DreamDesign
Vue Explorations

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Caverns

There are numerous ways to build caves and caverns for a scene, but many of them are complicated and require a high number of polygons. Here is a very simple, low-polygon method.

1 - Open a New file in Vue d'Esprit and select any atmosphere. 2 - Move to Layer 2. Right-click on the Terrain icon. You can begin with a fractal terrain or use Mounds to start building some shaping for the land. This terrain will be the "floor" of your cavern and could readily accomodate stalagmites if you want them. Using the Trees option makes a good appearance. 3 - When you are satisfied with your terrain, be sure to Clip the lowest edges. This will help you see which way is which in the wireviews. Then exit the Terrain Editor and mark this terrain as "cave floor." 4 - Return to the Terrain Editor and create another terrain. This one will become your cavern "wall," so although you want it to have some texture, you don't want to give it drastic changes of height. Perhaps a scattering of Pebbles over Mounds would be sufficient. 5 - When you are satisfied, exit the Terrain Editor (no need to Clip this one) and mark this terrain as "cave wall." Reposition it so that it now stands vertically, perpendicular to the "floor." (Later, you may want to tilt it slightly forward towards the camera.) 6 - Adjust your camera angle to obtain the view you like. Here is an example of how your setup might appear. The horizontal (floor) terrain is shown in green; the vertical (wall) terrain is in orange. Since my cavern is along a shoreline, my floor terrain has a "river" running through it, which makes it easier to see where all the elements are in the wireframe view. The sun is far below the horizon to keep its light greatly diminished, and hidden from the camera there is a low-level point light within the scene to deliver an eerie glowing. Shown in purple, you can see I've added a cone primitive, stretched vertically to imitate a stalagtite and help "fill in" a blank spot that needed something from the camera's view. This cone was given the same material as the "wall" and visually appears to be attached to the (off-camera) ceiling.  7 - Once your basic scene is set, you can go back and modify your terrains as needed. And now you can set up materials and refine the lighting as desired. My cavern is fairly peaceful, but what might you find deep in yours?