Ice Dragon Art WIP's

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  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,306

    NIIIIICE! She's quite lovely and shapely - Queen Almalikat is definitely my favorite of your characters so far! :D

    Did the jewelry come with the outfit - that's really pretty.

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548
    edited August 2016

    No that's one of the necklaces that came in Medieval for G2F that I redid with shaders.  Allen Arts shaders I believe. And thank you!  I used my favorite from DarwinsMishaps Aylin and did a bit of shaping with Fantasy shapes. She is just what I needed for this.

    Post edited by IceDragonArt on
  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548
    edited August 2016

    High King Arkadas- Ruler of Pantasya- married the High Queen Almalikat (the real ruler of Pantasya)
    Lord General and Leader of the Dragon Clans he is also a mage and a dragon rider.
    He has a wicked sense of humor, has a very calm and steady personality (which offsets Queen Kats rather fiery personality very well) and is very very smart. He adores his wife even when she drives him crazy (which is she does often and well) They are both rather young for their responsibilities and while they do all they can to keep their court friendly and entertaining, they taking ruling very very seriously and spend much time behind closed doors dealing with the day to day issues of ruling a large and diverse world. They are fortunate to have gathered trusted friends and allies as advisors as they settle into their responsibilities many of whom they grew up with, both commoner and noble. (the Dragon clans have long held that being a noble was more an accident of birth than anything else and strongly encouraged their children and their courts to make it a practice to develop friendships across all walks of life.  (Queen Almalikat has a close friend who is a member of the Theives Guild and who comes to tea on a regular basis.) The realm of the earth (Medio Domen) and the realm of the sea (         ) are ruled by lesser kings and queens answerable to the High King and Queen.

    King Arkadas Informal Throne Room.png
    1094 x 1094 - 2M
    Post edited by IceDragonArt on
  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548
    edited August 2016

    Cacia - Gen 3 Female she is a SimTenero Randomizer character with Cai skin and

    Captain of the Guard in charge of the High King and Queen's Quarters.
    Tough as nails, she grew up in the streets of Medio Domen fighting, stealing and living in the hidden places known to those who live on the fringes of society.  She got caught stealing from Dalek in a marketplace when she was 12.  He saw something in her eyes and her spirit and instead of tossing her in the town's dungeon he brought her home to his wife Thalia for her opinion.  They gave Cacia a choice, stay with them, leave the streets and learn to contribute instead of steal. Or go back to Medio Domen and maybe not be so lucky the next time she was caught.  She wisely chose to stay and grew to love her foster parents and gladly followed her foster father into the Guard, adding swordsmanship to her more stealthy knife skills and earning a place of trust in the Queen's household.  Everyone agreed that while she might make a great spy the whole lady in waiting thing was NOT for her. She did manage to keep her more colorful language under control when there were visiting dignitaries around.

    Cacia A Captain of the High Gaurd.png
    676 x 1094 - 1M
    Post edited by IceDragonArt on
  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,306

    These are great, Sonja! I love your mix of fantasy and medieval! I'd love to see the flame from the Cacia image turned into an emissive light and casting some nice warm fire light onto her. :)

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    It is emmissive, unfortunately in order for it to actually cast a lovely glow it either needs to be so bright it burns out the actual flame or the rest of the scene is so dark you can't see anything but her right shoulder.  I gave up after an hour lol.  I may revisit I haven't exhausted all of my special effects library just yet.  I was just done for the night and needed to be finished.  I don't know how those people lived in those days it is NOT easy to light ANYTHING with candles and torchlight.

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,306

    It is emmissive, unfortunately in order for it to actually cast a lovely glow it either needs to be so bright it burns out the actual flame or the rest of the scene is so dark you can't see anything but her right shoulder.  I gave up after an hour lol.  I may revisit I haven't exhausted all of my special effects library just yet.  I was just done for the night and needed to be finished.  I don't know how those people lived in those days it is NOT easy to light ANYTHING with candles and torchlight.

    Depending on the time it takes to render the image, you could render one version as is, and one version with the higher emission so that the light is cast onto her, you could then combine the two in PS or gimp so that the flame isn't blown out but so that you still get the nice light effect. That's a bit of work though, so its understandable if you wouldn't want to - plus depending on your render times it could be pretty time consuming. My render times tend to run pretty quick but I know that not everyone has fast-ish render times. 

  • KnittingmommyKnittingmommy Posts: 8,191

    I'm loving the stories!

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252

    Nice characters you are creating Sonja. 

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548
    edited August 2016

    It is emmissive, unfortunately in order for it to actually cast a lovely glow it either needs to be so bright it burns out the actual flame or the rest of the scene is so dark you can't see anything but her right shoulder.  I gave up after an hour lol.  I may revisit I haven't exhausted all of my special effects library just yet.  I was just done for the night and needed to be finished.  I don't know how those people lived in those days it is NOT easy to light ANYTHING with candles and torchlight.

    Depending on the time it takes to render the image, you could render one version as is, and one version with the higher emission so that the light is cast onto her, you could then combine the two in PS or gimp so that the flame isn't blown out but so that you still get the nice light effect. That's a bit of work though, so its understandable if you wouldn't want to - plus depending on your render times it could be pretty time consuming. My render times tend to run pretty quick but I know that not everyone has fast-ish render times. 

    Ya not sure I have the time for that right now, there are sooo many stories fighting to get out.  I apparently opened up a damn in head when I started this project lol. I will put it in my projects to review in the future folder though and revisit when I get a chance because I think it would look really cool too and it was my original intention. I think I need to learn a bit more to be able to match up what I want to do with what I am able to do.

     

    I'm loving the stories!

    Thank you so much!  That really means a lot.  I'm not really a writer so I always feel a bit akward when I'm writing them out.

    Post edited by IceDragonArt on
  • KnittingmommyKnittingmommy Posts: 8,191

    You're never really a writer until you just do it.  It doesn't matter the format.  If you are writing them down, you are a writer!  Own it!  The hardest part is actually finishing the stories.  Ask me how I know that one!  ;)

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    Nice characters you are creating Sonja. 

    Thank you Kismet!

     

    You're never really a writer until you just do it.  It doesn't matter the format.  If you are writing them down, you are a writer!  Own it!  The hardest part is actually finishing the stories.  Ask me how I know that one!  ;)

    Wait, what?! I have to finish?  No one told me that!!... lol

  • 3Diva3Diva Posts: 11,306

    It is emmissive, unfortunately in order for it to actually cast a lovely glow it either needs to be so bright it burns out the actual flame or the rest of the scene is so dark you can't see anything but her right shoulder.  I gave up after an hour lol.  I may revisit I haven't exhausted all of my special effects library just yet.  I was just done for the night and needed to be finished.  I don't know how those people lived in those days it is NOT easy to light ANYTHING with candles and torchlight.

    Depending on the time it takes to render the image, you could render one version as is, and one version with the higher emission so that the light is cast onto her, you could then combine the two in PS or gimp so that the flame isn't blown out but so that you still get the nice light effect. That's a bit of work though, so its understandable if you wouldn't want to - plus depending on your render times it could be pretty time consuming. My render times tend to run pretty quick but I know that not everyone has fast-ish render times. 

    Ya not sure I have the time for that right now, there are sooo many stories fighting to get out.  I apparently opened up a damn in head when I started this project lol. I will put it in my projects to review in the future folder though and revisit when I get a chance because I think it would look really cool too and it was my original intention. I think I need to learn a bit more to be able to match up what I want to do with what I am able to do.

     

    I'm loving the stories!

    Thank you so much!  That really means a lot.  I'm not really a writer so I always feel a bit akward when I'm writing them out.

    hahah That's totally understandable! And I look forward to the stories! :D

  • KnittingmommyKnittingmommy Posts: 8,191

    Nice characters you are creating Sonja. 

    Thank you Kismet!

     

    You're never really a writer until you just do it.  It doesn't matter the format.  If you are writing them down, you are a writer!  Own it!  The hardest part is actually finishing the stories.  Ask me how I know that one!  ;)

    Wait, what?! I have to finish?  No one told me that!!... lol

    Ah, well, all good stories have to end sometime!  lol  I have seen serials go on forever on various websites and if the writer is good enough, they can keep readers going forever.  I have a favorite writer who started doing a diary for one of the characters in the world she created, but not one of the characters in any of her books.  She's been doing that for years now.  She started compiling them in book format for readers and selling them on Amazon.  That makes it useful so you don't have to dig through her blog to find a diary post. So, I suppose if you do a blog or website based story, it never really ends.  I know several authors who go back and revisit characters and do a story about recent events after 'their' story ended and I like those, too.  I guess it depends on how you define ending the story.  Personally, I have so many stories aching to get out, it will be a relief to finish my current one and move on to another story.  

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    I would imagine if you have a clear ending then it would be good to finish.  I am working on a website but its far too bare yet to publish, I need more characters and more places.  Good thing winters coming....

    I still haven't got my laptop back yet, I am beginning to think it may be beyond repair.  Will be giving him a call tomorrow, he said on Thursday he had a couple things yet to look at.

  • KnittingmommyKnittingmommy Posts: 8,191

    Oh, I didn't realize you didn't have it back yet!  Good luck!  

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    Oh, I didn't realize you didn't have it back yet!  Good luck!  

    Thanks I think I'm gonna need every bit of it lol

     

  • PandaB5PandaB5 Posts: 251

    Your renders on this page and previous page are really stunning! I especially like Cacia's expression.

     

  • It is emmissive, unfortunately in order for it to actually cast a lovely glow it either needs to be so bright it burns out the actual flame or the rest of the scene is so dark you can't see anything but her right shoulder.  I gave up after an hour lol.  I may revisit I haven't exhausted all of my special effects library just yet.  I was just done for the night and needed to be finished.  I don't know how those people lived in those days it is NOT easy to light ANYTHING with candles and torchlight.

    Yeah, it's really hard to get candles and such to work well as emissives.  The surface area is just too small for a low lumenosity surface to light the area well, and if you turn it up, it blows out the color of the flame.

    I end up using canvases and lightgroups and play with the exposure of the different layers in postwork to get it to work.  I don't think it's possible to get a good iray candle render without postwork.  Althought InaneGlory (I think) just released an iray candle package.

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548
    PandaB5 said:

    Your renders on this page and previous page are really stunning! I especially like Cacia's expression.

     

    Thank you very much!

    It is emmissive, unfortunately in order for it to actually cast a lovely glow it either needs to be so bright it burns out the actual flame or the rest of the scene is so dark you can't see anything but her right shoulder.  I gave up after an hour lol.  I may revisit I haven't exhausted all of my special effects library just yet.  I was just done for the night and needed to be finished.  I don't know how those people lived in those days it is NOT easy to light ANYTHING with candles and torchlight.

    Yeah, it's really hard to get candles and such to work well as emissives.  The surface area is just too small for a low lumenosity surface to light the area well, and if you turn it up, it blows out the color of the flame.

    I end up using canvases and lightgroups and play with the exposure of the different layers in postwork to get it to work.  I don't think it's possible to get a good iray candle render without postwork.  Althought InaneGlory (I think) just released an iray candle package.

    You are right and I have been know to resort to to using a 3 delight trick and stick a linear point light in the middle of the darn thing and light it that way when all else fails lol.

    And I just picked those up when they came out but they don't have anything in them for torches.  I have Iray torches and they work exactly as they should.  so you need 200 of them to light up a castle room lol.  I have no idea how those people did anything in the evening....

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,334

    Another quickie - testing out SAV's  0 Gravity Hair.  This is an amazing hair.  I think I am now ready to tackle a mermaid now that I have a hair that will look like its floating.

    Anyway this is Jessica for G2F from MDC (Most Digital Creations)

    This one is also slated for some post work but not quite as much as the Dreki.  and I think I am going to re render and use the fit control on that top.  Its way too tight...

    Oh and I forgot to mention that both of these are 3Delight this time around.

     

    It's been too long since I've been on your thread, Sonja.  Nice pose, and of course, you are using my favorite render engine...  You are definately right about fit control (thank you ZEVO!).  I hate the shrink-wrapped look. 

    I picked up Zero Gravity Hair a while ago - you can do some pretty crazy stuff with it.  Now you inspired me, so I think I'll pick up that old render, dust it off and post it on my thread. 

    I periodically purchased items at Rendo as well, and yes, their sales are fewer than Daz3D's, so if you find a 50% off sale, it's a big deal (too bad the last one ended while my DAZ budget was spent, boo hoo).  I've been waiting for a time when I will pick up the membership and buy stuff on Prime, but then Daz has to go and release something really cool like Ultra Scatter (shame on them).

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,334

    Queen Almalikat - High Queen of Pantasya (and yes I change the name lol)

    Genesis 3 Female Aylin from Darwins Mishaps.

    Fantasy Hair

    Destiny Gardens Fabrics of Asia Shaders

    Fantasy Leather Shaders

    UHT2

    Lotus Maiden Outfit

    Great retexturing on the outfit - almost didn't recognize it.  Ah, the love of kitbashing - it can be a challenge, but when done right you've got a great costume!

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,334

    High King Arkadas- Ruler of Pantasya- married the High Queen Almalikat (the real ruler of Pantasya)
    Lord General and Leader of the Dragon Clans he is also a mage and a dragon rider.
    He has a wicked sense of humor, has a very calm and steady personality (which offsets Queen Kats rather fiery personality very well) and is very very smart. He adores his wife even when she drives him crazy (which is she does often and well) They are both rather young for their responsibilities and while they do all they can to keep their court friendly and entertaining, they taking ruling very very seriously and spend much time behind closed doors dealing with the day to day issues of ruling a large and diverse world. They are fortunate to have gathered trusted friends and allies as advisors as they settle into their responsibilities many of whom they grew up with, both commoner and noble. (the Dragon clans have long held that being a noble was more an accident of birth than anything else and strongly encouraged their children and their courts to make it a practice to develop friendships across all walks of life.  (Queen Almalikat has a close friend who is a member of the Theives Guild and who comes to tea on a regular basis.) The realm of the earth (Medio Domen) and the realm of the sea (         ) are ruled by lesser kings and queens answerable to the High King and Queen.

    Wow, dark skin and PALE eyes - he is striking!  Add some shadows and the portrait will really come alive.

    You may want to go to the surfaces tab and darken his fingernails - looks like he just came from the salon with a French manicure...

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,334
    edited August 2016
    Oops.
    Post edited by dracorn on
  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    Thank you very much Dracorn!  And you are right he needs darker fingernails lol.  I don't know do High Kings get their nails done?  lol. And I have no idea why there aren't any shadows.  its Iray, I didn't change any settings so they should be there.  Hmmm, going to have to go and track that down...

    I do love kit bashing and have discovered I really really like texturing.  I love using all the different shaders out there but I also like mucking about with the templated as well, although I haven't had much time for that recently.  Summer is super busy at my house, we don't tend to spend a huge amount of time indoors so once winter hits, I usually have more time to play around with stuff like that.

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,334

    Why, the Fantasy Nail Salon, of course!  Catering to high queens, kings, wizards, adventurers and the occasional thief (who displays money to pay).  After all, what better way to watch a thief's sticky fingers than to be buffing his or her nails, eh?

    I grab every shader I can get my hands on, from Daz or anywhere else.  The only problem with kit bashing is that some items have few or only one material zone.  Take Luthbel's magnificent Paladin HD MMXV.  The armor has all these swirl designs, but they are not separate material zones.  I picked up the armor to use for a character of mine, but the color needs to be indigo and red, and I wanted those swirls to be red. 

    Yes, I know that I can use Geometry Editor, but have you tried to use it?  It highlights only a pixel at a time, and there is no deselect if you highlight an unwanted area.  There has got to be a better way to add your own material zone.  Maybe I should open a thread about it.

    By the way, I noticed one more thing about your portrait of Arkadas - his buttocks don't look natural.  The should be squished into the seat, and we should not see a gap between the buttocks.  Wish Ironman made Squish for G2M as well.  What you can do to imitate that is sink his behind into the seat a little but not too much.

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    Ya squish would be nice lol. Wil have to see what I can do. I've run into the same problem with material zones and it's definitely irritating when love the design but need a different color.  The only answer I have found for that is to edit the texture map in photo shop but not even that always works out well.

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,334

    I wonder if you can do it in a modeling program and reimport it... without losing the rigging.  Or, maybe there is a way to use Geometry Editor that I am not aware of.

    I sent you a private message, by the way.

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    Thank you!

  • dracorn said:

     

    I grab every shader I can get my hands on, from Daz or anywhere else.  The only problem with kit bashing is that some items have few or only one material zone.  Take Luthbel's magnificent Paladin HD MMXV.  The armor has all these swirl designs, but they are not separate material zones.  I picked up the armor to use for a character of mine, but the color needs to be indigo and red, and I wanted those swirls to be red. 

    Yes, I know that I can use Geometry Editor, but have you tried to use it?  It highlights only a pixel at a time, and there is no deselect if you highlight an unwanted area.  There has got to be a better way to add your own material zone.  Maybe I should open a thread about it.

     

    Dracorn, using the Geometry Editor and the Tool Settings Pane, you can set the editor to use faces instead of vertices.  You can also use the CTRL key to select multiple faces.  Once a face or faces are selected, you can right click on it, choose Geometry Selection, and increase, decrease, select loops, etc.  That, along with judicious use of UNDO for when you click in the wrong place, works pretty well.

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