|
Jimco Software Reviews - Bryce 5.5 (continued)
Materials
Bryce's materials are a mixed bag for me. I find that many of them look surreal and unnatural. Fortunately, DAZ has provided the ability to edit materials (see figure 5) or replace them with your own. However, doing so is not for the weary. The interface is a bit complex (as are many material editors) and you'll likely need a third-party book to get the most out of this feature.
Figure 5 - The Materials Lab
Applying materials (see figure 6) to an object is quite easy. Object types are selectable via the drop down in the lower left corner. Selecting a material applies it to the selected object. You can also import your own materials or create your own.
Figure 6 - Materials
With a bit of experimentation, you can create pretty realistic materials in Bryce as shown in figure 7. Bryce 5.5 adds support for real time rendering of texture maps using OpenGL. That means that you can get a much better idea of what your scene looks like while you're actually building it. This is a great enhancement and one that Bryce users will welcome with open arms.
Figure 7 - A sample image showing a realistic texture.
|