Help w/ Gravel Road

[ctk111]

I'm trying to render out a gravel road that looks somewhat believable, but I'm not having any luck. It always looks too flat even with a bump map. I'm going to try a displacement modifier, but I'm worried about render times. Any suggestions are appreciated.

[Aaron2004]

I would say your best bet would be displacement (if you are going to be up close). It shouldn't be that bad with render times.

 

You COULD scatter geometry of the gravel...but that would hit your render times harder than displacement. Plus it would just be a bear to do.

[Nic H]

I reckon bump mapping should suffice depending on how close you get to it.

 

Id turn of bitmap blur in the diffuse for a start if you haven't already.

 

The most important bit will be having a high quality large diffuse map that tiles well, then you can create your bump from that. Have you got a screen shot?

 

Using a blend material between 2 textures could be a good idea as well

[RodT]

try blending as nicnic suggested, include the "travel lanes" as well, perhaps two objects with differing displacement? I'm curious to see what you come up with, share it when you're done? good luck