Interactive planet-creation tutorial - Page 8 - Scifi-Meshes.com

**aszazeroth** · 02-05-2007, 02:53 PM

Back to the planets for a while, trying to device a quick-n-dirty way of doing city lights. How about this ?! If you all like it I will add this technique to the tutorial. And... it's very quick, without masking out earth maps =)

Cheers
//Dr. Asz

**aszazeroth** · 02-06-2007, 10:47 PM

Alright... uploaded a more final version in the 3D gallery. Anyways. Here is a run down how I did the city map. First I went online and grabbed me a "real" street map from a driving-direction map site. One can use maps.google.com for instance. After a quick posterize in Photoshop I ended up with a nice 4 color map. Select the colors one like to be city roads. Discard the rest, perhaps paint some funky patterns and then blur it slightly. Convert it into a black white "alpha" map. Do a cloud + some inverted cloud renders on a new layer. Blend the new layer into alpha for variation/noise. There, now you have a white, noisy city map that you can slap into the self-illumination slot of your shader later on.

Quick-n-dirty... should not take long time and experiments to get something nice looking.

Cheers
//Dr. Asz

**Tinukedaya** · 02-06-2007, 10:54 PM

That really sounds like fast way to do that. Will check it once I'm finished with my current thing and when I return to the planet cretion tests.

**aszazeroth** · 02-21-2007, 11:37 AM

Another quickie, and I tried to green-ify my tutorial map some in order to cheat me a nice and lush planet. Screen-capping some of the bump map generation stuff, so I will get back to the tutorial and finish of the land/ocean map creation with some words about specular and such... then we go skyhigh and to the clouds.

Cheers
//Dr. Asz

Ozylot · 02-21-2007, 10:31 PM

Now thats cool!

**Tinukedaya** · 02-22-2007, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ozylot

Now thats cool!

Uhm... What he said..

**aszazeroth** · 02-22-2007, 11:44 AM

Alright... back to the bump map. In order to create a aussie (south coast) like shore effect I dropped a inner glow on the alpha channel selection. Quick notes are that I changed the default warm yellow to white, the "technique" to precise and I choose a different "contour". None really fitted the shore-slope so I made my own with the curve-editor.

Figure #something. The layer options dialog... learn how to use the force.

Figure #something+1. There are a few contours and you can make your own.

Right... now we have a default coastal slope. Time to paint some more bumps. The quick and dirty route... Grey scale your nice color map. Try trace edges on a duplicated layer, slap a nice blend on it (overlay maybe), then grab yer tablet pen and start tweaking around. I use soft brushes to start and then some brushes with fibers to the end. Apply with low pressure <= 10% and rather build up detail, than try to rely on a brush-patter "cloning" if you are not a master of such. If you paint outside... do not fear.. you can always clip that away with the ever so useful alpha channel.

Figure #something+2. Example of bumped island. Note that most of it are in the same-ish grey tones, as I wanted no real mountains and more of a flat landscape, sort of like Helgoland island for this corroded planet.

Alrighty folks... start bumping away. I think after this tutorial I'll show how I cheated and altered this planet to a lush green world, added mountains and rivers/lakes. But n ext on the meny are them .... daemons ... not quite... but clouds !

Cheers

//Dr Asz

**aszazeroth** · 02-25-2007, 04:44 PM

How's this for a tutorial PDF template ?!

**Martocticvs** · 03-27-2007, 08:56 PM

I think it works pretty well. Are you planning on continuing this? This was definitely one I was watching quite closely.

**aszazeroth** · 04-26-2007, 07:48 PM

Dammit... I should have posted something here some while ago... Well ladies and gentlemen. For the next part, go here Real Time Cloud Map and grab yourself a bunch of cloud maps. If that source is not enough try get some water vapor (usually in IR and no color information = good for later). There are a few NASA satellites (if my buddies have not got re-assigned to moon base yet) and some French and ESA ones, Meteosat comes to my mind. Watch out for artificially induced coastal / continental white borders. The geophysics guys tend to like those borders. They can of course be removed with the price of time and effort and preferably a tablet with a a pentagram in-graved and a lamb sacrificed.

After this we will paint some clouds using them maps as templates and clone-bases. In larger projects I start with painting a cloud-alpha to have for cutting away things just like the surface color alpha. It's neat and handy but not a must.

Now I will paint my map and I shall post it and some progress pictures as soon as possible =)

Keep up the good works folks

Dr. Asz, over and out

02-06-2007, 10:47 PM	#72 (permalink)
aszazeroth Resident Ph.D Flaunter Realname: Stefan Join Date: May 2006 Location: Höör (Scania), Sweden Age: 33 Posts: 1,232	Alright... uploaded a more final version in the 3D gallery. Anyways. Here is a run down how I did the city map. First I went online and grabbed me a "real" street map from a driving-direction map site. One can use maps.google.com for instance. After a quick posterize in Photoshop I ended up with a nice 4 color map. Select the colors one like to be city roads. Discard the rest, perhaps paint some funky patterns and then blur it slightly. Convert it into a black white "alpha" map. Do a cloud + some inverted cloud renders on a new layer. Blend the new layer into alpha for variation/noise. There, now you have a white, noisy city map that you can slap into the self-illumination slot of your shader later on. Quick-n-dirty... should not take long time and experiments to get something nice looking. Cheers //Dr. Asz
	________________________________ "The impossible only takes longer time" [DrD] [WBD] Last edited by aszazeroth; 02-07-2007 at 05:44 AM. Reason: spelling and such

02-06-2007, 10:54 PM	#73 (permalink)
Tinukedaya The Dwarf Total Awards: 2 (more» ...) Realname: Karel Join Date: May 2006 Location: Czech Rep. Age: 30 Posts: 690	That really sounds like fast way to do that. Will check it once I'm finished with my current thing and when I return to the planet cretion tests.
	"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic" - Arthur C. Clarke Corollary - "Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced." - Prof. Barry Gehm current WIP: SFS War Hammer <- Stdby due to Viky

02-21-2007, 10:31 PM	#75 (permalink)
Ozylot SFM Oracle Total Awards: 2 (more» ...) Realname: Carl Join Date: May 2006 Location: Ont,Canada Age: 26 Posts: 5,795	Now thats cool!
	- Ozy - A proud supporter of *3DScifi.com* and *SciFiers Anonymous* Current WIP: My site (Notepad :D ) Old Stuff: Gallery pics and wips...(Wings3D, Kerkythea & Bryce)

02-22-2007, 11:44 AM	#77 (permalink)
aszazeroth Resident Ph.D Flaunter Realname: Stefan Join Date: May 2006 Location: Höör (Scania), Sweden Age: 33 Posts: 1,232	Alright... back to the bump map. In order to create a aussie (south coast) like shore effect I dropped a inner glow on the alpha channel selection. Quick notes are that I changed the default warm yellow to white, the "technique" to precise and I choose a different "contour". None really fitted the shore-slope so I made my own with the curve-editor. Figure #something. The layer options dialog... learn how to use the force. Figure #something+1. There are a few contours and you can make your own. Right... now we have a default coastal slope. Time to paint some more bumps. The quick and dirty route... Grey scale your nice color map. Try trace edges on a duplicated layer, slap a nice blend on it (overlay maybe), then grab yer tablet pen and start tweaking around. I use soft brushes to start and then some brushes with fibers to the end. Apply with low pressure <= 10% and rather build up detail, than try to rely on a brush-patter "cloning" if you are not a master of such. If you paint outside... do not fear.. you can always clip that away with the ever so useful alpha channel. Figure #something+2. Example of bumped island. Note that most of it are in the same-ish grey tones, as I wanted no real mountains and more of a flat landscape, sort of like Helgoland island for this corroded planet. Alrighty folks... start bumping away. I think after this tutorial I'll show how I cheated and altered this planet to a lush green world, added mountains and rivers/lakes. But n ext on the meny are them .... daemons ... not quite... but clouds ! Cheers //Dr Asz
	________________________________ "The impossible only takes longer time" [DrD] [WBD] Last edited by aszazeroth; 02-22-2007 at 11:44 AM. Reason: spelling

03-27-2007, 08:56 PM	#79 (permalink)
Martocticvs Moderator With Rocks In Join Date: May 2006 Location: Southampton Age: 25 Posts: 1,286	I think it works pretty well. Are you planning on continuing this? This was definitely one I was watching quite closely.
	Military-Meshes Admin \| prdobson.com Current Project: Cheyenne-class Starship \| (Klingon Bird of Prey - on hold) \| (Deep Space Nine - on hold) DIMIDIVM·FACTI·QVI·COEPIT·HABET

04-26-2007, 07:48 PM	#80 (permalink)
aszazeroth Resident Ph.D Flaunter Realname: Stefan Join Date: May 2006 Location: Höör (Scania), Sweden Age: 33 Posts: 1,232	Dammit... I should have posted something here some while ago... Well ladies and gentlemen. For the next part, go here Real Time Cloud Map and grab yourself a bunch of cloud maps. If that source is not enough try get some water vapor (usually in IR and no color information = good for later). There are a few NASA satellites (if my buddies have not got re-assigned to moon base yet) and some French and ESA ones, Meteosat comes to my mind. Watch out for artificially induced coastal / continental white borders. The geophysics guys tend to like those borders. They can of course be removed with the price of time and effort and preferably a tablet with a a pentagram in-graved and a lamb sacrificed. After this we will paint some clouds using them maps as templates and clone-bases. In larger projects I start with painting a cloud-alpha to have for cutting away things just like the surface color alpha. It's neat and handy but not a must. Now I will paint my map and I shall post it and some progress pictures as soon as possible =) Keep up the good works folks Dr. Asz, over and out
	________________________________ "The impossible only takes longer time" [DrD] [WBD]

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