Some feedback and a question about dForce

Mescalino

I would like some feedback on this render. Also how can i use dForce to make the part by her breast mroe realistic. (Less breast hugging)

L'Adair

Second question first: Take a look at Yoda Says Use dForce To Fight Static Cling to help with the shrink-wrapped top. Once you have something you like, create a morph so you don't lose it: Here are some detailed, easy to follow instructions for Turning Your Perfect Simulation Into A Morph.

Now, feedback:

• Your figure's pose looks as though she is relaxing, but there's nothing for her to lean against. And I can't tell if the one foot is actually on the ground. I'm seeing a shadow for the pillow near her foot, but not for the foot itself. (It's a cute pose, but my stomach is starting to ache with the effort she's expending to keep from lying all the way back.)
• The light is coming from a lot of different sources, and it looks like a lot of that is emissives, the candles and the light strings, perhaps the lights on the side of the building. But there is also a light source throwing light on the fence behind her, and the props in the lower left corner. Is that the default HDRI? Try rotating the dome, in the Render Settings->Environment, ang get the light on the figure.
• Also consider lowering the Luminance on the emissive objects to bring out the details, using ghost lights to shed light into the scene. KA has products for that to make it quick and easy, but he also showed us how to create ghost lights for free.
• What is your figure looking at? As she isn't looking into the camera, the viewer's eye is drawn toward the direction of her eyes, but there's "nothing there."
• The bright colors of the fabric work well with the vibrant greens of the grass and plants. The area, (backyard?) looks inviting with the candles.
• The biggest thing missing in my mind is the story. Why is she sitting on a blanket on the ground surrounded by candle-powered lanterrns and pillows? (Unless there is another figure planned that isn't in the image yet?)

I think you have a really good start on telling a story with the image. I look forward to seeing what you end up with.

Mescalino

I will work on this scene more, trying to learn more about lighting and domes. I also changed the pose to something better. I think you will like this more as it tells a story. Something i indeed missed a bit in this scene.

maikdecker

I'm neither so artistically inclined or experienced as @L'Adair but here's my 2 cent:

• those lightbulbs (?) on the wire look as if they aren't textured at all, but pure light emitters. If I would want to get some lightbulbs on a string, I'd use two primitive spheres, one inside the other. The outer one would get a glass shader and the light emitting shader I would put on the inside sphere. There's probably better ways to do it, but I'm a newbie...
• nearly everything in the picture has this photorealistic touch. Except for the female, who - to me - looks a bit like a plastic doll. The pose is nice, but her face lacks some... emotion? Turning the head a couple degrees, while keeping her eyes looking at the same spot would give her a bit of "life". Different lighting and/or a different skin texture might help, too.

Apart from that, it's a nice picture.

L'Adair

maikdecker said:

• those lightbulbs (?) on the wire look as if they aren't textured at all, but pure light emitters. If I would want to get some lightbulbs on a string, I'd use two primitive spheres, one inside the other. The outer one would get a glass shader and the light emitting shader I would put on the inside sphere. There's probably better ways to do it, but I'm a newbie...

The lights on the string are more glaringly obvious than the candles, but they all "suffer" from the same thing. Too much Luminance. That's the trouble with trying to light a scene with the prop lights in the scene. By the time you get enough luminance from the prop to cast light, the prop becomes a pure white, (or whatever color you put in the Emissive Color setting.) And one thing that doesn't get mentioned often enough is the calculations Iray must do for each and every polygon that emits light, so this scene is going to take a lot longer for all the candles and hanging lights. That's a trade off I'm willing to make for the right look. But I'll set the Luminance to just enough for the prop to appear to be giving off the light and use Ghost Lights to actually light the scene.

For example, in the image below, there is a ghost light just below the ceiling creating "ambient light" and another, stronger ghost light just below the lampshade. The lampshade itself is emitting just enough light to appear to have a lighted bulb in the lamp. There are other ghost lights in the scene adding light from the side, so the characters' faces on the camera side aren't in shadow.

And in this image, the fire image is also in the Emissive Color setting with the color left white, the Emissive Temperature set to 0. All the color is from the image. The Ghost Light has the temperature set in the 2900-3500 range for the warm glow. Out of frame is ghost light along the wall on our left adding the ambient light for the room. There are no windows on that side, but it's easy to believe there are.

In the first image, Ghost Lights provide all the lighting in the scene. In the second image, an HDRI is providing the light coming in through the window. The rest of the lighting is from Ghost Lights.

L'Adair

patrick.dewijs said:

I will work on this scene more, trying to learn more about lighting and domes. I also changed the pose to something better. I think you will like this more as it tells a story. Something i indeed missed a bit in this scene.

Lighting was by far the hardest part for me. I did a lot of landscape and floral photography before coming to 3D, and I was used to using the available light, sometimes augmented by flash. I think spending the time to master lighting in Daz Studio is a good investment. No matter what new gizmos and whizbangs Daz adds to the software, we'll always need good lighting skills!

Havos

L'Adair said:

maikdecker said:

• those lightbulbs (?) on the wire look as if they aren't textured at all, but pure light emitters. If I would want to get some lightbulbs on a string, I'd use two primitive spheres, one inside the other. The outer one would get a glass shader and the light emitting shader I would put on the inside sphere. There's probably better ways to do it, but I'm a newbie...

The lights on the string are more glaringly obvious than the candles, but they all "suffer" from the same thing. Too much Luminance. That's the trouble with trying to light a scene with the prop lights in the scene. By the time you get enough luminance from the prop to cast light, the prop becomes a pure white, (or whatever color you put in the Emissive Color setting.) And one thing that doesn't get mentioned often enough is the calculations Iray must do for each and every polygon that emits light, so this scene is going to take a lot longer for all the candles and hanging lights. That's a trade off I'm willing to make for the right look. But I'll set the Luminance to just enough for the prop to appear to be giving off the light and use Ghost Lights to actually light the scene.

For example, in the image below, there is a ghost light just below the ceiling creating "ambient light" and another, stronger ghost light just below the lampshade. The lampshade itself is emitting just enough light to appear to have a lighted bulb in the lamp. There are other ghost lights in the scene adding light from the side, so the characters' faces on the camera side aren't in shadow.

And in this image, the fire image is also in the Emissive Color setting with the color left white, the Emissive Temperature set to 0. All the color is from the image. The Ghost Light has the temperature set in the 2900-3500 range for the warm glow. Out of frame is ghost light along the wall on our left adding the ambient light for the room. There are no windows on that side, but it's easy to believe there are.

In the first image, Ghost Lights provide all the lighting in the scene. In the second image, an HDRI is providing the light coming in through the window. The rest of the lighting is from Ghost Lights.

If white is next to move, that game is 3 moves from checkmate! :-)

Mescalino

Here is the latest render. Its a bit more grainy then i'dd like but other then that its a big improvement i think.

 

EDIT: Looking at the skin i may have to use a different skin type as it indeed looks "flat".

Daywalker Designs

L'Adair said:

patrick.dewijs said:

I will work on this scene more, trying to learn more about lighting and domes. I also changed the pose to something better. I think you will like this more as it tells a story. Something i indeed missed a bit in this scene.

Lighting was by far the hardest part for me. I did a lot of landscape and floral photography before coming to 3D, and I was used to using the available light, sometimes augmented by flash. I think spending the time to master lighting in Daz Studio is a good investment. No matter what new gizmos and whizbangs Daz adds to the software, we'll always need good lighting skills!

Lighting, even when working with 3Delight, is the most important aspect of learning how to use DAZ Studio. That was my biggest issue back when I started in 2009.

Mescalino

Yes im beginning to see the complexity in light for renders. I have always used standard light but for more dynamic or ambiance, lighting does give it that extra touch.