I love the way your background grows hazy, that's a hard effect to achieve. :=

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If you mistake a way, then I spot to mean it that do.

Thanks, mate! I was looking for a way to make some cool backgrounds for the SG stuff when I came across this Terragen software. Have you ever tried it before? It´s not bad at all, very flexible in it´s capabilities - and it´s free, too!
Every aspect of the pic can be tweeked, and I need more experience to make full use of it.
The geography is actually the real Grand Canyon, the surface map is made from a real satellite view. I just added the river and gave it more interesting rock textures.
There are limitations however; the biggest is that close by things don´t look as convincing as distant ones. It´s not too bad for a desert view or so, but at some point it starts looking artificial. But I only scratched the surface of the functions, so lets see...

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Visit me at BOINC Synergy Team: [link]
or in the music community of Last.fm: [link]
or the Euro bill tracking community: [link]

I have barely tried it some time ago, yes. But I find my existing software, which I already know, to be more flexible. And I'm trying already to learn another new software, Vue, which has some really excellent terrain generating abilities. But I've seen some impressive results with Terragen right here on dA, so keep at it.

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If you mistake a way, then I spot to mean it that do.

Is that Vue also free? If I start learning I may as well start with the better program...

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Visit me at BOINC Synergy Team: [link]
or in the music community of Last.fm: [link]
or the Euro bill tracking community: [link]

Originally, it's not free, no, but they have a version they call "a personal learning edition" that is free, but a little bit limited. But it's still worth having a look, and there are lots of resources online for learning how to use it. (I have another version, of course... )

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If you mistake a way, then I spot to mean it that do.

I had a look at Vue, but it seems even more cryptic. And worse - it´s a 30 day trial job.
I also tried this and that with Terragen. In my scraps is a pic that I quickly glued together, also showing the desert outfit I now got.
I know, the shadow is poor. But the bigger problem is that near surfaces just dont look good with Terragen. Distant landscape and the sky look great, though. But to insert myself or anything else, I need some "near" ground...

--
Visit me at BOINC Synergy Team: [link]
or in the music community of Last.fm: [link]
or the Euro bill tracking community: [link]

Crap, didn't know about the 30 day limit. Sorry. There are others ways of getting hold of it, of course... It does look a bit complicated, but it has a lot more possibilities compared to Terragen. For instance, it creates more real-looking foregrounds. Try typing "vue" into the dA search bar, and you'll see what I mean.

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If you mistake a way, then I spot to mean it that do.

Well, Vue is aimed more for professional use, which makes it more powerful but also more complicated. It seem to put more bias on object design than Terragen does.
Yes, I have seen examples from Vue, as well as from Terragen, and I don´t find so much difference in quality. The real crackers are using components from various origin, not pure Terragen or Vue pics.
However, both are good to create cool backgrounds - especially with a "alien planet" look to it.

--
Visit me at BOINC Synergy Team: [link]
or in the music community of Last.fm: [link]
or the Euro bill tracking community: [link]

I think, from what I've seen, that Vue has more resources available for learning, but it is also, as you have noticed, more complicated. But I believe it is worth the effort. In the end, it's how it ends up looking, and not what tools you use. And there is Bryce, too, which is the program I've using up to now.

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If you mistake a way, then I spot to mean it that do.