Just a little question to keep you all on your mental toes: How did I create this image?? I will give you a hint: I did not use terrains or lattices

i know how you made it! ...you didnt use terrains OR lattices... am i right? =)

lol...yeah, but thats more along the lines on how I didn't make it. should I give a better hint?

Hey this is cool....I like it...Sharen

Using reflective materials?

looks like multi rep torus - nice though

Sihn: Yes airflamesred: No

Looks like the inside of a torus

big_hoovie: My humble opinion is that it is Creative lens effects. ... perhaps turning reflection up in the lense, perhaps using a cone for a lense or a cone combined with a negative boolean sphere(for magnification.) The lense does not touch the camera. BTW thanks. looking at this gave me an idea for a totally different, yet similar in origin effect for use in backgrounds.

This is a really bad pict but it shows the lighting effect I'm talking about. Since we're at it. I got one for you but I don't know how I did it or why it occurs. I used a simple cylinder as a filter lens size 20:20:20 standard glass material. placed the lens halfway into the camera. It only happens at certain angles. removed the objects and it still happens. anybody know why this occurs? I think its a neat effect but wish I could make it happen at all angles. If I know why it happens then I have a chance to do this?  - Suggestions? answers? alms for the poor?

as for how I did mine, I used no creative lens effects. all I did was use 4 objects. two radial lights, and two metaballs, one positive, and the other negative. I made the positive metaball 1000 units in the x and z dimensions, and I think 50 or 100 in the y dimension(I never saved the scene, as it was just a warmup) The material on the positive metaball was "red christmas ball". the negative metaball was scaled larger than default, but exact dimensions are unknown. The material was "blue christmas ball". I sunk the negative metaball into the positive, along with the two lights. I sunk the camera view into the positive metaball, and rendered. 5 minutes to create the scene, around 15 minutes to render. bikermouse: If you want to make that effect at all angles, perhaps make the camera track with the cylinder, then move the cylinder to where you want the view to be from. or you could do it the other way, by making the cylinder track(maybe not the right term, but I think you get the idea) the camera, so when the camera moves, the cylinder follows. If it isn't the cylinder, but the light, I don't have any good sugestions for you right now.

big_hoovie: Tried that before - nogo.(works better if the cylinder tracks the camera - then you can use the camera controls.) I think the light effect IS angle dependent. metaballs? no gotem.(3.1). interesting effect. From your description,"...sunk the camera into the positive metaball...", you used the positive metaball as a lens - whether you want to call it a lens or not is up to you. A good effect either way. gotta go. "kink of the hill" is on and I have to go shoot the TV, hit mute or change the channel.