"Bryan Valencia" <pov### [at] spamgourmetcom> wrote:

> I have an outdoor night city scene and I have placed spotlights on the
> ground and I want the media to do 2 things.
> 1. show the light being cast upwards through the city
> 2. make the distant buildings less clear.

Here's one solution to problem #1 (I'm asuming that your spotlights on the
ground are pointing up):

Start with a media sphere of unit size (I find that this makes media-filled
objects more understandable as to how they behave)...

sphere{0,1 hollow
 pigment {rgbt 1}

interior{
 media{
  scattering{1, <...color...>*2 // or whatever multiplier looks appropriate
   extinction 0
   method 3 // the default
   intervals 1 // the default for method 3...the POV docs are incorrect here
   samples 100,100 // or even higher
    }
                      }
             }
 scale 10 // or whatever
        }

The extinction 0 value makes the media disappear EXCEPT where the spotlights
hit it. (The spotlights should probably have some fade distance/fade power
as well, to look more realistic.) Depending on how big your media sphere
ends up being, the samples values may need tweaking. If they're too low,
you'll see "discontinuities" in the illuminated media.

Hope this helps.

Ken W.

Post a reply to this message