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Thanks everyone for the input. I don't think I'll be able to recreate the style, but everyone has been very helpful. Its pushed me past my limits, and made me a better artist.
So let me try to get you farther. I paint.
You've now got a picture that's mainly brown. So far so good.
Now there are some other characteristics common to the example renderings and Rembrandt.
Take the biggest thing next: lighting and composition.
The renderings you linked all have simple dark backgrounds, and the face is lit. The viewer's eye is necessarily drawn to the point of interest (the face).
Some Rembrandt paintings:
https://totallyhistory.com/rembrandt-paintings/
Many pictures are more complicated, but Rembrandt's self-portrait does exactly the same thing: there's one point in the picture to which your eye is drawn (the lit right side of his face). You can also see enough of his hat, hair, etc., against the slightly lighter part of the dark background in back that you immediately understand the image.
There's a focal point. There's a path the viewer's eye is supposed to take, something she's supposed to notice first. But then there needs to be enough of the rest of the shape for that focal point to make sense, for the viewer to understand the objects in the picture. If Rembrandt's face was lit the same way, but everything else was black, the picture might not work as well, because the face against so much darkness would look disembodied, and its relation to its surroundings might be initially puzzling.
These other paintings by Rembrandt also have a brighter focal point, where the light falls, and where the viewer almost always looks first. Then, having taken in the lit part, she looks around to understand the rest of the painting. A painting is understandable and successful in design if the viewer apprehends the main element first and then understands more as she looks to the other elements. Lighting the main element most brightly is one way to draw attention to it.
In your "Man with a Pistol" picture, the brightest thing in the room, and the first place my eye is drawn, is the lamp in the background. Next I move to his lit shoulder, and finally up to his face. And eventually I get it. But I suggest that that's not the right order, since the lamp is incidental scenery, not part of the meaning of the picture. I think you want the viewer to see the man's face and, almost immediately thereafter, to identify the pistol.
So I would suggest some experiments with the lighting. I believe that the backrgound can be de-emphasized with less light, and the light bulb in that lamp is probably best behind something, lest it distract, though it can continue to illuminate the background. And I think you want a foreground light, or rather lights, that will shine on the man's face and the pistol.
You will certainly have to experiment, but I suspect if I were lighting this I'd probably think I needed more than one light: maybe one diffuse and yellower, but one a bit whiter in color and shining on his face itself. (Three or four lights of varying intensities, softness, angles, and color temperature is not too many.)
I see, as I look at Rembrandt's paintings, that often the central light on the main subject (usually a face) is usually soft and at least somewhat diffused, but often white in color (and I suspect some of the ones that look yellow were white originally, but they are unrestored). This ought to be achievable in Photoshop, but if I had to do it, I'd probably try it in Daz Studio with a collection of promising-looking shaders to darken the background of whatever room I put my subject in.
@Write Idea: Very impressive render!
@Valiska: Many thanks for your interesting and very helpful post!
damn, I had a bit of spare cash as my cat does not require immediate tooth scaling
and the vet I went to quoted half as much as my old one
so I bought DAP8
it's NOT Ai BTW, has been around decades, creates brushstrokes in the style of various artists
(i will be using Ai to animate them though
)
original render second thumbnail upload
Not specific to the question about toning, but for more brush-like postwork, I'm a huge fan of FotoSketcher. It's free!
What a fun program! Thanks for mentioning it.
I have used Fotosketcher too
It looks fun, but man, do I hate sites that have spammy, unlabeled "Download" buttons all over the place from ads. This person does at least have a "Download' page and "Download" buttons that specifically identify the product version.
Interesting discussion - have to try some tips mentioned here.
Interesting thread. I'm working on a lighting and prop set right now and thought I'd apply what I've done to the Rembrandt style to test. Here's my attempt with the straight render and a rudimentary post-work done in Affinity Photo (did some Bilateral blur, added some noise and did some minor HSL and levels adjustment). I'd actually appreciate some feedback and constructive criticism on the render. I'd like to try and perfect this look in the standard position for Genesis 9. Let me know what you think.
@Oso3D, thanks for the tip on Fotosketcher. I'll have to give that a try when I get a chance.
@WriteIdea i just wanted to drop a note here, as the renders you initially referenced are mine - yes, as suggested by others, there is a lot done with lighting and in Daz tonemapping, but i also do play with saturations, curves and toning in PS afterwards. if you have any specific questions, feel free to drop me a note and we can discuss it :D otherwise, enjoy experimenting (honestly, that's usually how the best stuff ends up happening!!)
I have enjoyed the discussion though... It encouraged me to try some experiments.
@Saidge42 I would greatly appreciate any advice you could give. And I'll be sure to send you a message for some pointers. Your artwork is amazing!
To everyone else: I'm glad my question inspired people to experiment with their own artwork. And share their knowledge with others.
I have just tried https://www.daz3d.com/dramatic-iray-lights
Probably it requires something other to add, but I like the results so far.
Another example scene made with https://www.daz3d.com/oot-male-iray-light
Personally, I like where this is going, light just seems a bit harsh, or maybe too white in the actual render. Looks a bit modern for me because of that, and postwork doesn't really change that. Maybe tint it? But great light nonetheless!
Thanks @tsroemi. Yeah, the render could use a bit less contrast by changing the tone mapping. The lights were monochromatic (white) so I could add some color and even some white balance in tone mapping too. Still getting to that. It probably doesn't help that I'm using a model with modern clothes and hairstyle. Lol.. Just loaded something new and quick to test. Thanks for the ideas though.
No prob, thanks for working on a new light set! I can never get enough of these ...
These 3 rooms come with lighting (which I assume looks like the lighting in the promo images.). https://www.daz3d.com/mafia-evironment-bundle
Another try - does it look better?
Hi @Artini: Above @Valiska stated we should look for
Your "painting" is a huge progress compared with the earlier ones and personally, I would be proud of such a render! The brightest light seems to be the rim light or back light, the center of the soft main light seems to be at the stomach (the center of the body), so I have the impression, that your focal point is the pose of the figure, the face being a bit deemphasized (which is very cool) - am I right? Great expression btw.!
Thank you very much for the comments, @mding
For me a big surprise was how changing of Environment Mode to "Scene Only" improved the render.
I have spent some time to choose an expression, as well.
I was also interested, if we can use different poses to achieve the look we discuss in this thread.
@Artini: you really may be on to something with that "Scene Only" setting. Lazy people like me use HDRI lighting, but maybe this can only be achieved with investing more time using the "real" lights. (Although generally I love the power of HDRIs!)
Yes, I tend to use HDRI lighting a lot, but for this specific look, I will experiment more rendering using just a regular lights.
Many of the light sets I have bought from Daz store works that way.
Just one more version...
Another character, another pose...
@Artini: Very nice renders, again a good step forward! But your expressions are spectacular - well done!
Thanks a lot for the comments, @mding
Just wonder, how can I improve the renders further in the Gimp?
Need to experiment more.