Meteorite Flyby (Plus a question for Brycers) by Tony650
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Description
This is a slightly modified version of my second meteor pic. It uses the same model that appears in "Meteor" so the texture is still "non-random". However, it doesn't seem to be as noticeable in this image, for some reason. Go figure! Perhaps it's just the different perspective (in "Meteor" it's coming towards camera, in this pic it's flying away from camera). *shrug*
Anyway...
A question for my fellow Brycers...
In this pic, you will note that there is an ugly, black mark on the underside and towards the far end of the meteorite. I worked literally for hours, trying to get rid of this, with no real luck.
The meteorite's "tail" is composed of 170 spheres and as far as I can tell, when multiple flame-textured spheres overlap, with a reflective surface behind them (in this case, the ocean), you get those black marks.
I tested this theory, using a simple matrix with two planes (one reflective, one non-reflective) and three flame-textured spheres, which I adjusted to numerous configurations. I tried all sorts of combinations of Base Density, Edge Softness, Fuzzy Factor and Quality/Speed, as well as experimenting with the texture's ratios and dimensions themselves, but nothing worked.
It appears that multiple aligned flame textures produce that black mark *if* there is a reflective surface behind them. It doesn't seem to happen, otherwise. You will notice, in this image, that it doesn't occur along the top of the "tail" (where the ocean is not in the immediate background), or close to the camera (where the nearest sphere doesn't overlap with any others).
So, does anyone know if there is a way to stop this (aside from postwork, which I haven't even attempted on any of my pieces yet)? Or is this something you just have to "work around", with this texture?
I apologize for the length of this. I just wanted to be clear what the problem is. I hope you enjoy this pic, even with its textural problems. Thanks for looking, and thanks in advance for any help you can offer! :)
Comments (11)
RETIRED
I dont have a clue what the difficulty may be. But are you sure it is a problem? To me it makes the flame appear to have an object within, whether a meteor, space ship or a dragon with a bad case of gas is up to the imagination of the viewer. In any event - I like it as it is. No harm in having a body of something to relieve any boredom that may be percieved from just a streak of flame. My attempts at learning should be so good ...lol.
Digimon
Are the spheres intersecting? Are they meta balls? I have seen a similar anomaly when spheres intersect and have a transparent, or semi-transparent texture. If they are spheres, keep them from over lapping, if they are meta balls, group them, that usually fixes the problem. It's all I got, great image by the way, where can I find that flame texture?!?!? It's very cool!!
tynana
Excellent flame texture! This is fabulous as is! I have to go with Digimon on the grouping and stopping the overlap, other than trying that or the dreaded postwork I don't know what else to try. I don't do a lot of flame textures myself. And metaballs just make me angry LOL! Well done regardless of the black streak!! :)
Tony650
Thank you both, I'm glad you like it! :) Digimon, I'm afraid I don't know what meta balls are. As far as I'm aware, though, I just used regular spheres. In the tests I conducted, I performed trials with both overlapping and non-overlapping spheres. Non-overlapping spheres appear to have less of this effect but some still seems to remain, I'm afraid. Still, thanks for the suggestion. I'll experiment with it some more and see what I can do. And yes, that fire texture rocks! You can download it at: http://claygraphics.phase2.net/volumetricfire.html Thanks for asking about that, by the way. When I searched for that site, I found the full name (I assume) of the creator, so now I can give proper credit. The name on the page is "Clay Hagebusch", verifying my recollection of the name "Clay", with regard to that texture. So thank you very much, Clay! Your fire texture absolutely rules! :)
Tony650
Oh wow! These replies are coming too fast to keep up with, heh. Thanks tynana, I appreciate your help and I'm glad you like the image! :)
Kemal
Just for you reference Tony, Clay is one of the moderators in Bryce forum, im sure he can help you, if texture itself is creating the problem, but make sure that self-shadow and dropped-shadow feature in material lab is turned off for all the spheres, hope that helps, very fine perspective in this image, BTW !!! :)
Tony650
Hey Kemal! Thanks for the info! I'm sure that Clay is the one to ask, if I can't resolve it. As for the shadows, I've already tried turning them off, in the Sky Lab...But "self-shadow" and "dropped shadow" in the Material Lab? I can't seem to find them. They wouldn't be features new to Bryce 5, would they? I'm using Bryce 4. Anyway, thank you for your help, Kemal. And I'm glad you like the image! :)
coolcatcom
You can get the same effect that you did with any fire mat. using the same method. spheres grouped I've done this many times. In the mat lab turn off cast shadows, receive shadows, self shadows. Works for me. Cool Pic by the way.
Tony650
Thanks coolcatcom, glad you like it. Oh, and I found those shadow settings, too. They were hiding behind a little arrow, sitting all by itself, where I kept missing it. :P I turned off all the shadow functions and...Can you believe it?...It still didn't work! Argh! I'm starting to think that I've just applied the textures badly, or something. I appreciate all the help, everyone. Sorry for making this such a fiasco but I do appreciate it. I may try the forum and see what I can come up with. If anyone thinks they know, mind you, please feel free to mention it here. I always check back. Thanks again! :)
butterfly_fish
Great camera angle and Excellent Fire! I don't mind the black things, either. Maybe there's a way to soften them around the edges a little? FYI: Metaballs are a Bryce 5 thing. They're spheres that kind of flow into each other when they get near another metaball. I hope that explanation made sense. It's all I've got at this time of night. ;-)
Tony650
Thanks butterfly_fish! Yes, I have actually considered that if I were to soften them, perhaps they could pass as black smoke. Hmm...Well, it's a thought. And yes, your explanation makes perfect sense. As I only have Bryce 4, I guess I don't have them. Actually, since asking about metaballs, somebody else has already explained it to me, but thank you for your answer! :)