Panorama Tutorial

STOP! DO NOT PASS GO!! DO NOT COLLECT $200!!

Please make sure you have changed ALL your Paint Shop Pro 7 settings to those described on the PSP Settings page. Failure to do so will result in much frustration and poor results. You have been warned!

Ok, now on with the show, lol.

Image Resources

• The Internet - Do a search for "360 Panoramas" using Google or Yahoo. There are many sites dedicated to panorama imaging where you can find suitable photos to use for your panorama. If you are lucky the site will have .jpg images but most will ONLY allow you to view the panoramas via a web plugin in VRML format. PROTIP: Right click just outside the viewer when it loads and select "view source". Scroll through the html code until you find the image source location. Most of the time you can change the url to view the embedded .jpg image that you can save to your computer. Here is an example for you to use. http://www.naturepanoramas.com/65002025.html Now locate the following line of code: <param name=imageName value="panorama/65002025ausablegolf.jpg"> using the "view source" method by right clicking in the black area outside the viewer window and then edit the url to read as follows. http://www.naturepanoramas.com/panorama/65002025ausablegolf.jpg Now make sure you maximize the image to full size by holding your mouse cursor near the bottom right corner of the image until the 4 arrows icon appears (this may take a few seconds to pop up), click on it and the image will transform to it's full size. Righ click on the picture and save it to a folder on your hard drive called Panos. *QTVR (Quicktime) viewers use .mov files in which the source images are locked within the parent file so you can not use these.

• Digital Camera - A great way to aquire photos of the exact scenery you want to use. Set your camera to it's highest qaulity setting and try to photograph locations when shadows are at a minimum. The TW2003 game engine auto applies shadows based on the skycube used so the ideal photos will have minimal shadowing visible.

• Scanner - Scan images from photos, magazines, calenders, etc. Try to use the highest possible DPI settings to avoid image pixelation. Many imaging programs will have filters that can be set to increase image quality so take advantage of these if available. I will also explain further in the tutorial how to use some of the excellent Photo Effects in PSP7 that greatly improve the look of any image.

General Rules

• You should now have a decent collection of images to use for your panorama. I prefer to have an excess of images to choose from so that I can have variations in each of the 12 required panels. Keep in mind that you are creating a distant scene for your course. I like to use 200 yards as the minimum viewing perspective relayed by the panorama in relation to your actual course plot. Try to avoid any scenery that appears like it would be located ON the course (large trees, clubhouse, bushes). This will help to promote a believable look rather than an out of proportion eyesore.

Tutorials

• Primary Method (Recommended)

Part 1 - Creating Your Panorama In Paint Shop Pro 7

Part 2 - Library Creator and Course Architect

• Alternate Method

Part 1 - The Base Image

Part 2 - Creating Panel Segments

Part 3 - Library Creator and Course Architect

Main Index