LightWave 3D Earth Tutorial – Part 2

January 28, 2014
Comment
LightWave 3D model and render of the earth.
LightWave 3D model and render of the earth.

This is the second part of my series of tutorials showing how I created a model of the Earth. If you missed part one, I showed you how to create the simple model and add the basic color/bump image maps.

Create the Ocean Surface

  1. Copy and paste the LandMaterial node. Rename it to “OceanMaterial”. Edit the properties of the material and set the Diffuse to 40%, Translucency to 5%, Specular to 8%, and Glossiness to 12%.
  2. Create a new “Turbulence” node (3D Textures->Turbulence).
    • BG Color: 20, 108, 255
    • FG Color: 10, 90, 200
    • Scale X, Y, Z: 5mm, 5mm, 5mm
  3. Connect the “Color” output of the Turbulence node to the “Color” input of OceanMaterial.
  4. Connect the “Material” output node of OceanMaterial to the “A” input of “Material Mixer (1)”
  5. Copy and paste the “LandColor” node. Rename it to “LandAlpha”. Open the properties and change the image to the earth_map_alpha.jpg file.
  6. Connect the “Color” out of the “LandAlpha” node to the “Alpha” input of “Material Mixer (1)”.
  7. If you run a new render, you will see the new material applied to the oceans. Reduce the clutter of the node network by minimizing the ocean textures.
Node network for the earth surface, including color, bump, and ocean shader. Click for full size image.
Node network for the Earth surface, including color, bump, and ocean shader. Click for full size image.
Render of the Earth after adding the ocean shader. Click for full size image.
Render of the Earth after adding the ocean shader. Click for full size image.

Create the Cloud Surface

  1. Copy and paste the LandMaterial node. Rename it to “CloudMaterial”. Set the Luminous to 1.5%, Translucency to 90%, and the color to 255, 255, 255.
  2. Copy and paste the “LandColor” node. Rename it to “Clouds”. Open the properties and change the image to the clouds_greyscale.jpg file. Set the “Bump Amplitude” to 400%.
  3. Connect the “Bump” output of “Clouds” to the “Bump” input of “CloudMaterial”. Connect the Material output of CloudMaterial to the “B” input of “Material Mixer (3)”.
  4. Connect the “Color” output of Clouds to the ““Alpha” input of “Material Mixer (3)”.
  5. Now your render will show a cloud layer around the earth.
Node network for the Earth surface, including color, bump, ocean, and cloud shaders. Click for full size image.
Node network for the Earth surface, including color, bump, ocean, and cloud shaders. Click for full size image.
Render of the Earth after adding the cloud layer. Click for full size image.
Render of the Earth after adding the cloud layer. Click for full size image.

Add Night Lights Surface

We are going to add some node logic to only show the night lights in the dark parts of the earth.

 

  1. First, copy and paste the LandMaterial node. Rename it to NightMaterial. Set the Luminous to 100%, Diffuse to 0%, and the color to 255, 227, 176. This will be the color of the city lights. Connect the “Material” output of NightMaterial to the “B” input of “Material Mixer (2)”.
  2. Copy and paste the “LandColor” node. Rename it to “NightLights”. Open the properties and change the image to the earth_lights.png file.
  3. Create a “Lambert” node (Shaders->Diffuse->Lambert). This node will provide information on how much light is reaching each point on the globe. Set the color to 255, 255, 255.
  4. Create a “Gradient” node (Gradient->Gradient). Connect the “Color” output from NightLight to the “BG Color” input of Gradient. Connect the “Color” output from Lambert to the “Input” input of Gradient.
  5. Open the Gradient properties and add the following keys:
    • Position: .4083, Color: (0, 0, 0), Alpha: 0%
    • Position: .5882, Color: (0, 0, 0), Alpha: 100%
  6. Finally, connect the “Color” output of Gradient to the “Alpha” input of “Material Mixer (2)”.
Node network for the Earth surface (complete). Click for full size image.
Node network for the Earth surface (complete). Click for full size image.

 

Render of the Earth after adding the night lights. Click for full size image.
Render of the Earth after adding the night lights. Click for full size image.

In the final part of this tutorial series, I will show you how to add an atmospheric glow to the scene.

Posted in Tutorials.