Creating Landscapes in Bryce

This document outlines the steps you'll need to complete Assignment 4.

Part I: Groundwork

1.1: Launch Bryce 4 and begin a new file. Click on the ground plane (the perspectival grid immediately in front of the camera). When its tool stack appears, select M for Materials. Click on the triangle to the immediate right of the nano-view window in the Materials Lab to bring up the Materials selector. Choose the Planes and Terrains material group and make a selection. When you click the check button to return to your scene, the ground should be filled with the material you selected.

1.2: Select the A for Attributes tool from the tool stack adjacent to the ground plane (which should still be selected). In the Boolean or space value options -- the radio buttons that we reset last week to create positive and negative spaces -- select Locked. Click the check button, then click at some point in the current view that lies outside the ground plane. You have just locked the ground plane, meaning that it will not be selected if you drag over it in later operations.

1.3: Hold down the Ctrl key, or the Apple key if you are using a Macintosh, and click the - (minus) key four or five times. [Note: this is the minus key on the alphabetic keyboard, two keys to the left of Backspace -- NOT the minus key on your numeric keypad, if you have one.]

This operation zooms the current view. Zooming out allows you to work more conveniently with large objects. You may of course work with objects of any size at any resolution, but for this assignment a very large work space is preferable.

Part II: Beachfront property

2.1: Select a mountain (technically known as a Terrain object) from the object shelf. You should see a sort of scale-model mountain floating above your ground plane.

2.2: Switch to top view. (Find the first gray triangle to the left of your Working Area and click on it to display the View options; select From Top from this menu.) In the top view, click on the camera and drag it to the upper lefthand corner of the Working Area.

2.3: Click on your Terrain object (or mountain), which should appear in top view as a densely cross-hatched grid. Drag the resize point on the upper righthand corner of this object diagonally toward the upper righthand corner of the Working Area. When you release the resize point, most or all of the terrain grid will seem to have disappeared, though the enlarged borders of the object will still be visible. Here's what's happening: as you resize the object all three of its dimensions change, meaning it gets taller as well as broader. Most of this increased vertical depth extends below the surface of your world (!). For the moment, just drag the resized terrain/mountain back down so its center coincides with the center of your Working Area.

2.4: Switch back to Camera View. A little bit of your mountain may be visible above the ground plane (but don't worry if it's not). Move your cursor up to the Edit mode selector above the object shelf. Even though it's grayed out at present, click on it. This puts you into Edit mode. Move to the Repositioning tool, which is the fourth tool from the left and looks like a cube with six arrows sticking out of it. Click on the uppermost of these arrows: the one that seems to be pointing straight up. A very small black box should appear with the letter Y inside it. Now drag the mouse away from you. You should see your mountain object rise out of the ground plane. Drag until the rectangular outline of the mountain lies just below the ground plane. (You may use multiple dragging operations; dragging toward you lowers the object.)

2.5: Your mountain/terrain object should still be selected, with its tool stack showing to the right. Click on the E button in the tool stack to bring up the Elevation interface.

2.7: Below the Size control are two more circular indicators, Hard and Flow. Below them is a fourth indicator labeled Level. It looks like an elongated, tapering triangle ruled off into several stripes or strata. These strata correspond to levels of elevation. The current level is indicated by a small red dot. Drag that red dot down (this may take some delicacy, owing to its size) until it is just below the tip of the inverted triangle.

2.8: Move your cursor into the display space that shows your terrain elevation (the sort of cloudy image in the upper lefthand corner of the Elevation interface). Drag over the brightest parts of the image. Release the mouse. The brighter grays are replaced by very dark gray and the 3-D model of your terrain in the lower left portion of the interface should show a marked reduction in height. Select Undo if you're not happy with your work and try again. Flatten down the mountainous terrain as much as possible until it is a fairly uniform low plateau -- something that will make a pretty good beach. This is a good time to save your work.

Part III: Making a mountain out of a mouseclick

3.1: Go back into Create mode and repeat Steps 2.1 through 2.4 to set up and position a second terrain object. Set its size and position so that it fits within and rises out of the previous terrain (the beach). Assign the second mountain a material that is noticeably different from the material of the beach.

3.2: If you like, adjust the contours of the mountain with the Elevation interface. Can you create rolling hills? A volcanic crater? Terraces and plateaus? Whatever you choose, make sure it rises a fair bit above the beach. Save your work again.

Part IV: The waters around you

4.1: Go once more into Create mode and select the Water Plane object, which is a blue square with a whirlpool pattern, the leftmost item on the object shelf. Your ground plane will disappear, covered by water of some description. By dragging the Water Plane down toward the (locked) ground plane, you can change the depth of the water in your land (or sea) scape. Set the Water Plane so that a useful amount of beach is showing.

4.2: Experiment with different materials for your Water Plane. Note that you can change the transparency, reflectivity, refractivity, etc. of water materials from within the Materials Lab. Small changes can produce striking effects.