This is an example of an underwater visualisation of a marine habitat on the SW coast of Victoria (produced by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries). It displays school of “old-wife” fishes moving in a shallow sea grass habitat.

This visualisation excercise was developped in 3D studio Max and illustrates the strength of this software to create realistic lighting and shadows. We are currently investigating the use of this software to create 3D realistic representations of terrestrial and underwater landscapes and ecosystems. However the lack of spatial references in 3dStudio Max remains a serious limitation to it’s broad application and automation across landscapes.