> "St." <dot### [at] dotcom> schreef in bericht news:490035b1@news.povray.org...
>>
>>      Well, this might work:
>>
>>       Produce just a palm trunk in PovTree. And then produce just the 
>> palm leaves, (so you have two files).
>>
>>       Place your palm trunks, and then place and rotate your palm leaves 
>> so that they look like they're blowing in the wind.
>
> Thanks Steve. I shall have to think about this a bit. This might work 
> indeed without too much trouble. It might give me some other ideas as 
> well...

      I haven't tried it with palm trees myself, but I have used this method 
to make better looking olive trees. It works well for distance shots.

     Or another idea would be to model a palm leaf yourself and add it onto 
the trees, rotating them in the same direction as the cape. I think you 
would only need three or four just to give the impression of wind.


>
>>
>>       I like the dust behind the car in the distance, that's working 
>> well, so maybe a bit of wind-blown dust around the palms too?
>
> There is some dust blowing behind the car and palms to the left. Still, 
> this is something I am not entirely happy about.

     Ah, I see it. It's not too obvious though. Hmm, not really sure what 
you could do to improve that, apart from maybe just intensify it around the 
palm trunks?

     Those Komodo's work well in this image, Thomas.

        ~Steve~



>
> Thomas
>
>

Post a reply to this message

"St." <dot### [at] dotcom> schreef in bericht news:490186ef$1@news.povray.org...
>
>      I haven't tried it with palm trees myself, but I have used this 
> method to make better looking olive trees. It works well for distance 
> shots.
>
>     Or another idea would be to model a palm leaf yourself and add it onto 
> the trees, rotating them in the same direction as the cape. I think you 
> would only need three or four just to give the impression of wind.

Indeed. Indeed... I see that you have gone that track before, Steve!

>> There is some dust blowing behind the car and palms to the left. Still, 
>> this is something I am not entirely happy about.
>
>     Ah, I see it. It's not too obvious though. Hmm, not really sure what 
> you could do to improve that, apart from maybe just intensify it around 
> the palm trunks?

Yes that would certainly be possible. The problem though is that by 
intensifying the dust media, the container becomes too apparent. I have been 
using code from Loki to achieve the media, maybe I should work on that a bit 
more. But as I said, this scene is on hold for the time being as other 
tantalizing things are profiling themselves above the POV horizon, like the 
new TC-RTC Challenge  :-) or should I say challenges?

>     Those Komodo's work well in this image, Thomas.

Yes, they do indeed. My first, really classic idea was to give the figure an 
eagle or other hunting bird. However, as I did not have one, I thought about 
the photograph I had seen somewhere of a man with a hyena on a leash, and 
that pointed to the Komodo dragon immediately.

Thomas

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"Bill Pragnell" <bil### [at] hotmailcom> schreef in bericht 
news:web.49018248dcbb2ff1d5b77e4a0@news.povray.org...
> "Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet> wrote:
>> This is the final version (for the time being) of a scene developed and
>> discussed on the French POV-Ray n.g. The title refers to Coleridge's poem
>> Kubla Khan: "In Xanadu did Kubla Khan / A stately pleasure-dome decree."
>
> Stately indeed.

Thank you, Bill!

>
> I love the dome, very nice, very credible in size. It does bother me that 
> the
> man in the foreground obscures it though! Trees and mountains look 
> amazing, and
> the cars really fit in, they make it feel like 1920s Egypt or something 
> (not
> that I was ever there ;-)

Well, I asked him to move to the side when I set up my plate camera, but 
would you believe it? He simply refused! And then that other beasty came up 
to me and I had to hurry to take the snapshot...
Yes, now that you mention it, it reminds of that place and period indeed...

>
> If this is an ongoing work, I look forward to the next instalment!

That will take some time I am afraid. I want to put my attention on a couple 
of other projects first now.

>
> (How long did this take to render, by the way?)

I did not note it down seriously, but while doing also other things, the 
parsing and render took about 12 hours in total and in three MegaPov 
sessions, on an XP Pentium D 2x3GHz

Thomas

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On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:54:17 +0200, "Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet>
wrote:

>
>Yes, they do indeed. My first, really classic idea was to give the figure an 
>eagle or other hunting bird. However, as I did not have one, I thought about 
>the photograph I had seen somewhere of a man with a hyena on a leash, and 
>that pointed to the Komodo dragon immediately.

I think that I posted (on OT) that earlier in the year I saw a young woman
taking her pet Iguana for a walk in London. It was on a lead but had a harness
round its fore legs not its neck. On a more practical note when I was working at
Taronga zoo I watched the keepers move their dragon (called Tuka) out of his pen
so that they could clean the pen. It did not look an easy job but Tuka did not
seem too aggressive only annoyed that he was being moved. I don't think that
they would even notice a lead.

Your image is great but I can't see the damsel with a dulcimer ;)
As Janet said: "Clothify the palm trees ?!?!! LOL" 
Nice one Steve :)
-- 

Regards
     Stephen

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Stephen wrote:
> On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:54:17 +0200, "Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet>
> wrote:
>

Late jumping in here, but Giles Tran's "Extree" has a wind function.

Rich

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"Stephen" <mcavoysAT@aolDOTcom> schreef in bericht 
news:qte4g4hnvcp60eces2if0t582vkslg5bpn@4ax.com...
>
> I think that I posted (on OT) that earlier in the year I saw a young woman
> taking her pet Iguana for a walk in London. It was on a lead but had a 
> harness
> round its fore legs not its neck. On a more practical note when I was 
> working at
> Taronga zoo I watched the keepers move their dragon (called Tuka) out of 
> his pen
> so that they could clean the pen. It did not look an easy job but Tuka did 
> not
> seem too aggressive only annoyed that he was being moved. I don't think 
> that
> they would even notice a lead.

I first wanted to make a harness but laziness persuaded me to do a collar 
:-)
I suppose animals in the wild or in captivity develop different behaviours. 
They remain dangerous however, and a dragon's bite is definitely not a 
healthy thing.

>
> Your image is great but I can't see the damsel with a dulcimer ;)
> As Janet said: "Clothify the palm trees ?!?!! LOL"
> Nice one Steve :)

Well, it was worth the trial anyway ;-)   It would need a really strong and 
fast computer. Come back in 2015.

Thomas

Post a reply to this message

"Rich" <ri.### [at] attnet> schreef in bericht 
news:49024dfe$1@news.povray.org...
>
> Late jumping in here, but Giles Tran's "Extree" has a wind function.
>

MakeTree? yes, I know, but no palm trees there and no meshes...

Thomas

Post a reply to this message

On Sat, 25 Oct 2008 09:07:06 +0200, "Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet>
wrote:

>
>I first wanted to make a harness but laziness persuaded me to do a collar 
>:-)

I know that feeling ;)

>I suppose animals in the wild or in captivity develop different behaviours. 
>They remain dangerous however, and a dragon's bite is definitely not a 
>healthy thing.
>

Indeed not! Those bacteria are an additional weapon.

>> Your image is great but I can't see the damsel with a dulcimer ;)
>> As Janet said: "Clothify the palm trees ?!?!! LOL"
>> Nice one Steve :)
>
>Well, it was worth the trial anyway ;-)   It would need a really strong and 
>fast computer. Come back in 2015.

I think so. I imagine that you would need to construct a mesh with several parts
so that you could give them different densities for their springiness. Computing
time - through the roof :)
Do you think that we will have Quantum PovRay by 2015?
-- 

Regards
     Stephen

Post a reply to this message

"Stephen" <mcavoysAT@aolDOTcom> schreef in bericht 
news:hdp5g4thehvl3bugcf0ij6bdi7bb3qcnri@4ax.com...
>
> I think so. I imagine that you would need to construct a mesh with several 
> parts
> so that you could give them different densities for their springiness. 
> Computing
> time - through the roof :)

Ideally, for the palm tree, you would need well-defined meshes for the frond 
ribs and the leaves attached to them, to give them different elastic 
properties. In itself that is not too difficult to achieve, even by hand, 
but computing time indeed......

> Do you think that we will have Quantum PovRay by 2015?

Between 2015 and 2020, definitely! I just consulted my private 
clairvoyante....  :-)

Thomas

Post a reply to this message

On Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:44:21 +0200, "Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet>
wrote:

>
>> Do you think that we will have Quantum PovRay by 2015?
>
>Between 2015 and 2020, definitely! I just consulted my private 
>clairvoyante....  :-)

Let's start a Pov 5 discussion ;-)
-- 

Regards
     Stephen

Post a reply to this message

"Stephen" <mcavoysAT@aolDOTcom> schreef in bericht 
news:mbc6g4pigqcv1fqd5o6709u1rr1de4tp14@4ax.com...
>
> Let's start a Pov 5 discussion ;-)

My first request is the implementation for the holographic projector 
screen....

Thomas

Post a reply to this message

On Sun, 26 Oct 2008 08:36:44 +0100, "Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet>
wrote:

>
>"Stephen" <mcavoysAT@aolDOTcom> schreef in bericht 
>news:mbc6g4pigqcv1fqd5o6709u1rr1de4tp14@4ax.com...
>>
>> Let's start a Pov 5 discussion ;-)
>
>My first request is the implementation for the holographic projector 
>screen....
>

He, he. This should go OT but I want animations with radiosity. 
-- 

Regards
     Stephen

Post a reply to this message