Digital Art Zone

The dragons, as requested…

Thankyou.  I think they are so good the others should see them as well.

chohole - 02 October 2012 02:28 PM

Thankyou.  I think they are so good the others should see them as well.

Thanks very much, it’s my pleasure.

You do great work, M!chaelFrank!

@M1chaelFrank   great concept of the dragons as trees. Nice work!

Got the Ken Gilliland Pelicans loaded and ready to go. Here is my first effort testing out sending to Bryce (from DAZ3) and then using Duplicate and tilting the object pelicans slightly. I like the way they turned out. Can’t get too much “closer” for the whole bird. It shows the construction a bit more obviously. Cropped but otherwise as renedered.

Seems I’m on catch-up again.  Well, in reverse order, the birds flying over the sea did indeed turn out well.  Good colour and lighting, nice composition.

Michael Frank I’m pleased to see has joined us here, I’ve already commented on his fantastic images elsewhere.  Needless to say I was very impressed - but a little bit critical - just to show willing.  As it would get very dull if I just went on about how much I enjoyed looking at his images.  Which I do.

Dave…  the ships in the storm… I thought those were stealing the scene, at least until I saw the three skulls.  I do like simple scenes done well, and that’s a simple scene done very well indeed.  I admit though to being a little curious about the compositional choice of having that large empty oblong of black occupying the upper half of the image.  I think I’d have dropped the camera and had the horizon pass through the top of the skulls somewhat and cropped 2:1.  But I do like your choice.  The almost opalescent/pearlescent effect you have from the specular is wonderful.  I wish we had a gallery here so I could award you full marks.  Just take them anyway!

Here’s a few experiments I’ve been running.  Consider them wips for ponderings I’ve been having about TA rendering and light.  They all use Horo’s Treppenhalle2 HDRI.

David Brinnen - 02 October 2012 03:49 PM

Dave…  the ships in the storm… I thought those were stealing the scene, at least until I saw the three skulls.  I do like simple scenes done well, and that’s a simple scene done very well indeed.  I admit though to being a little curious about the compositional choice of having that large empty oblong of black occupying the upper half of the image.  I think I’d have dropped the camera and had the horizon pass through the top of the skulls somewhat and cropped 2:1.  But I do like your choice.

The graphic designer in me always likes to leave plenty of space for words… That’s where the bit that says “Happy Halloween” will go.

David Brinnen - 02 October 2012 03:49 PM

The almost opalescent/pearlescent effect you have from the specular is wonderful.  I wish we had a gallery here so I could award you full marks.  Just take them anyway!

Thanks, I’ll put them safe in my skull decorated box.

David Brinnen - 02 October 2012 03:49 PM

Here’s a few experiments I’ve been running.  Consider them wips for ponderings I’ve been having about TA rendering and light.  They all use Horo’s Treppenhalle2 HDRI.

Looking good!
In the bottom one with the fire pits, I’d have been too temped to leave the fire extinguisher in view to the left.

Odaa - 02 October 2012 02:38 PM

You do great work, M!chaelFrank!

Thanks very much!

IceScribe - 02 October 2012 02:59 PM

@M1chaelFrank   great concept of the dragons as trees. Nice work!

Thank you, I’m glad you like it!

David Brinnen - 02 October 2012 03:49 PM

Seems I’m on catch-up again.  Well, in reverse order, the birds flying over the sea did indeed turn out well.  Good colour and lighting, nice composition.

Michael Frank I’m pleased to see has joined us here, I’ve already commented on his fantastic images elsewhere.  Needless to say I was very impressed - but a little bit critical - just to show willing.  As it would get very dull if I just went on about how much I enjoyed looking at his images.  Which I do.

Dave…  the ships in the storm… I thought those were stealing the scene, at least until I saw the three skulls.  I do like simple scenes done well, and that’s a simple scene done very well indeed.  I admit though to being a little curious about the compositional choice of having that large empty oblong of black occupying the upper half of the image.  I think I’d have dropped the camera and had the horizon pass through the top of the skulls somewhat and cropped 2:1.  But I do like your choice.  The almost opalescent/pearlescent effect you have from the specular is wonderful.  I wish we had a gallery here so I could award you full marks.  Just take them anyway!

Here’s a few experiments I’ve been running.  Consider them wips for ponderings I’ve been having about TA rendering and light.  They all use Horo’s Treppenhalle2 HDRI.

Thanks for the support David!  i’m working diligently on trying to make my dragons look a bit less like sea-horses, but as luck would have it, I’m actually trying to make a sea-horse now…  hmm, I’ll be darned if it ends up looking like a dragon.  I’ve been on a “cute” streak lately and fun as it is, I’m determined to be a bit scarier… esp. with Halloween around the corner.  Btw, your lighting experiments are fascinating.  It’s really making me want to try a few more ambitious things!

David: I liked the first three lighting experiments, but something seemed off about the one with the coals…as if the glow on her legs was too bright, or as if the firelight “shouldn’t” be able to reach her legs from that angle.

Here’s the version of the Viking ship image using Horo’s suggestions.

@M1chael:  Those dragon trees, IMHO, are fantastic.  You said your seahorses end up looking like dragons?  Well, they sort of do, except with much longer and narrower snouts.  Oh, and no fire or big teeth.

@Ice:  Looking at that image I feel I’m in the plane that’s following those birds.  I really like that image.

@David:  How in the world did Vicky get all that stuff into that building?  Perhaps it’s time she sports a pair of leggings and boots?  Is the intensity of the white orb the same in all three images?  I ask because, while Vicky appears to be the same relative distance from the orb, the intensity in the last image seems to be greater.

@Dave:  Love that casket.  Those skulls are remarkable.

@Odaa:  It’s weird, but the longer I studied that image, the more things seem to sway.  Up and down, up and down, up and down.

Now it’s my turn.  You may have seen the little pull toy I’ve been working on, and David’s offer to give it some fancy lighting.  Well, I took him up on his offer and here is the result.  He used TA, threw in some carpet, and all I can say is WOW.  Such an improvement.

He also asked, because of the carpet, if that was the direction I was headed.  Yes, David, it is.  I’ve an image of a wood floor with a round throw rug sitting under the toy, with other toys scattered somewhere in the background.

I did take Dave’s advice and redid the pull rope so it fell as it should once it came out of the pull toy end.  I also repositioned it so the image isn’t as long.  I tried playing with the material for the pull rope but didn’t like the results so I went back to it’s original material, tweaked just slightly..

Well, Here’s my second render. I changed it up some from my original look. I’m taking a big chance putting it in here. Please go easy on me lol. But if there’s anything it needs to make it better, please let me know.

Thanks in Advance.