Now that we've covered the basic theory of what height-fields are, it's time to put them to use in an actual
Pov-Ray Scene. In that regard, this page is more of a "here-play with this" than a tutorial. Have fun!
First thing we need - a heightfield (no suprises there!).
I have provided an image (right) that will suit our purposes quite nicely.
It doesn't look like much does it? This will be all we need though.
Now see immediately below, two renderings of the height-field. One on the left showing the bare height-field and the one on the right dropped into the sea. The water is simply a plane with a slightly modified version of the standard Polished_Chrome texture.
All we have to do now is give the heightfield a pleasant texture and add a touch more scenery.
To make a more interesting picture, I have also added a plane of clouds and some more hills which
are a copy of the height field but with a different texture. That's all there is to it.
You can download the scene and heightfield files below
If you want some info on creating realistic looking clouds and water, be sure to visit the home page
of Andrea & Friedrich A. Lohmüller
Download PovIsland.pov. You will also need the image file HF101Island1.png