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Explanations and tips to create terrain models with Bryce |
There are many people asking my for a tutorial for the terrain modelling.
Nowadays you find some detailed tutorials about the process in the web.
I'm not a friend of this tutorials, I like it to give you hints and let you explore yourself.
The most important thing is to find your own way, and that you love to model anyway.
Terrain modeling is not so different from the "normal" modeling.
The only thing you have to know is that everything is possible :-) and that the way is the goal!
Lets start with the basics
First of all you have to create a gray scale map in program like Corel Draw.
You have to draw with gray scales.
It advisable to take the color palette with the 255 grays.
Now you start with square and choose a start gray e.g. 100 gray.
If you want to build a structure on top of the square you have to take a brighter gray (e.g. 120 gray)
If you want to go down (e.g. for carved decoration or holes for windows and door) you have to take a darker gray (e.g. 80 gray ).
The rest is something like a game. Try to play with blending and all the cool tools in Corel Draw.
If you have finished your drawing, we will come to the export.
Steps:
1. Go to the menu Layout and change the paper color to black (that will avoid the small border on the sides of the terrain in the terrain editor.
2. Then draw a black square (without a border) and place your drawing on top. Don't waste place, leave only little space to the sides.
3. Select the square and the drawing and click on the button for export, make sure that you export only the selected objects click on the square).
Then export everything as a tif. Picture (a jpg. will give to much disturbance on the surfaces).
4. Now you can open the terrain editor and import the picture.
1. Look for your space
Look for your space. Place your drawing as close as possible to the border of the black square.
The best is to leave only 3 to 4 Pixel to the border.
2. Export on perfect squares
Export your gray scale map on a perfect square, or scale and form the object in Bryce.
3. How to avoid the small border in the Editor
If you change the layout (in Corel Draw) from white to black (paper color), you will avoid the small white border in the Terrain editor.
4. Play with simple forms
Try to play with simple forms (e.g. circle with holes and gray squares) and scale them in Bryce).
My spaceships are results of this kind of playing
5. Keep the lattice small
Keep your models (lattice) as small as possible. It is more easy to work with a high resolution, but if you want to create a big scene, you will end up with to many “memory eating” objects.
6. Build with many small parts
Build your model with small parts, and try to decrease the resolution of every part as much as possible.
If you get sharp spikes soften them in the editor.
Most of the work with my Gothic cathedral was not to create the objects, but to reduce the resolution of the lattice.
Now my big Gothic cathedral model needs only 10 MB. of memory, 1,5 MB. zipped).
7. Use your templates to create blending maps
Think about the textures. It is normally easy to change the Coral Draw drawing for the editor to a black and white map for the material editor. Import the changed map to Bryce and use it to blend two textures.
8. Start with 100 gray
If I start a drawing in Corel Draw, I start with a area with 100 gray and go up and down in steps from 2 or more, depending on the resolution of the model.
9. Try to draw straight lines
If you have a strait lines, the terrain editor will keep the lines clear without spikes. Avoid circles and diagonal lines.
If you can't avoid it, you have to increase the resolution. So think how to change your forms (drawing).
Now you can go to have a look on my newer terrain models Page 3
Or you can go back to the thump nail pictures and choose a model direct. Thump pictures