It has been some time since I last posted an image. Here is my latest, 
showing a remote corner on Earth, far from humanity.

The landscape was modelled with the latest version of World Machine, 
including the landscape map generated by the program. This last is nice 
from a distance; close up it appears too coarse but can be used then as 
a basis for further texture reworking.

As a sea, I used Jaime Vives Piqueres' sea macros 
(http://www.ignorancia.org/index.php/galleries/old-images/sea-buoy/), to 
which I added the foam, based on work by Marc Jacquier 
(http://www.povcomp.com/entries/174.php) and Tekno Frannansa (aka Tek). 
It is not yet entirely satisfying and needs more work.

The clouds are based on code my Mick Hazelgrove and Juha Leppälä. The 
cloud cover is quite thick: 1000 POV-units.

The frolicking sperm whales were found somewhere on the net.

The sea gulls are models by Mick Hazelgrove (see: The Preacher: 
http://hof.povray.org/4b.html)

The sky and landscape rendered quite fast, less than 15 minutes. The sea 
however took much longer: about a dozen hours more or less. I did that 
in several, successive, sessions.

-- 
Thomas

Post a reply to this message

Attachments:
Download 'eroded range_06.png' (558 KB)

Preview of image 'eroded range_06.png'

A remote and peaceful corner for sure :-)
I thought some water falling off from the whales' tail would improve realism.


Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> It has been some time since I last posted an image. Here is my latest,
> showing a remote corner on Earth, far from humanity.
>
> The landscape was modelled with the latest version of World Machine,
> including the landscape map generated by the program. This last is nice
> from a distance; close up it appears too coarse but can be used then as
> a basis for further texture reworking.
>
> As a sea, I used Jaime Vives Piqueres' sea macros
> (http://www.ignorancia.org/index.php/galleries/old-images/sea-buoy/), to
> which I added the foam, based on work by Marc Jacquier
> (http://www.povcomp.com/entries/174.php) and Tekno Frannansa (aka Tek).
> It is not yet entirely satisfying and needs more work.
>
> The clouds are based on code my Mick Hazelgrove and Juha Leppälä. The
> cloud cover is quite thick: 1000 POV-units.
>
> The frolicking sperm whales were found somewhere on the net.
>
> The sea gulls are models by Mick Hazelgrove (see: The Preacher:
> http://hof.povray.org/4b.html)
>
> The sky and landscape rendered quite fast, less than 15 minutes. The sea
> however took much longer: about a dozen hours more or less. I did that
> in several, successive, sessions.
>
> --
> Thomas

Post a reply to this message

Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> It has been some time since I last posted an image. Here is my latest,
> showing a remote corner on Earth, far from humanity.
>
> The landscape was modelled with the latest version of World Machine,
> including the landscape map generated by the program. This last is nice
> from a distance; close up it appears too coarse but can be used then as
> a basis for further texture reworking.
>
> As a sea, I used Jaime Vives Piqueres' sea macros
> (http://www.ignorancia.org/index.php/galleries/old-images/sea-buoy/), to
> which I added the foam, based on work by Marc Jacquier
> (http://www.povcomp.com/entries/174.php) and Tekno Frannansa (aka Tek).
> It is not yet entirely satisfying and needs more work.
>
> The clouds are based on code my Mick Hazelgrove and Juha Leppälä. The
> cloud cover is quite thick: 1000 POV-units.
>
> The frolicking sperm whales were found somewhere on the net.
>
> The sea gulls are models by Mick Hazelgrove (see: The Preacher:
> http://hof.povray.org/4b.html)
>
> The sky and landscape rendered quite fast, less than 15 minutes. The sea
> however took much longer: about a dozen hours more or less. I did that
> in several, successive, sessions.
>
> --
> Thomas



Hi Thomas,

a nice image, thank you for that!
I like the clouds - as in your valhalla image.
Great use of the sea gulls - they are really ok at distance.

Thank you for remembering Worldmachine. I paid for an early version back in 2004
or 2005 and I used an old heightfield for my recent image. At once I downloaded
the free version, but the free version doesn't allow to generate large
heightfields - and 120 bucks for a full version....

I avoid several sessions most of the times - why not investing in a second cheap
machine for the usual things?


Regards,
Norbert

Post a reply to this message

Great image, Thomas, makes me want to jump on a cruise-ship and sail up to
Alaska!

Cheers
Ton.

Post a reply to this message

Op 06/06/2020 om 11:50 schreef BayashiPascal:
> A remote and peaceful corner for sure :-)
> I thought some water falling off from the whales' tail would improve realism.
> 

Absolutely. Will be done. Thanks for the pointer.

-- 
Thomas

Post a reply to this message

Op 06/06/2020 om 21:58 schreef Norbert Kern:

> Hi Thomas,
> 
> a nice image, thank you for that!
> I like the clouds - as in your valhalla image.
> Great use of the sea gulls - they are really ok at distance.

Thanks indeed Norbert. These simple-shape sea gulls are only correct at 
a distance. A long time ago, I wrote a macro for different random wing 
positions which improves their use.

Mick's cloudscape code is some of the best I know. For some reason I am 
focusing on it now, in combination with more sophisticated skies and 
Sun, in particular LightsysIV by the way.

> 
> Thank you for remembering Worldmachine. I paid for an early version back in 2004
> or 2005 and I used an old heightfield for my recent image. At once I downloaded
> the free version, but the free version doesn't allow to generate large
> heightfields - and 120 bucks for a full version....
>
I use the free version of World Machine and I found ways to increase the 
size of the height_fields as a post-process. In particular, using the 
32bit exr output is interesting: I pass it through the IC utility from 
LILYsoft and increase size and resolution. The result is not 100% of 
course but it is really workable.

For my regular height_fields, I use a now ancient version of GeoControl 
which also produces tile-able height_fields. However, I like to 
experiment with different utilities, sometimes combining them by 
saving/loading the results through a set of programs (e.g. GeoControl of 
course, Wilbur, Terrabrush, WorldMachine, rarely Terragen).

> I avoid several sessions most of the times - why not investing in a second cheap
> machine for the usual things?
> 
Well, it works for me this way although the total parsing/render time is 
increased of course. In fact I have three machines, two laptops and an 
ancient PC. The problem is mainly one of where to place them 
strategically so that the rest of the family is not driven mad by 
howling fans ;-)

-- 
Thomas

Post a reply to this message

Op 07/06/2020 om 03:25 schreef Ton:
> Great image, Thomas, makes me want to jump on a cruise-ship and sail up to
> Alaska!
> 

Thanks Ton! Avoid the cruise-ship however ;-)

In a distant past (35 years ago), I once sailed on the RV Polarstern to 
the Antarctic; saw some whales but they were too far away to be observed 
properly. Probably this image is linked somehow to that memory.

-- 
Thomas

Post a reply to this message

Op 07/06/2020 om 08:56 schreef Thomas de Groot:
> In a distant past (35 years ago), I once sailed on the RV Polarstern to 
> the Antarctic; saw some whales but they were too far away to be observed 
> properly. Probably this image is linked somehow to that memory.
> 

For fun: I just found this old print of those days. Near Deception 
Island... :-)

-- 
Thomas

Post a reply to this message

Attachments:
Download 'polarstern_deceptionisland1.jpg' (61 KB)

Preview of image 'polarstern_deceptionisland1.jpg'

Op 07/06/2020 om 09:07 schreef Thomas de Groot:
> Op 07/06/2020 om 08:56 schreef Thomas de Groot:
>> In a distant past (35 years ago), I once sailed on the RV Polarstern 
>> to the Antarctic; saw some whales but they were too far away to be 
>> observed properly. Probably this image is linked somehow to that memory.
>>
> 
> For fun: I just found this old print of those days. Near Deception 
> Island... :-)
> 

So I clicked to fast on send.

Sea surface by Jaime Vives Piqueres; World Machine for Deception Island; 
RV Polarstern courtesy by Alfred Wegener Istitut; Me, cloned by Poser. ;-)

Interesting detail: 12 hours after this photograph, the wind was howling 
at 11 to 12 Beaufort...

-- 
Thomas

Post a reply to this message

hi,

Thomas de Groot <tho### [at] degrootorg> wrote:
> Op 07/06/2020 om 09:07 schreef Thomas de Groot:
> > Op 07/06/2020 om 08:56 schreef Thomas de Groot:
> >> In a distant past ...
> Sea surface by Jaime Vives Piqueres; World Machine for Deception Island;
> RV Polarstern courtesy by Alfred Wegener Istitut; Me, cloned by Poser. ;-)

lol.  nice .. render.  cheers.


regards, jr.

Post a reply to this message

Hi(gh)!

On 07.06.20 09:07, Thomas de Groot wrote:
> Op 07/06/2020 om 08:56 schreef Thomas de Groot:
>> In a distant past (35 years ago), I once sailed on the RV Polarstern 
>> to the Antarctic; saw some whales but they were too far away to be 
>> observed properly. Probably this image is linked somehow to that memory.
>>
> 
> For fun: I just found this old print of those days. Near Deception 
> Island... :-)
> 

Awesome polar explorer beard! Do you still sport it?

And in what temperature this picture was taken?

See you in Khyberspace!

Yadgar

Post a reply to this message

Op 15/06/2020 om 04:05 schreef Jörg "Yadgar" Bleimann:
> Hi(gh)!
> 
> On 07.06.20 09:07, Thomas de Groot wrote:
>> Op 07/06/2020 om 08:56 schreef Thomas de Groot:
>>> In a distant past (35 years ago), I once sailed on the RV Polarstern 
>>> to the Antarctic; saw some whales but they were too far away to be 
>>> observed properly. Probably this image is linked somehow to that memory.
>>>
>>
>> For fun: I just found this old print of those days. Near Deception 
>> Island... :-)
>>
> 
> Awesome polar explorer beard! Do you still sport it?

Lol! I have sported a beard for most of my life, i.e during the last 54 
years or so.

> 
> And in what temperature this picture was taken?

[rant]
Well, it was a mild, quite, afternoon in fact, about 10-15 C, I believe, 
and very little wind. The reason why I was so dressed was that we were 
going to land on Deception Island and, as the weather is notoriously 
unreliable in those parts, we were advised to dress "properly". And no 
joke either: a couple of hours later we were hurriedly "rescued" from 
the island because of worsening weather conditions and rapidly growing 
wave heights. During the following night that hurricane struck.
I shall never forget that night! I was on night shift monitoring the 
seismic acoustic survey equipment running while the ship was completing 
transverse seismic lines across the Bransfield Strait. The wind however 
was so fierce (11-12 Beaufort) that the Polarstern was constantly blown 
away from its preset course. So, I was regularly called up to the bridge 
to decide what to do and/or how to resume the course. Imagine taking the 
stairs from the bottom of the ship till the bridge (about the highest 
point) while the whole thing plunges and rises and rolls several meters 
in each direction! And then you come into a dark place (the bridge) 
where there is.... only one officer on duty! The ship runs totally 
automatically under "normal" conditions. Following that, you are asked 
to tell what to do and where to go as the ship is drifting/blown 
dangerously towards the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula and the seismic 
line is a kind of crazily weaving pattern across the strait. For a short 
while, you feel very powerful :-) Seasick? I have never been seasick.
In the end, the Polarstern had to take refuge at the lee side of an 
island and wait for the end of the hurricane, which happened suddenly in 
the morning. That day was my birthday.
[/rant]

> 
> See you in Khyberspace!
> 
> Yadgar



-- 
Thomas

Post a reply to this message

On 6/15/20 3:10 AM, Thomas de Groot wrote:

> 
> [rant]
...
> [/rant]
> 

Nah. That was:

[a good life's story]
...
[/a good life's story]

Thanks for sharing it.

Just looked up the Polarstern ship's Wikipedia page - interesting stuff.

Bill P.

Post a reply to this message

Am 6/7/20 2:20 AM, also sprach Thomas de Groot:
> Op 06/06/2020 om 11:50 schreef BayashiPascal:
>> A remote and peaceful corner for sure :-)
>> I thought some water falling off from the whales' tail would improve 
>> realism.
>>
> 
> Absolutely. Will be done. Thanks for the pointer.
> 

Very nice.  I thought the same. water off the tails, and the surface 
near the tails needs some perturbance. Like the whale should be pulling 
the water in with the tail. Maybe even just a ring or two to show the 
disturbance to the surface.

I thought the overall surface shape and foam were fine.  The foam 
distribution seems thin front and center, like maybe from a boat wake.
-- 
dik
Rendered 50,081,587,200 of 50,081,587,200 pixels (100%)

Post a reply to this message

Op 19/06/2020 om 09:18 schreef Dick Balaska:
> Am 6/7/20 2:20 AM, also sprach Thomas de Groot:
>> Op 06/06/2020 om 11:50 schreef BayashiPascal:
>>> A remote and peaceful corner for sure :-)
>>> I thought some water falling off from the whales' tail would improve 
>>> realism.
>>>
>>
>> Absolutely. Will be done. Thanks for the pointer.
>>
> 
> Very nice.  I thought the same. water off the tails, and the surface 
> near the tails needs some perturbance. Like the whale should be pulling 
> the water in with the tail. Maybe even just a ring or two to show the 
> disturbance to the surface.
> 
> I thought the overall surface shape and foam were fine.  The foam 
> distribution seems thin front and center, like maybe from a boat wake.

Thanks for the comments indeed. I am working (slowly) towards the "water 
curtains" from the tails. I am almost done. The disturbance around the 
whales/tails would be an interesting addition: I shall probably opt for 
some extra foam (rings) around them. More work to do then ;-)

I have been mostly busy with fine-tuning further the sea media and the 
overall illumination of the scene. In addition - of course - other 
things drew my attention (and time) like, for instance, the addition of 
spline data to an isosurface. That one still has my brain boiling 
furiously, thanks to Christoph Hormann and Mike Williams. :-)

-- 
Thomas

Post a reply to this message

Here is a new version of the scene. Some profound changes have been 
driven through, especially concerning the sea. I am working on a couple 
of minor improvements, notably the whales' tails which are too rigid 
compared with the real things.

-- 
Thomas

Post a reply to this message

Attachments:
Download 'eroded range_07.png' (580 KB)

Preview of image 'eroded range_07.png'

Thomas de Groot wrote on 03/07/2020 09:22:
> Here is a new version of the scene. Some profound changes have been 
> driven through, especially concerning the sea. I am working on a couple 
> of minor improvements, notably the whales' tails which are too rigid 
> compared with the real things.
> 
I like both the scenes, but I prefer this one, it's more... happy ;-)

Paolo

Post a reply to this message

And finally, here is the final version of the scene.

-- 
Thomas

Post a reply to this message

Attachments:
Download 'eroded range_final.jpg' (104 KB)

Preview of image 'eroded range_final.jpg'

...and because I failed to identify a couple of fundamental errors in my 
code, here is a final final :-)


[render time about 4 hours, 3.5 for the lower 30 percent]

-- 
Thomas

Post a reply to this message

Attachments:
Download 'eroded range_final2.jpg' (104 KB)

Preview of image 'eroded range_final2.jpg'