Spherical sky bright idea...

[tomsdesk]

...if it's not: just move this thread to "questions" :`)

Per another discussion about the quality of the spherical sky in one of my images, I noticed the stretching was different horizontal and vertical. So I started playing around with 2/1 image proportions matching the 360/180 of the sphere. Eureka! No more differential stretching! So I continued playing, since I was already on a roll and had always been bugged that I could only see the bottom third of the sky images I loved using in PSP behind SU exports. I discovered as long as the horizon line is visible in SU, you'll never see more than the lower half of the sky half of the spherical sky image. So:

I created an 8000/4000 (about the largest image my PSP will save correctly) background split horizontally in the middle. Over that I layered my little sky image (1000/500+) and moved it up so the horizon matched the middle of the background. After I colored the top an average sky color of the image, and the bottom an average ground color, I saved for use as a spherical sky. Works great!...and now I can use all my fav's! (Note: for some reason Twilight brings a spherical sky in with it's center at 90 degrees rather than 0...?)

Whadaya think?

[tomsdesk]

That last one looked pretty blue, so changed the color I picked for the "unused" sky, left all the other settings the same, and got this: (proving beyond a doubt what Fletch said about spherical skys enhancing an image :`)

[Chris]

Wow, that's a really clever idea. I especially like how you can use it to set the tone / sky color to something not necessarily in the image.

Of course, reflective surfaces won't look as good, reflecting a solid color. But for your purposes, it looks good!

[tomsdesk]

Thanks Chris...funny, I was just now thinking on my trip home from the mini-mart (buying my last last pack...I hope :`) that I wouldn't increase the bytes too much if I did a bold camo-thing with a couple or three of the colors in the image instead of just one...? But I do now realize I haven't thought about window reflections, huh? And: hmmmmm.....

[tomsdesk]

Okay (and thanks again for the headsup, Chris)...this sky didn't take much longer to make (double canvas width, dup and mirror, multiply and merge, then do it all again) and reflections work good (the mirrored panels have a turquoise color) per the attached Low+ quickie:

[Sepo]

Very clever Tomsdesk.

[Fletch]

You are learning to make your own customized spherical skies! Congrats!
the sky will project a color, so you may have to desat. it slightly...

[vizfellas]

What I can say it is wow

[Bob James]

Really useful idea.

[hvanessen]

is it possible to download these self made sky's