TITLE: Bald Mountain
NAME: Michael Hunter
COUNTRY: USA
EMAIL: intertek@one.net
WEBPAGE: http://www.interactivetechnologies.net
TOPIC: Music
COPYRIGHT: I SUBMIT TO THE STANDARD RAYTRACING COMPETITION COPYRIGHT.
JPGFILE: b_mountn.jpg
RENDERER USED: 
    3D Studio Max Version 8

TOOLS USED: 
    3D Studio Max, PhotoShop (for texture maps)

RENDER TIME: 
    3 Hours 49 Minutes

HARDWARE USED: 
    Pentium 4 1.8 GHz 768 MB RAM



IMAGE DESCRIPTION: 

This image was inspired by Night on Bald Mountain (by Mussorgsky). I just let
myself daydream while listening to the music. This is pretty much what I saw in
my mind_s eye.



DESCRIPTION OF HOW THIS IMAGE WAS CREATED: 

The modeling was mostly done via a process called _box modeling_. In this
process you can easily extend and refine a mesh by shift-dragging an edge.
Sometimes I Chamfered edges to increase resolution where I needed it at other
times I welded vertices together to lighten up the rendering job.  In the case
of the orb I started with a geo-sphere and extruded selected faces then
repeated the process on a clear geo-sphere with the extruded faces pointing
inward so that the two spheres could touch at key points.

There are three photometric targeted point lights. Two are located to the
extreme right and left of the mountain and are blue and purple, respectively.
The third targeted point light is set to _spot light_ distribution, pale yellow
orange, and is focused on the orb. There is one other light, I forgot to
mention... it_s down inside the crater and is bright yellow.

The textures are multi-layered procedural maps. The mountain actually has two
such maps, a dark, rough map at the bottom and a brighter bone like texture at
the top. These two textures are blended using a 2D (procedural) Gradient Ramp.

I used the default scanline renderer this time rather than Mental Ray because I
thought I would be using some of SimbiontMAX (by DarkTree) textures. Those
textures, excellent as they are, are not compatible with Mental Ray. In the end
I didn_t use it but didn_t see a need to use Mental Ray either (for this
image).


RANT:
It is a challenge to be spontaneous with ANY 3D tool. The software is designed
for technicians who will enact the designs of an artist rather than for an
artist who wants direct involvement with the tool. 3D Studio Max is the best
I_ve found so far for this but still it seems infinitely bulky and heavy
compared to a paintbrush. Maybe I will find a better method of having complete
control over every parameter while not being weighted down by the
responsibility of having complete control over every parameter. You know...
it_s odd that the same image could be made with paint without ever thinking
about a number or a setting or typing something. Most of the act of making a 3D
image is far removed from the activity of making a drawing or a painting. You
can say you have a better tool but honestly if you went back say 100 years ago
and showed a painter what you use to make your pictures they_d think you were
nuts. Regardless of the end result the act of pushing all these buttons is so
abstract it doesn_t seem possible to have any outcome at all other than a
headache. I don_t mean to complain. I think I like to make 3D art (I_ve
certainly have dedicated enough time and money to the endeavor). But this point
I raise seems odd to me.


LINKS:
Sample of the Msic: http://www.musicstore.jp/~tohru/mp3/baldmountain.hi-fi.mp3
About Mussorgsky: http://w3.rz-berlin.mpg.de/cmp/mussorgsky.html

