TITLE: Chess in the Library
NAME: Matthew L. Ziegler
COUNTRY: USA
EMAIL: Matthew_L_Ziegler@hill-top.com
TOPIC: Glass
COPYRIGHT: I SUBMIT TO THE STANDARD RAYTRACING COMPETITION COPYRIGHT
JPGFILE: chess.jpg
RENDERER USED:  POV-RAY 3.0
TOOLS USED:  PAINT SHOP PRO
RENDER TIME: 1 Hour, 10 Minutes
HARDWARE USED: 
Pentium 100, 64MB RAM, 512K Cache
DESCRIPTION OF HOW THIS FILE WAS CREATED:

This is one of the first complete rendered scenes I have attempted.
The idea for my rendering came from my wife, who suggested that I create 
a chess set out of clear and dark glass, on a marble board.  After the chess
set took place, a process of several days while I worked and reworked the 
individual pieces, I began to create the room.  I liked the idea of using 
the same textures as the pieces and board throughout the room (as can be 
seen in the wine glasses, the fireplace mantle, and the floor).  Originally
the room had no windows, and it was suggested to me by a co-worker that I 
should add the window, along with the increased detail on the mantle (the
lighter colored wood) and the chest along the right wall. 

The test renders were painfully done on a 486-66 I have at work, and many of 
them took over 7 hours to complete.  After some time, I slimmed down my code, 
creating the individual declarations for the pieces, and using surface of 
rotation objects for the glasses and mantlepieces.  The final render was 
performed on my system at home whilst my 5 week old son screamed his head off 
one night.

Paint Shop Pro was then used to convert the file and add my signature to it.
I hope everyone enjoys looking at it as much as I enjoyed creating it.