NEW USER Contest February 2014 “WIP Thread”

2

Comments

  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    edited December 1969

    Have been tweaking and ponering and muttering over this for a little while now. Not quite satisfied with it but wanted to hear what other people thought of it before pulling out my hair over it :)

    Valentine Proposal

    valentineproposal.jpg
    800 x 800 - 114K
  • Mcjam24Mcjam24 Posts: 115
    edited December 1969

    @Carola O, this is just my first gut reaction, but have you considered making the ringbox the focal point? I don't know if there is a ring in the box or not to focus on but if there is it may help bring the proposal aspect out a bit more.

  • MilosGulanMilosGulan Posts: 1,963
    edited December 1969

    All those pictures looks very nice. Here is one more from me called Moment of Peace.

    Moment_of_Peace.png
    788 x 788 - 1M
  • Carola OCarola O Posts: 3,823
    edited December 1969

    Another version, played around a bit with the lights and textures :)

    McJam - the ringbox is empty, I am imagine that the propsal itself has been done and the happy couple are off celebrating in a more.. personal.. way *grin* Changed the placement of the ringbox a little too :)


    Valentine Proposal

    valentineproposal.jpg
    800 x 800 - 80K
  • Maxstar IllusionsMaxstar Illusions Posts: 500
    edited December 1969

    Wanted to try Still Life for sometime, but didn't dare yet. Neither in DAZ nor in photography.

    But everything needs a start.

    Still-Life-wineSW.jpg
    638 x 850 - 68K
  • Scott LivingstonScott Livingston Posts: 4,341
    edited December 1969

    bobfisher said:
    @bobfisher: I like the lighting and color contrast. Looking forward to see the next version...I think you might be right, with fewer objects it could be a stronger composition.

    Thank you Scott.

    A few less props and changed the lighting.
    Nice work--looks better to me.

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

    gulan7 said:
    Here is something called "Simple Things" done with Daz Studio 4.6.2


    Looks good. I like the backdrop too. The lighting is a little red, but maybe that's just me.
  • Scott LivingstonScott Livingston Posts: 4,341
    edited December 1969

    3ch0_419 said:
    checked the lights and had the dang shadows turned off so here we go.

    @Kismet and scott: thanks for the feedback so far.


    Looking better with the shadows!
  • Scott LivingstonScott Livingston Posts: 4,341
    edited December 1969

    Still tweaking the lighting.

    I'd say it's getting better and better!
  • Scott LivingstonScott Livingston Posts: 4,341
    edited December 1969

    mcjam24 said:
    Thanks Jaderail and Kismet, here it is again, with a few more details before I get to tweaking...

    Cool scene and excellent lighting.

    Not sure about the addition of the photographs...they add visual intrigue, but for me subtract just a tiny bit from the aesthetics/composition. They're probably okay--not saying you should get rid of them--just take care not to make the scene too cluttered.

  • MilosGulanMilosGulan Posts: 1,963
    edited December 1969

    Yes it is a bit, and it seems i can't change it now as i saved scene but camera has been moved, and i didn't saved camera preset either. But i did on the second picture, so that first one seems to be finished.

  • bobfisherbobfisher Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Thank you Scott and Kismet.

    @ maxstar - Very nice, the refraction on the glasses looks good.

    @ Kismet2012 - Every time I look at your image I get the feeling that it needs less height and more width, but that's just me.

    @ mcjam24 - Nice - love the blurred reflection of the lamp.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    edited December 1969

    @ mcjam24: When looking at your image my eyes now stop on the photographs. If that is what you wanted then they work. If not, then you might want to consider either moving or removing them. Personally I like them.

    @spmwc: Lovely render. I really like the strong blue on the katana's scabard (I hope I got that right. I do not know much about swords.)

    @ carola: Such a lovely scene. I like the placement of the ring box in the 2nd image better but I like the lighting in the first render. It looks a little flat to me in the 2nd render. (Love the Calla Lillies.)

    @gulan7: I really like the addition of the red candles. They really stand out against the rest of the gold coloured items.

    @maxstar: Beautiful render. Nice refraction on the wine glasses. I also love the colour of the roses. The entire piece has a tranquil feel.

    I am so glad I do not have to judge this competition. :-)

  • Maxstar IllusionsMaxstar Illusions Posts: 500
    edited December 1969

    Thank you Kismet2012 and bobfisher for your feedback.

    @Kismet2012 - those are actually carnations, so I gueess they need some more tuning not to be confused with the roses ;)

    @Kismet2012 - love the choice of the objects and the lighting with good depth of shadow. I notice the objects are settled kind of in a line. Curious if the image can get more depth if you make use of space in the front. Like turning the scroll to the right (to the observer) and moving the ink pot more to the front too.

    @bobfisher - very nice textures with the realistic feeling to me and a nice contrasting, but quiet background.

    @gulan7 - what a great symmetry of the dinner arrangement. And love the painting effect on your other render. Wondering playing with the levels can give more depth to the image - like now the objects seem to be lined in a row.

    @Carola O - that's a romantic set :) I prefer the first render which is lighter. When it gets darker, the table legs become less visible on the floor background and the table become to feel like "levitating". I am curious if the softer light and shadows would bring more romantic feeling to this image.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    edited December 1969

    @maxstar: Thank you for the suggestion about the placement. Something about it has been bothering me but I could not figure out what it was.

    @maxstar (Your render): Is the centre flower a rose? The tallest of the three? Whatever they are the render is beautiful.

  • MilosGulanMilosGulan Posts: 1,963
    edited December 1969

    Candles look nice i guess. Though i had problems with those gold items as they were made for poser, so i had to do best i can to make them work in DS. Still they look better then they would with usual gold shaders i am using.

  • Maxstar IllusionsMaxstar Illusions Posts: 500
    edited December 1969

    gulan7 said:
    Candles look nice i guess. Though i had problems with those gold items as they were made for poser, so i had to do best i can to make them work in DS. Still they look better then they would with usual gold shaders i am using.

    Being a beginner of DAZ, I can't really help you with the exact settings for the golden items. But the possible solutions can be:

    1. Use different shaders if you have them. Try another materials.

    2. Find another golden item in your inventory that rezzes good and see if you can "copy" the material settings.

    3. Ask on the forum for help with the better material settings.

    4. There may be something with reflections map and HDRI, but I am not that advanced yet ;)

    Oh, and playing with the glass I found that max ray trace depth in render options is crucial and that the type of light you use can dramatically change the effect.

  • Maxstar IllusionsMaxstar Illusions Posts: 500
    edited December 1969

    Oh, forgotten:

    @3ch0_419 - interesting solution for a sci-fy still life. Nice volume feeling due to the shadows.

    @mcjam24 - just great!

    @spmwc - nice composition of objects and an interesting contrast of the blue sward. The materials looks a bit too bright though - looks more like a cloudy heaven than a stone, but may be it's my monitor problem.

  • MilosGulanMilosGulan Posts: 1,963
    edited December 1969

    Thanks, i will try. Currently i am just trying to balance things i want to download with things i want to learn and render.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    edited December 1969

    Latest version. Moved some props around.

    Still_Life_44.jpg
    565 x 800 - 104K
  • Scott LivingstonScott Livingston Posts: 4,341
    edited December 1969

    spmwc said:
    hello everyone, here is my first attempt at a still life. Any thoughts or suggestions would be most welcome!!!:)
    Nice composition and the lighting looks pretty good. I agree with maxstar that some of the materials seem too bright...could be for any of several possible reasons:
    - Maybe they are Poser materials and need to be adjusted for use in DAZ Studio
    - Some of the metals may have reflection maps...you could try removing those in order to use raytraced reflections
    - Some of the materials might have Ambient set too high
    - Could be related to the lighting

    Carola O said:
    Another version, played around a bit with the lights and textures :)
    Valentine Proposal

    Very nice composition. I like the tone and mood of the lighting. It might be a little bit dim now. Also, consider making the shadows softer...just an idea...

    Wanted to try Still Life for sometime, but didn't dare yet. Neither in DAZ nor in photography.

    But everything needs a start.


    Looking really good. The wine glasses in particular look great, and I like the vignetting effect.

  • Mcjam24Mcjam24 Posts: 115
    edited December 1969

    Thank you everyone for the feedback...As Scott mentioned, I almost fell into the trap of over saturating the image with objects...pens, a phone, paper clip, post it notes..etc....and while the photos are important, perhaps their placement wasn't the best, so hence more tweaking...

    There's a lot of good pieces here this month, and like Kismet, I'm glad I don't have to judge

    @bobfisher...I love your pottery piece...and that its bold and vibrant
    @ 3cho_419...armour is cool, what's kinda nagging me though is the reflection on the helmet compared to the shadows crossing the front but that's me...I can be somewhat anal about things
    @gulan7...I like your simple things, and I'm glad you don't seem to suffer from my "let's through everything I can" into the image.
    @spmwc...a very good start, everything seems to be placed where it is for a reason...maybe things might be a little to straight line-ish for me...
    @Carola O...ah hah...off celebrating...I'm glad your keeping it simple...I would have thrown a crumpled shirt on the floor with a pair of shoes...and then spent forever tweaking the details and forgetting about the feeling
    @Kismet...I like your lighting...and ahem sense of balance with the piece if you'll forgive the pun.
    @Maxstar....nice....love the wine glasses and lighting

    contest12.jpg
    800 x 800 - 412K
  • MilosGulanMilosGulan Posts: 1,963
    edited February 2014

    Thanks. As i said i like all pics here as they seem to be very nice. I am not a real artist and still have a lots to learn but from my knowledge my thoughts about still life is for now that there should be only few items, like vase with flowers, or very few ordinary items that can be watched in room for a long time. Items should be done in detail and usualy have a good background to express them more.

    My first try was something like that but it would be better if it was pictured closer to items something like this http://0.tqn.com/d/create/1/0/N/Y/K/-/Still-Life-August-2012.jpg

    Second try i started to do it like that but somehow items were very nice and then table and i just thought it would be great to have them all in picture and it is much easier to do them in DS then when painting. So i guess it is not usual type of still life but thats what i got and liked. Here is how usual still life painitings looks Link, scroll down for examples

    I also think it is the style that is done fastly, as fast as you can paint a good detailed picture that will look good on the wall. It has to be simple and nice. Here is more about it from wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Still_life

    Post edited by MilosGulan on
  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    edited December 1969

    I just have to say how much I am enjoying this challenge. :cheese:

    Thank you DAZ, the Community Volunteers, Admins and fellow New Users for a wonderful contest and amazing feedback. I learn as much from comments on someone else's image as I do from comments on my own. And from how others approach a challenge.

    As a New User I do tend to over saturate a render with too many items. I had every intention of only using 3 items but then just could not limit myself. :red: I overcompensated by clustering everything tightly together.

    Thank you bobfisher and maxstar. I did not realize that having the ink pot and quill & holder in their original locations where closing off the image until I moved them.

  • MilosGulanMilosGulan Posts: 1,963
    edited February 2014

    I think you have sold picture there, i like book especialy as it reminds me of my old english dictionary. Generaly i think items should go into center, and there could be more if you can arrange them in nice and natural way. For example Picture 1

    Post edited by MilosGulan on
  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    edited December 1969

    gulan7 said:
    I think you have sold picture there, i like book especialy as it reminds me of my old english dictionary. Generaly i think items should go into center, and there could be more if you can arrange them in nice and natural way. For example Picture 1

    Thank you gulan7.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    edited December 1969

    Second attempt. Trying to use fewer props.

    I seem to have a thing for magic props in these still life renders.

    Top_Hat_Still_Life_6.png
    500 x 707 - 462K
  • JaderailJaderail Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    gulan7 said:
    I think you have sold picture there, i like book especialy as it reminds me of my old english dictionary. Generaly i think items should go into center, and there could be more if you can arrange them in nice and natural way. For example Picture 1
    If you look at the Over all image here you will soon see the Dual Triangles the items imply. One to each side... Just saying.

    And @ other comments made so far:
    This has been a FUN contest to me, with very GOOD renders. And I do have to judge the contest. I'm not looking forward to that day. It will take much time to weigh the pros and cons of each image this time.
  • MilosGulanMilosGulan Posts: 1,963
    edited December 1969

    You are right about that, i am new to it though.

    @Kismet ... You are welcome. I like the new picture, it looks nice.

  • Maxstar IllusionsMaxstar Illusions Posts: 500
    edited December 1969

    Second attempt. Trying to use fewer props.

    I seem to have a thing for magic props in these still life renders.

    As I don't have the classical art background, I can't analyse the image according to the rules of the classic art, rather tell the impression the image makes on me.

    Love the general impression as it tells a story with just three props and a background. It feels pleasing to my eye in terms of composition balance (between the props, the light spot and the shadow). Than something funny happens - I notice the magic wand not being on the center of the hat. Thinking logically I understand that it's not really possible - the hat has elevated sides and the wand should roll from that position down to the center. Not really disturbing, but more catching attention. And now the funniest part - it's because of that "inconsistency", my attention is kept attracted to the image. It creates a kind of "positive" tension keeping me attracted to the image. :)

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