Hi folks.

Been working with eonite for a while on trying to create the perfect cloud atmospheres for a  yet to be released product, for now named "CloudPak." Our goal is to try and render Cumulus clouds which are notoriously hard to get perfect.

Here's a couple samples of the WIP (rendered in 7.5):

ooooo, nicely done!  i coulda used the one in the middle today LOL... been playing with clouds today (nowhere near the impressive results) =D

Cool looking clouds! 

Fantastic, just perfect.

Excellent... beautiful

 They look spectacular...well done...It will be interesting to see the final product.. ...

 Well done! This has been on my list of things to try and do for a while!

 Looking great !

 The plan is to create a set of atmospheres, where you can 'dial in' the type of cloud formation you want. Most of you know Dick (eonite) is an expert with the FE, and we believe it's possible to make it super easy to design your own complex cumulus cloudscapes using only a few metanodes and a couple layers of clouds. We're still testing and working on it and will post more when we get a chance...

That looks great. I'd buy it today if it was ready. 

Fantastic, Chipp & Dick!

 Looking very impressive indeed. It would be hard to resist not to buy (I only started to use Vue this week, so I am stumbling around in wonder in the program - manual arrives today).

Jaw dropping

Chipp - so the 3d cloud scanners working then because they look too real to be made using the FE

Amazingly real - excellent work

Thank you, folks, Your comments are really encouraging 

Sorry for not being more present here. The project is eating up a lot of  time. But we are making steady progress. More pictures will follow soon...

Looks Great!

Mazak

 I was looking at the big cloud picture. The cloud itself is awesome!  As a former professional meterologist and weather observer I noticed that the rain is not so realistic looking. It seldom comes down in straight line sheets. The air is turbulent with the downdrafts so the sheets wave a bit. Also the color has a greenish hazy tint. Maybe use 3-4 sheets, each wavy in a different way and add a hit of mist so I looks more like rain and not an object.

Just some thoughts! I really think you are on to something!!

Wow!  These look great.  Really impressive work!!

Quote - As a former professional meterologist and weather observer I noticed that the rain is not so realistic looking. It seldom comes down in straight line sheets. The air is turbulent with the downdrafts so the sheets wave a bit. Also the color has a greenish hazy tint. Maybe use 3-4 sheets, each wavy in a different way and add a hit of mist so I looks more like rain and not an object.

Thanks for the input...I'm not too crazy about that rain either. Back to the drawing board...

 Thanks!

pikachu: You are absolutely right. There should be some turbulence and a sense of depth as well as some coloring. I doubt that such effects will be part of this pack anyway.
It`s great to have a former meteorologist here and I am happy about any hints.

This cloud was in fact one of the first attempts at creating a towering cumulus cloud. At that time I was happy to get some kind of realistic shape and texture. But this cloud is still not the thing that we see when we look at cumulus clouds in real life.
For example the lit side is kind of over exposed and the details get lost and the shadow part to the right looks like a patch of grey instead of maintaining some subtle details.

Below are some more images which are all just test renders and experiments, but they show some other aspects and development stages.

 These look wonderful! I would really like to see some tutorials on making such clouds. I really loved the one you gave on the lenticular cloud. 

Keep them coming!

evil...truly evil the pair of you! my wallet is crying already!! ;)
damn those are bloody awesome c;oud formations!!! :)

Wow, they look really great.

Count me in for a copy when it's up in the market place.

James.

Very nice clouds...I'm following this with great interest!

Please sell them to us poor schlubs.  I am willing to sell my wife to get any of these.

Quote - Please sell them to us poor schlubs.  I am willing to sell my wife to get any of these.

LOL - dang, Gary.... that desperate? 

granted... extra-ordinary clouds... purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Gary and Catherine -

I see you are online now. I have been wanted to tell you what great models you have. I have bought a number through Cornucopia3d.
 
Thanks for making those that I have envisioned.

 Thanks again, folks! 

garyandcatherine: I take this as a compliment 

Hey, its not my intention to make people feel like schlubs, or step on someones toe, but rather show some other things that Vue is capable of and we should rather feel happy about it. Also this should not diminish the value of any great products already available for Vue.
The reason why those clouds look the way they look is the result of really hard work (hundreds of hours involved just to figure out how to do it. Not to mention all the time I have spent with Artmatic prior to Vue, where I learned how to deal with a function graph). 

pikachu: Im glad you liked the tutorial on lenticular clouds. As for more tutorials, I really want to complete our project first before engaging on any new tutorials. Also, as Im progressing on the cloud files I`m constantly revising and optimizing the techniques involved, and this will surely be helpful for any future tutorials.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Beautiful work - looking forward to your product!

 You could sell some of these cloud tutorials on Cornucopia like quadspinner is doing. He does a nice job and I bought his tutorials. You are really on to something and all the hard work is paying off as we can all see and admire!

 Thanks jc and pikachu! 

pikachu: Good idea. Something to consider once the cloud pack is ready.

I think all that the clouds sets are really missing is levels of internal greys that are quite common in real clouds and there is too much high contrast in the highlighted parts that needs to be toned down some. Other then that get some blended cirrus on the tops of the anvil and it's good to go i think.

Wow, you certainly miss a lot if you don't have a working computer for a month and a half. Those clouds look absolutely awesome and I can't wait to get my hands on the packs. Chipp and eonite, you are my personal heroes of 2009 ;-)

Any progress since the last sneak preview? :-)

Yep, still making progress. Dick is finalizing the (rather complex!) algorithms into metanodes which will easily allow for tweaking cloudscapes-- and I'm writing the documentation and crafting atmospheres which will work for all the CloudPak cumulus types of clouds.

One of our goals with the documentation is to explain the standard Vue cloud controls and how sensitive and important they are to realistic results. A single percent difference in a Cloud slider setting can make a huge difference in the final cloud render. While the final manual may be a bit long, it'll be full of pictures and screenshots showing you exactly what you need to know to becaome a master cloudsmith.

While this is taking a bit longer than we originally intended, the final product will be more than just a set of atmospheres and cloud layers. We'll certainly keep everyone posted!

 I am on the edge of my seat, drooling...

Looks great, guys! having single clouds like this from spectral layers: can't wait!