First render since March to get my creative juices flowing once again.
Don't Touch That!
Cute! Someone is getting a talking to! lol The Dragon vs Ship in the background was a nice touch - I didn't notice it at first. There looks to be a couple of different stories being told here. Unless touching the magic mushroom woke the dragon. lol
I honestly don't know if I'm finished, or if this will reproduce well here because of the tone I'm using to shade it. But, this is for print, not online, so I'm leaving it as-is.
Usual workflow applies, Poser Pro 11 renders combined in Clip Studio Paint. Any thoughts? (And I'm really hoping you don't see anything really horrible that needs to be fixed, but please don't spare me – I really need this to go out). If you get a weird speckling pattern on your monitor, please open it full-size.
BTW: The in the story this illustrates, in this scene they are driving off to investigate a case. She was hoping to use the drive to talk about their relationship, but he purposfully took an open convertible so the air would be too loud to talk. Hence, the expressions.
I honestly don't know if I'm finished, or if this will reproduce well here because of the tone I'm using to shade it. But, this is for print, not online, so I'm leaving it as-is.
Usual workflow applies, Poser Pro 11 renders combined in Clip Studio Paint. Any thoughts? (And I'm really hoping you don't see anything really horrible that needs to be fixed, but please don't spare me – I really need this to go out). If you get a weird speckling pattern on your monitor, please open it full-size.
BTW: The in the story this illustrates, in this scene they are driving off to investigate a case. She was hoping to use the drive to talk about their relationship, but he purposfully took an open convertible so the air would be too loud to talk. Hence, the expressions.
hahah This is 100 times better! Excellent render and in the context of the story the expressions and body language fits very well, imo. :) Well done!
I honestly don't know if I'm finished, or if this will reproduce well here because of the tone I'm using to shade it. But, this is for print, not online, so I'm leaving it as-is.
Usual workflow applies, Poser Pro 11 renders combined in Clip Studio Paint. Any thoughts? (And I'm really hoping you don't see anything really horrible that needs to be fixed, but please don't spare me – I really need this to go out). If you get a weird speckling pattern on your monitor, please open it full-size.
BTW: The in the story this illustrates, in this scene they are driving off to investigate a case. She was hoping to use the drive to talk about their relationship, but he purposfully took an open convertible so the air would be too loud to talk. Hence, the expressions.
hahah This is 100 times better! Excellent render and in the context of the story the expressions and body language fits very well, imo. :) Well done!
Thank you! I really struffled with this one. Y'know, action poses are easier than static poses where you need to use expression and body language to tell the story. Give me an axe-wielding maniac in an explosion any day of the week!
First render since March to get my creative juices flowing once again.
Don't Touch That!
This is pretty cool. I definitely get the body language ans expression – they definitely go with the title. I'm not 100 percent clear on what she's not supposed to touch, though... There is a really cool contrast between those vivid wings and the other muted tones. It brings a sense of magick into the scene. Nicely done!
I honestly don't know if I'm finished, or if this will reproduce well here because of the tone I'm using to shade it. But, this is for print, not online, so I'm leaving it as-is.
Usual workflow applies, Poser Pro 11 renders combined in Clip Studio Paint. Any thoughts? (And I'm really hoping you don't see anything really horrible that needs to be fixed, but please don't spare me – I really need this to go out). If you get a weird speckling pattern on your monitor, please open it full-size.
BTW: The in the story this illustrates, in this scene they are driving off to investigate a case. She was hoping to use the drive to talk about their relationship, but he purposfully took an open convertible so the air would be too loud to talk. Hence, the expressions.
hahah This is 100 times better! Excellent render and in the context of the story the expressions and body language fits very well, imo. :) Well done!
Thank you! I really struffled with this one. Y'know, action poses are easier than static poses where you need to use expression and body language to tell the story. Give me an axe-wielding maniac in an explosion any day of the week!
hahah Yeah, I hear you. "Subtle" poses and expressions are definitely more of a challenge. I think you did great though!
I added some speed lines to it. Any thoughts? Better, worse, doesn't matter?
I like it! The expressions are well done and the lines are super crisp! I especially like the angle, though... it lends to a sense of motion. I have no preferences on the lines, I like it both with and without... It's taken a long time but I'm learning that stuff like that is usually dealers choice, and that it's always best when the dealer just goes with his gut :)
I added some speed lines to it. Any thoughts? Better, worse, doesn't matter?
I like it! The expressions are well done and the lines are super crisp! I especially like the angle, though... it lends to a sense of motion. I have no preferences on the lines, I like it both with and without... It's taken a long time but I'm learning that stuff like that is usually dealers choice, and that it's always best when the dealer just goes with his gut :)
Yup. The editor prefers it with the speed lines, so that's what's going to print. And I got a repreive – the editor is waiting for a cover to come in, so I have more time to create a second scene based on the climax of the story.
I'm a wee out of practice. But now that we're all moved in and the dust has settled I can get back to it.
Getting some more mileage out of Genesis 1.
HAH! I had to laugh when I read that. I guess it's all a matter of perspective. I just dusted off Stephanie Petite 3 to get some mileage out of her! I did it to shake up my work a bit, so that there would be some significant differences between the lead female in the car illustration and with the other women in my work, which is almost always Victoria 4. As for your work, I think it worked nicely. There is a softness to the chin that is very alluring, and your skin tones and blouse texture are very pleasing.
Been playing with mixing PWtoon with Postwork again. Still giving said combo a bunch of extreme tests to see how well it works with a full gamut of skin tones.
I finally finished the illustration for the detective story I mentioned a while back. Although the final version will be printed in only b&w, I decided to make a blue-tinted version for online (color typically plays better online than does straight b&w). As noted before, this is Stephanie Petite and Michael 4. Typical workflow in play: Poser Pro 11 renders and clean-up in Clip Studio Paint.
I finally finished the illustration for the detective story I mentioned a while back. Although the final version will be printed in only b&w, I decided to make a blue-tinted version for online (color typically plays better online than does straight b&w). As noted before, this is Stephanie Petite and Michael 4. Typical workflow in play: Poser Pro 11 renders and clean-up in Clip Studio Paint.
Looks very good. You have really mastered using these old figures.
I finally finished the illustration for the detective story I mentioned a while back. Although the final version will be printed in only b&w, I decided to make a blue-tinted version for online (color typically plays better online than does straight b&w). As noted before, this is Stephanie Petite and Michael 4. Typical workflow in play: Poser Pro 11 renders and clean-up in Clip Studio Paint.
Looks very good. You have really mastered using these old figures.
Thank you. The biggest issue with the older figures is that they are a little more difficult to pose and get good expressions. But once you get those down, the rest of the image is easy (or at least as easy as it always is using my workflow).
I'm interested in your reactions on this character design. Right now it's rough and I know that the textures (especially the feathers on the legs) need work. But before I invest any more time in this, I wanted to hear some thoughts about the general direction I'm taking with this figure. I think what I really want to know is: Is this heading somewhere kind of cool, or is it just ridiculous? Right now I'm too close to it and I just can't tell.
NOTES:
In the Galaxy Prime RPG, there is an alien race descended from birds. Now, first of all, this is an RPG and not a science book – I don't care about accuracy or being even remotely scientific. This is a space opera, so I don't want to hear one word about leg bend direction or hands vs wings. Sorry, this is a cheesy sci-fi game: think of this as a character design for the early Star Trek or Doctor Who series.
Another color job, added to an earlier image created in b&w. The lettering is "CCN," which stands for "Collectors' Club Newsletter," and will be pretty obvious to the people who receive this image as a sticker on the outside of an envelope they recently received from me. I only mention it this way because I think the lettering is a bit hard to read, but in context, I think the people who will receive it will sort it out pretty quickly.
Heya folks! I've been leaning super heavily on postwork, both because I enjoy it and because it's the easiest way for me to get the results I want with any consistency. So while I'm always looking for shaders and materials that make it easier to set up renders for filtering and paintover, lighting has been my most reliable tool for that.
This is the postwork style I use most often, along with the raw render for comparison:
When I started really getting into it I tried to simplify my materials so they could be sort of a blank canvas for my texturing, but a couple months ago I ran across this talk by Neil Stubbings about how he gives 3D animations in Cinema 4D a handpainted look. A lot of what he does can't carry over to DS, but the basic principle that stuck with me out of the whole thing is adding a bunch of textures--especially gradients--over the base material.
I have more shaders than is strictly healthy for a single person, so gradients and seamless patterns are coming out my ears. I started abusing my layer privileges to add them to things and especially people. (Oso's Shader Pack 1 is useful for this because you can create a geoshell for your character, apply complex textures to the shell using the easy tiling UV, and then adjust the opacity to layer them over the skin.)
Here's an extremely quick and dirty example.
First image is a raw render, with a lot of complicated layers of gradient and texture maps where they probably shouldn't reasonably be and a layered geoshell. Used a dramatic color HDRI and tone mapping.
Second is also a raw render, with default materials on all items but the hair (using Backlight). Black and white HDRI and default tone mapping.
Last one is the two of them combined in Photoshop; I just threw a mask on the topmost one and scribbled out some bits. I forgot to set the subdivision on the first render higher, but that actually helped the final look a bit more stylized.
The third one would pretty much be my ideal jumping off point for further postwork, so I'll probably keep doing wacky things with materials like this and see if it helps give a consistent look across models in a scene. :D
Been tied up with a lot of stuff, lately. And now that Halloween is here, I need to spend some time decorating and getting ready for the holiday season. Here's one of the illustrations I made recently (to go with the story with the guy and gal driving in the convertible). He's the police detective on the scene where the first body is found. My typical workflow applies: Renders in Poser Pro 11 and clean-up in Clip Studio Paint.
For whatever reason Iray suddenly renders a lot faster on my system, so I've been using Iray renders as springboards to do NPR photoshop postwork with.
Comments
First render since March to get my creative juices flowing once again.
Don't Touch That!
Cute! Someone is getting a talking to! lol The Dragon vs Ship in the background was a nice touch - I didn't notice it at first. There looks to be a couple of different stories being told here. Unless touching the magic mushroom woke the dragon. lol
I honestly don't know if I'm finished, or if this will reproduce well here because of the tone I'm using to shade it. But, this is for print, not online, so I'm leaving it as-is.
Usual workflow applies, Poser Pro 11 renders combined in Clip Studio Paint. Any thoughts? (And I'm really hoping you don't see anything really horrible that needs to be fixed, but please don't spare me – I really need this to go out). If you get a weird speckling pattern on your monitor, please open it full-size.
BTW: The in the story this illustrates, in this scene they are driving off to investigate a case. She was hoping to use the drive to talk about their relationship, but he purposfully took an open convertible so the air would be too loud to talk. Hence, the expressions.
hahah This is 100 times better! Excellent render and in the context of the story the expressions and body language fits very well, imo. :) Well done!
I added some speed lines to it. Any thoughts? Better, worse, doesn't matter?
Thank you! I really struffled with this one. Y'know, action poses are easier than static poses where you need to use expression and body language to tell the story. Give me an axe-wielding maniac in an explosion any day of the week!
This is pretty cool. I definitely get the body language ans expression – they definitely go with the title. I'm not 100 percent clear on what she's not supposed to touch, though... There is a really cool contrast between those vivid wings and the other muted tones. It brings a sense of magick into the scene. Nicely done!
I think either have the motion lines going all the way off the page, or leave them out.
hahah Yeah, I hear you. "Subtle" poses and expressions are definitely more of a challenge. I think you did great though!
I like it! The expressions are well done and the lines are super crisp! I especially like the angle, though... it lends to a sense of motion. I have no preferences on the lines, I like it both with and without... It's taken a long time but I'm learning that stuff like that is usually dealers choice, and that it's always best when the dealer just goes with his gut :)
Yup. The editor prefers it with the speed lines, so that's what's going to print. And I got a repreive – the editor is waiting for a cover to come in, so I have more time to create a second scene based on the climax of the story.
I'm a wee out of practice. But now that we're all moved in and the dust has settled I can get back to it.
Getting some more mileage out of Genesis 1.
HAH! I had to laugh when I read that. I guess it's all a matter of perspective. I just dusted off Stephanie Petite 3 to get some mileage out of her! I did it to shake up my work a bit, so that there would be some significant differences between the lead female in the car illustration and with the other women in my work, which is almost always Victoria 4. As for your work, I think it worked nicely. There is a softness to the chin that is very alluring, and your skin tones and blouse texture are very pleasing.
Been playing with mixing PWtoon with Postwork again. Still giving said combo a bunch of extreme tests to see how well it works with a full gamut of skin tones.
Some experiments with NPR in Iray. (Explanation about these here: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/5986352/#Comment_5986352 )
I finally finished the illustration for the detective story I mentioned a while back. Although the final version will be printed in only b&w, I decided to make a blue-tinted version for online (color typically plays better online than does straight b&w). As noted before, this is Stephanie Petite and Michael 4. Typical workflow in play: Poser Pro 11 renders and clean-up in Clip Studio Paint.
Happy Batman Day
'
Looks very good. You have really mastered using these old figures.
I didn't know it was Batman Day, but that certainly is a great image to commemorate the day!
Thank you. The biggest issue with the older figures is that they are a little more difficult to pose and get good expressions. But once you get those down, the rest of the image is easy (or at least as easy as it always is using my workflow).
I cant see an image, it says "url signature expired" for me.
Outstanding.....
Ultraman
Love the results...
Heya folks! I've been leaning super heavily on postwork, both because I enjoy it and because it's the easiest way for me to get the results I want with any consistency. So while I'm always looking for shaders and materials that make it easier to set up renders for filtering and paintover, lighting has been my most reliable tool for that.
This is the postwork style I use most often, along with the raw render for comparison:
When I started really getting into it I tried to simplify my materials so they could be sort of a blank canvas for my texturing, but a couple months ago I ran across this talk by Neil Stubbings about how he gives 3D animations in Cinema 4D a handpainted look. A lot of what he does can't carry over to DS, but the basic principle that stuck with me out of the whole thing is adding a bunch of textures--especially gradients--over the base material.
I have more shaders than is strictly healthy for a single person, so gradients and seamless patterns are coming out my ears. I started abusing my layer privileges to add them to things and especially people. (Oso's Shader Pack 1 is useful for this because you can create a geoshell for your character, apply complex textures to the shell using the easy tiling UV, and then adjust the opacity to layer them over the skin.)
Here's an extremely quick and dirty example.
The third one would pretty much be my ideal jumping off point for further postwork, so I'll probably keep doing wacky things with materials like this and see if it helps give a consistent look across models in a scene. :D
Been tied up with a lot of stuff, lately. And now that Halloween is here, I need to spend some time decorating and getting ready for the holiday season. Here's one of the illustrations I made recently (to go with the story with the guy and gal driving in the convertible). He's the police detective on the scene where the first body is found. My typical workflow applies: Renders in Poser Pro 11 and clean-up in Clip Studio Paint.
Been playng more with G1 blends. Found that Hitomi works best as an accent, rather than the main morph.
Cool design! Looks like something that could be fun to work with.
For whatever reason Iray suddenly renders a lot faster on my system, so I've been using Iray renders as springboards to do NPR photoshop postwork with.
Deckard on the Hunt