I am sure I started this project once before and never finished it but will try again. I need to do some space scenes and it seems the images that I had were from the NASA website but are probably on an old pc and I cannot find them. So now that I have to start again, what are the best props for a space scene where you want to show someone flying towards earth? A static image with camera moves or a 3D earth object?
Thanks,
theschemer

I'm going to go with "2D images."

In most situations, you don't change perspective enough to benefit from a 3D model of Earth.  And finding nice 2D images should be easy.

Of course, it depends on how far away you are and how fast you are moving.

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iClone 7... Character Creator... Substance Designer/Painter... Blender... Audacity...
Desktop (homebuilt) - Windows 10, Ryzen 9 3900x CPU, GTX 1080 GPU (8GB), 32GB RAM, Asus X570 Pro motherboard, 2TB SSD, terabytes of disk space, dual  monitors.
Laptop - Windows 10, MSI GS63VR STEALTH-252, 16GB RAM, GTX 1060 (6GB), 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD

Both work ... but I would use 3D in this case. Just a personal choice as both are quite good for what you need.

You can use two spheres... one for the planet and a slightly larger one with a cloud diffuse and opacity map for the cloud cover. You can also animate both rotating and the clouds rotating faster or slower this way.

If you want stars... I have a free star globe you can resize and/or duplicate if needed.

http://city.reallusion.com/ContentPreview.aspx?i=JICb8da2ad27387e33a7

When possible and time allows... I like the little features of the moving objects but that may not be what you have in mind and great shots can be achieved with either method.

If you want realism... then 2D images would probably trump all.

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I LIVE to anymate, irritate and machinamate. Not necessarily in that order.

Does this freebie by Ben Tuttle help at all?

http://city.reallusion.com/ContentPreview.aspx?i=JIC4cc89b0ae851479e5

Alley

That was quick. I went and ate a bowl of oatmeal and already have answers. Thanks Viking, Warlord, and Alley. Those Freebies may be just what I need and along with the other info I will see what I can do. I already figured out a way to zoom to earth for the final touch.
theschemer

You could also visit the NASA site for images, videos and models.

Gerry

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System: Win 10 Pro (21H2), Asus X99-E WS, CPU i7-5930K -3,5 GHz, 32 GB DDR4 2666-16 RAM, NVidia GTX 1080 Ti GPU - 11 GB VRAM(Driver Studio-536.99), Samsung 850 Pro 512 GB SSD, 6 TB HD storage.

Gerry,
Yeah, they have some great images and are public domain. I think I downloaded all of them of earth a year ago but they are on an old pc somewhere. I may go back and get some more. I also found this Freebie that could come in handy (10 planets).

http://city.reallusion.com/ContentPreview.aspx?i=JICd82501ffbc2f049d9&Refer=5

Thanks,
theschemer

Warlord: I thought I recognized the name. I bought your book. Any updated versions or new books in the making? I also have some of your props.
theschemer

Hello there

I have some free planet props and I'll have more shortly

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[url=http://city.reallusion.com/ContentPreview.aspx?i=JIC72db5efeb421aab99]

[url=http://city.reallusion.com/ContentPreview.aspx?i=JIC9ae6586439d8d9035][/url]






iClone Certified Director and makes miserable Westerns.

Thanks Benjamin, I appreciate it.
theschemer