This is I bet the most frequently asked Vue question, but how do you create realistic looking sea scenes with waves, foam etc. (there must be a cracking tutorial out there somewhere). I have a feeling it may have something to do with creating a terrain and then adding a water/foam material to it, but I'm not sure where to start. I am new to Vue and I am using version 5.0. Any help to point in the right direction would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Simon

Attached Link: http://www.guitta.net

A good start for beginners is always the link i have enclosed. We still suffer from the much too early loss of Guitta. Guitta has a lot of wonderful tutorials on her page. One is for foam and waves i think. With even some materials and samples. Another idea is to look a little deeper in this forum for a thread where Hellborn explained how he did brilliant waves with V5. And even offered a sample scene for free. Next idea is to look for Monsoon's Seascape package at www.3DCommune.com Has some excellent materials, objects and bitmaps to do all sort of sea stuff. I use that mostly for my sea related scenes. BTW, there is a little free program called CausticGenerator available that creates bitmaps for waves that you can use in the terrain editor then to do good looking waves.

Thank you Wabe, that makes for an excellent start... Simon

Attached Link: http://www.curvy3d.com/gallery/albums/userpics/SeaAlpha4.jpg

Greetings... Good to see the interest in seascapes. These are all excellent places to start and as Walther says (heya Walther!)I do have a kit for seascapes but I would hold off on getting that. I am nearing completion on a better one called SeaVue that will make that one obsolete and will include tutorials and completed processes so all you will have to do is lock and load. I have spent a couple of years now studying the ocean, it's dynamics and the bazillion photos of surf and sea and have derived a technique that delivers good results. The most important aspects, in my opinion, of a good seascape in 3d is the illusion of motion and the LACK of detail. I've noticed that whenever someone tries to make a detailed wave or detailed foam or wave crest or even just detailed water, many times the result is a plastic looking attempt. If you look at photos of surf and sea, you will find that there is rarely detail...mainly just washes and masses of color. Taking the same approach makes a 3d seascape just like doing a painted one. The link leads to a sketch I just finished. Besides the two rock terrains, there are only 3 objects and 3 alpha planes. If you wish to see many more sea pics, peruse my collected works in the Vue gallery at the Commune. I may even have a couple still here, I can't remember. Also, if you want some wave maps for your terrain, I have some at monsoon.topcities.com near the bottom. If you notice in this particular pic, some of the surf effect is driven by the rock terrain mat instead of the water. I've discovered this to be quite helpful for beaches or land masses in the distance as well as stuff like this. At any rate, stay tuned. SeaVue should be up next week.

Thanks Monsoon...will be on the lookout for your new pack :)

WOW - I'll be watching for it!