Bryce....... Read Me.......

Published on August 18, 2003 By Grog In Skinning

The recent discussion about whether or not to increase the level of moderation of the Wallpaper section here at Wincustomize got me thinking of writing this thread, and a couple of other threads recently solidified the thought. The subject of wallpapers that were wholly or partially created in Bryce comes up from time to time. Bryce just like any other graphics program is just like all the rest, capable of creating magic and spectacular trash, but unlike the rest Bryce has a very easy early learning curve. The easy initial learning curve of Bryce is as much a blessing as a curse. Anyone with only a couple of hours of playing around can create a picture that screams “Wow, I can’t believe that I just made this”, but then the real learning curve starts to rear its head. One trip into the Deep Texture Editor is enough to send a novice screaming back to the presets, the huge render times cause second thoughts about turning on Volumetric Lighting. The true potential of Bryce is in the scarier depths of the program hidden behind the initial interface. Below I’m going to list a few of the Artists that have reached the absolute pinnacle of the possibilities of Bryce, and a list of tutorials that will help the novice Bryce user on the path to making magic with this program.

The Masters:

Bill Munns http://www.billmunnsgallery.com/
Martin Murphy's http://members.attcanada.ca/~m.murphy/
Kelly McLarnon http://topazdesigns.com/~klm/
Susan Kitchens http://www.auntialias.com/
Sylvia Lutnes http://www.thecricketcage.com/
Peter Sharpe http://www.petersharpe.com/
Steve Lareau http://www.hilltopdesign.com/
Jac Grenfell http://www.jacgrenfell.com/
Jeff Richardson http://website.lineone.net/~morgoth/FullAwardListing.htm

The sites that I have just listed are the cream of the crop, but just like with every other program they didn’t start there, a ton of hard work and practice were required to make more than shinny spheres and blue crystal dolphins. Below are just a few of the hundred of tutorial sites and resources that are available on line. But first I have to mention THE book when it comes to learning Bryce, Susan A. Kitchens wrote “Real World Bryce 2” a number of years ago, and more recently “Real World Bryce 4” either one is a must have for anyone wanting to learn Bryce. You can get a copy at most book stores or at Amazon and it is worth every penny.

The Tutorials:

http://www.3dcafe.com/asp/tutbryce.asp
http://www.huntfor.com/3d/tutorials/bryce.htm
http://www.3dlinks.com/tutorials_bryce.cfm
http://www.3dvalley.com/phplinks/index.php?PID=15
http://www.robinwood.com/Catalog/Technical/BryceTuts/BrycePages/Bryce1Start.html
http://www.bryceworks.com/b3textures/TextureDL.html
http://stevesartgallery.bryce-alive.net/tutorials/bryce/brycetut.html
http://www.cadtutor.net/dd/bryce/resource/resource.html
http://visualmagic.awn.com/
http://calyxa.best.vwh.net/~calyxa/pearl/tutor.html
http://hinchu.tripod.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi
http://www.petersharpe.com/

Take some time to do a Google search for “Bryce Tutorials” and you will find a Bryce tutorial for anything that you would or could want to create. No Bryce will never be one of the super high end graphics programs, BUT considering you can find Free copies of Bryce 2 or 3 and possibly 4 coming on cover CD’s for magazines like “Computer Arts” from the UK, and you can find the older versions of Bryce on line for 20 or 30 dollars. If you like the older version, almost all are eligible for the Upgrade price to Bryce 5. I’m not sure but even though I have a good job, I know I will never be able to purchase a copy of Max, Lightwave or Vue, so it is a great option for those who just want a hobby that won’t break the bank.

To tie this all together, take some time and make life easier on the fantastic moderators we have here at Wincusto and take the fuel away from the Anti-Bryce gang, by pushing into the deeper corners of Bryce and learn to make Magic.

Chris

Comments (Page 1)

Joint Cognation

on Aug 26, 2003

I've been making Bryce abstracts for a long time, but some of these tutorials give me insight into the realism of Bryce. THX for the links!

joetheblow

on Sep 03, 2003

Tell me something:

I searched for Bryce and I couldn't seem to fine a trial version of it.

Or am I mistaken that it is for sale and it is actually free?

Koasati

on Sep 03, 2003

Bryce is far from free........... the demo is quite dificult to track down, I'll see if I can find the link.

Koasati

on Sep 03, 2003

http://www.charlatanz.com/Compression/bryce.htm

Grog

on Sep 06, 2003

I just checked the links that were listed above by Koasati and it seems that Corel for whatever reason has pulled the demo from their web site. I found a couple of places that it is still hanging out at if you want to give it a try still. BTW I found these two by doing a Google search for Bryce5TrialVersion.exe if these stop working give it a try. I'm biased but I think Bryce is worth the effort.

http://web.coehs.siu.edu/Utilities/Graphics/Bryce/
ftp://ftp.ualg.pt/users/jluis/tmp/Bryce5TrialVersion.exe

Chris

door3

on Jan 03, 2004

Hi,

Thank you for the links everyone, that was just what I was looking for! Can't wait to get started :0)

DesignCaddy

on Jan 06, 2004

thanks for mentioning something about this, grog.. i noticed that in the 'Rules for uploading' it says that no bryce-generated artwork would be accepted at all, unless it was really amazing. well, half of the wall papers section is bryce and poser models that havn't passed what i'd call a 'sketch' phase. there are some masterful artists out there but i'd like to see the admin's raise the bar on what 3dmodeling is allowed. these types of programs are tools but their initial renderings shouldn't be considering finished until they've been taken to another level. just my 2cents.

-daVo-

on Jan 11, 2004

I personnally hated Bryce, and I'm currently falling in love with max. But that isn't why I'm writing this as I DO believe it all comes down to the area between the keyboard and the chair. The one thing I dig about Bryce is the materials. My system reads my 3dsmax .mat libraries as being bryce material library presets; but i've tried using them with 3dsmax and haven't been able to get it to work. Max shows the directory as being there but no materials inside

Do you know if there's a way to make them work; or if they just coincidently have the same .mat file extension but it's specific for each app.

dune2996

on Jan 25, 2004

Very constructive string thanks all.

Teknician

on Jan 26, 2004

Now is a good time to buy it, i paid a couple of hunderd for my copy when it was new, now its only $79.99.

http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=Corel/Products/productInfo&id=1042551234521

Flashmxice

on Feb 24, 2004

Hey, where can I locate these 'uploading rules' ?

Grog

on Feb 27, 2004

Flashmxice,

https://www.wincustomize.com/guidelines.asp

and this might help

https://www.wincustomize.com/msgboard.asp?BID=WC&id=253773

Latin4567

on Apr 07, 2004

Hey I am getting Bryce 5 for my birthday...
Anything I should know?

CerebroJD

on Apr 09, 2004

Dont submit you're first work.

Grog

on Apr 16, 2004

Latin,

What should you know, well start by going to every site that I listed above and re-read my post, and what CerebroJD said.

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