There is also a 3D app called Rhino 3D (www.rhino3d.com) which offers =
nurb modelling, and exports to a variety of formats as meshes (pov-ray =
is one of them).

-----Original Message-----
From:	S. Blayne Sims [SMTP:shannonsims(at)stc.net]
Sent:	Thursday, February 26, 1998 10:53 AM
To:	hwg-graphics(at)hwg.org
Subject:	Re: POV-Ray & existing graphics

I've been using POV-Ray for a couple of years now and figured I'll give =
my
two (three) cents:

1. I have never seen a program that converts gifs or jpegs to a POV or =
RAW
format.  I would imagine that it would be difficult to convert 2D gifs =
and
jpegs to the 3D format of pov files and do either justice.  Of course, =
if it
*can* be done I'm sure someone has written the software, but I've never =
come
across it.

2.  You don't need a modeller to use POV-Ray effectively, but if you are =
a
beginner I would highly recommend one.  I can safely say that I have =
tried
virtually every POV-Ray modeller available and my favorite for features =
and
particularly for ease-of-use has got to be Breeze Designer.  You can =
find it
at http://www.imagos.fl.net.au/.  It seems to be perpetually in beta, =
but
its getting quite good now.  If you really want to get the maximum use =
out
of POV-Ray though, I'm afraid you'll have to dive into the intense =
textual
language of the program.  But hey!  It's fun once you catch your breath!


And....as for Alastair's helpful response to *this* response:

>PovRay is -not- intuitively obvious to the casual observer; the docs =
are
>daunting. But if you want to learn the most -infinitely- variable and
flexible
>image generator then PovRay is the way to go.

I don't see where there is any mention of, or comparison to, 3D Studio =
is in
this statement.  Thanks for your sales pitch though, Alastair.  I'm =
certain
we'll be sure to take 3DS into consideration when us less-than-serious
professionals finally realize we're missing our "inverse kinematics" or
decide to render over a network.


Shannon Sims
shannonsims(at)stc.net
Strengthen the thread, don't unravel it.


-----Original Message-----
From: Kaho, Sallie <kaho(at)eglin.af.mil>
To: hwg-graphics(at)hwg.org <hwg-graphics(at)hwg.org>
Date: Tuesday, February 24, 1998 4:01 PM
Subject: POV-Ray & existing graphics


>Hi all,
>First, I am reading the documentation & going thru the tutorial. But,
>once again, a time crunch due to this being an "on-the-job" project, =
I'm
>asking questions that are perhaps answered later in the
>documentation...if so, apologies to all!
>1. Can I convert existing graphics (i.e. gifs or jpegs) to a useable
>format for POV-Ray (e.g. .pov)? If so, how? Do I need another program?
>2. Am I going to "have" to have an ancillary s/w package to be able to
>use POV-Ray effectively (e.g. a modeling program like Moray)??
>Thanks gurus!!!
>Sallie
>

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