Using photo textures on terrains in bryce 5

Getting started.

Learn how to apply a photo texture to a terrain in bryce 5, then save the resulting material file into a custom library. This will be a relatively basic tutorial, but you should be familiar with Bryce before attempting it.

I will be using the scmossrock2.jpg texture shown above. Go ahead and save it somewhere if you want to use it for this tutorial.

A common rule of thumb is to use a photo texture that is at least as large as the final image it will be rendered in. So if the final image will be 800×600, any photo texture used in that image should be at least 800×600. It is also important to consider how close the camera will be to the texture, and how much of the texture will be seen in the final image.
Open Bryce, then create a terrain and make it bigger.

Open Bryce, create a terrain, and increase the size of it. Click the E next to the terrain to enter the terrain editor, and change the terrain resolution to 1024. Feel free to edit your terrain as much as you like. The shape and style of your terrain can definitely affect how well a texture looks in a rendered scene. You should try to shape your terrain to match the type of texture you are applying to it. When you are done editing, click the checkmark to exit the terrain editor.
Inside the materials lab 1.

Click the M next to the terrain to enter the MATERIALS LAB. Click the arrow at the bottom right of the preview window and change the preview to TERRAIN. You can also select CLOSE UP.

In column A, the first column, fill in the holes for DIFFUSE, AMBIENT, SPECULAR, and BUMP HEIGHT. Don't worry about the random texture that shows up on your terrain preview, we will change that in a moment.

Now change the value for AMBIENCE to 10 or 12, and the BUMP HEIGHT to -25. Changing the values can be done by clicking on the number or by dragging the sliders. You will probably need to experiment with bump height values after you add the texture (step 5). Large values usually work best. Bryce seems to have issues with bump maps… sometimes positive values work best, sometimes negative values work best.

In many cases you can use your texture as your bump map, but for greater control you can take your texture into a paint program and edit it as needed.

Now, for texture A, at the top right of the materials lab, select the P button to get it ready to accept a photo texture.
Inside the materials lab 2.

Open the EDIT TEXTURE box for texture A by clicking the top left sphere, and change the X, Y, and Z SCALE to 15. Scale is probably the setting that needs the most experimenting when using a photo texture. Scale determines the number of times you want the texture to repeat across the surface of the terrain. So if you have a tiny terrain, a scale of 1 or 2 may work… if you have a huge terrain, a scale of 30 or more may be necessary.

Next, open the TEXTURE MAPPING MODE for texture A by clicking the sphere at the bottom right, and select OBJECT SPACE. You can also try selecting SYMMETRIC TILING or REPEAT TILING. Feel free to experiment with mapping modes other than object space.
Loading the texture.

Click the second sphere at the top of texture A to enter the TEXTURE SOURCE EDITOR. Click one of the blank squares along the bottom of the texture source editor to load the scmossrock2.jpg texture into the first large square at the top. Click the word COPY under the first large square to copy that texture, then click the word PASTE under the second large square to add the texture to the second square. click OK when it asks you if you want to delete.

The texture in the second square is used as your bump map for the texture in the first square. Click the checkmark to return to the materials lab, and click the checkmark in the materials lab to return to your main scene.

As a side note, you can click the word load above the first large square to load the texture, but if you plan on using multiple photo textures you may run into a problem where only the most recent texture you loaded is applied to all objects in your scene.
Details… and render

Go ahead and render. The texture will probably need some adjustments. Here are some things to keep in mind. Adjust them as needed and try another render.
Creating a custom library to store the material.

Now minimize Bryce (no need to close it), and open your file browser. Search for your bryce 5\presets\materials folder. Create any additional folders you would like within the MATERIALS folder. These will become custom libraries within the bryce 5 material library. I just added one folder with my username.
Locating the custom library.

Now back in Bryce, select the M next to your terrain to enter the materials lab. Then click the top right arrow on the preview window to enter the MATERIALS LIBRARY. Click the word INSTALLED at the bottom left of your materials library window to select one of your custom libraries. If you didn't create a custom library, go ahead and click USER.
Adding the material to the custom library.

Click the word ADD at the bottom of your material library window. Give your material a name and description, then click the checkmark to add it to your custom library.

That's it, you have now learned how to apply a photo texture to a terrain in bryce 5, and how to save the new material into a custom library.