"Neddahk" <Ned### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
> I have been working on a macro that creates a tree.  My goal is
> photo-realism, so I appreciate your comments and suggestions.  The tree is
> modeled entirely in POV using recursive macros. I've attached a few of the
> recent results.

Wow, they're very good. I like how so many POV-artists do it themselves,
even when similar things have already been developed, because there are
always advantages starting fresh. It's great to have so many technically
savvy artists!

Hmm, photo-realism from what distance? Up close can be a demading challenge
indeed.

The falling leaves in both images are an especially nice touch. The
large-trunk brown bark texture is very real-looking to me, and the leaves
are attached to the branches. The overall trunk looks realistically curved
and curled in both images.

Criticism: (w/grain of salt, please)
The last level of twiggy recursion isn't quite fine enough, to my eye; it
seems like it should look busier and noisier around the tree margins. The
light branch and twig texture seems a little too bare, but that may be
realistic. The texture transition doesn't show peeling-up bark like a
sycamore or such tree has.

Overall, though, my only major criticism is that the branch and twig
sections are too straight. Add more small-scale wiggles and irregularity if
you can.

Oh, also- not that it affects the tree realism- but the ground doesn't show
any shadow that I can see. ??

Very good job. Keep it up!

-Stefan Sittler

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>The tree is
>modeled entirely in POV using recursive macros. I've attached a few of the
>recent results.

Very impressive.  I've started on a project such as this a few times, but I always get
a headache
from the complexity and stop.

I'd love to see the method to your madness.  Are you planning to post the code?


Kyle

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Ooh - lovely.

How long did it take to parse and render? And what are your machines specs? 
And... are you going to post the code?


-- 
-Nekar Xenos
"The truth is out there"

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Thanks for all your generous input!  I'd like to implement some of the
changes you suggested and get my code cleaned up before I post it.

"Nekar" <ger### [at] rpmmagcoza> wrote:
> Ooh - lovely.
>
> How long did it take to parse and render? And what are your machines specs?
> And... are you going to post the code?

I render on a 2 Ghz PC; to get a tree with decent enough complexity it
usually takes about 2-3 minutes to parse and then renders at around 300 -
500 pixels per second.

(btw, I didn't actually bother to make an object for the ground other than
the leaves, so there's no shadow.)

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"Neddahk" <Ned### [at] hotmailcom> wrote:
> I have been working on a macro that creates a tree.  My goal is
> photo-realism, so I appreciate your comments and suggestions.  The tree is
> modeled entirely in POV using recursive macros. I've attached a few of the
> recent results.

VERY impressive!  And very timely and inspiring (for me):  I'm currently
working on a similar idea, using isosurfaces...to get real bark detail
mostly,  but also to "bend" the trunk and make it "bumpy", and to create a
lower trunk shape that mimics the way the roots spread out.  Will post an
example soon.

Haven't yet thought about branches--which your macros do a *beautiful* job
with. Congratulations on your excellent code design! Like others, I would
very much like to see it. Please post when ready.  :-)

Ken W.

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"Kenneth" <kdw### [at] earthlinknet> schreef in bericht 
news:web.454031c1de2c77c4870dc4da0@news.povray.org...
>
> VERY impressive!  And very timely and inspiring (for me):  I'm currently
> working on a similar idea, using isosurfaces...to get real bark detail
> mostly,  but also to "bend" the trunk and make it "bumpy", and to create a
> lower trunk shape that mimics the way the roots spread out.  Will post an
> example soon.
>
I am curious about this: Isn't your render time very slow for an isosurface 
tree? And what about planting a forest with them?

> Haven't yet thought about branches--which your macros do a *beautiful* job
> with. Congratulations on your excellent code design! Like others, I would
> very much like to see it. Please post when ready.  :-)
>
I agree!!

Thomas

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Thomas de Groot nous apporta ses lumieres en ce 26/10/2006 03:22:
> "Kenneth" <kdw### [at] earthlinknet> schreef in bericht 
> news:web.454031c1de2c77c4870dc4da0@news.povray.org...
>> VERY impressive!  And very timely and inspiring (for me):  I'm currently
>> working on a similar idea, using isosurfaces...to get real bark detail
>> mostly,  but also to "bend" the trunk and make it "bumpy", and to create a
>> lower trunk shape that mimics the way the roots spread out.  Will post an
>> example soon.

> I am curious about this: Isn't your render time very slow for an isosurface 
> tree? And what about planting a forest with them?

>> Haven't yet thought about branches--which your macros do a *beautiful* job
>> with. Congratulations on your excellent code design! Like others, I would
>> very much like to see it. Please post when ready.  :-)

> I agree!!

> Thomas 


When you have very detailled trees, you only use 1 or 2, maybe 3. For the 
background trees, it's usualy beter to use mesh trees.
Not all isosurfaces are very slow. It depend on it's complexity and gradiant.

-- 
Alain
-------------------------------------------------
How do you tell when you're out of invisible ink?

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"Alain" <ele### [at] netscapenet> schreef in bericht 
news:454089a3$1@news.povray.org...
>
> When you have very detailled trees, you only use 1 or 2, maybe 3. For the 
> background trees, it's usualy beter to use mesh trees.
> Not all isosurfaces are very slow. It depend on it's complexity and 
> gradiant.
>
Thanks Alain!
Yes, I agree about the background trees. It wouldn't make really sense to 
use isosurfaces for that, so my question there was a little unrealistic. 
Still, I am curious about render time of Kenneth's isosurface tree in 
conjunction with (as you mentioned) its complexity, and the levels of detail 
(bark in particular).

Thomas

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"Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlnet> wrote:
 soon.
> >
> I am curious about this: Isn't your render time very slow for an isosurface
> tree? And what about planting a forest with them?

Yes, my current tree renders quite slowly. Interestingly, it gets slower the
more functions I add to it (regardless of the max_gradient value.)  I
suppose there's a good mathematical reason for that(?)

I haven't yet tried #declare-ing the tree and using it multiple times--to
see if the render time stays the same, or if it increases by the number of
trees. I don't think it would increase by a great deal. I have a vague
impression (based on different experiments that I've done over time) that
an isosurface is *somehow* converted to a triangle mesh during
rendering--but that's just a wild conjecture.  Anybody know the answer?

Ken

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Kenneth nous apporta ses lumieres en ce 27/10/2006 15:54:
> "Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlnet> wrote:
>  soon.
>> I am curious about this: Isn't your render time very slow for an isosurface
>> tree? And what about planting a forest with them?
> 
> Yes, my current tree renders quite slowly. Interestingly, it gets slower the
> more functions I add to it (regardless of the max_gradient value.)  I
> suppose there's a good mathematical reason for that(?)
> 
> I haven't yet tried #declare-ing the tree and using it multiple times--to
> see if the render time stays the same, or if it increases by the number of
> trees. I don't think it would increase by a great deal. I have a vague
> impression (based on different experiments that I've done over time) that
> an isosurface is *somehow* converted to a triangle mesh during
> rendering--but that's just a wild conjecture.  Anybody know the answer?
> 
> Ken
> 
An isosurface is not converted into anything remotely resembling a mesh.

-- 
Alain
-------------------------------------------------
Islam: If shit happens, it is the will of Allah.

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