Bryce: A Winter / Snowman Scene

Today I would like you to create a scene in Bryce set in Winter and featuring a snowman and/or a snow globe.

• Change the texture of the Plane (it starts out as a flat gray)
• Adjust the sky / change the texture
• Add some objects (trees, rocks, snow, or whatever)

When finished, make sure to:

1. Save your document (FILE > SAVE AS > whatever.BR7)
2. FULLY render your scene
3. Save your image (FILE > SAVE IMAGE AS > whatever.JPG)
4. Upload your project to your portfolio.

Be creative and have fun!

Bryce: Rounded Shapes: Bowls, Plates, etc.

We have a substitute teacher today, but I am still on campus.  I expect students to treat my substitute with respect and courtesy.

Today we will use the Terrain tool and a large, soft brush to create a rounded shape (i.e. a bowl).  Similarly you can use the "round edges" button to round existing Terrain shapes.

As with many of our projects in Bryce, we will be using a Terrain to build a shape:

• Create a new Terrain object.
• Click the E to Edit the Terrain.
• Click the New button (or drop the elevation to black and paint over the whole Terrain).
• Move the elevation all the way up (white).
• Choose a soft-edged brush -- the largest available -- and center your brush on the screen (See Figure 1).
• Click a few times.  You will notice a rounded shape in your preview window (See Figure 2).
• Open the Brush Behavior window (Figure 3 #1)
• Drag the bottom elevation slider (Figure 3 #2) up slightly [until the background turns red].
• Click the Check Mark to accept changes to your new "rounded terrain"
• Use your EDIT tools to rotate, resize, and reposition your new object.
• Add a texture and use the object in a scene.

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Bryce: City Scene

Today and tomorrow we are going to be using both PhotoShop and Bryce.  We will create a grayscale image in PhotoShop (size 512 x 512 pixels) with several shapes (mostly rectangles) which we will use to apply to our mountain (terrain editor).  This will effectively allow us to create a city in Bryce using a single mountain.

An example of the grayscale image is seen on the left.  The brightest (white) colors will be the tallest points and the darkest (black) colors will be the lowest points.  Obviously the different shades of gray will be mid-size buildings.

I am also including a video tutorial below if you should want to watch this tutorial again. [Or if your family or friends would like to create something like this.]

Here are three very different examples of texture "bump maps" to create city scenes:

This is a beautiful example of what you can do with this -- although there was significant editing after the initial creation.

You can use this technique in creating individual buildings as well.  The rounded building on the above-right image is an example of that.  Here are a few examples of "bump maps" that you can use for interesting buildings.

Bryce: River Valley

Today we will use the Terrain Editor to build a river valley / canyon.  It will be similar in setup to the Island project from yesterday -- you will have a "mountain" (terrain), water, and a good sky texture. 

We will level out our terrain, apply spikes & mounds, and user a smaller brush with lower elevation levels to "cut in" a river valley.  Then we will add some "eroding" to make the scene more natural, followed by a little "noise" to make things less flat.

Remember to start out with FILE > NEW DOCUMENT > STANDARD > 800x600 (or 1024x768).

Bryce: Lake / Pond Scene

Today we will use the Bryce Terrain editor to create a lake scene:

• Insert a Terrain
• Paint the entire Terrain with a dark gray (very low elevation)
• Use the soft-edged, smaller brush on the lowest (black) elevation to paint a lake shape
• Exit the Terrain editor (check mark) to view your new Terrain
• Click EDIT and drag the Y Axis (Resize) down to flatten your terrain
• Add a Water Plain and use the  Y Axis (Reposition) to move the water to the appropriate level (so that it shows inside your lake cut-out but doesn't cover the entire Terrain
• Add finishing touches (additional Terrains for background, adjust textures, change your sky, etc.)

When finished:

• Save As (as a .BR7 file) to your Thawspace
• Render your picture
• When finished Rendering, "Save Image As" and  select JPEG
• Upload your JPEG to your portfolio blog

Bryce: Island Scene

Today we will be using Bryce to create a basic island.  You will need to include some of the basics here including the flat plane, the "mountain" terrain, and water.  We will also be editing the "mountain", changing textures, and adjusting the sky/environment.  I will give some specific direction for this project in class. 

What I would like from you is the following:

• Change the texture of the first Plane
• Add a "Mountain" (Terrain)
• Adjust it so it sinks slightly below the Plane
• Edit the Terrain (click the "E")
• Adjust the shape of the mountain
• Add some Erosion
• Change the texture of the Terrain
• Add a Water Plane
• Edit the texture of the Water
• Change the Sky
• Be creative and adjust fog, haze, colors, etc.

Also, if you would like to view a "video tutorial", I am including one below [if you can view the video inside the schools firewall].