TITLE: Pandora
NAME: Anne Gregory
COUNTRY: CANADA
EMAIL: albiaprime@aol.com
TOPIC: Frozen Moment
COPYRIGHT: I SUBMIT TO THE STANDARD RAYTRACING COMPETITION COPYRIGHT.
JPGFILE: pandora.jpg
RENDERER USED: 
    Povray 3.1

TOOLS USED: 
    Moray 3.1, 3D Win, Paintshop Pro Demo, sPatch, Plant Studio

RENDER TIME: 
    16 mins 23 sec

HARDWARE USED: 
    PentiumII 350Mhz, 196megs RAM

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IMAGE DESCRIPTION: 


The stories had been around for a long time; Pandora's Box was hidden in a cave
in a remote part of Asia. For many years, scientists and relic hunters had
speculated on the validity of these stories and tossed around their own
theories of just where the cave was located.

A keen interest in relics from a early age lead me to a career as a relic
hunter.  I was not to be left out of the Pandora's Box discussions and
carefully documented all the stories, theories and suppositions I got wind of.

Finally the day came when I was sure that I had a pretty good idea where I might
find the cave, whether or not the Box was still there was another matter.
Undaunted by this prospect, I set off for the remote reaches of Asia. Cave
entrances are often difficult to locate as trees and vegetation commonly cover
the openings. My research notes provided only limited assistance. I was at the
point of giving up, spelunking in what was to be my last cave when a passageway
opened up to this immense cavern.

The cavern was surprisingly well lit from some unknown source - enough light to
permit the growth of some rushes with a few dragonflies flitting among them. 
Directly ahead of me, sitting all alone on a rocky outcrop in the middle of the
cave's lake was Pandora's Box. I let out an audible gasp and time seemed
frozen.

I stood, staring at Pandora's Box, sitting so innocently in the shaft of light
that eminated from somewhere in the roof of the cave. As though caught in a
moment of time, the creatures and objects around me were frozen.
I barely noticed the bat that swooped close to my head as it and others of its
kind flew off, startled by my presence in their cave. A pale fish hung
motionless in mid jump as it attempted to catch a passing dragonfly.  A droplet
of water travelling from the roof above to the water below, paused as though
waiting for me to walk under it so it could splash on my head.  The only thing
that was in motion was my mind, racing through a hundred scenarios. 

Should I try and retreive the Box?
Would it's power force me to open it and release whatever was still inside?
Should I turn around and leave, happy in the knowledge that I DID know where
Pandora's Box lay hidden?
If I retreived it, would it be safe in the museum that would put it on display?
Would it be confiscated by government officals and destroyed?

A hundred questions and no answers . . . . . .



DESCRIPTION OF HOW THIS IMAGE WAS CREATED: 


The cave floor and roof were targa images created in PaintShop Pro. The roof
being a positive image, the floor being a negative of the roof.  The targas
were read into a heightfield in Moray and scaled to give an adequate sized
cavern and textured with a brown 'dirt' texture.

The water was added at a level slightly below the 'zero' line on the floor
heightfield thus allowing some rocky outcrops to show. It's partial
transparency allows the fish in the water to be seen.

The bullrush plants were created in Plant Studio, the bullrush flower stalks
were added in Moray.

The dragonflies and bats are made from primitives with translational sweeps for
wings. The water droplet is a rotational sweep with a modified glass texture on
it.  The body of the fish was fashioned in sPatch, then exported and converted
to a .UDO and .INC with 3dWin for use by Moray. The fins of the fish are all
translational sweeps. The light shaft is my first attempt at using media.
 
I Submit To The Standard Raytracing Competition Copyright
                     "Pandora" is 
Copyright(c)2001, Anne Gregory, All Rights Reserved World Wide.

