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SkillZombie — The Seapeak
Published: 2010-05-26 23:57:49 +0000 UTC; Views: 914; Favourites: 23; Downloads: 68
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Comments: 16
Terragen is one of those programs that bring forth realism and beauty by way of rendering. Much of that is present in this image. There are some things that Terragen does automatically, so I will skip those (such as shadows, for example).
The first thing I noticed was the lighting. The atmosphere isn't too heavy, but it's heavy enough to really bring in that feel of a light fog or mist in the valley areas, especially in the distance. A few light rays showing adds that extra touch of realism, as well does the reddish hue, giving it that warm, sunset feel. Getting those atmosphere settings just right to pull that off makes for the amazing lighting seen here.
While the curves, bumps, and hills here can be easily rendered in Terragen, finding that right spot and right angle can be a challenge. A touch of realism seems lost though in the placement of the camera, as it looks like it's just kinda floating in air; Too close to the ground for a "shot from an aircraft", and too far from it to give the appearance of someone standing on the ground. However, the view itself is stunning either way, giving a good balance of the hills, the valley, and the lake/shoreline.
The one thing I dislike most though is the land itself, and mainly, its texture. Very bland and unrealistic. The shoreline/beaches are straight and solid, running a perfect line at a fixed height above the water. The grass, while the color itself is good, is way too even and smooth. Grass isn't that smooth. Granted, Terragen 0.9 isn't perfect, but adding a few more layers, especially some darker "rock" layers (using blacks/greys) can bring out the real detail in the hills (like on the steeper parts of them).
The lighting is spectacular. The angle is great. The land needs work.
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Thanks for the critique man, gave me some stuff to watch out for.
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Coolness. Yeah, honestly, even with me, the hardest thing I think is getting the land textures right. It's all about getting a realistic smoothness/bumpiness and color. Slopes, noise, layers, etc... so many different options and so many possibilities.
For example, to get the beach effect you may be looking for, set your "Grass" layers to be slightly lower than your "Sand" layers. Then, under your Sand layers, set your main one (which will be the brighter orange/yellow color) to have a high noise, and add another layer that may be a slightly darker color to be at the max height of your lowest level for your Grass and to have a low noise.
So, say if you have land at 0 meters, and you want a beach, you could have your Grass layer start at 10 meters. Your top Sand layer (high noise) will go from 0 meters to 15 meters, and your bottom sand layer (low noise) will go from 0 meters to 10 meters.
This will give the effect of a more natural blend of the sand to the grass, rather than just a straight line. Also, adding a second, slightly darker layer will give the sand a more "dirty", and less "perfect" look to it. That is, of course, if you are striving for realism.
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Thanks for the tip bro. Proving that even the more adept still don't mind advice.
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Np ^.^ ... I'm sure there's questions I could ask you too. I've seen your work and there's times where I was like "How'd he pull that off?!" Hehe ^.^
If there's other questions you have or you'd just like to BS sometime, look me up.
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No problem and the same goes here.
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Nice! I like what you have done with the water edge, and the light is cool, too.
I agree with GTX though, that the texture is a little plane. And the old "close view" problem with the near surface in the bottom left corner...
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Great to see something new from you 
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What type of critique are you looking for? Critique in the usage of Terragen, or a Critique in the art of the image?
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I hope its to your liking. I've used Terragen a lot. While I don't believe I'm some kinda pro at it, I do hope you find my critique helpful in some way.
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