I hope this is of help to others wishing to create more realistic looking landscapes.

This is not a step by step guide, but a list of tips. One could then just use the tip relevent to their scene, although I think most of them will be relevent.

*1. Landscape scenery using Bryce can be difficult to achieve without at least some outside help, even if it's just to change the ambience level.... but to the other extent using objects created on other apps is not only useful, but helps the scene look more realistic.

1. Any real live scene has a certain heaviness to it, everything lays correctly and nothing lies stiff or unrelaxed. This can be overlooked when producing a scene.

2. Try to make your scene look more uneven too, if there are too many objects like trees for instance standing straight, the scene looks unbeleivable. But if you slightly angle trees in different directions they look more natural.

3. The foreground part of the scene should take up maybe 80% of the building time since it needs to have more detail, take time to perfect this before thinking about  a background.

4. Use more than one terrain. You can copy and alter terrain and texture with different Mats to make the ground look less uniform.

6.  Give your scene a purpose, give the eye something to do. Add a main object that will lead the viewer to another part of the scene.

1. Use 2D planes with images, for say, skies, or just clouds, or any elements that needs to have a more realistic edge to them.

2. Add in a splash of alternate colour to your scene, like a single flower using a different coloyr from the overal them colour.

3. If you can, use an art app like Photoshop, Gimp, Painter etc. to add other effects that can make an ok scene look more spectacular. Ambience, Colour boost, Monochrome (this works well in some cases). And if you feel adventurous, painting in more detail. This can be useful if you want to touch up an area that looks less realistic, like a wood texture. You can even use photographs, or part of them at least to super impose over a texture using 'overlay' if your art app has this function.

4. Last of all, take your time. If you're not happy with a scene, start again. I get through many a scene before i'm happy with one.* **Patience is the final frontier.
   **
   Hope this helps.

If I have any more thoughts on this, i'll post it here. If anyone else would like to add to this, please do, but keep it in the context of landscapes.

Good post...if enough members request it, I'll make this a sticky as it'd be quite good reading for newbies.. ...

Thanks bobbystahr but it seems nobody is interested. Can see i'm just wasting my time and efforts here. I was going to follow up with a step by step guide, but theres obviously no point. 
It seems you need to be a member of some special group for anyone to take notice of you. How sad :sad:

I'm interested.....

I need all the help,  hints and tips I can get. I am still only in the play mode at the moment, discovering what the basic stuff is.

See dhama...we gota let the interested see this post for a bit before hasty decisions are made. I for one am just coming back to Bryce5 having been off in other cyber pursuits and only just got back onboard with the free ver5. and found your tips worth bookmarking. You brought up some valid point in the first post so I would say, continue and keep posting them here and they will show up on a site search as well as on the main Bryce Forum Menu so may get increased hits that way. In any case if you've helped even one member you've done a service that many members never will.. ...

I agree with megjax..I need all the practical help I can get too..
And it is a holiday weekend...lots of ppl are gone.

I always look at tut's and guides. Even if I am already aware of a lot of your points, a refresher is always good and a different perspective always brings new ideas or inspirations. Even though I post mostly in the C4D gallery, I still use bryce a bunch!

Sorry, but it's just that i'm used to forums where some people at least reply if they view, and when over 50 people view and not reply, it seems like no one is interested.

I will continue with my step by step guide tutorial for landscapes that i'm currently workibing on. Might take a little while to complete.

With the year end approaching at work and a stack of aircraft and projects to deliver, I don't get in here as often or as long as I would like - more hit and run at best. please continue, as I stated fresh perspectives are always welcomed (from my point of view)!

dhama, please continue with your terrain tuts. I'm interested and I'm sure more Brycers are interested than you suspect.

Maybe they're shy about responding, but I'm not. I always like to learn new tips and techniques.

So please work on that step-by-step guide.

I know I'll read, print it out and use it, and I'm sure others will too.

dhama, don't forget that a lot of newbies that use these site are very shy and lacking in confidence. I have been a member here for a few years now (I used a different name when I first joind around 5 and half years ago) but it took me ages to even post comments on images in the galleries, and I only started posting in the forums a month or so ago. 

So for all those newbies that are just viewing our wonderful community at the moment Please continue your tips, tricks and tutorials

Holiday, just got a few minutes to catch up on the posts and yes, this is very good information! Sorry I wasn't one of the first 50 viewers or I would have commented. I have trouble with #6, I never seem to find a good focal point when I do a landscape. I do #3, I love to tilt my trees so that they bend in different directions.
Anyhow, these are good steps and I can certainly use this information to improve myself.
Thanks

Of course I will continue, now that there is interest. :-)

Quote - I have trouble with #6, I never seem to find a good focal point when I do a landscape.

Take this test then. Type in 'Landscape' in any search engine that has a choice for images.... like Altavista for instance. As the thumbnails are displayed, look at each one in turn (for only as long as you wish to continue) and write down the first impression of each of them. The impression should be the thing or object that the eye is drawn to first.
Now, when you think about your own landscapes, remember back to the test and what your impressions were, wether they were positive or negative. This should give you some insight into what works and what doesn't. 
Why does this work? because it is far easier to see incorrect elements in a landscape when it's by someone else, than if it were your own. It's true; try it. :)

Great list for Landscape comp.  I just dropped a link to "rstar" for a great landscape comp multi page that supports lots of what you've covered here. 

Keep it comin!!

Hello,

I think that this is a very useful post. However, I have a question regarding point 3...

*3. Try to make your scene look more uneven too, if there are too many objects like trees for instance standing straight, the scene looks unbeleivable. But if you slightly angle trees in different directions they look more natural.

*Is it possible to modify the angle of the trunk? I thought that it is not possible in Bryce...

Best regards

Ramon

All you have to do is go in and select a tree, rotate, size, stretch, etc. with the edit tools as you would like. Basically you just treat it like any other object. This gives you a more natural forest sense.

OK. I'll try it. Thank you!

Ramon

Ramon

Edit: I was not able to upload the picture...

Quote - Sorry, but it's just that i'm used to forums where some people at least reply if they view, and when over 50 people view and not reply, it seems like no one is interested.

I will continue with my step by step guide tutorial for landscapes that i'm currently workibing on. Might take a little while to complete.

Hey dhama, I just came in on the "rat's end" of the forum and just happened to read your very helpful tips on landscape. Don't give up. It takes time before someone who's looking for tips and guide into Bryce's misunderstood landscaping, will happened upon your thread. Soooo

My point is: I'm interested!!!

TS

I too am interested, but with deadlines on projects I only really have time to look though most of the forum - if I get a chance to get in here at all!
Replying to everything I'm interested in takes more time than I really have just now.

Weekend now so more time, well... a bit.

I've just got a new system, so hopefully I can start the step by step tutorial.