It should be said that TerraGenesis is about terrain making so most of the things that can be done with special effects should not be applied to images that are intended for publication on our site. Having said that, there is a lot of fun to be had.
The photo to the right of Phil 'px166baja' Arkell's Industrial Complex makes the point quite nicely. Clearly it would have been difficult to photograph the terrain with real lightning in the background and indeed it was added in the computer. Depending on what software you use, it is possible to add all kinds of things from laser beams and explosions to the reflections on the surface of a rippled lake as shown in this photo by fred_m.
Of course special effects don't have to be digital. Take a look at these 'with and without' images of Alien Polyps by LuMi.
The smoke in the second image is not a digital effect and was created by blowing cigarette smoke at the piece. Of course we're not encouraging anybody to smoke and it's worth noting that the Carnifex has since sued for the effects of secondary inhalation, but it does demonstrate that a little imagination is better than a computer full of software.
We end this short article with another picture from fred_m which is probably better described as having been photographed in a carefully chosen location as opposed to having been subjected to special effects treatments. The photo shows a model of a shed standing on a model embankment and surrounded by model oil drums. Rather than photographing it on the dining room table however Fred has chosen to take it outside where it benefits from the natural light and the trees, sky and telegraph poles in the background. If fact it is a real credit to Fred's model making skills that it is very hard to tell which parts of the image are real, and which are the model. The 'shed' on the left of the image for example: a real shed in the background or part of Fred's model? You decide.
