Here's something I've been working on for a few nights now. I originally intended to slap my Black Tower concept castle on the cliffside, something that had been suggested to me awhile back, but alas... It just doesn't fit in a scene anywhere. Too obnoxious and big. So I pulled up an old tower I never used, and threw it in the scene, then experimented with lighting and waters. It's a pain to render, takes about 10 hours even at 750x750, mostly due to the water. The funny thing about this is the role-reversal. I used Rhinoceros for the terrain-work, and Bryce for the architectural modeling! There are many Brycean terrains of course, including all of the perposterous water objects. But the main cliff and it's smaller companion were NURBS objects, made through lofting. And they took me quite some time... I don't think Rhino is meant for such things! But I need some ideas about it, for some reason I can't help feeling that this image is compositionally challenged? Any feedback or brainstorming, good OR bad, would be much appreciated! Thanks for looking...

This is actually a great Comp. As i raom around the scene, the water keeps catching my eye...cross lines, the height map goes both ways. Nice piece so far.

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Ockham's razor- It's that simple

Yeah, the only bit that feels "off" is the crossed lines on the water..I wasn't even sure it was supposed to BE water at first. Looks good against the cliff but like it is splashing up on all sides equally on the "pillar" not sure how that would happen naturally. Other than that it is well composed I think.

Wow! Great Image! PaulG

Aye, thanks people... Claymor, I think you're right about the spray around the pillar. The scene looked much more watery with a daytime-sky setup, but the color balance on this one was kinda cool. Perhaps I'll stretch the camera shot vertically to give it a different focus...

It looks great. The water seems a bit plastic like at the base of the cliffs. Love the terrains and sky. The water is the only thing that strikes me as being off a bit for some reason.

I think it might be the specularity settings? Or it could just be the lighting in general... Here's an earlier (with Black Tower) version where the water looks much different...

Wow, this enviroment is amazing!! Even though I can still see some of the lines, it's only because I knew they were there. One note, the castle seems to be floating a tiny bit.

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Ockham's razor- It's that simple

Aye, I threw out using the BT because it just doesn't do it justice. The BT (Black Tower) was a modeling experience mostly, and is really only suitable for close-up shots. Here's an example... You just can't see the details of this silly place in an environment that small. Now I'm just tweaking the water and aspect ratio of the original posted scene, trying to finish 'er up. Again, thanks for looking!

That's a great castle. Just make the render larger ;) Then you'll see lots of detail :). Howver, those render times do go up quite a bit. Very nice job on the castle. What did you use to model it with?

hmmmnnnnnnn... ;^) I love the first one. That doesn't read as 'water' under the tower, to me, but as mudflats when the tide is out. I find it much more atmospheric and subtle than the other versions. Maybe if there was less reflectivity on the surface it would look more like mud-flats?

Corwin, the BT I modeled all in Bryce about two years ago, in Bryce 4 specifically. I modeled it in sections and brought it home on my camera's SmartMedia card, 64 MB at a time! I see what you're saying, Pogmahone, although since I intended it to be water I probably wouldn't have seen that possibility! Good call, I'll try to make it distinctly mud or water in the next render.