This tutorial shows how I made the image Bedazzlement3
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1 |
To begin with I decided I wanted to try and blend some "fractal"
images with Bryce to make some interesting combinations. Fractal images
are created from a very simple mathematical formula, that can produce
incredibly complex results! So much so that only a computer can calculate
the string of answers. It was found that the vast amount of results of
these computations, when displayed on a computer screen in graphical
format,
produced the most intricate, strange and yet beautiful images! To the left
is an image created with Aros Fractals. This program, and others can be
downloaded from http://www.download.com
some are free, others shareware (search for "fractals" and you
should find several). So I made a few suitable images using
these programs, just mess around and have fun! :) To learn about
working with the fractal programs I'd suggest looking up newsgroups,
several deal with fractal art, and the folk in them may help or have
tutorial sites. I'd suggest saving
the fractal pictures in "Bitmap" form (files have the
suffix ".bmp" in that case to show you they are bitmaps) as that
doesn't lose quality when you save the image (jpeg ".jpeg"
images DO lose quality and thus you should never save vital images in this
format, you can save pictures out later as ".jpg" images if you
want them saved in small file size such as for the Web (.jpgs lose quality
but are very small in size, that's their advantage) |
| 2 |  So I made a
scene with Bryce to begin with (left). Now I was going to apply the fractal images I had made as "textures", that is the surface material of the objects. When you apply a texture, it can be set in many different styles, so that the image will be aligned with the object in different ways, such as from the top down, or as if the object were a sphere etc, this can give rise to many interesting effects, but in this case I stuck to the usual "Parametric" style (the default). You can see the pyramid is selected (red colour), so that's what I'll apply the first texture to. Click the little "M" button, that will let you enter the Materials lab, where you can edit textures and other stuff. Everyone knows pyramids are cool, just ask the Pharaohs! ;) |
| 3 |  Now
we're in the Materials Lab, we can start to work. I decided I wished the
fractals to actually affect the surface contours of the pyramid, this is
called "bump" as it makes it bumpy! :> So Click the dot at
BUMP HEIGHT into the A Channel. (1)To get images to show on the surface, similar to the bump height, you have to click the DIFFUSE and AMBIENT buttons into a channel (2). Now that it's prepared, I'll actual select the image I wish to use. To do this, first click the "P" button (3) on the bottom, that lets you manipulate the image texture, then click the button directly above it. This lets you access the TEXTURE SOURCE EDITOR |