I was reading about the rayspray day before last (after I did some longish renders). Sounded like it might be something good to get well acquainted with. I'm going to try your technique. That sure sounds like something I'm going to LOVE too-VBG. Also, I hadn't tried the spatial optimization thing either. Such good ideas from both of you. Going to save and stick in my Bryce 'tips' file. Sometimes the manual gets overwhelming. I've had the 'rendering' chapter open a lot recently, as well as the texture/materials section. Thanks guys, Diane