How do I use POV-Ray

[Gogf]

I don't really like modeling programs, and seeing what vbraun (a newbie to POV-Ray) could make fairly quickly, I decided I might as well as, does anyone know a good way to explain how to make a unit, starting from scratch. Anyone who knows is fine, as long as it works. Assume I know nothing, except how to open a file, and how to create a new file. I also don't know how to animate them, or make them into civ3 unit FLCs. I also don't know the proper camera angels (but those I should be able to get by looking at the files in one of Aaglo's units). Thank you so much to anyone who helps!

EDIT: I guess it might be helpful if I told you what I wanted to make. I am going to try (if it's not impossibly hard) to make one of those steam powered paddle wheel ships. Thanks for any help!

 

[aaglo]

I think of modelling as the ancient sculptors.

Take a bic chunck of something - like a box.
Then just remove all the unwanted parts from the box.

Do all the tutorials (behind the pov-win? -button )

 

[Gogf]

Thank you so much Aaglo ! My cities have erupted into we love the Aaglo day again!

 

[Risbinroch]

I have a couple of questions myself. Is all the tutorials just as importan? Is there any of them not necessary to make a civ-unit?

I haven't even looked at the lightning and the camera yet, as I will try to master the modelling first.

But is there any way to "alter" the box properties, as I wan't it to have two points in one end, and the normal four in the other... Is mesh a good way to do this?

My first unit, if I ever will be able to make it, will be an italian fighter, the Fiat CR 32. Just because I have some pictures of it really.

 

[Risbinroch]

Here is the plane:

So what I really wonder is, do I have do use mesh to make the hull? Or can I alter the box to make the hull?

And also I think I will have to divide the hull into more shapes, perhaps a cylinder og cone to make the top of the hull and a box to make up the lower parts....

Am I way off here?

 

[aaglo]

If you are going to do something like an aeroplane hull, I'd suggest you don't do it from a box

Now, think about the hull shape. what is the first shape that comes to your mind?
I get see with my mind's eye a 'very long sphere'
like:
sphere {<0,0,0>,10 scale <5,1,1>}

But sphere doesn't describe the hull very well. I would propably make the hull from cylinders and spheres - not from boxes.

And not from meshes either. Mesh is quite hard to do manually - I've tried. I modelled the shell of sdkfz 251 and wurfrahmen 40 manually from meshes (that was too complicated to do from boxes and such). It was quite a job

BTW, here are the files for gloster gladiator (a biplane). Check out those how I did the hull of that biplane (there are some similarities with the one you're working with).

 

[Gogf]

Okay I made a sphere (not exactly like the tutorial):

 

[The Slayer]

Continue in the tutorial and do the chain or the golded cup, it's amazing!

 

[Gogf]

I need help (sorry)!

What is wrong with this:

" #include "colors.inc"
background { color Magenta }
camera {
location <0, 2, -3>
look_at <0, 1, 2>
}
box {
<-1, 0, -1>, // Near lower left corner
< 1, 0.5, 3> // Far upper right corner
texture {
T_Stone25 // Pre-defined from stones.inc
scale 4 // Scale by the same amount in all
// directions
}
rotate y*20 // Equivalent to "rotate <0,20,0>"
}
light_source { <2, 4, -3> color White}"

It wont accept the " T_Stone25 // Pre-defined from stones.inc" line, but it's strait from teh tutorial. Please help. Thanks (without it, it looks really odd).

EDIT: Uhg, I'm an idiot. I forgot to include Stones.inc. Ignore this psot.

 

[Gogf]

Originally posted by The Slayer
Continue in the tutorial and do the chain or the golded cup, it's amazing!

What is it under? Polygon based shapes? Thanks Slayer.

 

[the mormegil]

Where can I get a POV-ray type program, are there any decent free ones?

 

[Risbinroch]

you must have #include "stones.inc" aswell, not just "colors.inc"

edit: well, I guess you saw it yourself then...

 

[Risbinroch]

the mormegil: pov-ray is free...

www.povray.org

 

[the mormegil]

Thanks a lot

 

[Gogf]

ARGH! I tried using the Camera angles Aaglo used on the Golden Hind ("camera {orthographic location <0,66,-124>*5.8 up <0,1,0> right <1,0,0> //<0,66,-124>*5.8
angle 42 //47
look_at <0,4,0>*5.8 //<0,4,0>*5.8
}" and it is extremely zoomed out. I tried changing everything, and it wont zoom in. How do I either zoom in, or make the box bigger?

Complete code:

#include "colors.inc"
#include "stones.inc"
background { color Magenta }
camera {orthographic location <0,66,-124>*5.8 up <0,1,0> right <1,0,0> //<0,66,-124>*5.8
angle 42 //47
look_at <0,4,0>*5.8 //<0,4,0>*5.8
}
box {
<-1, 1, -1>, // Near lower left corner
< 1, 0.5, 3> // Far upper right corner
texture {
T_Stone25 // Pre-defined from stones.inc
scale 5 // Scale by the same amount in all
// directions
}
rotate y*1 // Equivalent to "rotate <0,20,0>"
}
light_source { <2, 4, -3> color White}

Thanks again guys!

 

[aaglo]

I'd say that the most essential thing in modelling (using spheres, boxes, cones, cylinders, blobs and toruses) is to learn to use the union, intersection and difference cgs-operations.
When you master them (and you have lot's of imagination and a solid grip on 3d-thinking), I think you can do a great variety of units.

 

[Gogf]

Okay, I'll go over them in the help tutorial before anything else. Thanks. Should I just deal with camera angles later?

 

[aaglo]

@gogf

As you may have noticed, all the text after // is green. It's not used by pov-ray in any way

As for the camera.
the camera location ( <0,66,-124>*5.8 ) is the key to it all.
the 5.8 is only a multiplier - it multiplies the distance vector - so actually the camera place is <0,382.8,719.2> .
just change the multiplier to 1, and your camera is much closer to the thing you are looking at.

Another thing. Learn the coordinates. My camera setting is looking straight along the z-axis (in camera location x is 0, y is up and z is backwards - so the camera floats above x-axis).

 

[Gogf]

Yes, I understand that the text after // if ignored, because in the Woodbox example, it says things like "//Outside of box:"

Oh, okay. I'm going to read the camera section in the tutorial. Thanks Aaglo .

 

[Kenric af Grashen]

7.9MB away from getting Povray