WIP Thread for New User Contest - April 2013

24

Comments

  • StormlyghtStormlyght Posts: 666
    edited April 2013

    After reviewing @chohole's tutorial on her website, I retextured the tshirt in the Odd Outfit. I used patterns from colourlovers.com and attribution for the patterns I used goes to joeseven. I also used the EHSS for the skin. I know it looks like one of those really bad portrait shots for school pictures but it's a work in progress :) My next step is to improve the appearance of the hair. It's very flat looking although that could just be my lighting setup. Does anyone have suggestions for hair shaders? This is a lot of fun by the way ;)

    Edit: I haven't done any post work yet.

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    Post edited by Stormlyght on
  • kittenwyldekittenwylde Posts: 151
    edited December 1969

    If I were still able to do art the old fashioned way, by hand, this would count as a sketch. Anybody got any input on the pose?

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  • IlenaIlena Posts: 283
    edited December 1969

    Sithkitten I like the pose. It turned out good. As for the hair where can you get it? Is it a freebie or paid product?

  • NeilrNeilr Posts: 69
    edited December 1969

    Sith I am no expert but I found with poses the hardest thing is to get the "stiffness" out of the character. Maybe a slight bend at the neck and wrist and the hair is a bit to symmetrical, I know when I was working on a pose with a gal holding a sword just by moving a finger a little bit would change the whole look....I also recommend standing in front of a mirror to see the little body cues you give off, just make sure no one is around or you will get some ...remarks :-)

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited December 1969

    the most common thing I see with many poses that don't look natural are the Collars haven't been touched.Dropping the Collar bones instantly adds a relaxed start to the pose. Only tension in the body movement should dictate how far they then come up, reaching up, out etc.

  • IlenaIlena Posts: 283
    edited December 1969

    Progress so far.

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  • kittenwyldekittenwylde Posts: 151
    edited April 2013

    Tweaked the shoulders a bit, but changing the camera angle made me even happier.
    @Ilena52: it's the Pure Hair: Lovely. Unfortunately not free.
    @Szark: have you been talking to my dance instructor? I read your post and could hear her in the background, saying "Drop your shoulders!"
    @nreed: Agreed. I have a heck of a time with the stiffness, because I can never pin down what part doesn't look right.
    Think I've got the pose part okay now, time to concentrate on the textures. Unless, of course, someone sees anything glaringly obviously just not right. :) If so, by all means, let me know!
    Man, I'm a doofus today. Forgot to attach the modified pic.

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    Post edited by kittenwylde on
  • Scott LivingstonScott Livingston Posts: 4,341
    edited December 1969

    Good start, everyone! It's interesting to see all the different ways people are approaching this theme...

    @Cyonix: the character looks good.
    @bluemoon: great start! Not sure what's the cause of the lighting problem, though.
    @BWSman: very cool image... Wondering what you'll come up with next! ;-)
    @NV Oracle: I hope you will join! Still plenty of time...the deadline is April 30. Just one item needs to be untextured or retextured. Not even the main item, necessarily, though it should be an important item.
    @Jindi: personally I think the reflection looks great.
    @stormlyght: nice job with the texturing! As far as the hair is concerned, I have a hair tutorial (link in my sig) with some tips on that. ;-)
    @ilena52: the tree bark looks nice...is that the part you retextured? Her eyes have an odd glow to them...not sure if that is intended.
    @sithkitten: I definitely think the pose is better in your latest than in the previous version. Curious to see how this develops...

    Keep up the good work, everyone!

  • JaderailJaderail Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Loving all the work I see so far. This looks to be a great contest this month.

  • StormlyghtStormlyght Posts: 666
    edited December 1969

    Good start, everyone! It's interesting to see all the different ways people are approaching this theme...
    @stormlyght: nice job with the texturing! As far as the hair is concerned, I have a hair tutorial (link in my sig) with some tips on that. ;-)

    Thank you! I'll be reading your hair tutorial :)

  • IndigoJansonIndigoJanson Posts: 1,100
    edited December 1969

    Thanks for the feedback and yes it's fun to see all the different works in progress.

    ___

    @Sithkitten, I knew there was something odd about that horse... :) Thanks for pointing out the missing tail, I'll have to see what I can do about that.

    I agree about the angle, the tighter I went in on this the more it told the story. Also agree about the inside of the vase and I think the problem is that it doesn't actually have a base so a circle of wooden table is reflecting up. I hope to have more time to play with this on the weekend.

    ----

    @stormylight, I like the patterns and colour combination of that outfit. I look forward to seeing the finished renders from you and everyone else here.

  • IlenaIlena Posts: 283
    edited December 1969

    Good start, everyone! It's interesting to see all the different ways people are approaching this theme...


    @ilena52: the tree bark looks nice...is that the part you retextured? Her eyes have an odd glow to them...not sure if that is intended.

    Keep up the good work, everyone!

    No. It's not re-textured . Aiming to do it though. Which is going to be a challenge. And if the tree fails I guess there is still her clothes. No it's not intended. Her eyes are white and around the eyelashes it's all thick black. Still banging the head on how to fix it.

  • SzarkSzark Posts: 10,634
    edited December 1969


    @Szark: have you been talking to my dance instructor? I read your post and could hear her in the background, saying "Drop your shoulders!"
    There may have been words exchanged. LOL
  • JaderailJaderail Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Ilena52 said:
    No. It's not re-textured . Aiming to do it though. Which is going to be a challenge. And if the tree fails I guess there is still her clothes. No it's not intended. Her eyes are white and around the eyelashes it's all thick black. Still banging the head on how to fix it.
    Take a look in your Texture folder for the Eye parts. Find the Eye lash trans map for a figure. And then make your own transparency map for the lashes. We will help you as much you need.
  • Scott LivingstonScott Livingston Posts: 4,341
    edited December 1969

    Ilena52, when you get a chance, I'd like to see a close-up of her face to get a better sense of what's going on with the eyes.

  • IlenaIlena Posts: 283
    edited December 1969

    Hope it's visible enough.

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  • kittenwyldekittenwylde Posts: 151
    edited December 1969

    Wow, that looks almost like what happens when you take a picture of a cat and use the flash. Wish I knew how to fix it... Well, outside of Photoshop, anyway! ;)
    The closeup looks brighter than the full image. In fact, I like the way it frames her face nicely. She kind of gets lost in the big tree. Every time I look at it I get more convinced it would look really neat if you could get a beam of sunlight to fall on the character and light her up.

  • edited April 2013

    Ilena52 said:
    Hope it's visible enough.

    Just a thought, what sort of surface shader are you using on the eyes. I have had problems with surfaces doing this before and found it was the reflection channel in the surfaces tab. A lot of shaders load with reflection mode set to environment map and if there is no reflection map there the surface renders white. Change the reflection mode to raytrace and it will fix the problem.

    This is only a guess as I don't knoe what sort of surface you're using on the eyes.

    SORRY - ignore this post, I forgot you are using Carrara:red:

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    Post edited by bluemoon_524a0e29ba on
  • kittenwyldekittenwylde Posts: 151
    edited December 1969

    So many settings... So much to remember...
    So nice to have a helpful community to share all this knowledge! Thanks, bluemoon. :)

  • JaderailJaderail Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    I so thought they were asking about the Eye lash thing. The Big black parts.

  • Scott LivingstonScott Livingston Posts: 4,341
    edited December 1969

    I think Jaderail's right about the eyelash transmaps...something odd happening there... But the eye surfaces themselves may require some adjustment. Not a Carrara user, so I don't really have any input as to how to do that, but I've seen similar things in DAZ Studio when working with a texture made for Poser.

    I like the framing and composition of the full image, but I agree with sithkitten about the lighting.

  • IlenaIlena Posts: 283
    edited December 1969

    Thanks you for trying to figure out the fix along with me. :) Tried to slap several new skin textures, but all of them got the same result until by some miracle it simply all of sudden corrected itself. :-/ Weird stuff.

  • IlenaIlena Posts: 283
    edited December 1969

    Thanks you for trying to figure out the fix along with me. :) Tried to slap several new skin textures, but all of them got the same result until by some miracle it simply all of sudden corrected itself. :-/ Weeeeird stuff.

  • evilproducerevilproducer Posts: 9,050
    edited December 1969

    Ilena52 said:
    Thanks you for trying to figure out the fix along with me. :) Tried to slap several new skin textures, but all of them got the same result until by some miracle it simply all of sudden corrected itself. :-/ Weeeeird stuff.


    You're using Indirect light or the skylight in Carrara? Have you made sure that light through transparency is enabled both in the regular render settings and the GI settings?


    The other possibility is that when the shaders were applied, the transparency maps weren't loaded into the shader's Alpha channel. My guess though is that it's in the render settings.

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  • edited April 2013

    Thanks for the nice comments Scott and sithkitten

    Post edited by bluemoon_524a0e29ba on
  • StormlyghtStormlyght Posts: 666
    edited December 1969

    Jindi said:

    @stormylight, I like the patterns and colour combination of that outfit. I look forward to seeing the finished renders from you and everyone else here.

    @Jindi, Thank you.

    It's fun to watch individuals work on their projects and see the improvements. I know that I learn from all of you and truly appreciate the support that is provided on these forums!

  • Scott LivingstonScott Livingston Posts: 4,341
    edited April 2013

    Another way to approach this contest is to use primitives.* Primitives, for those who aren't familiar with them, are relatively simple 2D or 3D geometrical shapes, like a plane, cube, or sphere. Many 3D programs allow you to create or load primitives. In DAZ Studio, simply go to the Create menu and choose New Primitive, then select the primitive type you want to work with. It will load without a texture, and you can edit its materials settings, apply a shader or shader preset, or even apply an image to it.

    In Bryce, the Create palette includes a variety of primitives that you can choose from. After loading them, you can apply Bryce materials to them.

    In the image below, I've used a primitive plane as a floor (instructions from Jaderail on how to do this can be found here). I then applied a chrome shader to it, then edited it to appear darker and slightly less reflective. Still kind of a WIP (I'll be using this scene, or variants of it, for a few different purposes), but hopefully it gets the idea across. By the way, everything in the scene either comes free with DS (Genesis Starter Essentials), or is included in the free-ish Anime Star Fighter bundle.

    *I know Jindi is already using maclean's Morphing Primitives product...that's basically the same idea, but with more complex shapes. Here I'm talking about primitives that are somewhat more...primitive. :)

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    Post edited by Scott Livingston on
  • IlenaIlena Posts: 283
    edited December 1969

    Ilena52 said:
    Thanks you for trying to figure out the fix along with me. :) Tried to slap several new skin textures, but all of them got the same result until by some miracle it simply all of sudden corrected itself. :-/ Weeeeird stuff.


    You're using Indirect light or the skylight in Carrara? Have you made sure that light through transparency is enabled both in the regular render settings and the GI settings?


    The other possibility is that when the shaders were applied, the transparency maps weren't loaded into the shader's Alpha channel. My guess though is that it's in the render settings.

    Evilproducer I was using both indirect and skylight? You shouldn't do that way or...? The change in render settings you provided a slight change but a satisfactory one I think. So here is the further progress still without a shader or re-texture and without changes in sun position.

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  • evilproducerevilproducer Posts: 9,050
    edited April 2013

    Ilena52 said:
    Ilena52 said:
    Thanks you for trying to figure out the fix along with me. :) Tried to slap several new skin textures, but all of them got the same result until by some miracle it simply all of sudden corrected itself. :-/ Weeeeird stuff.


    You're using Indirect light or the skylight in Carrara? Have you made sure that light through transparency is enabled both in the regular render settings and the GI settings?


    The other possibility is that when the shaders were applied, the transparency maps weren't loaded into the shader's Alpha channel. My guess though is that it's in the render settings.

    Evilproducer I was using both indirect and skylight? You shouldn't do that way or...? The change in render settings you provided a slight change but a satisfactory one I think. So here is the further progress still without a shader or re-texture and without changes in sun position.


    Nice job so far!


    You can use both at the same time if you wish. I just had one selected in my example. The main point is to make sure that the Light Through Transparency option is selected in both the general render settings and the GI settings.


    I notice some ashing (gray blotchy artifacts) in the image which is a result of virtual photons used in the GI. There are some things to do to help minimize and eliminate the effect. If you could post a screen shot of the render settings (anything included below the Skylight and Indirect Light check boxes, I may be able to point you in the right direction, as well as provide a hint or two on how to speed up the light calculations if needed.

    Post edited by evilproducer on
  • evilproducerevilproducer Posts: 9,050
    edited December 1969

    Ilena52 said:

    Evilproducer I was using both indirect and skylight? You shouldn't do that way or...? The change in render settings you provided a slight change but a satisfactory one I think. So here is the further progress still without a shader or re-texture and without changes in sun position.

    Ilena, I've created a simple out-door light rig for Carrara, that simulates atmospheric bounced light and may eliminate the need for GI if used with a sunlight or distance light for the primary light source. PM me if you're interested.

    To keep things on topic, I've been working on a Carrara terrain-scene for a Renaissance style village (buildings courtesy DryJack at ShareCG). I've created and procedurally shaded the crumbled stone walls, modified shading elements on the trees, built and shaded cattails, clumps of moss, etc. and used a distribution shader on the terrain to create custom dirt patches and wheel tracks in the terrain shader.


    I also used the outdoor light rig I mentioned above to light the scene along with a Sunlight.

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