June 2016 New User 3D Art Contest “Scenes and Landscapes” – WIP Thread

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  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    dHandle said:

    Played around with Iray settings.  Seems to have made a big difference!

    Looking good.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    tcmeehan said:

    Hi everyone!

    I have just gotten started on a new render and I would like everyone's advice.  The render I am trying is a scene.  I'd like to create a rock concert with a band of minotaurs.  I picture the camera being about 6 or 7 rows of people away from the stage so my question revolves around the best way to tackle rendering a big croud.  I purchased the "concert crowd poses for gen2" so I am not worried about posing them, I am worried about render time.  Is there a way to render the croud in small groups and then photoshop them all in to one croud?  I plan to use a little atmosphere to show off the stage lights.  Any tips would be greatly appreciated!  I attached my test render with just the guitarist.  This render took over an hour, that is why I am worried about the render time If I try to do the whole scene at once. Thanks!

    I am thinking rendering in separate parts and then combining in post work is a good idea.  I am not an expert on that however so cannot offer any suggestions.

  • LinwellyLinwelly Posts: 5,780
    tcmeehan said:

    Hi everyone!

    I have just gotten started on a new render and I would like everyone's advice.  The render I am trying is a scene.  I'd like to create a rock concert with a band of minotaurs.  I picture the camera being about 6 or 7 rows of people away from the stage so my question revolves around the best way to tackle rendering a big croud.  I purchased the "concert crowd poses for gen2" so I am not worried about posing them, I am worried about render time.  Is there a way to render the croud in small groups and then photoshop them all in to one croud?  I plan to use a little atmosphere to show off the stage lights.  Any tips would be greatly appreciated!  I attached my test render with just the guitarist.  This render took over an hour, that is why I am worried about the render time If I try to do the whole scene at once. Thanks!

     

    I am thinking rendering in separate parts and then combining in post work is a good idea.  I am not an expert on that however so cannot offer any suggestions.

    another idea os to make your groups of people with clothes into the correct poses and export as an object ( with amaterials) and reimport the object into your scene. As they don't need to be too detailed, that should be enough, for a crowd and is more render friendly.

  • tcmeehantcmeehan Posts: 20
    Linwelly said:
    tcmeehan said:

    Hi everyone!

    I have just gotten started on a new render and I would like everyone's advice.  The render I am trying is a scene.  I'd like to create a rock concert with a band of minotaurs.  I picture the camera being about 6 or 7 rows of people away from the stage so my question revolves around the best way to tackle rendering a big croud.  I purchased the "concert crowd poses for gen2" so I am not worried about posing them, I am worried about render time.  Is there a way to render the croud in small groups and then photoshop them all in to one croud?  I plan to use a little atmosphere to show off the stage lights.  Any tips would be greatly appreciated!  I attached my test render with just the guitarist.  This render took over an hour, that is why I am worried about the render time If I try to do the whole scene at once. Thanks!

     

    I am thinking rendering in separate parts and then combining in post work is a good idea.  I am not an expert on that however so cannot offer any suggestions.

    another idea os to make your groups of people with clothes into the correct poses and export as an object ( with amaterials) and reimport the object into your scene. As they don't need to be too detailed, that should be enough, for a crowd and is more render friendly.

    Thanks for the tip Linwelly!  I will give it a try. Just to double check.... I get the group of people into their correct pose, add clothing and surfaces then export as an object.  reimport as object and they are ready to go?  Almost all of them are just silohettes so you are right, I don't need much detail at all.  I would post my WIP but everyone in the croud isn't wearing pants to save on render time so......  I also was playing around with layers in photoshop and found the linear dodge(add) option so I could render one light at a time.  Does anyone know what would work faster - many figures lit by one light OR a few figures lit by many lights at the same time?

    Thanks again Linwelly!

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,333
    tcmeehan said:

    Hi everyone!

    I have just gotten started on a new render and I would like everyone's advice.  The render I am trying is a scene.  I'd like to create a rock concert with a band of minotaurs.  I picture the camera being about 6 or 7 rows of people away from the stage so my question revolves around the best way to tackle rendering a big croud.  I purchased the "concert crowd poses for gen2" so I am not worried about posing them, I am worried about render time.  Is there a way to render the croud in small groups and then photoshop them all in to one croud?  I plan to use a little atmosphere to show off the stage lights.  Any tips would be greatly appreciated!  I attached my test render with just the guitarist.  This render took over an hour, that is why I am worried about the render time If I try to do the whole scene at once. Thanks!

    I know you want to do a scene, but seriously, this may be best as a portrait.  The minimalist beginnings are striking as is, and your idea is great.  I suggest you save this to do as a separate portrait render before you add additional figures to your scene. 

    The yellow spotlight with atmosphere is great.  A contrasting color (like blue or purple) coming in from the left would add great drama.  Have fun with stage lighting.  Have the light shining off a silver pick (even if you do it in Photoshop). 

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,333
    edited June 2016

    Here is the scene rearranged.  I gave the light a little orange color, and added some spotlights for the background characters.  I changed the angle of the sunlight for interesting shadows. 

    The spotlights weren't behaving and were illuminating the back wall. I was using AoA's Advanced Spotlight and rendering in 3Delight.  It was ignoring my settings to not illuminate the wall.  I may take this question to the Commons. 

    Saturday Afternoon Routine 01.jpg
    900 x 529 - 372K
    Post edited by dracorn on
  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    edited June 2016
    dracorn said:

    Here is the scene rearranged.  I gave the light a little orange color, and added some spotlights for the background characters.  I changed the angle of the sunlight for interesting shadows. 

    The spotlights weren't behaving and were illuminating the back wall. I was using AoA's Advanced Spotlight and rendering in 3Delight.  It was ignoring my settings to not illuminate the wall.  I may take this question to the Commons. 

    Try uninstalling and then reinstalling the AoA lights.  That might fix the problem.

     

    The scene is looking great but your figures all feel a little clustered together and the rest of the city is empty.

    The cyclist especially looks a little close to the lady talking to the guitar player.  It could be the camera angle and they may not actually be that close together.

     

    Post edited by Kismet2012 on
  • dHandledHandle Posts: 617
    edited June 2016

    The theme is Steampunk vs High Tech:

    I think it needs 1 more layer between the brushes and the image.

    DesertCombatIRAY4.jpg
    1280 x 720 - 841K
    Post edited by dHandle on
  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    dHandle said:

    The theme is Steampunk vs High Tech:

    I think it needs 1 more layer between the brushes and the image.

    I agree...you need some reflections or something to give the impression the schematic info is superimposed over glass of some kind.

  • @Shinjiikari9th

    I feel like you have lost some focus in the various changes to your image.  This is something I struggle with at times as well.  I make so many changes I lose sight of where I wanted to go with an image.

    I am attaching a file of 3 versions with notes regarding which elements I liked in each.  These are just my personal opinions.  As always the image and vision is yours.

    I also miss the sky background from the first images.  It provided a sense of space.  The rock formations in the final image are a bit confining.

    Whatever you decide to do this is an excellent concept and you are doing a great job.

     

     

     

    Here's version i. I went back to one of the cloud HDRIs that I have, and made some changes to the interior lighting.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252

    @Shinjiikari9th

    I feel like you have lost some focus in the various changes to your image.  This is something I struggle with at times as well.  I make so many changes I lose sight of where I wanted to go with an image.

    I am attaching a file of 3 versions with notes regarding which elements I liked in each.  These are just my personal opinions.  As always the image and vision is yours.

    I also miss the sky background from the first images.  It provided a sense of space.  The rock formations in the final image are a bit confining.

    Whatever you decide to do this is an excellent concept and you are doing a great job.

     

     

     

    Here's version i. I went back to one of the cloud HDRIs that I have, and made some changes to the interior lighting.

    You have put a lot of work into this scene and it really shows.

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,333
    edited June 2016

    Well, I just wasn't having any fun with my city render.  It didn't have a story, and it wasn't talking to me.  So I abandoned it in favor of this lagoon scene.

    Before I add the person in the boat, I would like to get a little feedback.

    Lagoon 24.jpg
    1200 x 800 - 916K
    Post edited by dracorn on
  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    dracorn said:

    Well, I just wasn't having any fun with my city render.  It didn't have a story, and it wasn't talking to me.  So I abandoned it in favor of this lagoon scene.

    Before I add the person in the boat, I would like to get a little feedback.

    Lovely calm scene you have Dracorn.  I love the addition of the parrots.  They add movement and a nice shot of colour.

     

    Are you planning on adding a wake in postwork?

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252

    Not to add any pressure to anyone but Thursday is the end of June.

     

    Only a few days left to finalize your images and get them in the Entries Thread.

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,333
    dracorn said:

    Well, I just wasn't having any fun with my city render.  It didn't have a story, and it wasn't talking to me.  So I abandoned it in favor of this lagoon scene.

    Before I add the person in the boat, I would like to get a little feedback.

     

    Lovely calm scene you have Dracorn.  I love the addition of the parrots.  They add movement and a nice shot of colour.

    Are you planning on adding a wake in postwork?

    Yes, I am planning on doing several things in postwork concerning the water besides the wake: I need to ripple all the shadows and add water lapping on the shore. 

    I had originally reduced the size of the boat, but that makes the macaws and the monkey (for your Where's Waldo fun) too large.  I will also need to reduce the size of the figure in the boat - still thinking about who to put there.

    It's rendered in 3Delight, and I can't say how much I love AoA's Advanced Spotlight.  I was able to illuminate the birds only without shining any light on the shadowed rock formations behind them. 

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,333

    Not to add any pressure to anyone but Thursday is the end of June.

    Only a few days left to finalize your images and get them in the Entries Thread.

    Pressure?!   Aaack!

    It is a bit strange to come to the last week of the month without any entires at all.  Guess we're all going to be last minute!

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,333
    edited June 2016

    Here are some improvements (the more I look at it, the more I need to fix):

    I had originally set the boat to 50% scale because it was too large in relation to the Steppes. That made the birds also too large.  I increased the boat to 65%, and birds reduced to 65%.  I moved the boat back to increase the contrast with the shadows and lamplight on the shadows.  I adjusted the light on the monkey a little. 

    I didn't like the color of the boat's lamps - they were plain gold diffuse and same color ambient.  So I gave it a clear glass shader, made the glass slightly transparent tan, and gave the ambient a more neutral gold glow.  Had to adjust the lamp light to match (it helps to parent stuff so when I move the boat back the lights move with it, duh).  Much better.

    I quadrupled the shadow and pixel sampling to smooth out the grainy soft shadows and improve the look.  It slowed the render time, but it was still around 10 minutes. 

    I just picked up Seaside Shore Shaders, so I will be changing the little islands to sand, but I have to leave and don't have time just yet.

    Lagoon 27.jpg
    1200 x 800 - 888K
    Post edited by dracorn on
  • SaphirewildSaphirewild Posts: 6,648

    Looks like I am not going to have any time this week untill the next months challenge because there has been a death in my family (My Brother-In-Law) so this week is not looking good for any rendering....so till next month I bid you all ado and good luck to all!!!! SOme really amazing renders happening here!!!

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252

    Looks like I am not going to have any time this week untill the next months challenge because there has been a death in my family (My Brother-In-Law) so this week is not looking good for any rendering....so till next month I bid you all ado and good luck to all!!!! SOme really amazing renders happening here!!!

    My condolences to you and your family Saphirewild.  *hugs*

  • SaphirewildSaphirewild Posts: 6,648

    Looks like I am not going to have any time this week untill the next months challenge because there has been a death in my family (My Brother-In-Law) so this week is not looking good for any rendering....so till next month I bid you all ado and good luck to all!!!! SOme really amazing renders happening here!!!

    My condolences to you and your family Saphirewild.  *hugs*

    Thanks so much Kismet

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,333

    Looks like I am not going to have any time this week until the next months challenge because there has been a death in my family (My Brother-In-Law) so this week is not looking good for any rendering....so till next month I bid you all ado and good luck to all!!!! Some really amazing renders happening here!!!

    I know how you feel, Saphirewild.  My nephew committed suicide the day before mother's day.  My husband found that this really helps: after the funeral, when everyone is gone and grief hits hard, that's a good time to visit (I assume) your sister.  My condolences to you and your family.

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,333

    By the way, Kismet2012, I like your new avatar.  Very nice.  I can't tell what the tattoo is, as the picture is very small.

  • zax797zax797 Posts: 15

    this is a mix of Bryce and Daz, any suggestions? or is it good to summit?

    Looking out over the islands.jpg
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  • LinwellyLinwelly Posts: 5,780
    zax797 said:

    this is a mix of Bryce and Daz, any suggestions? or is it good to summit?

    Welcome zax797! Nice to see some people playing with bryce here.

    Maybe you want to look if you can move the sky upwarts, so the rock is not reaching through it. The way it is, it looks a bit too much the plane with some colours. I like the idea of someone looking out to the landscape for now the contrast seems a bit hard to me, but maybe its the effect you wanted to achieve.

  • LinwellyLinwelly Posts: 5,780

    Looks like I am not going to have any time this week untill the next months challenge because there has been a death in my family (My Brother-In-Law) so this week is not looking good for any rendering....so till next month I bid you all ado and good luck to all!!!! SOme really amazing renders happening here!!!

    I'm sorry to hear about your loss Saphirewild. Take your time and take care!

  • dracorn said:

    Looks like I am not going to have any time this week until the next months challenge because there has been a death in my family (My Brother-In-Law) so this week is not looking good for any rendering....so till next month I bid you all ado and good luck to all!!!! Some really amazing renders happening here!!!

    I know how you feel, Saphirewild.  My nephew committed suicide the day before mother's day.  My husband found that this really helps: after the funeral, when everyone is gone and grief hits hard, that's a good time to visit (I assume) your sister.  My condolences to you and your family.

    Sorry to read about your nephew dracorn, as well as your brother-in-law Saphirewild.

    i know this hasn't been a good year for my family in reguards to loosing people. Like I said back in Feburary, I had lost my uncle, but I may not have mentioned that it was a suicide. I know that everyone had taken it hard, but I feel that I took it (and still am taking it) harder then most of them becaouse I was the last member to see or talk to him just the day before. The 5 month aniversery of our loosing him would have been his 56th birthday next month.

    We've also lost his father to old age back in April. We had called him after we got home from finding my uncle, and I was so out of it that there wasn't any way that I could've tried to talk with him. (I think that I might have mixed myself a vadka to try and cope, I can't remember if I did or not. Eather way I haven't touched it again.) Back to grandpa though, like I said he passed in April at the ripe old age of 92 in his sleep from what I hear. A cousin of ours brought grandpa's ashes in with them so we could spread them on the mountains here were I live. I didn't even know if I was going to be able to make it because of how last minute it was.

    Sorry about the rambling, but when I read your post dracorn, I guess it trigured something in me and I had to vent.

    I ment what I said at the start to both you and Saphirewild, I'm sorry to here about your loses, and I wish both of your families well.

    Hopefully I can get some rest after this because in about 40 minutes it will be right about when my late uncle called me for the last time...

    night.

  • ChoholeChohole Posts: 33,604
    edited June 2016
    Linwelly said:
    zax797 said:

    this is a mix of Bryce and Daz, any suggestions? or is it good to summit?

    Welcome zax797! Nice to see some people playing with bryce here.

    Maybe you want to look if you can move the sky upwarts, so the rock is not reaching through it. The way it is, it looks a bit too much the plane with some colours. I like the idea of someone looking out to the landscape for now the contrast seems a bit hard to me, but maybe its the effect you wanted to achieve.

    You can't actually move the sky upwards in Bryce,  you can move cloud levels,  or change camera angles.   I do see what Linwelly means,   the tall Island is amongst the clouds,   Maybe it shouldn't be quite so tall.   Drop it down a bit, so that the stuff on the island lands in the golden ratio mark (one third down from image top)

    Post edited by Chohole on
  • LinwellyLinwelly Posts: 5,780
    dracorn said:

    Here are some improvements (the more I look at it, the more I need to fix):

    I had originally set the boat to 50% scale because it was too large in relation to the Steppes. That made the birds also too large.  I increased the boat to 65%, and birds reduced to 65%.  I moved the boat back to increase the contrast with the shadows and lamplight on the shadows.  I adjusted the light on the monkey a little. 

    I didn't like the color of the boat's lamps - they were plain gold diffuse and same color ambient.  So I gave it a clear glass shader, made the glass slightly transparent tan, and gave the ambient a more neutral gold glow.  Had to adjust the lamp light to match (it helps to parent stuff so when I move the boat back the lights move with it, duh).  Much better.

    I quadrupled the shadow and pixel sampling to smooth out the grainy soft shadows and improve the look.  It slowed the render time, but it was still around 10 minutes. 

    I just picked up Seaside Shore Shaders, so I will be changing the little islands to sand, but I have to leave and don't have time just yet.

    This is looking really like aplace I'd like to see for holiday! I'm not sure if the shadows are all going the same direction, probably somthing to check back.

    With the boat being a bit the eyecatcher it's probably worth playing with the camera angle /perspective to move it towards one of the third grids crossing points, just as a suggestion.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    dracorn said:

    By the way, Kismet2012, I like your new avatar.  Very nice.  I can't tell what the tattoo is, as the picture is very small.

    Thank you @Dracorn.  There is a full size image in my thread in the Art Forums.

  • evilded777evilded777 Posts: 2,437

    where did this month go...i made a few incremental updates that I have posted. I still got to add in the little details.  I hope I have time.. post work may not make it into the schedule.

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