This tutorial will show you how to make a cool abstract 3D image in Bryce. I haven't seen this tutorial on any personal sites, so please remember to link back especially on this one!
I need to give you a helpful tip first though. Bryce takes up the whole screen, and you won't be able to see your taskbar or the top bar with the X, minimizer, etc. However, there is a way to make it show up. If you ever need to minimize or close Bryce, put your mouse at the very top of the screen. Do not click on anything though! The top bar will then show up after a few seconds and you'll be able to minimize, x the program out, or use the File, Edit, and other drop down options.
The first thing you need to do is edit the Sky lab. To do this, click "Sky and Fog" at the top. Then click the little arrow next to the big circle. (click here)
Now you need to get rid of the sun. Everywhere you see an orange dot, click on it and it will go away. Make the picture at the right turn completely black with just a dot in the middle. Do this for "Sun and Moon", "Cloud Cover", and "Atmosphere". (click here)
Go back to "Create". Click on a shape, stretch it, and add material. You can rotate the shapes in the "Edit" menu, next to "Create". (click here)
You can add a few more shapes to add to the 3dness. Remember to add material to all of them! I rotated the view a little and added 3 more shapes to mine. You can rotate your view using the giant ball on the left with arrows on it. (click here)
Now you need to add light. Click on the little yellow ball at the top and place a few of those around. Rotate your view and make sure you've got all the good spots covered with lights. Don't put too many though or it will come out white.
Now, zoom in and find a good spot. You'll need to rotate it a lot to find a good position. There's a little preview in the top left hand corner to show you what it will look like rendered. Pay attention to the preview! Once you find a good spot, it's time to render. Click on the big ball in the center under the rotation ball.
Mine came out aweful for this tutorial, but here it is:
Bryce creations do not all come out anywhere near identical. There's so many different rotations and materials you can use, it's hard to immitate an abstract 3D blog identically. I hope yours came out better than mine! Here is an older render which I think is much better. Keep in mind it's shrunk to fit this layout.
That reminds me... there are different sizes you can use when you want to render. It's normally set at around 600x400 I think, but you can go to File > Document Setup to change that. Have fun!
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