Novica & Forum Members Tips & Product Reviews Pt 7

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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited January 2017

    I'm curious and loading up the yard to take a peek at this, using Dumor's lights. I won't be on the computer very long though. Rich, what's your focal length for your camera? I'm doing 60-ish.

    (Edit- I have to keep remembering that there are new folks using the studio- let me briefly explain, while waiting on a render- for portraits, select your camera in Scene. In Parameters, select Camera. Your Focal Length should be between 90- 125 for portraits, so the nose doesn't go bulbous/distorted. My portraits are always 120.  For architecture, I'm trying to remember - someone help out here- isn't lower numbers around 45 where the buildings start skewing up?  I usually use 60 when I think to set it manually.)

    Just the yard- 70% in 6 minutes.

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  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,805
    Novica said:

    Rich, what's your focal length for your camera? I'm doing 60-ish.

    30 (wide-angle) within the room. Not sure about the exterior as I moved the camera and may have adjusted it to get more of the room (but it could have been the same outside as the right pole is at a slight angle which suggests wide-angle) .  Also, lights have a lot to do with how promos look, so that could be a big factor as well.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    RGcincy said:

    30 (wide-angle) within the room. Not sure about the exterior as I moved the camera and may have adjusted it to get more of the room (but it could have been the same outside as the right pole is at a slight angle which suggests wide-angle) .  Also, lights have a lot to do with how promos look, so that could be a big factor as well.

    I wish I could remember this stuff lol. I read it, then forget about it (except for portraits, I do so many of those.) 

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    @RGcincy- okay dude, how are you able to only have 708 posts when you're constantly helping out on this thread, and have your own? I zinged past 14,000 day before yesterday, was just looking at my post number and scrolled up to see yours- thought it would be 3-4,000 at least. Which simply means you're better at time management than I am! 

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited January 2017

    Done in 13 minutes, 8 seconds. 
    I assume that's water- I don't particularly care for it with this lighting.

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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited January 2017

    Okay, so this is what it looks like when I added the house. (Not the furniture.) Trying to show you something different, Rich covered everything quite well. I will, however, load the furniture and see what it looks like with the Apocalyptic Lights plus maybe a Ghost. (light)

    Edit: This Dome Rotation 170. Going to show you though how you can make it better for lighting the inside of that room.

    TIP: Change Y Orientation to 260.  Now look at the light coming in that window on our left- and the light is brighter and there's more of it in the wide opening at the front.  Y orientation is your friend. That's my go-to the very first thing when I do an outdoor render. It gives you that nice dramatic side lighting. (this isn't news, I've posted this at least three or four times previously.) 

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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited January 2017

    Now we'll look directly into the door (with the Y Dome Orientation)  It is rendering now. You will see light coming in from that side window, which you wouldn't have using only the Dome Rotation of 170. Without doing anything, I can tell you already that it would make a great dramatic render if someone were sitting in that chair by the door- nice lighting on that part. Everything else, too dark. 

     

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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited January 2017

    Wow, I thought that was a fish pointing up, like to the surface of water, the way the light is hitting that flower picture on the wall. The light on the couch, at first look, lined up enough to be the body and if you look, the couch has almost a "scale" texture with that lighting. I thought, "What a funky fish."

    This is without any assist. I only took it to 75% completion, you get the gist. Check back for this post, I am adding a ghost light to the SIDE WINDOW. Rich did from the front, so let's take a different approach.

    So if you don't know Ghost Lights, it's a one click>position a plane>Apply Before Presets>choose daylight, dusk, etc> Intensity>Done.

    Here's what it looks like before I make it "disappear" with the Apply Before Presets. TIP: BEFORE you rotate or bend it, move it into position. Trying to pull that sucker along with the Universal Tool (that square with the arrows out in the viewport) is hard when you already have it fixed diagonally pointing out in space. 

    The presets for Ghost Lights are in hundreds aka 100, 200, etc. So you can select the plane (mesh light) and go into Surfaces and change the Luminance. This is at 145, coming from the side window. Enough of the HDR light is coming in to do the slanted lighting, so I just left this at straight on for an overall fill. You can easily tilt another one, overlap it, and have more slanted lights. I did ask KindredArts when I was setting up the BOO presets, and the lights do NOT INTERFERE WITH EACH OTHER IF THEY OVERLAP. 

    Well, my fish has disappeared, but let's talk about the pillows. The one on the far right has a face, with a fung-chu (or whatever you call them) mustache. He has eyebrows, a nose, I'm talking a complete face! (You can even see the dots for his eyes, not just slits. I may zoom in for kicks. Looks like he has two dark horns. 

     

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  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,805

    LOL! that does look like a fish

  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,805
    Novica said:

    @RGcincy- okay dude, how are you able to only have 708 posts when you're constantly helping out on this thread, and have your own? I zinged past 14,000 day before yesterday, was just looking at my post number and scrolled up to see yours- thought it would be 3-4,000 at least. Which simply means you're better at time management than I am! 

    And I've been on the site since 2003! To be fair, I was away for many years and didn't make any posts until Jan 2015.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited January 2017

     

    RGcincy said:

    And I've been on the site since 2003! To be fair, I was away for many years and didn't make any posts until Jan 2015.

    Uh oh. I'm a 2012-er. Late- September. So up through 2016-  if I divide by about 3.75 years that's 3,740.53 posts a year. 
    Those .53 are the posts that the mods deleted.   (Couldn't resist.) 

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited January 2017

    No, the face in the pillow disintegrated, darn it. But now the eyebrows look like cartoon V flapping birds...EDIT: And there's a silky terrier, or terrier of some sort, or wait...a schnauzer-terrier... in the couch, right above the blue pillow. You can see the two ears sticking up, he has a black dot for a nose, his fluffy muzzle is slightly lighter than the "neck."  If you look at him another way, with that light green dot as the eye, he has a big grin.) Okay, I am quitting now!!!

    And I'm sorry, but that horse just looks so PAINFUL, if you know what I mean. He definitely has to be rotated around for a front-only view in any renders I do! Why on earth didn't he leave a decent sized nub???

    Anyway, here's the closeup details. Will do one, maybe two more of the inside there. (Like shooting from the couch, looking toward the door.)  I do really like the Apocalyptic lights- (wishlist both the interior and exterior if you like these.)  Getting off the computer shortly. Thanks for showcasing, Rich.

    There's two different dogs. The first uses the green spot as the eye and is higher up than the second one, it has the eye at the END of the mouth on the first one.The second dog's nose is the start of the mouth on the first one.

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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited January 2017

    Wish the books had more details and the book placement is wrong. The books go through the table, be sure and adjust the stack.  And kinda tired of this- since when do books not have any writing on the binders or the back, or the front- whichever you want to look at it? With all the intricate details everywhere else, these just don't seem to fit. I also like scattered, not stacked books, for a used often feeling.

    Let's fix it. @Faveral comes to mind for an open book and loads of props- if you don't have Opus Magnum,  take a peek. (Oh my gosh, I'm feeling like an old timer. That was AGES ago.) It's a gold mine. Flasks, books, amazing assortment of props. Including an open book with details. Make the book thinner and you have a book to put on that table. Whenever I want flasks and odds and ends, O.M. usually solves it. With Iray Uber Base, and all the wonderful shaders, wow, what you can do. 

    Whatcha think, compare the two. Then there's the corner which would be to the right of the couch, as you look from the front door.

    Okay done, getting off the computer.

    First the default.

    Now Opus Magnum to the rescue. If you think the book page is too dingy, brighten the diffuse. You can also eliminate that one and just have the other two, I still think they are a big improvement and go well with that table.

    The row of bricks are cut in half by the floor, in case you want to tweak that with shaders or whatever.

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  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859
    edited January 2017

     

    Llynara said:

    EDIT TO CLARIFY: I mean the Greek Houses set. The Peaceful House set looks fine.

    I actually had the thought when it first started rendering, that with all the white, the Peaceful House looked like it actually could be used for a toon setting. smiley  (Edit- except for that vegetation, would need to remove it. The detailed blooming one wouldn't fit.) 

    Post edited by Novica on
  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    BTW, a great chance to get some things from KindredArts store- enter the Freebie Challenge Contest!   

  • Doing great things in here!  I don't do contests anymore, but that one looks fun.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    Doing great things in here!  I don't do contests anymore, but that one looks fun.

    Thank you! And we'd much, much rather you continue providing us with those stellar characters! It's very thoughtful for you to show us what you're working on. It's quite fascinating and I read your thread and marvel at how you think something isn't quite right, and it looks SOOOOOOOO good to me! 

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    In case you want to use Ultrascatter for a crowd, Rich did a very nice tutorial over in his city thread. I  posted a link to it in my References (first post of this thread.) FYI when the new thread starts, I carry that reference post forward and continue to add to it. I put a link to the expressions and poses, the fix for the Greek Houses, so you can find those quickly. 

    Before you buy Poland's subway product, be sure and read the thread over in Commons about the memory required for it.

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    Will bereading up on that tutorial (thank you Rich!) as I have this but haven't used it yet, for some reason I am always slightly intimidated with the products using scripts. Which is silly, its not like its going to bite me lol, but may have something to do with my need to get things right the first time.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    Will bereading up on that tutorial (thank you Rich!) as I have this but haven't used it yet, for some reason I am always slightly intimidated with the products using scripts. 

    You're not the only one! 

  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,805

    Will bereading up on that tutorial (thank you Rich!) as I have this but haven't used it yet, for some reason I am always slightly intimidated with the products using scripts. Which is silly, its not like its going to bite me lol, but may have something to do with my need to get things right the first time.

    One nice thing with Ultrascatter is it saves the settings with the instances. So if you don't like how it looks (which is not uncommon), you can select it in teh scene tab before running the script and just make modifications to your previous settings as needed. If I recall correctly, Instances Plus is a little trickier as you have to redo the settings each time.

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    Thanks again Rich!  I don't think I have instances plus although I believe its on my wishlist

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548
    Novica said:

    Will bereading up on that tutorial (thank you Rich!) as I have this but haven't used it yet, for some reason I am always slightly intimidated with the products using scripts. 

    You're not the only one! 

    Good to know!  I always feel silly about it but there it is lol.

  • Novica said:

    Doing great things in here!  I don't do contests anymore, but that one looks fun.

    Thank you! And we'd much, much rather you continue providing us with those stellar characters! It's very thoughtful for you to show us what you're working on. It's quite fascinating and I read your thread and marvel at how you think something isn't quite right, and it looks SOOOOOOOO good to me! 

    Aw, thank you- and you're welcome!  I'm extremely picky with my crap.  Letting others I. On some of what I'm doing calms that down a bit.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    On December 13th, I had to say goodbye to Spinner, one of my cats. It's 8:20am and I am having to do the same with Misty, one of the three I took when my father-in-law died back in December 2009. (Spinner, Misty, Holly.)   Misty will be put to sleep at 9:30am, an hour from now, so I won't be posting today as I am going to the barn and be with Stetson, out in a nice, sunny day. I don't want to be at home, as Misty is kept in the master bedroom and I'm used to going in and checking on her (she wasn't in good health, was diagnosed with diabetes early last year.)  So it's best that I'm out of the house for this morning. 

    She is now uncomfortable and a pet's human (not owner!) knows when they aren't enjoying Life anymore. I feel very good about this today and Misty would want me to spend time with the rest of my animals, so that's what I am going to do. I'm sure Spinner will be waiting for her when she starts her journey to a pain free existance. I've never believed that animals don't have a heaven, even if it isn't ours- because they just don't sin. They only love! 

    So have a good day, I'm going to. So, finally, is Misty.

  • My condolences.

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    So sorry Novica.  I personally believe that they will be in our heaven and will be their to greet us just like our human families who have gone before us.

  • NovicaNovica Posts: 23,859

    Thanks :)  I just got back from the barn, Misty went to sleep at 9:52am and I went straight to see Stetson from there, been there all day. Only rode half an hour or so, but another horse owner has been having trouble with her mare so I hung out all day as they worked with the horse. So nice to be surrounded by people who are patient with animals. It's about 78 here today, but overcast for a lot of the day, and even when the sun came out there was a 15mph breeze that was quite lovely. So a very nice day overall, my cat is at peace without pain and my horse got ridden (last time was two months ago.)  I rode with the barn owner so it was relaxing to have another horse to ride with. 

    So did anyone buy the Fantasy Creature Creator and play with it?

  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548

    I did buy it but just got home and am loading it now.  I broke down and used my coupon for the pc club so I picked it up for $13. 

  • RGcincyRGcincy Posts: 2,805

    Sorry to hear about your cat Novica. She was lucky to have you as her human.

This discussion has been closed.