A vision of Eden (How hard can it be?)

Welcome to a series of blog posts which will document my efforts to create a highly detailed, computer-generated Planet Earth model which I can fly around and make movies of. I started the project with a vision in mind but with little to no idea how I can achieve that vision, but I know that through research and experimentation, I will gain the skills and understanding needed to get there eventually.

The project started over a year ago but I worked on it on and off, so there's probably only a few months of intense work, mostly in the form of trials and errors. Sometimes I make progress only to throw weeks of effort out the window when a better approach came to light. It's been a journey of learning and not entirely as straightforward as I had originally imagined.

Indeed, the creation process took me to many wonderful and exciting related topics which is probably why my trip is a long and winding one.


At first glance, creating a realistic CG Earth doesn't seem like much of a deal. Having worked as a CG artist in the game industry for a long time, I know the classic approach:

1. Create a sphere, texture map it with any of the many Earth textures readily available via Google image search.
2. Create another slightly bigger sphere, texture map it with a (also readily available) cloud map,
3. Create a blue atmosphere layer along the edges, and add a bit of glow effect to it.

It's that simple!

Indeed, most people top it off with glowing city lights for the night hemisphere, and add fancy lens flare effects for the Sun, and everything looks sweet. You can even do all these without using 3D software, just search for the various PhotoShop and After Effects tutorials for creating a realistic Earth in 2D.

So why am I taking such a long time to get there?
Short answer: Photorealism.

I would like my CG Earth to compare favorably alongside actual photos taken by international astronauts on board the Space Shuttles and ISS (International Space Station), as well as match the quality of natural color satellite composites from space agencies like NASA and ESA. Indeed, I was most impressed with the breathtakingly beautiful scientific visualizations from the BBC documentary series Planet Earth. In order to achieve this goal, I need to bring my CG skills up to the right level, hence the long journey of learning and discovery.

This blog shall be both a record of my journey, as well as a means to share my thought processes and techniques for those wishing to do something similar. I've included some links in my blog posts to help explain some concepts, or attach information or resources related to the topic.

Let's get started!