Digital Art Zone

@Horo I think is Time to spend 1 or 2 Bucks for a faster Machine!!!!!!!!

Horo...is the ‘first’ entry valid?

Someone named isikol said: “All entries must be new images—not previously available for public viewing—or will be disqualified. Public posting includes display on blogs, forum posts or any web page without restricted access. “

Jay

@bombenleger58 - I have already 5. I used the i3 because it doesn’t have a fan even though it’s a 4 core. I needed the 8-way i7 for other renders. The other three are slower but can be used for network rendering more elaborate scenes.

@Jamahoney - TheSavage, Pam, David and I only posted links, no images except in the public forum of the Stonemason contest thread. The second image that is also there is indeed an old render but marked as not for the contest - just as illustration and it is too small. We’ll see what Stefan decides.

I think we are perfectly fine, because all we are doing is sending people to the contest thread. So the actual images are not being shown anywhere else but the contest thread.

And as we are promoting this contest rigorously I am sure Stefan is only going to be pleased.

These rules are the standard DAZ 3D contest rules, and I can assure you Jay that every other contest I have entered on the DAZ 3D forum people have always done this sort of thing, even when the vote for winner was going to be a public one, or perhaps I should say especially if the winner was going to be judged by public acclaim.

Probably that last is one reason why nowadays there are no public votes for winners. Quite often actually since the CV team was formed Daz has actually asked the CV team to vote for winners of contests. I know this because the Current Forum Team (Mods, forum admin whatever you want to call us) were taken from the CV team, because we had already worked together as a team for a couple of years and Daz decided that we had been a very successful experiment.  I don’t think any other forum has a team of volunteers dedicated to helping New Users get to grips with the software and even the entire forum experience. I also don’t think any other forum actually has a section especially for New Users.

Promo finished, back to your regularly scheduled stuff. 

And my second.  http://www.daz3d.com/forums/viewthread/15430/P150/#231983

I stuck with the orange colour scheme.

And if you look on the left… maybe just maybe this render offers a clue how to achieve a bokeh effect… which is interesting.

David, your second entry reminded me of something. I haven’t mentioned it here but recently my motherboard died. It could have been just it’s time or it could have been some scenes I was rendering. Basically they were buildings that are detailed inside and out. I was trying to render some scenes that were inside the buildings and was having alot of trouble getting good decent lighting going and whenever I got something passible it seemed like the render times became undesireable (which makes me wonder if my rendering activities pushed my motherboard over the edge). Anyway I’ve been meaning to ask, is there a tutorial that specifically covers how to set up lighting in a scene where you are inside an object imported such as the Skyline Hall for example? If not could you make one when you have the time? Not only covering how to get the overall lighting right but how to illuminate the lights that are physical objects in the scene (like in the skyline hall picture there are some sort of panel lights in the ceiling)?

@David - great scene your second entry. There appears to be some effects that could go as bokeh.

@LordHardDriven - I have covered how lights can be made visible in my 3-part video Make/Fake and HDRI in Bryce for Bryce, but it is not yet published. Essentially, you have to create a glowing surface where the light should be perceived. For a light bulb, you would use a sphere, for a fluorescent tube a cylinder, for light sources within a frame a 2D face - whatever. Give the surfaces the colour of the light, usually white because these parts must appear very bright, and give them a lot of Ambient light. After all, they should appear to shine. Set the actual light source in front of the surface. If the surface is semi- or fully transparent, put it behind the glowing surface. That’s how I made the lights in the renders in both of my entries to the Stonemason contest.

EDIT to add: It is actually quite straightforward. The really hard bit is to place those surfaces and the light sources. It takes a lot of patience and sometimes many hours.

LordHardDriven - 28 January 2013 05:33 PM

David, your second entry reminded me of something. I haven’t mentioned it here but recently my motherboard died. It could have been just it’s time or it could have been some scenes I was rendering. Basically they were buildings that are detailed inside and out. I was trying to render some scenes that were inside the buildings and was having alot of trouble getting good decent lighting going and whenever I got something passible it seemed like the render times became undesireable (which makes me wonder if my rendering activities pushed my motherboard over the edge). Anyway I’ve been meaning to ask, is there a tutorial that specifically covers how to set up lighting in a scene where you are inside an object imported such as the Skyline Hall for example? If not could you make one when you have the time? Not only covering how to get the overall lighting right but how to illuminate the lights that are physical objects in the scene (like in the skyline hall picture there are some sort of panel lights in the ceiling)?

Yes rendering is cruel to motherboards, continuous 100% load for hours at a time can reduce the lifetime of some components.  Having killed a few motherboards I now tend to overspec them for what I need and this strategy does seem to pay off.  I still kill power supplies at an alarming rate.  Expensive or cheap ones, it does not seem to matter.  So I just buy cheap suitable power supplies now and instead spend on the money I save on motherboards and the biggest cooler I can fit in the box for the processor.

Interior lighting… is tricky, but with the new lighting methods I’ve uncovered for gel lights (which is what I used in the Skyline Hall) and one standard radial - yes, it is a good idea.  Post up a picture of the kind of interior you are thinking of - different spaces will require different strategies and I will see what I can come up with.

Can I add something to Mark’s request.

Setting up lights to work within a sky dome as well?  I fudged it with my first contest entry but would love to know the recommended way to deal with things like this setting up acceptable lighting conditions to show an outdoor environment within a sky dome especially.

chohole - 29 January 2013 04:33 AM

Can I add something to Mark’s request.

Setting up lights to work within a sky dome as well?  I fudged it with my first contest entry but would love to know the recommended way to deal with things like this setting up acceptable lighting conditions to show an outdoor environment within a sky dome especially.

Yes, you are more than welcome to make suggestions.  Show me a picture of the kind of lighting environment you like me to replicate - preferably a photograph - I don’t like to copy renders since you are already then a further step away from the real world.

On this occasion, very difficult to find photo’s, but you have seen my image, which I admit is slightly postworked, although the crepuscular rays were in the image, not post worked, but how would you light something similar to get the actual shadows tuly matching the rays

http://www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Forest-Trees.jpg

chohole - 29 January 2013 05:16 AM

On this occasion, very difficult to find photo’s, but you have seen my image, which I admit is slightly postworked, although the crepuscular rays were in the image, not post worked, but how would you light something similar to get the actual shadows tuly matching the rays

http://www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Forest-Trees.jpg

Hmn… challenging… OK I’ll pop my thinking cap on and see what I can come up with.  Be aware - you are probably going to be in for monster render times!

Oh and nice use of the word “crepuscular”!

chohole - 29 January 2013 05:16 AM

On this occasion, very difficult to find photo’s, but you have seen my image, which I admit is slightly postworked, although the crepuscular rays were in the image, not post worked, but how would you light something similar to get the actual shadows tuly matching the rays

http://www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Forest-Trees.jpg

A perfect subject for an HDRI photograph. I’ve been waiting for such a moment for quite a while.

chohole - 29 January 2013 05:16 AM

On this occasion, very difficult to find photo’s, but you have seen my image, which I admit is slightly postworked, although the crepuscular rays were in the image, not post worked, but how would you light something similar to get the actual shadows tuly matching the rays

http://www.renewableenergyinstaller.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Forest-Trees.jpg

Bryce 10 minute lighting project - crepuscular rays - a tutorial by David Brinnen

Nice one, thanks David.