SPACE BACKGROUND

dash2128

To place a craft in a tunnel, I simply placed a craft in Stonemason to create a simple tunnel background.

What is the easiest way to place a space background around a spacecraft, so that space and stars can be seen through the window behind a character in a ship?

(I'm just creating stills. But I'd like a product with installers, to avoid file placement problems when installing.)

I noticed 'Strange Worlds Background Builder', but I didn't know if that would work. Or if it had installers.

ALSO: Is there a 'wrap-around' product, or will I need to limit myself to a single-side background for this limited project?
(Stonemason 'wrapped-around' the vessel- except for the ends. And worked well.)

Scott Livingston

The simplest way? Depending on how you frame your scene, the simplest way would probably be to get a jpeg image of space (I think NASA has a bunch in the public domain, if I recall correctly) and set it as a backdrop. In DAZ Studio, click the Edit menu and then "Backdrop..." You'll then be able to browse for the image.

If you're using Poser...I'm not a Poser user, but I think I heard that you'd have to apply the image to a plane primitive instead of selecting it as a backdrop.

If you'd rather use a product from the store instead of a simple jpeg, something like this or this might work (note: requires Millennium Environment).

Not sure which Stonemason product you used for the tunnel...Stonemason is a Premiere Artist who has done lots of products, including that Millennium Environment.

Edited to add: Strange Worlds: Background Builder seems like it would work, but I'm not personally familiar with it so I can't say for sure. Also not sure if these products are using installers or zips these days...many of the older ones (and everything mentioned would qualify as older) are in zip format. If you have zips and aren't sure what to do with them, the forum can be a good resource. Last I checked, DAZ also includes a pdf with this information as a download alongside any zip files.

dash2128

Thank you VERY MUCH for replying with the information,

(The Stonemason product I was using was basically a stone room with 4 walls. Didn't have floors or ceiling, so it did not cover the tunnel ends of the picture. But tilted on its side, the walls created a usable tunnel on the other side of a window. Just 4 walls of stone.)

I'll try using your suggestions, all I need is a background to replace the light blue that appears through the windows, which is obviously not the background that should appear there.

Before I knew what Daz or programs like Blender even were, I once saw a photo without a background- same off blue color- that someone had published without adding background. Even then, I could tell that the photo wasn't finished. Interesting to look back on now.

Thanks again