/dumb question on OK, I'm gonna drop a stupid one here...forgive please. HDRI dome? Is that the same as the stuff that AgentSmith was demonstrating with the spherically mapped picture as the only light source, to mimic real-world lighting? Or is HDRI something different? How is it implemented in Bryce? /dumb question off + thanks luke27

This is most correctly called a morning star, but that is nothing more than a specialized type of mace. A flail is anything on the end of a chain, or a shorter segment of rod attached to a longer handle. Whether there are spikes or not on a flail doesn't matter. The nomenclature is subject to a lot of opinion depending on your source, but these are the most widely quoted. And it looks awesome. Nice work. luke27

Hello all, Enjoying the thread and thought I would chip in - but this is free, and you get what you pay for LOL. "It is what it is, and nothing more." That's what drives me to make 3D art as a hobby. I'm not any good (hence no images posted yet!) but I dearly love the learning process and seeing inspiring things from people like AgentSmith, EricofSD, clay, hobbit, Blackhearted, and so many others who are generous to a fault with time, teaching, patience for newbies, and just flat-out skill. I don't fear a time when the artist will be replaced - just think what an Egyptian tomb painter would have said when confronted with a series of Bryce images - "Oh great, there won't be any work for me anymore..." but even today hieroglyphics and tomb paintings are powerful design elements in and of themselves that stand as art, and are copied and used in art, in design, in clothing, etc... While the tomb paintings certainly aren't photorealistic (and whether they were intended to be or not, no one can ever say for certain) they played an enormous role in defining a culture (at least to those who now look back on it). So I say Bryce away, do what pleases you, do not do art for anyone's sake but yours (barring the paying customer) and do not fear the future, for your images may define this culture - and that kind of power (IMHO) is one of the best things available through art. Peace! luke27

I'm with tuttle again here (no, we aren't the same person with different id's, lol). Like what you've done thus far a lot! It's such a better, warlike mood...makes for some good dramatic tension in the piece. You could go with the blue light at the bottom left, or as a second consideration (and remember, YOU are the artist, we are just bouncing ideas here!!) use a light colored like the laser to illuminate the shadows. If you bring the shadows up from black to dim (by adding another light, not by adjusting the ambience), the 3D-ness of the image and the mech texture will "pop" better. I can't remember where I heard it but I think photography gurus suggest 3 light sources - one main (your sun), one secondary (the ambient from the sky), and one more (which could be the laser, or an offscreen glow, etc). Some tiny lights or contrails on the jets might make them look more active/moving? Keep it up dude, you are rocking! luke27

Looking good here. I agree with tuttle - a more dramatic sky would be more...dramatic (think Austin Powers here :). I would also consider some secondary lighting to bring out the shadows a bit - a burning fire out of frame to the bottom left casting a warm orange glow against the bottom of the mech, or a rocket ripping out of the shoulder pack illuminating the side of the cabin, or a bluish laser beam, or whatever. The POV is a dramatic one, and the viewer's attention is called away from the mech by the direction it is pointing and the jets - put something back in the bottom left to balance that and provide a secondary center of interest? But the bottom line for realism (again, what tuttle said) is TEXTURES - the gnarlier the better. Rust, dents, rivets, battle damage, grit, sand, etc. Take some digital photos of the side of an 18-wheeler that has been weatherbeaten and rusted, or visit a local junkyard for some great metal textures, then Photoshop them and make them tile (there are great tutorials around Renderosity about this). This will get you away from the "Bryce" look that I think is what you are wanting to escape. Nice work in progress! May the Force be with you. luke27

Flaxynn (and interested others) I found the Riki Tiki Tavi movie by the fantastic animator, Chuck Jones, at Blockbuster a few months ago and rented it. It brings back great memories..."If you mooove, I sssstrike, if you don't mooove, I sssstrike the man-child..." The only thing I had forgotten was the cheesy title song, but I got past it. ;) Happy viewing. May the Force be with you luke27

Ornlu - looks really nice. There is some kind of keyboard thingy to save it as a user object. I can't remember off the top of my head - perhaps Vile remembers? Anyhoo, there is a way but it is not immediately obvious from the manual. You can save a bunch of user object presets, then if you want to share them with someone else there is a way to export that library... Keep on Brycin'!

Looks really nice. You could apply the image to the CD as a transparency mapped image instead of creating a second copy. I bet then your materials would work better. Nice job with the modelling.

Two things: 1. Dirt. Spray-on, added with another layer on the object, part of the texture lab, whatever. I want to make things with those awesome textures look like someone left it up in the attic or out in the rain. It's a used world out there folks! 2. Ambient light / radiosity. I would love for the light lab to include this option, for example to mimic natural sunlight or streetlights or moonlight or whatever, without casting shadows. AgentSmith and many others have done cool things with arrays of lights but to have it done automatically...ah... Hey AgentSmith & clay - can we use the Bryce backroom to make our own users manual? Write in all of the nitty gritty, Easter eggs, good tricks, etc? Either by adapting the one they send or just making a new one? Or is that going to be a problem for copyright stuff? Anyone out there want to volunteer to collect and compile hints? Maybe I can offer my services there...with the blessings of our moderators of course. :)

Ahh...the Gibson Les Paul...a beautiful thing. Would you mind one more nitpick? The neck on that guitar looks a little long to be proportional with the body - kinda like a bass neck on the wrong body. Very compelling composition! I think it makes the viewer stop and think - what is this, and why, and then personal experiences start to play in the response, so it "customizes" each viewer's experience. Cool pic! Keep it up! May the Force be with you

Wsha nsigh tbuto aweiola? [luke27 stops talking, picks his jaw up off the floor and replaces it to its correct position] Sorry...Will there be a tutorial? ;) Looks spectacular. Hard to believe that's Bryce, but you've already shown that you can push Bryce waaayy past the "norms." Is this going to be for a game? Keep it up Clay - that way the rest of us have dreams to strive for.

I can see it now...how such events perpetuate nearly unchanged through history... Dragon: Watch out, Sir Knight, lest I toast thee with my fiery breath so horrible! Wrooaarr! Knight: Avaunt, foul beast! Begone, and set free this fair maiden, lest a fate most foul befall thee at mine own hand! Dragon [blasts Knight with fire, Knight ducks]: Take that! Knight [to Maiden Fair]: Hold mine beer, and watch this...