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Ah, interesting! Then perhaps make sure you don't have the headlight in the camera active, as that can give that even light (like when you take a photo with the camera's flash and everything is lit so evenly, it destroys any sense of depth).
Thanks so much for your valid feedback FPhoenix and sorry I'm responding so late. I pondered over your advise and finally reached a conclussion. I believe the authenticity of reality, the pale dust that covers everything, the harsh sun and the hint of water far across the plain, would be lost if I tampered with the lighting. If I dropped the sun, I wouldn't have the refraction necessary to create a mirage. The hint of darker tone on the closer edge of the mirage, the phenomenon that make things in the distance distinguishable between a mirage and water, could not be achieved. (A mirage will refract the background making it seem to float upon it whereas, water will reflect it.) The higher sun also portrays very little shadow on the flats, offering very little shelter when down there. The sun is high enough to be out of the lower atmospheric perspective of the dust layer, thereby not yet causing refraction through the dust layer and trying everything crimson. The difficulty of distinguishing between the mirage and water is reduced by the haze cause from atmospheric perspective. If the sun dropped, the perspective would obscure but not a mirage, to a certain degree.
With your eye, however, and your abiltily to break down an image, it would have been a blast to have had you involved in judging the International Woman's Day competition. God bless!
eg: push that scene back 15 miles and add a bit more dust. Then elevate the view point to push the mirage closer to the foot of the hills. Notice the refraction of the hills. Its a repitition of the hills and not a reflection. A reflection would be a horizontal flip of the hills.
@denavin, of course, my feedback is meant to be taken simply as suggestions :). I still think it's worth it to explore creating leading lines with the plane to transfer the focus from an establishing shot (where we see their precarious situation) to an emotional one (where the relationship between the characters is at the heart of the frame). But that can be taken as a continuation of the story (second frame) while leaving the establishing frame first.
Also, while I gave some dramatic examples of where to take the lighting, even just upping the warmth a little bit can help. Sort of like they did with Uncharted 3 (your image really reminded me of that game). What I want to show is in the 16-minute mark onward, where the cinematic takes place:
Here's a quick reference of what I mean. This is your render with warm filters:
Comparison:
Although mind you, in the end, it's still personal preference and whatever achieves your vision is the best way to go about it :).
As to the International Women's Day Competition... I'm actually disappointed. I didn't participate, but I saw two really strong entries with very good concepts in the gallery, so I had a ton of expectations as to who would win. The winning entries are indeed quite beautiful, but they lack concept and that's where I would've disagreed with the judges. I think they should've put more weight (points) towards the concept and less on the execution to reward the unique entries, like this one from Hypertaf and this one from Isikol.
@smoke14, I've updated your feedback with two new references I came across yesterday. You'll find the references at the end of your feedback post. :)
I don't dispute what you are saying and it's very valid advise. I was trying to re-live the atmosphere that I experienced many years ago..and the harshness of the desert. This may explain. I was operational in South West and Angola during the cold war....one of the few photos I have of the dreadful time if speak so much of. We would live out in the elements for 2 to 3 weeks at a time. When we returned to base, we had no friends....until after a shower....lol. It was the reality of a life time ago that I was aiming for, nothing theatrical, if that makes sense.
Oh wow, that second image is amazing. Pity they never got to post it on time. I submitted two. The 1 was Eve with a long story but it got removed due to nudity even though everything was covered, Eve had no thong on...lol. I thing the message was to reliigious but it was very close to home and all from the heart...and oh, so for the strength and recognition of woman Gallery moderators didn't even tell me they had taken it down...twice. The 2nd 1 was also, straight from the heart. Thanks again FenixPhoenix. Keep up the good work!!!
@denavin, that's a great picture and I can see why you'd prefer to approach the render more in a realistic sense (think documentary) rather than a dramatic one (movies). Storytelling can be such a personal thing and there's really no golden rule to it. We all have personal preferences and, as we say in México, "hay un roto para cada descocido" which basically means there's always something for everyone. So while I prefer to approach storytelling more dramatically, others may prefer a more realistic/neutral approach. The same can be said with the whole "true renders" vs "post-worked renders" debate (I actually love doing post-work).
Feedback for @BlueFox
Accidental Dimension Hopper
I like that this piece makes you wonder who the time hopper really is, as the village looks fantastical enough to give you pause. At the same time, the animals are quite human and we all know there are towns that still look like that (when I was in university, I studied abroad in Tuscania, Italy which looked very similar).
Your biggest area of opportunity is clarity; specifically to determine what is the story you want to tell and, subsequently, what emotion you want the audience to feel. If we assumed the time hopper is Bullwarg, what was he trying to accomplish, and how does he feel about what happened? Did he succeed? Is he lost and asking for directions? Is he curious? The fact that we can't see his expression makes it hard to gauge what's happening aside from surprising the human (his expression is very comical, mind you).
(Out of curiosity I showed one of my brothers the artwork to see what story it evoked for him and he mentioned Chrono Trigger; a time-traveling warrior frog. Was that an inspiration?)
Here are some resources that you may find helpful:
Understanding Composition
Color Theory in Film — Color Psychology for Directors: Ep5
12 CAMERA ANGLES to Enhance Your Films
Ultimate Guide to Camera Angles: Every Camera Shot Explained
Here are some handy references that may also be helpful:
Notice here how we also have two characters on screen and the environment plays a BIG role in feeding us information. We have a forest, which suggests the characters are isolated and may have been hunting. We also see a separation of the characters via the threes (which actually boxes in one of the characters). The scale of the characters also tells us that the character who is standing is the focus. Not only is he boxed and small, but the dutch angle tells us he's feeling untethered, scared, and alone. The beautiful light also contradicts and, therefore, enhances the feeling of unease since it stills right onto the character who's on the ground.
This one is a great example (of Soul) of how much light and colors contribute to creating a mood. In this case the mood of feeling extremely sad and isolated. You could always borrow this approach with your render. Having a couple of humans watching Bullwarg and focusing everything else in allowing us to glimpse his mental state (via colors, angle, mood, etc.).
BTW, that movie does a GREAT job of mirroring that scene towards the end. Notice how he's also alone eating a pie, but the colors change the mood to something positive and warm.
I couldn't think of any other to add since I'm unsure what you were aiming for in regards to the story, but I hope the feedback and references are still useful.
Feedback for @Carola O
Trackers
I like the concept and the characters themselves, they look very cool and efficient. I think the biggest area of opportunity is to declutter. Right now everything is competing for attention and the scene feels crowded. The colors could also use more direction to separate things a bit more.
Since the title is offering the biggest part of the story (tracking) I think you could pull the camera even closer to the ground and give the characters more power via a subtle low-angle shot. You could also create some leading lines with the grass coming from the corner(s) of the shot that leads towards the character, rather than has the grass in the foreground create a sort of frame.
As a secondary area of opportunity, once you've nailed the composition, you could use colors and lighting to determine the mood. Who are they tracking? Are they dangerous or allies?
Here are some resources that you may find helpful:
"Leading Lines" in Popular Films
5 Tips For Filming Cinematic Compositions
Understanding Composition
Ultimate Guide to Camera Angles: Every Camera Shot Explained
CINEMATIC LIGHTING: Lighting with purpose and story in mind
Here are some handy references that may also be helpful:
Notice in this shot from "A Night in Paradise" how a subtle low angle can give power to the scene. The light is also on point in creating a cold scene where something dangerous is about to happen, ergo why the colors are also desaturated (to give it that gritty feel, much like they do in war movies):
In this example from the Wolf Brigade, notice how the camera is close to the ground and the character is point and center. The decluttered shot allows us to focus on him and what he's doing. Although the colors are warm, everything else provides the information that he may be feeling threatened.
Notice how the lines on the ground in this shot from 365: Reapeat the Year lead our eye towards our characters. You can certainly do something similar but using the grass instead. Of course, in this shot, I would've taken the tree out so that it doesn't look like it's coming "out" of their heads.
The following examples are meant to show how similar compositions can build different moods depending on the light and colors used. Notice how in all of them the figure is rendered almost a silhouette, but the mood is still quite different.
Sad, romantic fantastical, and a little nostalgic. The light is diffused so it becomes soft, almost like a dream:
Red and low light is a perfect recipe for danger:
Desaturated and hazy are perfect for war, gritty scenes:
Orange, soft and monochromatic are a staple of toxic apocalyptic scenes:
Blue (sometimes replaced with green) + Orange (which is sometimes replaced by yellow or brown) combined with low light, high contrast and deep shadows are perfect for crime thrillers:
Horror and/or psychological crime thrillers tend to also lean into the lifeless greens:
Sci-fi & fantasy tends to also use purples and blues, with some haze to create a mood of danger.
Feedback for @MelanieL
Prometheus Bound
I love the idea of portraying mythology for this contest. It just so happens that I also love the story of Prometheus, so right away you had me on your team. I think the clarity of your storytelling was top-notched, as even without the title, I would've known who the man in the picture was, so well done in that regard! I also think your composition is very well done. Your biggest area of opportunity is therefore the mood. Right now, you have neutral colors and bright light which actually contradicts what's happening in the scene. The light is harmonious and happy, which overpowers the suffering of Prometheus.
So one way to approach this would be to change the time of the day to sunset. A sunset is evocative of something coming to an end. In this case, Prometheus' hope could be dwindling. So you'll want the colors to be warm but dim, with hues of red and gold peppering the sky. Or you could go with the opposite and choose a sunrise. Meaning that Prometheus is still hanging on to hope. The colors can therefore be warm but more in the tones of purples and pinks (which is also a color that correlates to fantasy).
Or, perhaps even more appropriate, you could go for a foggy, rainy weather. Dull the colors (de-saturate) and use cold lights to really embrace the suffering his enduring. Think of how movies portray their scenes --almost monochromatic in their color which lends them grit.
BTW, while your composition is already fine, you could also move the camera closer to the rock and have it lead us towards the character. You can also always play with the angles to show either the power of Promethus who is still hanging on (low angle) or the impotence of Prometheus who can't escape his horrible situation (high angle).
Here are some resources that you may find helpful:
Color Theory in Film — Color Psychology for Directors: Ep5
Understanding Color
Video about Color Theory (how color conveys emotions)
Lighting Concepts in Cinematograph
How Light Conveys Emotion
Understanding Composition
These are some handy references that may also be helpful:
Here are some examples of Color Schemes + Lighting Choices that may fit help you build a sad/tragic mood for your picture. Notice how most of them make use of haze to diffuse the light and soften shadows:
Gritty and dready:
Sad and Tragic:
Sad and Lonely:
Toxic:
Sad but embracing her fate:
Turning Prometheus (and the eagle) into a silohuette could also be worth exploring, like in the following examples.
Beautiful but sad and lonely.
Similar to above but with more grit. BTW, this shot comes from the last chapter of a k-drama called Vincenzo, wherein the main antagonist meets a similar fate to that of prometheus. So he's strapped to a chair and sitting on his chest is a crow, waiting to bite at his organs.
Sad and Lonely:
More artistic (like a painting) with deep shadows:
Also, thinking of ways to soften images, I came across these other references (for DAZ Studio) which you may also find very useful:
5 Ways to Create Soft Lighting Effects
Depth of Field (DAZ Studio)
DAZ Studio Lighting Tutorial - Bloom Effects
DAZ Studio Lighting Tutorial - God Rays
Thank you for your feedback (it must have taken you a lot of time doing all this feedback for everyone - I'm very grateful).
What you say about mood is definitely a good point - I think I probably tend to overuse bright sunshine in my scenes. I like your idea of sunrise and a (misguided) feeling of hope. Maybe I'll try that out on the scene. Fog/rain is also an interesting idea - I used that approach to give a feeling of misery to a Bryce scene some time ago - but find it harder to get it to look good in Daz Studio, and the slowness of rendering with fog tends to put me off (I have to render CPU-only because my video card is no longer supported for Iray - I would love new kit with a good card, but that isn't feasible just at the moment.)
As for the camera position, this was my final attempt after trying some higher angles first (which I thought made him loook too small and insignificant), then more frontal views (which entirely lacked drama), before settling on this one. Maybe I should try a more extreme view from closer to the rock.
I'll take a good look at your references - thank you for making the effort to find them for me. Some of the stills I certainly recognise!
Glad you found it useful, and I agree regarding the fog. You could cheat and do the fog in post-work (which is what I do sometimes when I can't afford long render times).
Also, thinking of ways to soften images, I came across these other references which you may also find very useful:
5 Ways to Create Soft Lighting Effects
Depth of Field (DAZ Studio)
DAZ Studio Lighting Tutorial - Bloom Effects
DAZ Studio Lighting Tutorial - God Rays
I'll add these to your feedback post as well so they are all in one place :).
Feedback for @Andricaus
Welcome You're Doom!
I love this image in terms of style and I think the colors compliment the mood of impending doom (threatening). I got to say that I didn't get the reference you mentioned, btw, so where is the title from?
Since the mood, style, and lighting are already great, I think your biggest area of opportunity lies in pushing your composition a bit more. I would algo give the big fella a different pose, as his weapon becomes obscured by the pose itself. So, going back to the composition, I think you could use the environment a bit better. You already have those pillars behind them, so you could:
BTW, your angle right now suggests that the trio is losing, correct? Otherwise, you'll want to switch to a different angle.
Here are some resources that you may find helpful:
Understanding Composition
5 Tips For Filming Cinematic Compositions
My Popular Visual Cues in K-Drama Series PART 1 (Grouping & Dividing), PART 2 (Boxing, aka Frame within a Frame), PART 3 (Dutch Angle) & PART 4 (overview)
High Angle Shots: 3 Towering Types of Camera Angles
Ultimate Guide to Camera Angles: Every Camera Shot Explained.
Visual Storytelling 101
In the Mood for Love: Frames Within Frames
These are some handy references that may also be helpful:
Notice in the following two examples, how the characters are shot within a frame (usually a doorway or window) to shrink the space around them and, in so doing, let us know they may be feeling trapped, caged, isolated, and/or in danger.
In the following examples, characters are trapped in different "boxes" (frames) to let us know that they are divided. The character with the smallest frame is usually the one that holds the least power (or feel less powerful) within the context of the story.
You can also divide characters and play not only with the space of the boxes to let us know who holds more power (think of it like hierarchy. The bigger the space, the more hiearchy you give that character), but you can also play with which character fills the box more (even if the boxes are the same size) such as in this example from Itaewon Class:
You can also use a line on the floor (usually a table) to separate characters as well:
You can use a combination of boxing + an angle to specify how the character is feeling like in the example below. Where she's not only feeling trapped but extremely powerless as well:
Sometimes the high angle can also give the feeling like we're watching something while hiding ourselves, intensifying our anxiety:
Sometimes the frame is also less apparent, but if you look closely you'll see it. Here's an example of it being used in combination with a low angle shot, which tells us the character is in danger but may not necessarily feel powerless:
Of course, you can also do the opposite and group characters within a box to signify they are together:
And of course the opposite is true as well, where you can group two characters who clearly are enemies and create tension:
Feedback for @Gordig
Morning Routine
So I'd intended to give feedback on your other entry (My Cabbages), but I kept thinking back on this one. While your other entry is tons of fun (and props for creating the character's outfits!), this one has more heart to it. So, needless to say, I love the concept of this one and the sweet feelings it evokes. It's a creative way of showing the relationship between this father and son and the expressions are on point!
That said, I think you could certainly push the composition by at least adding more colors and perhaps switching to a warmer light rather than neutral. Right now, the entry feels "stripped down" to almost the bare essentials. And while that helps in making us focus on the interaction between the characters, the visuals don't really support the emotions all that much. So while thinking on what type of resources to recommend, I actually ended up purchasing two PIXAR books: "The Color of Pixar" & "The Art of Pixar". While those are worth getting if you're interested in Pixar's art direction, I prefer "The Color of Pixar" a bit more as a reference for color schemes to support the emotion. So I highly recommend that one.
Other than that, here are some resources you may find useful:
5 Tips For Filming Cinematic Compositions
The Power of Color in Animation.
Secrets of Color-Grading in Photography
Color Theory in Film — Color Psychology for Directors: Ep5
Understanding Color
Video about Color Theory (how color conveys emotions)
Adobe Kuler
5 Ways to Create Soft Lighting Effects
Depth of Field (DAZ Studio)
DAZ Studio Lighting Tutorial - Bloom Effects
These are some handy references that may also be helpful:
Notice that to showcase "happiness", bold and bright colors are always a great choice. Yellow in color psychology is tied to happiness, Orange is tied to fun, Pink to sweetness, Blue is tied to security, Red to boldness, Green to life, etc. But remember that choosing the color harmony is one step, deciding on the hue and brightness is another that contributes to the emotion you want to build:
You can also use colors to tie two characters together, turning them into a unit like in this screencap of Up:
This one is an interesting one because, although the colors are a bit desaturated on the environment, the character's clothes are bolder, allowing us to focus on them and showing us that they are happy despite their circumstances:
With this Toy Story 3 & Inside Out screencaps there's an additional warm filter that lends the scenes a cozy feeling:
To show the importance of the brightness you give the colors, look at the comparisons from Inside Out below:
Thank you for the feedback. Color is definitely a major blindspot for me (no pun intended), and I'm also shockingly bad at lighting. I understand the principles of cinematic lighting, but for whatever reason have a difficult time actually applying them in my renders. I also do that thing I do where I make things unnecessarily difficult for myself, and tend to aim for more naturalistic lighting. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on My Cabbages, even if not nearly as in depth.
Then I highly recommend getting one of the PIXAR books I recommended, as they would help you reference color harmonies and how they relate to emotion. The adobe Kuler link is also a great resource for creating or looking up color combinations. I also included some tutorials for creating light effects inside of DAZ Studio which I hope you find useful.
As to getting feedback on your other render, sure thing. I just need to finish up round one with Charles this week, then I can look up some references for Cabbages. This time I'll skip adding links to video resources and simply use a few image references for ideas on things you can explore. :)
Feedback for @charles
King of the Hill
First off, I really enjoyed your entry and was astounded by the level of detail in that human pyramid of fallen enemies. You mentioned that Frank Frazetta was your inspiration and looking at some of his artwork, I can see how it helped you shape your render. I think for sure your strongest point is in regards to composition. This means that the area of opportunity you could explore to refine this render would be in playing with the brightness of your scene (either through post-work or tweaking your lights). Because right now, although we do focus on your main hero since he's the one at the top with some empty (sky) space framing him, in regards to colors and brightness everything actually looks a little muddy.
So here are some resources you may find useful:
5 Ways to Create Soft Lighting Effects
DAZ Studio Lighting Tutorial - Bloom Effects
DAZ Studio Lighting Tutorial - God Rays
Steal the Color Grading from Any Image with Photoshop
Color Theory in Film — Color Psychology for Directors: Ep5
These are some handy references that may also be helpful:
This image from Frank Frazetta seems to be in a similar vein to yours, down to even some of your color choices. But notice how this image seems brighter. So you'll want to brighten the skin of your main hero (especially) so he isn't as cast in shadows and he stands out a bit more. You could also even reverse the colors. Right now you have your hero lit as a silohuette (light background, dark figure), but it might work out better to have a darker background and brighten up your hero.
Another option to explore would be to again, brighten your hero, but keep all the pile of bodies as they are (darker) and perhaps explore a bluish hue to break away the monochromatic scheme and lend even more weight to your hero. But notice here how the hero is still lit brightly.
In fact, I found the first artwork also in a similar color scheme to the one above. Although, personally, I like the warmer version of this one better (looks more heroic).
In this next example, notice how even though the colors are monochromatic, the main figure also seems to be lit with a high spotlight, allowing us to focus on him first by creating a point of contrast: