Tips for Speeding Up Textures

Textures can be the most powerful effects you create in Bryce. They can also be the most costly. The more complex the texture, the longer it takes to calculate and the longer it takes to apply to an object, which finally increases the rendering time. When you're creating the texture, you always have to keep in mind that it's part of a material, which is part of an object. All these parts can contribute to the rendering time:

The material that contains the texture may have several complex attributes of its own, like Transparency and Reflection. The size of the object may also contribute to the rendering time.

Consider the effect of applying a complex texture to a complex material onto an infinite plane. The time to calculate this object would be staggering. A good rule of thumb when working with complex objects and textures is to make the texture element as simple as possible.

These tips are meant only as a precaution to prevent you from inadvertently creating a huge texture. That doesn't mean that you shouldn't use the more complex features as well, after all they were created for a reason. You should just use them cautiously.

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