TBW: Terragen™ Blog Wednesday

What is Terragen™ Blog Wednesday? Last week, TheWriteJerry clued me in to free three-dimensional terrain generating software known as Terragen™(presumably short for “terrain generation”). I've worked with illustrators who've used similar software but I've never actually dabbled myself. There are a lot of variables to consider when creating a scene. How high is the sun? Where is your camera positioned? Where is your target? What level is the water at? How thick are the clouds? And most importantly, what shape is the terrain?

Such programs work using a two-dimensional image map in which shades of gray indicate the height and texture of the ground. The flat map is then translated and interpreted. I've found that you can even import images with varying degrees of success. Taking a butterfly from my last Photo Blog Wednesday, I embossed it and converted it to a simplified grayscale image, like so:



After positioning my camera, adjusting sunlight and water height, this was the three-dimensional interpretation of the above map:



Cool, yes? You can click the above image for a larger version. Of course, looking through Terragen™’s sample gallery is humbling and makes me realize I have a lot to learn about this program before I can take the images to the next level. With practice though, I think I'll have some great visuals to share. In the meantime, enjoy some of the other scenes I created today. Clicking on most of these will bring you to a slightly larger version: