BRYCE 3D
An introduction to the Bryce 3D modeling and rendering program, plus details of Daz Studio 4
BRYCE 3D MODELING SOFTWARE
Bryce 3D originally came about from the introduction of fractal geometry when it was used to create realistic computer images of mountainous landscapes and coastlines. Initially based on a set of fractal based programs developed by Ken Musgrave, (a student of Benoît Mandelbrot) it was later extended by Eric Wenger, who also worked with Kai Krause a software artist, whose work resulted in a user interface that made it easier to use.
In 1994 the first commercial version of Bryce (version 1.0) appeared, but it was only when Bryce 2.0 became available that it started becoming more popular. Extra features included independent light sources, the addition of primitive forms with Boolean methods to combine them to make simple objects, plus the ability to create complex atmospheric effects, as well as a revamped Texture Editor.
Though Bryce 1.0 was aimed at Mac users, Bryce 2.0 was ported to the Windows platform, and a more stable version, 2.1, was released in 1997.
Further developments materialised in 1997 with version 3.0, now named Bryce 3D. This version, with it’s new ability to animate scenes, was made available when the newly formed MetaCreations Corporation took over Bryce. In each subsequent version that was released, major improvements were also added.
For example, in 1999 Bryce 4.0 was given more control over textures, atmospheres and skies, and also improvements over importing and exporting objects. However, it wasn’t until after the Corel Corporation took over Bryce in 2000 that things really started to improve dramatically. When Corel released Bryce 5 in 2001, it included several exciting new features such as the Tree Lab and metaballs. A patch to version 5.01, was required though to fix some of the bugs in the program. And then in 2004 the ownership of Bryce changed hands again. It was taken over by DAZ 3D and they have continued to own and develop Bryce up till it’s current version, Bryce 7.
It’s worth noting that in 2005 when DAZ released Bryce 5.5 it included the DAZ|Studio Character plugin. It was this integration between DAZ’s application and Bryce which allowed users to import content from Daz Studio and Poser, complete with all the materials, directly into Bryce which made it easier to include human figures in Bryce scenes.
In June 2007, DAZ re-released the Bryce 5.5 version of the software as freeware, which enabled introduced lot of new users to get more familiar with Bryce.
It was in July 2010 that further new features were added to the latest version of Bryce, and these included the Instancing Lab and advanced lighting. Updated features also include the DAZ Studio Bridge, the Sky Lab, clouds and HDRI. Bryce 7 is now available in 3 versions, a limited free version, a standard version lacking the new features and a pro version which includes the new features. i.e. Instancing Lab, improved Light Lab, Sky Lab improvements, particle emitter, DAZ Studio Bridge, improved import/export file formats.
For more details on the latest version of Bryce visit Daz3D
Great news! Bryce 7 pro, Daz Studio 4 and Hexagon 2.5 are currently available FREE to download from the Daz3D website