HOW TO GUIDE: DIAGRAMS, BLUEPRINTS, MAPS , etc.
USING POV-Ray and Paint Shop Pro

In addition to the source for "Exhibit Three-oh-one", my latest image,
you will also find three files (counting this text file) entitled
DIAGRAM.TXT, DIAGRAM.POV, and DIAGRAM.GIF, which are intended as a
mini-tutorial on the technique used to make the scale model diagram
used in the image map for the left page of Exhibit Three-oh-one.

First, note: The version of the diagram used in that image map was
run through a desktop publishing program to fit in with the rest of 
the page layout. It was stretched and pinched until it worked in 
what I was trying to do, and no longer gives you the full "wow!"
that I got when I accidently stumbled on this technique. That's why
DIAGRAM.GIF is also included, although this image is not needed to
render Three-oh-one. It is an original, unstretched version of the
technique for you to contemplate. 

To begin, if you are looking for an engineering style diagram of an
object you just made in POV, you have to lay it out in a POV file 
with its own light_source, and an orthographic camera. In the example
file DIAGRAM.POV, you see just such a setup with my model catapult,
shown in orthographic view, from the side. Note that for most
purposes, height/width ratios are best left 1:1 for this exercise,
regardless of the aspect ratio of your monitor. 

When you have an output TGA, load the results into Paint Shop Pro,
or any paint program of your choosing which has capabilities similar
to the ones I'm about to describe. I'm currently using version 3.12
which, I realize even as I scribe this is not the current PSP, but
the filters/effects I'm using are even in this version standard 
functions of PSP, as opposed to optional plug in accessories.

The first thing you need to do is run a "Find Edges" filter on the
image. In PSP, this can be found under IMAGE|EDGE FILTERS|FIND EDGES.
If you've never used this before, it basicly drains the color out of
every part of the image except where there is a transition between
two colors. So effectively, you're left with a slight psychodellic
looking image which looks like someone hand sketched your image using
colored pencils to make the lines.

Next, of course, greyscale the results. In PSP, this would be under
COLORS|GRAYSCALE. This will then leave you with a sketch of grey and
white lines on a black background, so finish up by running a
COLORS|NEGATIVE IMAGE to make it black and grey lines on a white
surface. (Of course, if you wanted blueprints, you could always leave
the lines white, convert to a palletted format and change the black
background to dark blue, I'm guessing).

And that's it! What you're left with is a perfect scale diagram of
your POV object, looking like it was painstakingly hand drawn. Of
course, I'm looking into other applications now, as I type this, but
some other thoughts: try a perspective camera to create a fake
hand drawn sketch, or use the same technique with landscapes images
shown from above to make overland "maps", or similarly, look down on
an architectural renders for blueprint style maps.

Charles Fusner
email: cfusner@enter.net