I made another Kuiper Belt object! I think it is best seen in this animation I made:
Continue reading “Another displacement mapped Kuiper Belt Object”
Author: admin
More Amberlight 2 experiments
I’m getting a much stronger sense of control now wiuth Amberlight. And thanks to some prompt support, now know how to zoom the elements in and out, as opposed to the images.
I must admit, I ‘m still struggling to get my head around the animation system though, and have yet to produce one successfully
Amberlight is very good at filaments of energy style effects. Continue reading “More Amberlight 2 experiments”
Amberlight 2 experiments
I just bought myself Amberlight 2, a particle based image generator, which makes fractal like images.
I’ve only had it a few hours, but it is very easy to use, and I am already producing cool images, and feeling in control. UHTV resolution renders in about a minute, nice and fast.
It’s $60, and if you want to find out more, here’s a link to the software home. http://www.escapemotions.com/products/amberlight/
Here are some of my very early efforts!
As usual, click on a small picture for a larger image.
This one, unusually has some blocked out type areas.
This is one of my favourites so far, very spacy!
Postcards of early cosmonauts
Another Christmas present, some postcards featuring photographs of early cosmonauts, scanned for your pleasure!
Soviet era space pins
A wonderful Christmas present from my wife! A set of matching style Soviet pins from various missions in the early days of the space program!
Cosmic Postage Stamps – 1
I was recently given some postage stamps, mainly covering the achievements of the Soviet Union during the early days of the Space Age.
It occurred to me that they might be of interest to those who read this blog. After all, there can’t me much astronomical art that is more widely seen. And probably no other space art that people get to lick…
Early Soviet satellites, on a 1 ruble stamp. Continue reading “Cosmic Postage Stamps – 1”
Bono’s Hyperion, finished renders
Some finished renders of the Hyperion, Phil Bono’s SSTO design.
This view has some perspective, and I have added a figure for scale. Continue reading “Bono’s Hyperion, finished renders”
Making a dwarf planet – Tutorial
I wanted to make a dwarf planet, using elevation maps from the Moon, (and maybe Mars?) for realistic craters. I thought it may be helpful to save out the steps, so that others can follow along. Tutorial time!
You will need:
- The 3D program of your choice, it should support displacement maps.
- A high res source elevation map, these are available online.
- An image editor that can edit 16 bit grey scale images.
Getting started
I started with a slice of elevation map from the rear of the moon, (less recognisable), in the proportions of 2:1
This will have seams at the left and right edges. To fix this we need to first use an offset filter, with wrap, to move the whole thing 50% to the right. Continue reading “Making a dwarf planet – Tutorial”
Next project – Phil Bono’s Hyperion
Next up, another classic design from the fertile mind of Phil Bono, the Hyperion.
This is a large single stage to orbit (SSTO) design, which can launch via a rocket sled, (should there be a convenient nearby 1 mile high mountain, anyway).
NASA PRANDTL Flying Wing – finished renders
Some finished renders of the flying wing design. See previous posts for the work in progress, and sample reference images.
The sky was the most difficult part here. I was compositing onto panoramic photos, and had to make my own sky. I really liked the dark greyish green, but it’s not very realistic.
Continue reading “NASA PRANDTL Flying Wing – finished renders”