TITLE: Minimalist sculture on a grand scale
NAME: Ryan Bennitt
COUNTRY: UK
EMAIL: ryanbennitt@lycos.co.uk
TOPIC: Minimalism
COPYRIGHT: I SUBMIT TO THE STANDARD RAYTRACING COMPETITION COPYRIGHT.
JPGFILE: rb_pyrmd.jpg
ZIPFILE: rb_pyrmd.zip
RENDERER USED: 
    POVRay 3.6

RENDER TIME: 
    1h36m30s (24m18s parse, 1h12m12s render)

HARDWARE USED: 
    Athlon XP 3200+

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: 

I don't remember exactly how I made the connection between minimalism and the
ancient Egyptians, but when you think about it, it's obvious, they were into
minimalism on a grand scale. The pyramids are the largest examples of their
work to have survived to this day and are the only remaining wonder of the
ancient world. Despite being plundered of their outer shell and surviving
everything that nature has thrown at it, they still inspire awe in those that
visit them today, surely making them one of the most popular works of
minimalist sculpture that ever existed. So I thought to myself, why not pay
tribute to the scultors that created these mammoth works of art.


DESCRIPTION OF HOW THIS IMAGE WAS CREATED: 

I started with some research into the pyramids, collecting data on their
construction and photos of what they look like today, and learning all sorts of
random facts about them.

So it was that I began my pyramid by creating just one stone. Adding this to a
loop, I was then able to create a row of randomly sized and displaced stones.
Connecting four such rows together I created the first layer in the pyramid.
Placing this within another loop that stacked layers of ever decreasing size, I
had myself a rudimentary pyramid. This did not look particularly believeable
though...

What is interesting about the construction of the pyramids is that each layer
was of a different height, which weren't randomly sized either. Their heights
form a kind of sawtooth pattern which is believed to be an indication as to how
the pyramids were actually built. So I sampled some data from the internet and
scaled it to my needs. This added what I felt was an extra level of
authenticity to my pyramid. Still what I was left with was just not real
enough.

By far the most visually interesting is the Pyramid of Khafre at Giza, whose top
still shows the smooth casing that once covered its side, so it was this one
that I decided to base this render on. Cutting the top half off by using a
noise function to remove the edge from the join, I added a middle layer which
was inset from the base, and a top layer with smooth sides. To give the pyramid
a less uniform look I added a noise function to the horizontal size of each
layer, so that the bottom half of the pyramid looked a little more rugged and
earthquake-shaken.

Finishing off with a sandy desert and a blue sky with a polluted horizon and
whispy clouds, my pyramid was as complete as it could be before the deadline!