More Non-photorealistic Renders (NPR III)

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  • SapphireBlueSapphireBlue Posts: 831
    edited May 2022

    csaa said:

     

    I'm still at the early stages of my 3D journey. I haven't had the need to texture/UV paint a 3d model, a task that I've heard Photoshop excels in. As you can see, I also keep my post-editing to a minimum, negating the need for Photoshop effects. Maybe it's just my bias -- between telling a story and creating a stunning image, I'm happy pouring more time and effort into storytelling. In this case, less is more image-wise, I believe. But I know better than to discount what I don't know, what I'm not aware of. Maybe, as I learn more about 3D-making, I'll discover the case for using Photoshop once more. Then I can justify paying the Adobe tax and be content with that decision.

    @csaa When working with a storyline and images together, I'm of this view too. Storytelling needs as much if not more time and effort put into it, but sadly it's often the one that's left behind. From a couple of the segments recently, where I've seen bits of dialogue, I can tell you've put thought into crafting them and creating a natural flow. Do you already have full comic stories done or are you still working on them?

    When I can, I try to take a peek at the webtoons, comics and other storylines that people in the forums are working on and have linked to. It's great to see the very wide range of ideas, styles and approaches. Inspiring too!

     

    Post edited by SapphireBlue on
  • csaacsaa Posts: 812
    edited June 2022

    SapphireBlue said:

    @csaa When working with a storyline and images together, I'm of this view too. Storytelling needs as much if not more time and effort put into it, but sadly it's often the one that's left behind. From a couple of the segments recently, where I've seen bits of dialogue, I can tell you've put thought into crafting them and creating a natural flow. Do you already have full comic stories done or are you still working on them?

     SapphireBlue,

    What images I've shared are mainly test results of the techniques I've developed, both in Blender and in Clip Studio Paint. The dialog that you see ... those are just incidental. I guess part of me simply can't let a scene be without a semblance of story to it.

    The sad truth is that my tools and techniques fall far short of what I envison. If I just stayed with stringing together words, then I'd be further along putting stories out there. But as things stand, the story-making is taking a backseat to all the image-making. As far as the later is concerned, I still have a lot to learn!

    And that's fine. A British comic author pointed out that in the US, the role of writing, penciling, inking and lettering are often handled by different specialists. On the other hand, in the UK and in Japan it's more likely that one person fields all those tasks. I think eventually I'll fall into the later camp. Which only means that my gestation period will be far longer.

    And thats okay. Really it is. This is a hobby, a lark. I derive my sense of self from other pursuits. Because I don't do this as a source of income, I can take my time and chart my progress in measured terms. After all part of the joy lies in the journey itself, not just in the destination.

    Cheers!

     

    Post edited by csaa on
  • dsum55dsum55 Posts: 23

    vrba79 said:

    Here's a cliffnotes version with visuals.

    https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/7453236/#Comment_7453236

    Here's a more fleshed out text only version.

    https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/7463731/#Comment_7463731

    Thank you so much. I will definetly try it out. I love NPR however I am struggling a little with 3Delight and like the potential of sketchy thanks for the tutorial. will post a picture soon i hope. 

  • vrba79vrba79 Posts: 1,297

    Look forward to it!

  • SapphireBlueSapphireBlue Posts: 831

    csaa said:

     

    And thats okay. Really it is. This is a hobby, a lark. I derive my sense of self from other pursuits. Because I don't do this as a source of income, I can take my time and chart my progress in measured terms. After all part of the joy lies in the journey itself, not just in the destination.

    Cheers!

     

    It's more than okay to take your time! A LOT of the joy is indeed in the journey, and all of us are always learning, so that journey is pretty much endless. There always seems more to learn and explore, and the minute we finish one thing, there's another horizon to chase.
    I'm pretty sure many of us can relate to the feeling you expressed of "my tools and techniques fall far short of what I envison". When I get stuck in a "it's not good enough" cycle, I really don't get anywhere fast, so I end up having to remind myself what's important. I just want to create and express some ideas, even if it's simple and on a small scale. Even if it's rough around the edges, or even a hot mess.
    I find that at times I need to set up some bite-sized projects for myself, so I can finish it and feel a sense of having made something. The funny thing is that I learn more things, quicker, and get more done that I would have imagined, when I do it that way. I find I get to move up a level after several of those small projects - like in a video game. 
    It's still always hard to spur myself on even for the small projects, but when I do, I'm impressed at how much more I could create than I thought I could. (But of course, it's best we try not to compare it to what others create, just ourselves.)
    Alright I think I wrote this entire novel of a post to spur myself on, as much as I wrote it as a reply to your post! laugh 

  • SapphireBlueSapphireBlue Posts: 831

    Over in the freebies section, perlk shared a lovely 1920s dress (https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/571106/erte-1920-s-dresses#latest). I ended up doing an NPR render with it after doing a realistic one. Used 'My Shaders' and then filters in post. I really like the simplicity of it and it's inspired some ideas.

  • vrba79vrba79 Posts: 1,297

    Very nice!

  • SapphireBlueSapphireBlue Posts: 831

    vrba79 said:

    Very nice!

    Thanks heaps vrba79heart

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,287

    XxGreyxX said:

    Hi,I have a question about render quality. I've noticed that when I render a NPR picture using 3delight, the quality of the initial render of the picture looks good. However, after I export it as a png the quality really dips. Is there a way to improve this? Thank you in advance for any advice.

    I think I've only ever rendered in 3DL once, but the folks over in this thread might be able to help: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/454286/3delight-useful-stuff-put-it-here

  • ArtiniArtini Posts: 8,766

    SapphireBlue said:

    Over in the freebies section, perlk shared a lovely 1920s dress (https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/571106/erte-1920-s-dresses#latest). I ended up doing an NPR render with it after doing a realistic one. Used 'My Shaders' and then filters in post. I really like the simplicity of it and it's inspired some ideas.

    Very nice NPR look.

     

  • SapphireBlueSapphireBlue Posts: 831

    Artini said:

     

    Very nice NPR look.

    Thank you very much, Artini! smiley 

  • csaacsaa Posts: 812
    edited June 2022

    SapphireBlue said:

    ... crafting them and creating a natural flow. Do you already have full comic stories done or are you still working on them?

     

    I just posted a chapter I've been working on in the 3D Comic Book Tips and Pictures forum (towards the bottom of that page). Tried to glom together a lot of techniques I've learned lately.

    I like the image you shared, the one with the 1920s dress and the My Shaders NPR! You say it's based on a photorealistic render? Would be interesting to see that too as a comparison.

    Cheers!

    Post edited by csaa on
  • tkdroberttkdrobert Posts: 3,532
    edited June 2022

     

    Batman Crime Alley 2

    Batman Crime Alley 2.  Another experiment with new workflows.  The Backround was done in IRAY with Heavy post-work.  Batman was done in 3Delight, also with post-work.

    Post edited by tkdrobert on
  • vrba79vrba79 Posts: 1,297

    That's a great Batman!

  • tkdroberttkdrobert Posts: 3,532

    vrba79 said:

    That's a great Batman!

    Thanks

  • vrba79vrba79 Posts: 1,297
    edited June 2022

    Been chewing the fat with another Daz artist on Comicfury. He's under the unfortunate assumption that realistic renders are all but impossible to turn into NPR via postwork, citing Filament renders as an example, but I regulary turn Filament renders into nice comic-style backgrounds.

    Post edited by vrba79 on
  • SapphireBlueSapphireBlue Posts: 831

    csaa said:

    SapphireBlue said:

    ... crafting them and creating a natural flow. Do you already have full comic stories done or are you still working on them?

     

    I just posted a chapter I've been working on in the 3D Comic Book Tips and Pictures forum (towards the bottom of that page). Tried to glom together a lot of techniques I've learned lately.

    I like the image you shared, the one with the 1920s dress and the My Shaders NPR! You say it's based on a photorealistic render? Would be interesting to see that too as a comparison.

    Cheers!

    I spotted it and left a comment a little while back - it's great work csaa and looks to have been a lot time and effort! yes

    So, the render I put up here was meant to be NPR from the start. But the first time I tried out the dress, I did a photo-realistic one with another character and a different setting etc. (It's here) Other than the dress, they have nothing in common... : )

    Perlk modeled a second dress (freebie page link) and this time I wanted to create a more stylized character/shape preset to resemble hand drawn models a little, so I could create a vintage illustration style feel. This was fun!

    The Lady in the Green Dress

    Link to the image in the gallery 

  • SapphireBlueSapphireBlue Posts: 831

    vrba79 said:

    Been chewing the fat with another Daz artist on Comicfury. He's under the unfortunate assumption that realistic renders are all but impossible to turn into NPR via postwork, citing Filament renders as an example, but I regulary turn Filament renders into nice comic-style backgrounds.

     

    That came out well  vrba79!

  • ArtiniArtini Posts: 8,766

    SapphireBlue said:

    csaa said:

    SapphireBlue said:

    ... crafting them and creating a natural flow. Do you already have full comic stories done or are you still working on them?

     

    I just posted a chapter I've been working on in the 3D Comic Book Tips and Pictures forum (towards the bottom of that page). Tried to glom together a lot of techniques I've learned lately.

    I like the image you shared, the one with the 1920s dress and the My Shaders NPR! You say it's based on a photorealistic render? Would be interesting to see that too as a comparison.

    Cheers!

    I spotted it and left a comment a little while back - it's great work csaa and looks to have been a lot time and effort! yes

    So, the render I put up here was meant to be NPR from the start. But the first time I tried out the dress, I did a photo-realistic one with another character and a different setting etc. (It's here) Other than the dress, they have nothing in common... : )

    Perlk modeled a second dress (freebie page link) and this time I wanted to create a more stylized character/shape preset to resemble hand drawn models a little, so I could create a vintage illustration style feel. This was fun!

    The Lady in the Green Dress

    Link to the image in the gallery 

    Another great NPR image.

    The dresses are awesome - thanks for posting the link.

     

  • SapphireBlueSapphireBlue Posts: 831

    Artini said:

     

    Another great NPR image.

    The dresses are awesome - thanks for posting the link.

    Thanks heaps Artini! smiley Sure thing! Perlk is planning on modelling more of those dresses and posting them on that page, so keep checking back from time to time. You'll also find threads by AOBB of her classic face sculpts (both her own and celebrity ones) in the freebies forum (they'll have AOBB in the thread title) - I've really enjoyed both their creative work and find their work to be great sources of inspiration too!

  • vrba79vrba79 Posts: 1,297

    SapphireBlue said:

    csaa said:

    SapphireBlue said:

    ... crafting them and creating a natural flow. Do you already have full comic stories done or are you still working on them?

     

    I just posted a chapter I've been working on in the 3D Comic Book Tips and Pictures forum (towards the bottom of that page). Tried to glom together a lot of techniques I've learned lately.

    I like the image you shared, the one with the 1920s dress and the My Shaders NPR! You say it's based on a photorealistic render? Would be interesting to see that too as a comparison.

    Cheers!

    I spotted it and left a comment a little while back - it's great work csaa and looks to have been a lot time and effort! yes

    So, the render I put up here was meant to be NPR from the start. But the first time I tried out the dress, I did a photo-realistic one with another character and a different setting etc. (It's here) Other than the dress, they have nothing in common... : )

    Perlk modeled a second dress (freebie page link) and this time I wanted to create a more stylized character/shape preset to resemble hand drawn models a little, so I could create a vintage illustration style feel. This was fun!

    The Lady in the Green Dress

    Link to the image in the gallery 

    Looks like youre getting a consistent result down. That's when you know you've tamed the beast!

  • SapphireBlueSapphireBlue Posts: 831

    vrba79 said:

     

    Looks like youre getting a consistent result down. That's when you know you've tamed the beast!

    Haha. Thanks! The best help for that consistent result was just finally writing down the steps I take for each style of NPR render or even the regular photo-realistic ones, especially what to do in post. Small changes makes such a difference, so these lists becomes all important. I've been wanting to, but have yet to try your sketchy tutorial. I totally feel like a cat with everything in DAZ as the laser beam - I get so distracted! blush

  • vrba79vrba79 Posts: 1,297
    edited June 2022

    Post edited by vrba79 on
  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,287
    edited June 2022

    SapphireBlue said:

    vrba79 said:

     

    Looks like youre getting a consistent result down. That's when you know you've tamed the beast!

    Haha. Thanks! The best help for that consistent result was just finally writing down the steps I take for each style of NPR render or even the regular photo-realistic ones, especially what to do in post. 

    -Snip-

    I used to do that but I found that I tended to misplace the "lists" that I would write the steps at, or forget where I saved it at. What I do now, when I know I've gotten a look that I love, is actually add the "formula" on the actual render/image and save it as a copy. I bring the final image into Photoshop (or another program that can add text to an image) and just literally type the formula onto the image like "HDRI ____" "Render Setting _____" "Shader ____" "Postwork ____" then save the image as a copy of the original with "_Formula" added to the end of the image name. I can then always go back to where I save my art images and be like "oh hey, I REALLY like how this one turned out" and see the "formula" image next to it so I can replicate it later. I don't know if that way of formula saving would help you, but that's been a big help to me, so I thought I'd mention it just in case. :)

    Post edited by 3Diva on
  • juvesatrianijuvesatriani Posts: 556
    edited June 2022

    @vrba79 yeah I hear that all the time about postwork . Understand about how the coloring work in manual way really helping us  when doing some postwork or creating/using Photoshop action . 

    Most important step in post stage to make like toon/comic, I believe is making the color have limited/compressed color pallette . It doesnt matter how good the manual or comic artist are , their shading color will be never as rich as how the 3D render engine interpreting texture . So if we need to emulate those , we can start with compressed as many color as possible .

    So yeah , I`m with you about not every 3D postwork is bad

    KDA Seraphine_Cycles VS Photoshop.jpg
    2160 x 1080 - 1M
    Post edited by juvesatriani on
  • vrba79vrba79 Posts: 1,297
    edited June 2022

    Too much detail is also the enemy to NPR. Its why I love the LexaKiness(Renderosity) skins for my characters. They have just enough detail for definition, but not so much detail that you can see every single pore. Tahiza and Tidazo especially, as those adjust very well to my Sketchy method's re-tinting to any skin tone I want.

    Post edited by vrba79 on
  • csaacsaa Posts: 812
    edited June 2022

    I found these from a while back -- don't think I ever shared them here. I was trying out color schemes for their armor.

    Thanks for your interest.

    Cheers!

    Sgts. Andrea and Inez | Daz assets and set up | Blender Eevee render | Clip Studio Paint post-edit

    Post edited by csaa on
  • vrba79vrba79 Posts: 1,297

    The color adds so much visual appeal.

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,287

    I agree with @vrba79 - I think the color really helps the comic come to life! Awesome! I hope you go color for the comic! :)

  • SapphireBlueSapphireBlue Posts: 831
    edited June 2022

    One more to agree with vrba79. The color makes the characters pop - the palette and contrasts really draw the eye. Love these and the simple backgrounds!

    Post edited by SapphireBlue on
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