Terragen in the Movies
Most know I love to work with a very fine program called Terragen to generate landscapes. But I wonder how many know that Terragen is used in movies, in games, in multimedia and in print?
Recently, the Terragen group I belong to announced that the Movie “Stealth” was helped by Terragen in the graphics.
Article about Terragen in “Stealth” HERE
Here are some other items that have included this wonderful program:
film
SkyTimeLapse.com – stock footage
SkyTimeLapse.com sells time lapse stock footage with a natural theme. They’ve used Terragen to render footage for their Computer Generated Worlds collection ( see the Digital Flight section ), with footage based on DEMS of Crater Lake, the Grand Tetons and the Grand Canyon, with more to follow. They’ve also used generated terrains for fictional locations. They can create custom clips.
Beyond the Limits – VFX by Filmfuzzies
Terragen was used for the skies in the hell sequence of the horror movie Beyond the Limits, by Olaf Ittenbach. The film was released on DVD at the end of 2003 and has been shown at some festivals. Parts of the scenes Terragen was used in can be seen in the trailer at the movie’s website. The effects for the film were done by Carsten Blume, Garloff Langenbeck and Matze Neumann of the Filmfuzzies group.
Pearl Harbor II: Pearlmageddon – VFX by Max Ink Cafe
Max Ink Cafe used Terragen in this 8 minute digital short film, including for the opening shot. For more information on the film, including details of where you can see it on the big screen, visit the official website.
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multimedia / entertainment
Games
Monster Roll Cage – Idryonis Studios
Idryonis Studios use Terragen exclusively to create skyboxes for Monster Roll Cage, an amusement park monster truck simulation ride. The ride has full 360 degree movement on the pitch and roll axes. You can find more information about the game, including screenshots, at its website.
Digital Illusions CE – multiple titles
Digital Illusions, creators of the award winning Battlefield 1942 series of games, have been using Terragen for their games since 1999, for sky and ground textures. Terragen has been used in such games as Codename Eagle, Battlefield 1942, Battlefield Vietnam and Battlefield : Modern Combat.
Ground Control 2 – trailer
Odd Nydrén used Terragen to create skies for the trailer of the game Ground Control 2, from Massive Entertainment. Odd used Terragen’s scripting capabilities to render cubic skyboxes, which he later converted to spheres. You can view screenshots at his site ( in the gallery ), and view the trailer at the Ground Control 2 website.
Dragon Rage – 3DO, PlayStation 2
Max Ink Cafe used Terragen for backgrounds in the in-game cinematic sequences.
Serious Sam and Serious Sam : The Second Encounter – Croteam, Windows
Croteam used Terragen for the backgrounds/skyboxes in the popular Serious Sam and Serious Sam : The Second Encounter games. Davor Hunski, lead designer/application programmer at Croteam, says that Terragen has no competition when it comes to the final rendering output and ease of use. For SS:TSE, Croteam engaged the services of Peter Kleiner. Peter has a project page ( in German ) which has screenshots and information about his work.
Formula 1 2000 – EA Sports, PlayStation 2
Terragen was used for the skyboxes in EA Sports Formula 1 2000 for the PS 2.
E.ON MixPower – Flash online
Peter Kleiner used Terragen for a number of images for use in a Flash based online game for one of the largest German energy companies, E.ON. Peter has a project page ( in German ) which has screenshots and information about his work.
Multimedia
Jag Panzer – music DVD
Mark Briody used Terragen to render a flythrough of snowy mountains as an alternative to much more costly live filming from a helicopter, used as part of a music video for US heavy metal band Jag Panzer. Mark also used Terragen for the menu screen and cover graphics of the DVD.
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print
Books
FUTURES 50 Years In Space : The Challenge of the Stars – David A. Hardy and Patrick Moore
Well known astronomical artist David Hardy used Terragen Mac to help create a number of images for FUTURES 50 Years In Space, the book he co-authored with noted astronomer Patrick Moore. The book is a look at how knowledge and conceptions of space have changed since the pair’s first collaboration, The Challenge of the Stars, was conceived in 1954. Varied and interesting art is matched with clear and easy to digest descriptions of the scenes portrayed. David used Terragen renders for the basis of the final images, which are considerably reworked in a more painterly style. The book is published by Artists’ and Photographers’ Press Limited.
Getting Results series – Charlie Hills
Charlie Hills used Terragen for the covers of his two books, “Getting Results with VideoStudio 7” and “Getting Results with MediaStudio Pro 7”.
Worlds Beyond series – Ron Miller
Ron Miller used Terragen extensively for his Worlds Beyond series of books, published by Millbrook Press. Worlds Beyond is a 10 book series about the Solar System, covering the planets, the Sun, comets and meteors. You can see some sample images from the books here.
Paysages 3D – Editions Eyrolles, France
French publisher Editions Eyrolles has a book called “Paysages 3D”, about 3D landscapes, published as part of their “The Designer’s Collection” series. The book features nine workshops where nine different artists describe how they created their image. There are three Terragen landscapes in the book, by the talented artists Luc Bianco, Olivier Cousinou and Jean-marc Négroni.
3DWorld – Fraser Smith
Fraser Smith wrote a tutorial about Terragen’s atmosphere settings which appeared in Issue 23 of 3DWorld magazine. He also had two pictures in the exhibition section of Issue 21.
Newsweek – Chris Short
Chris Short has used Terragen for a couple of illustrations in Newsweek, including the April 16 2001 cover and a two page spread in the December 6, 1999 issue.
New York Spirit – Chris Short
Chris Short has used Terragen for an illustration in the New York Spirit magazine.
Various – Ron Miller
Ron Miller has used Terragen for illustrations in a number of magazines, including Scientific American, Natural History and Analog.
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television
Music videos
Brandy, “What About Us?” from “Full Moon” – VFX by Base 2 Studios
Oliver Hotz, at Base 2 Studios, used Terragen for the landscape shots in the video for Brandy’s single “What About Us?”. Elements from Maya and LightWave were composited with the Terragen landscapes to create various worlds. Painted clouds were also composited with Terragen’s clouds. More information and scenes from the video can be found here.
Programs
Heart of Ice – CG by White Walls
Heart of Ice is a documentary about the late Sir Peter Blake’s blakexpeditions expedition to Antarctica, to do environmental assessment. White Walls used Terragen to create the sky backdrops and environment maps for a number of CG sequences used in the program. Mans Bjorklund from White Walls mentioned that this was their very first use of Terragen, which he thinks speaks well for it’s ease of use and production value.
