I saw the artwork and thought to myself, why bother continuing. I think I'll just throw my computer out the window. Maybe, one day if I work really hard, I'll be able to achieve that quality of work. I hope I live to 90, cause it'll take that long. Hey my daughter's only 4. If I start teaching her now, maybe she'll become as good before she retires. - Bandolin :(

No mistake... you just "Upped The Bar" for yourself. (grin) My presence here is due to...oh...about...hmm..almost 4 years of upping the bar. Best bunch of inspirations you can find. Enjoy

ICM is wise. Basically it's like this: When I first came here and saw the artwork that was presented, I said to myself "Why even bother?" And since then I've gone through that hole at least 10 times, thinking that I wasn't worthy enough or rather never will reach that level of actual ART. Well, you can only attempt to improve yourself, and there will be moments in which you will be proud of yourself and the work you have done. You just have to hang in there, let the juices flow, keep an eye on the techniques presented, and wait until you can bottle it up no longer. Then set to work and create something. And that's when you'll know that you've seen your own mastery through the keyhole. Drac

One has to wonder... if Rochr is capable of producing such high quality, complex scenes in Bryce NOW... what will he be putting out when Bryce 6 comes along? gulp. I have to admit, I just acquired Bryce not too long ago, and I certainly can't see myself producing anything NEAR that level with it. Now if you let me "cheat" (so to speak) by using 3dsMax or Maya... then MAYBE. LOL.

But you should know how much i recognize that though about throwing out the computer. :)

I totally agree with Drac. When i first arrived to Renderosity i thought the exact same thing. Compared to the stuff posted here, my images looked like total crap, and thats putting it mildly.

And whats even worse...i actually posted the images on the web...

Dont get frustrated by the quality of the really good Brycers youll find here. That level will probably remain unobtainable for most of us, but who knows, you may be the new Rochr, given time. Even he had to learn. I think, :o) What you should do is try and make each image better than the previous, try a new technique each time and dont get dispirited if they dont make that Hot 20 thing straight away. What the best images show is that Bryce is capable of far more than most beginners expect. New Brycers produce the sort of picture they do because thats what they think its capabilities are. Then they see the stuff put out by rochr, woodhurst, alvinayala etc. Its an eye opener, isnt it? So, enjoy Bryce at the level you are at, (you will improve)dont be afraid to post here or ask questions, nobodys going to crush you, and get that daughter of yours at it too. Who knows? :o)

All I can say is keep at it. Like Drac said "you can only attempt to improve yourself, and there will be moments in which you will be proud of yourself and the work you have done. You just have to hang in there, let the juices flow, keep an eye on the techniques presented, and wait until you can bottle it up no longer." When I came in here I didnt have any programs. Didnt have a clue how to use any of them. I went to gallery after gallery, mistified (sp?) at the work these guys are capable of. Then figured I wasnt satified just looking at what they could do I wanted to do it too. Got Bryce toyed with it a bit then went read as many tuts as I could understand. Went back to the gallerys and tried to figure out how they were doing want was in any givin pic. Im still not that great but Im not giving up. Im starting to get better (you can tell from my gallery) Thing to remember DONT BE INTIMIDATED TO ASK QUESTIONS!!!! These guys are THE MOST HELPFUL group (my opinion). If Ive had a question or need advice I get it. If i get asked how I did something Ill tell noprob:)

Well, if Drac and Rudy have had those thoughts, maybe there's hope for me yet. ;) Actually, if I could pick this darn thing up, it would have been in the backyard more than a few times. I'm one of those people who has to post as soon as I finish an image. If I wait a day, I end up deleting it as total waste of hd space. Just keep following what interests you, trying different techniques and methods. No one has your particular vision, and that, itself, is worth pursuing. lee

hang in there, I started with Bryce almost 2 years ago (I think..memory is the 2nd thing to go..;), and have gone from burnt ochre to mediochre..;) Stop by here, pick up tricks, ask questions, have fun. It's not a contest..;)

"What the best images show is that Bryce is capable of far more than most beginners expect. New Brycers produce the sort of picture they do because thats what they think its capabilities are. Then they see the stuff put out by rochr, woodhurst, alvinayala etc. Its an eye opener, isnt it?" Just out of curiosity, though, I sometimes wonder how much of an image is the capability of the application used, and how much isn't. Not that it MATTERS in the final piece, but as a 3D artist myself who likes to know my tools to the fullest extent, I'm often curious about how much of the BEST Bryce images are actually done in Bryce, and how much of it are Photoshop post. In the case of Rochr, I've seen him post wires and flat-shaded Bryce renders of his stuff on CGTalk before, so I know he does all of the scene construction and ambience/atmosphere in Bryce, then suppliments some color correction and details in 2D (which is not uncommon even with people using the so-called "big name" 3D apps). However, postwork (2D) to suppliment certain elements of Bryce renders seems to be used far more abundantly than in those other apps (won't mention their names (cough3dsmaxcoughMayacough). LOL. Is this primarily due to some functionality limitations of the application, or more specifically render speed (or lack thereof) in the current version of Bryce? I'm simply trying to evaluate where I'll best be able to incorporate Bryce in my workflow as opposed to just using one of my other apps. Obviously, quick terrain generation and vast outdoor environments are where it shines the most (and is the primary reason for purchasing it), but beyond that I don't see where I'll be using it more than some of the other programs in my toolbox.

I'm half way up the ladder with bryce I think. But if you look at my images in the beginning of my gallery.. when I first started with it... I am ashamed of them, lol. But I keep them there to remind myself how much one can progress over time.

Ignorance of Bryce's potential is almost as bad as ignorance of your own potential. But ignorance is bliss. Before I came here I used to post on another site and I was very happy with my pictures. Then came across a picture (by LemonJim), traced back to R'osity and had a major epiphany. "OH MY GOD!" It's like you've been playing with sand and then find out that people have made glass out of it and then others have made computers from it. But once you know what can be done [with Bryce] you no longer limit yourself to your own expectations.

@maxxxmodelz - Bryce artists generally use more postwork than others as it is sometimes easier to get a similar or identical effect in photoshop as it is to get it right in bryce. This doesn't necessarily mean that bryce is limited.. Any of these effects can be created in bryce, but rarely do we want to wait for the rendering... This usually is done for volumetric lights etc.. things that bryce is bad at but can do. The second reason why I believe that bryce artists generally do more in post is because we have to be creative with our rendering methods to begin with... when was the last time someone using Vray had to contemplate how to get dome lighting just right to balance with the shadowing elements while not washing out the image and exploding render time... they have the ability to click (render this with GI and make it look purty)

"The second reason why I believe that bryce artists generally do more in post is because we have to be creative with our rendering methods to begin with... when was the last time someone using Vray had to contemplate how to get dome lighting just right to balance with the shadowing elements while not washing out the image and exploding render time... they have the ability to click (render this with GI and make it look purty)" I see what you mean there. Although even real GI is a little more complex than just clicking a button (hehe). I've seen some very poor true GI renders that get blown away by the fake ones. hehe. Good points though, and that's on par with what I was thinking myself too.

I know, that was a bit of exageration there. But it is much easier to get a ver believable lighting setup with 'real world physics' light calculators.

My computer has gone out the metaphorical window before and I keep going outside and picking it back up again. What was the name of that guy who kept pushing a rock to the top of a hill and it kept rolling back down again? Thats me.

Concentrate on doing the best you can. There is never any shame in what that produces. I love the work of Rochr, Hobbit, and others, and although I have said it in jest, I do not really want to be them. I want to be myself. I envy their skill, and that is something I may never equal, but I'm working at honing my own skills. Their art comes from inside them, an expression of their souls, what people call talent. If I can manage to do the same, to bare my soul through art, then I'll be satisfied to just be myself. A major artist, a minor artist, a crappy artist, whatever I turn out to be, I AM concentrating on doing the best I can. John

airlynx was it Sisyphus, or was that the guy who's mother had a crush on him? Mind you, that seemed to happen a lot in Greek myth.

It also happened a lot in the manchurian candidate... shudders

What? Mothers having crushes on their sons or some guy pushing a rock up a hill and it just coming back down again, that happens a lot in greek myth? Either way I think the name of the guy I'm thinking of had part of a word that was easily recognized in English. It was like irony or agony or something like that. If the story were written today you would think, "Well that's a stupid name" but I think the word came from his name.

We all start some where. Which would be worse starting and getting learning from our mistakes or never starting at all? Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world. Albert Einstein

I think these greek guys were pushing up stones and when they were almost finished theire mothers called them to dinner and the stones would gently role back to the starting point. did you say drac was greek :P maybe he could program his robot to hold the stone while having a bite or two at vile how limited is knowledge then? as imagination expands so does knowledge.

Drac greek? I think it was a typo.. that r's very close to the e's. Zing! Sorry.. I'm a 'greek' too... The Swedish/German/Irish Variety.

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/ent/A0845411.html The greek guys name is Sisyphus.

So what word originated from that? Sissy? or Syphilus.?