creating abstract desktop backgrounds..

[Thor Von Clemson]

I am wondering how to create cool abstract desktop backgrounds like the one seen here

http://stahlforce.com/desktop/20-caribbean-wood-cave-desktop-wallpapers-1280.jpg

and here.

http://www.campfire.se/desktop_backgrounds/the_first_gaze.jpg

Is there a specific program that people use to create stuff like this?

Thanks

[Burn]

That first one I think is from the game Myst, one of the later ones, actually.

[nor]

Bryce

[St.James]

A program like 3D Max will make amazing things like that.

[sonofspy]

You can get started creating amazing stuff like this by using terragen (free)

http://www.planetside.co.uk/terragen/

Some hints:

http://www.helensimages.com/tg.htm

Bryce (commercial )gives you some more advanced tools....

Let me know if you want more specifics.

Cheers!

Son Of Spy

[nor]

Some of my Bryce stuff...

[St.James]

It was Bryce I was thinking of, not 3D Max... That program can do some seriously cool stuff.

[m2pmd70]

3DS max is sweet too and there are some really good tutorials and training DVDs out for it. I've been distracted for a while, but I was learning it for creating game content.

[Newc]

First one is not Myst. It's either Vue d'esprit (or whatever) or Bryce, though if it's Bryce, that's a crappy sky

Could even be TrueSpace or some other app - Bryce stuff usually looks way better.

The second one could be Photoshop or Paintshop Pro. Just do the "leaves" (there's a Picture Tube for PSP that looks a bit like that), dupe/mirror it, then do a mirror plugin on it and blend the layers. If it was 3D, you'd see mesh collisions, not the inverted colors (unless it's a really high end 3D app, and if that's all you're doing in it, you wasted $7500 )