CompuServe Messages

Hello Dominic, I'm no expert but you might want to try this: Create two large spheres with the tops cut off. ( around the object that will be burning ) Create One large tube with the top flared out on top.^ (center on spheres) The spheres will be our fire and the tube will be our smoke. (^) After your basic scene is laid out, its time to create maps, we need two different opacity maps, one for the fire and one for the smoke. You may wish to create this in a paint program such as Animator Pro or something like TIPS. The opacity map for smoke will be the same as fire with a few extra plumes added. To create the fire material, assign the opacity map, ( The one you just created in Animator Pro and named Fire.* ) Give it a color of red. There aren't any shaded areas in Fire, So make all the colors red."specular, ambient, diffuse". Set to Self-Illum-Two-sided. For the Smoke make it different shades of Gray, it too is transparent so click on "Two-sided"-Shininess to 20 & Self-Ilum. Assign the smoke picture as an opacity map. You'll have to deal with the object thats burning in what ever way seems appropriate. Once all the materials are put in the current library & that library is saved, we can go back to the 3D Editor- Assign mapping coord's. Create a Camera and Lights. Place one red omni light High above the scene, Place another under the "fire" (object that's burning) But adjust the Lumence Down -(46) should do it. Add a Greenish-Yellow Light Up and Off to the Side, and one Bright Green spotlight down inside the "fire" (Object that's Burning) Point it Up or Out depending on your burning object. Set some background picture and render. Render-Animate-Enjoy! Works for me! James M. Murphy James Murphy Consulting Green Bay Wisconsin U.S.A. Now signing up 3DS Students <g>