February 2018 - Daz 3D New User Challenge - Lighting

1235789

Comments

  • daybirddaybird Posts: 645
    Fishtales said:

    @daybird

    I think he means the leg bracers which are lighter than the trousers and from a distance it looks like there is a mismatch with the shader. Zooming in and the bracers become visible :)

    Lol, stupid me. 

    Until now I have'nt even realised that, but both of you have right. This looks a little strange. 
    I have used the original surface setting from the boots, but it would better if I change them.

    Now I even realised, that I have setting the lights wrong ..purple and yellow on the wrong side of her, so there are a few more render necessary to remedy the errors. ^^

     

  • NoswenNoswen Posts: 358

    @Chameo: Liking your figure, and interesting way to change the colour of things with the light and a blocking object. Hope you can fix whatever's causing the crash.

    @Tynkere: The expression is perhaps telling a different story to the shadows pose, makes me wonder who is going to be right if the picture continued to later :-) For my renders my ideas are bouncing off the two, she's actually sorounded by a semi-spherical mirror which I'm guessing is what's made the ripple like effect on the floor... she's also floating >.< I'll probably switch back to trying out the light cube more again next.

    @Gallows: Adding the lightning and changing the light has really made the dragon pop out

    @daybird: Looks cool :-)

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252

    Here we are with version g. Tried to make some tweeks to the fire, ground, and rock. Also gave the speeker a set of dogtags as a referance to my late grandfather who passed the same year as my uncle, (Same side of the family actualy.) who was a WW2 naval vet and in his early 90s when he passed on.

    I like the addition of the dog tags.  However, they do not look like they are hanging away from his body?

  • RARA Posts: 78
    Chameo said:

     In this, I used the exact same settings on all the figure's skin surfaces, and used spotlights and distant lights to "paint" her. She and all of the spheres are shaded with a frosted, etched glass shader (with a custom "etching") and thin-walled set on, so the blurred lines and stars are actually on the other side of the shape being seen through the shape. I'm trying to decide if I like the way the lines "break" at the figure seams, or if I want to go in and try to adjust the tiling and angle of the textures so there's a more seamless flow.

     

    Outstanding color and shading.  Enjoying the dof for the spheres

  • RARA Posts: 78
    Chameo said:

    Also, since Tynkere asked about the blue "border" - it's done with light. Taking my cue from Bruce, here's the setup for the scene from two different angles:

    There are two planes set at 90 degree angles to create a floor and wall, and each has a different texture. The floor is more reflective, the wall is more absorbent. The various lights are positioned and aimed to catch parts of the hair, the spheres, and the curves/angles of the dancing figure. The two distant lights, hidden behind the wall, add ambient lighting and a wash of color. The purple light, positioned in front of and above the dancer, was washing out the blue entirely, so I added a cutout plane as a blocker between the purple light and the scene. The purple light falls where I want it, leaving the blue light to create the sharp blue edge along the bottom.

     

    Thanks for posting this. Can't wait to experiment.

  • NoswenNoswen Posts: 358
    edited February 2018

    An expanded version of the light cube with the whole thing surrounded by a mirror cube, then adding a second light cube in. Interestingly adding a third light cube to this scene makes the render time grind to a halt pretty dramatically so I had to get rid of that.

    Light Cube 2.jpg
    800 x 800 - 253K
    Post edited by Noswen on
  • Noswen said:

    An expanded version of the light cube with the whole thing surrounded by a mirror cube, then adding a second light cube in. Interestingly adding a third light cube to this scene makes the render time grind to a halt pretty dramatically so I had to get rid of that.

    wow, trippy.

  • I have version h rendering, but it will be after 6 this evening when I get home from work that I'll be able to post things.

  • NoswenNoswen Posts: 358
    Noswen said:

    An expanded version of the light cube with the whole thing surrounded by a mirror cube, then adding a second light cube in. Interestingly adding a third light cube to this scene makes the render time grind to a halt pretty dramatically so I had to get rid of that.

    wow, trippy.

    I have absolutely no idea where I'm going with this or what to try next! laugh Never played around with mirrors before.

  • asumsasums Posts: 11

    So, I've played with the shaders, and I've managed to lose the transparency somewhat, but I also seems to have lost the subtle shading across the face now. The shadows seem harsher, not as gentle as the original. I've tried playing with the options but I can seem to bring that back, without bringing back the transparency. I haven't changed any of the lighting settings, just the shaders on the characters.

    first love 3.jpg
    1145 x 818 - 538K
  • ChameoChameo Posts: 306
    asums said:

    So, I've played with the shaders, and I've managed to lose the transparency somewhat, but I also seems to have lost the subtle shading across the face now. The shadows seem harsher, not as gentle as the original. I've tried playing with the options but I can seem to bring that back, without bringing back the transparency. I haven't changed any of the lighting settings, just the shaders on the characters.

    Oof, I hate when that happens. I've been trying off and on for months to recapture the original settings on a piece I did back in October with no success.

  • ChameoChameo Posts: 306
    Noswen said:

    An expanded version of the light cube with the whole thing surrounded by a mirror cube, then adding a second light cube in. Interestingly adding a third light cube to this scene makes the render time grind to a halt pretty dramatically so I had to get rid of that.

    Wow - this is kind of amazing! (I really love that there are a bunch of NPR experimentations this month!)

  • ChameoChameo Posts: 306

    I have version h rendering, but it will be after 6 this evening when I get home from work that I'll be able to post things.

    I really like the way this is shaping up, Shinji - with enough light, I can see the figures more clearly and the story comes through.

  • Version h up. Tried to do some tweeking of the dogtags so they weren't flat to the speekers chest.

    feb2018h.png
    1080 x 872 - 1M
  • RARA Posts: 78

    Hello, thanks for hosting this event. The tutorials and comments are very helpful.

    This render is my first time using the dome. I set the time for 8:10 pm.  I used 4 spots and 2 points. 

    RA

    Gdiscord1.png
    2880 x 1620 - 6M
  • RARA Posts: 78

    Version h up. Tried to do some tweeking of the dogtags so they weren't flat to the speekers chest.

    Shinji, you have some awesome reflections off the ground and the one guy's trousers.

  • RARA Posts: 78
    Noswen said:

    That cube is actually made up of 6 sets of 25 squares, with some of them 'dimmed' to lower opacity.

    After doing my more abstract one (and discovering how to group objects thankfully!) I got inspired by the mirrors in it and made a not so abstract render as well: -

    Mirror Room

     

    Outstanding clarity in the mirror reflections.

  • daybirddaybird Posts: 645
    edited February 2018
    RA said:

    Hello, thanks for hosting this event. The tutorials and comments are very helpful.

    This render is my first time using the dome. I set the time for 8:10 pm.  I used 4 spots and 2 points. 

    RA

    Hi RA and a warm welcome here from me.

    I hope this would become the same familiar place for you, as it is now for me.

    Interesting start with the two ladys. Did you render in 3Delight, or in Iray? I tend to Iray when I look at your picture?

    As I can see, both of them are floating in the air. That happen sometimes, because Daz studio always tries to place loaded figures/props etc. on the ground.

    I think, the building you loaded, have a tricky detail. As you can see, there is a small ramp behind the two women. The area behind this ramp is set with the ground level, but the area in the foreground goes under this line.

    So even when you press ctrl/strg+d when you have selected one of your women, nothing will happen, because they are already on the ground level. You must select them separately and manually lower them with the Y Translate lever to the bottom.

    Or you go the other way and raise the building, what may be the easier way and have also the advantage, that you get no problems when you lower a camera under the ground line. I have learned, that strange things are happen, when I do that. Sometimes texture disappear or shader would not rendered correctly.

    The green and purple light creates a great effect and I like the expressions.Keep them!

    The color suggests, that the woman on the right one, feels insecure and have a little fear. BTW. what do she hold in her right hand, In this position I can't see it clear.

     

    What I would do in your place, is to change position from the green and purple spotlight to lower the shadows on the faces. Place them not direct above, put them a little more before the women. 

    Mhh, when I read my comment it sounds like I'm a nerd, who thinks, to know all better! So don't get me wrong. I only want to help. It also may be, that some things I wrote are totally wrong, but I hope that than, one of the moderators will correct this with a comment.

     

     

    Post edited by daybird on
  • daybirddaybird Posts: 645
    edited February 2018

    Ok, try number xxx.

    I changed the color of the boots, to avoid the hard break between them and the pants, but now it seems, like I must increase the light behind her, because we can't see much details at the low areas on her.indecision

    I also hope that the fire looks better now. First I duplicated the fire changed the position and scale a little.
    Than I changed in surfaces the emission and luminance and capacity, to create a light blur effect.cool

    And last but not least, I put another victim in, just for my own little hand to big dramas.laugh

    18.02.18.jpg
    1400 x 2265 - 1M
    Post edited by daybird on
  • asumsasums Posts: 11
    Chameo said:
    asums said:

    So, I've played with the shaders, and I've managed to lose the transparency somewhat, but I also seems to have lost the subtle shading across the face now. The shadows seem harsher, not as gentle as the original. I've tried playing with the options but I can seem to bring that back, without bringing back the transparency. I haven't changed any of the lighting settings, just the shaders on the characters.

    Oof, I hate when that happens. I've been trying off and on for months to recapture the original settings on a piece I did back in October with no success.

    Thanks, that's really inspired me !! ;-)

  • NoswenNoswen Posts: 358
    asums said:

    So, I've played with the shaders, and I've managed to lose the transparency somewhat, but I also seems to have lost the subtle shading across the face now. The shadows seem harsher, not as gentle as the original. I've tried playing with the options but I can seem to bring that back, without bringing back the transparency. I haven't changed any of the lighting settings, just the shaders on the characters.

    This might be a little off on a tangent, but was it intentional that you approached the old is this a vase or two faces type pictures? Interesting even if not done on purpose.

  • NoswenNoswen Posts: 358
    edited February 2018

    And so that my Mirror Room (why did I not call this Reflections?) subject is not floating here is a new version of it with that fixed: -

    The issue was almost impossible to see to my eyes, but zooming on in her foot on the right side of the picture would show it up.

    Mirror Room 3.jpg
    618 x 1000 - 78K
    Post edited by Noswen on
  • asumsasums Posts: 11
    Noswen said:
    asums said:

    So, I've played with the shaders, and I've managed to lose the transparency somewhat, but I also seems to have lost the subtle shading across the face now. The shadows seem harsher, not as gentle as the original. I've tried playing with the options but I can seem to bring that back, without bringing back the transparency. I haven't changed any of the lighting settings, just the shaders on the characters.

    This might be a little off on a tangent, but was it intentional that you approached the old is this a vase or two faces type pictures? Interesting even if not done on purpose.

    Hi Noswen, no, it was literally an exercise in lighting, how to light a scene with minimal lights, pure black background. I saw an image of one of the products in the store (Anagenesis shaders) and I thought it was a wonderfiully lit image. This was just my take on that.

  • ChameoChameo Posts: 306
    asums said:
    Chameo said:
    asums said:

    So, I've played with the shaders, and I've managed to lose the transparency somewhat, but I also seems to have lost the subtle shading across the face now. The shadows seem harsher, not as gentle as the original. I've tried playing with the options but I can seem to bring that back, without bringing back the transparency. I haven't changed any of the lighting settings, just the shaders on the characters.

    Oof, I hate when that happens. I've been trying off and on for months to recapture the original settings on a piece I did back in October with no success.

    Thanks, that's really inspired me !! ;-)

    LOL! Sorry... I meant to be comiserating! I did learn from my mistake - now, when I decide to make a tweak to an image that will take it in a big new direction, I save the scene with a different name so I can get back to it if I decide to take it in a different direction. Usually, it isn't that big a deal, but in this case, I liked the earlier image well enough that I wanted to tweak it -just a little more- and print it to hang on my wall.

  • LaPartitaLaPartita Posts: 398
    edited February 2018

    I'm trying to light my scene (roughed out below) as though all the light is coming from a glowing rubber duck, but so far every attempt to make the duck into an emmisive surface has failed spectacularly. Currently, I'm lighting the scene with two spotlights - one from straight over her head and one hitting her face from a very steep angle - but even though the preview image is extremely bright, when I render the image the figure is barely visible.

    Any help would be appreciated - right now, I'm feeling like quite the lighting dunce!

    rubber duck image draft

    rubber duck v1 test.png
    453 x 598 - 266K
    Post edited by LaPartita on
  • TynkereTynkere Posts: 832
    edited February 2018

    Busy busy!

    @ Noswen

    Heh!  Trippy indeed.  Reminds me of a chemistry book for some reason.  “This is table salt when it first goes in water."

    On a more serious note, long as you’re doing abstract, wonder what you could get out of it my playing around with camera settings?  devil

    Spherical might give a kind of inverted fish-eye and appear further away.   Some of the others useful for Mirror Girl project?  I thought they were fun to play with last month, but I've had a lot of free time on my hands.  : ) 

    @ Asums

    Got rid of glossy hair at least.  That stinks about settings, but happens. Good news is that in looking at them, the light itself doesn't look like it's moved.  Like you say, just brighter & more contrast.

    Familiar with SubD?  If not, try the following.  (copy your file and save it someplace safe...)

    In the scene tab, select character with worst (most harsh) shadows-- probably her.  Under parameters, type “SubD” in the search window above where it says “x-translate.”

    Subdivision levels is the number of times it ramps up polygons.  Lets say an actor has 100,000.  Zero is 100,000 and probably doesn’t look good.  1 as default is 400,000.  2 = 1,600,00 polygons and is the limit on my machine.  Reference notes say 3 would be 6,400,000.  The highest it will go (without disabling limits) is 4 which is something like 24 million polygons and insane!

    So let's cross fingers and try Subdivision level at 2

    “Render SubD Level Minimum”  I think default is 2 or 3.  Try one increment higher.  Test render.  If it goes into CPU mode, too much for your card, and try going back to Subdivision Level of 1.  If still goes into CPU mode, then go back down on SubD Minimum.  Hopefully if you can up the SubD settings, and get softer shadows.  (I would thank the member who taught me that, but don't know his handle.  His avatar is a question mark.)

    Anyway, tricky part will be light intensity without spoiling that beautiful eye reflection & profile.  Write down what your light “Luminous Flux” is and try lowering it.  Eventually you’ll lose that highlight which stinks, so...

    Something you might try in combination.  Temperature in (K) is usually 6500.  Try for something warmer + tweaking lumens.   2600K is kind of a flesh tone and might be a good start.  2850 is a lighter almost beige color.  3200 is fairly close to moon light and might not be as extreme.

    Maybe someone else can chime in here about how to tone down the lights without moving them.  About all I know to tell you.  I'd be interested in learning too.  Could happen to any of us.  : (

    @ RA

    Welcome to the fun!  

    I like how the jewels on her necklace are sparkling.  Since you’re probably in first stages of it, won’t comment on anything I see (that you might already know) unless you give the OK.

    Like to think each monthly challenge is really a challenge to ourselves.  Hopefully it's not about out-doing one another, or I wouldn't play.  I have some thoughts, but since we don’t know one another, will only offer suggestions if you give the go ahead.  smiley

    @ Shinji

    Almost done?  Like the dogtags. Did you ever tell Daybird what the 'object' is in forground?  I'm playing catch up.  Cybersnake.  That's a pretty good one. 

    @ Daybird

    OK, sorry for a little fun.  Hint if Shinji hasn't told you.  Edges around it move.  Really fast.  It's far too loud to be a snake.  : )

    To topic:

    Solved the boot problem!  I like how that actually makes some trim on right hand boot.  You changed the color of the sword I see.  Like Shinji, looks like you're finishing up?  Glad I'm finally done with mine.

    @ LaPetite (Hope it’s OK to shorten your name. )

    Also warm welcome to the fun!  Think you’ll like it here.  Glowing duckie a cute idea. 

    As said with RA, I don't want to sound like a know it all, so if you're game, other members here have been very patient with all my questions.  Be happy to share what I've learned so far..

    Oh, and you're not a lighting dunce.  Rather than hit Ctrl+Z to undo, I accidently hit Ctrl+S and saved a mistake.  Bonehead of Month (Lighting Dunce) probably my moniker for a while at least.  laugh

    @ High Elf

    Did you finish, or busy?  Background on Chrome looking armor, but if any updates I didn't see them.

    Anyway, hopefully that's everyone.  It's kind of fun to have finished (I hope) and be following along.

    Thanks for reading!

    --Bruce

    Post edited by Tynkere on
  • HighElfHighElf Posts: 326

    I'm busy,. I hope to get some work done this work wekend. :)

  • sueyasueya Posts: 825

    Josie in the cafe - Version 4

    I have removed a chair as suggested

  • daybirddaybird Posts: 645
    edited February 2018

    I'm trying to light my scene (roughed out below) as though all the light is coming from a glowing rubber duck, but so far every attempt to make the duck into an emmisive surface has failed spectacularly. Currently, I'm lighting the scene with two spotlights - one from straight over her head and one hitting her face from a very steep angle - but even though the preview image is extremely bright, when I render the image the figure is barely visible.

    Any help would be appreciated - right now, I'm feeling like quite the lighting dunce!

    rubber duck image draft

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Hi LaPetiteVerita

    I think I know what is your problem, with the emissive shader. Last month someone had the same problem with a normal shader and I wrote a little tutorial. 

    https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/221176/january-2018-new-user-3d-art-challenge-composition/p5

    It's near the end on the side. The steps are the same for the emissive shader. The only thing, you must do after you applied the shader on the duck, is to click on the luminance unit and change it to kcd/m^2 and maybe use a yellow color or try a lower emmisions temp. 

    With the luminance you can adjust how strong the light is.

    Emmisive.jpg
    1600 x 900 - 326K
    Post edited by daybird on
  • TynkereTynkere Posts: 832
    edited December 2018

    @ Sueya

    Yay!  I like it, but question of course is whether you like it I suppose.  I think it brings out more of her shoes. 

    Someone else will probably say, "Oh, but now you need something in the foreground.  The table needs a vase on it!"

    Maybe... Who am I to say?

    From just taking sketching classes as elective though, sometimes less is better, but that's just me. 

    Eye might glance down to left corner, but *exactly* nothing of interest there, so bounce up to Josie.

    Probably notice that perfect profile on the wall?  Then back to her.

    Might glance over to the table and linger.  It won't be conscious unless art appreciation or how to draw/paint.  Hopefully though, viewer will find all that interplay between shapes, shadows, and highlights interesting.  Linger and then back to your subject! 

    I really like how left shadow connects with lower table to right hand shadow to make a full half circle.  Like I said, eye candy for those who enjoy shapes things.  smiley

     

    @ Daybird, Barbult... Everyone!

    OK, now I'm confused.

    If something's already IRay, and already has emissivion in surfaces, wouldn't you just pick a color that isn't black?  (Pink milkbottle)

    If it isn't -- that's what I can't figure as best approach.

    Pointlight inside older 3DL object at maybe 99% opacity?  (If you put a light inside a jack-o-lantern it would glow right?)

    Iray would need two objects wouldn't it?

    Vollyball one is !IRay Uber + Emissive keeping texture file.  But as soon as try to get it to broadcast light rather than just glow, it nukes the texture.  (Can't see the seams on the ball anymore.)

    "Cutout opacity" really low for the glowing vollyball.  Add a second smaller vollyball inside.  Sounds like a hard way to do it.

    So how do you get just one object (that isn't already IRay) to emit light without blowing the texture?

    Maybe a screenie will explain better. 

    The outside ball is too bright for its texture, so mostly transparant via "Cutout Opacity"  The one on the inside is there to keep the details.

    So can you just click "emissive" and make it bright enough to light someone's face without overwhelming texture file in base color?

    @ LaPetite

    Hope someone else chimes in.  I'm interested too!  

       

    ---
    Edit: weeding out old imgur files.  PM missing links.

    Post edited by Tynkere on
Sign In or Register to comment.