EMAIL: glenn@mccarters.net
NAME: Glenn McCarter
TOPIC: Future
COPYRIGHT: I submit to the standard raytracing competition copyright.
TITLE: Cleared For Takeoff
COUNTRY: USA
WEBPAGE: http://www.geocities.com/gmccarter
RENDERER USED: POV-Ray v3.5
TOOLS USED:
  Rhino 3.0 (Speeder model)
  POV-Ray editor (all other scene modeling)
  Poser (people)
  Paint Shop Pro (texture maps, convert image to JPEG)

RENDER TIME: 37 mins (main image); 1 min (overlay graphics)
HARDWARE USED: Athlon XP2100+ overclocked to 1900 Mhz

IMAGE DESCRIPTION:
It is a time of transition.  Ground-based vehicles continue to lumber across the landscape, but a new type of freedom has arrived for many travelers.  Late 20th century mag-lev technology has given way to true anti-grav, spawning a new class of personal transportation.  Even buildings are being retrofitted to take advantage of the new paradigm.  In the quest for ever-higher performance, new superconducter advancements are allowing unheard-of acceleration and altitudes.  Don't you want a genuine Yamitsu speeder today?

DESCRIPTION OF HOW THIS IMAGE WAS CREATED:
The core idea for this image actually started ten years ago, when I sketched some themes for the "speeder".  I tried to achieve a fast cool look by blending familiar design elements from certain objects: F16 fighter jet, sportbike, F1 racecar, the Concorde, and even a horse.

The sketches sat unnoticed for a decade, until "Future" came around on IRTC.  I decided to learn Rhinocerous and recreate my model in 3D.  Rhino is a powerful NURBS modeler.  I like its very fluid workflow and its variety of ways to create surfaces from curves.

The glow under the speeders is a pastiche of techniques: image maps, object media, and strategically placed lights.  Whatever works.  Same with the neon glow on the diner - emitting media in both the neon tube and the air surrounding it.

Although it looks like I modeled a big city, there's really nothing more than meets the eye.  Viewed from a different angle, the scene would look more like a single road with small, medium, and large buildings along it.  I made some of the buildings appear to have been modified or retrofitted to accept landing platforms for this futuristic form of transportation.  Everything except the speeder body shape and the people were created in the POV-Ray text editor.

The main image was rendered with POV-Ray, then used as an image_map for the final image where I raytraced the text graphics over the scene.