A View Through The Mirror
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Posts: 767
Here is an image that might be the start of an adventure called 'The View Through The Mirror'.
Not much to say... some random guy is in the middle of nowhere getting into a sports car. Why he's there, and what happens next, we'll have to wait and see.
Post edited by background on
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Comments
Watching...
Wait, he's gone already??
< not sure if this narrative stye is working > ... and has anyone ever tried to add tyre tracks to a hdri , this was quite a head scratcher. This is why I usually take the easy way out and just comment on somone else's thread, then I don't have to worry about how to turn an idea into a picture, or how to add meaningful dialogue.
Let's see if we can catch up to him
We're getting closer, but he seems to be in a hurry.
No more clues for today. Be seeing you.
Those tire tracks look very good. I don't remember whether I ever tried to put something like that on an HDRI. I'm sure you can't apply it directly to an HDRI image. Did you use a decal on a transparent plane or something?
I edit HDR images all the time in Gimp, not tried tyre tracks though, looks good Background
I totally cheated, in a way. I tried drawing them onto the hdri, a few times but it looked terrible. The tyre tracks are actually two large diameter thin ring objects that I created and then cut in half and put in the image like the car, and set the opacity very low. The full ring had 512 segments to get a smooth curve. I did mess up though because I think the tyre marks appear to be from the front wheels, but the Toyota 2000GT is a rear wheel drive car. I never owned one, but I liked the open topped one in 'You Only Live Twice', and it makes a change from an Aston Martin.DB5.
well that is how I edit HDR
I render spherical camera 2:1 images to match in size, dome only in Environment but uncheck the HDR being visible in DAZ Studio or Carrara Octane (EXR there) then add the Tiff or EXR image as a layer to the HDR in Gimp keeping the metadata etc
That's clever, I will have to try that. I'm sure there will be other places in the story where a hdri is needed and often they don't contain everything I would like. On these ones. I was happy to get the car on the left side of the road, or at least appear not obviously in the middle.
Okay, this is getting dangerous. This guy is doing 112 Km/h into a blind corner. I think we better drop back a bit and catch up with him later, but it's ok because I know exactly where he lives.
Not happy that I used the term 'catch up' twice within four renders. Also not happy because the dashboard was low-res and applying subd made cracks appear.in it, and it's still not smooth. Also all the gauges were set at zero and not pivoted, and it just looked wrong, so I took had to fix it. It also has a speedometer calibrated in km/h rather than mph,
Does the sudden switch from outside visual to inside work?
Not sure if the narrator repeatedly 'breaking the fourth wall' is making the story confusing to read. Might be better to put comments in a separate post like this. I think once we get properly into the story I will let the characters speak for themselves, and the narrator will only chime in to explain if something is not clear, or to indicate that time has passed.
Some people may have already guessed where this story is heading, and I really wish I could create that, but without spending months building the environment I'm going to have to compromise, I hope it will 'pay homage' to the original concept without being a copy, and that there are still some interesting twists, and maybe even a laugh or two ( but it's not a comedy )..
Like barbult I welcome any ideas/thoughts/criticism from the audience, and all are very welcome to comment. I have pretty vague idea where I'm going, and it's quite possible I will 'paint myself into a corner' at some point, especially if I am left unsupervised.
Well you did ask, so I can tell you that in that first fender, you remind me of the man who owned the bicycle shop where I used to live.
I remember him quite clearly cause he had an 80s vibe about him, same moustache, glasses etc - so you're looking pretty sharp, sir!
Nice renders by the way (and fitting use of the HDRI).
I have no idea where this is going, so I need more render clues. Of course, I have no idea where my own stories are going most of the time, so...
in my stories, I mix narrator and dialog in the same forum message. I like to keep a single episode in a single message. I think it makes it easier to follow and easier to follow people's comments when it is all together. Otherwise, which message should I comment on? But your narrator speech might not be related to a single render, like mine usually is. Just do what feels right to you.
Probably straight rather than round the bend that's approaching at 70mph.
Regards,
Richard
There has been a temporary lull because I have things in mind for the story, that I don't have models of, and things I do have models of, but no idea which archive drive they are on. Still I made some progress yesterdaay so I've not given up, and i hope to have at least one more render posted today
3DIO: Thanks for your flattering comments. I've never considered myself photogenic. I should point out that he may resemble past me, but I haven't done the things he will be doing ( such a driving like a lunatic ). Since he looks a bit like me from about 35 years ago, and I was never one to keep up with the fashions, then an 80s vibe sort of fits. BUT one of the props I want to use for a little joke is post 2000 and the car is 1967-1970 so we have a mixture of timescales already. It bothered me and then I decided not to worry about it.
Barbult: I hope things are ok with you and yours. I saw your comment about Richard being on-hold mid flight and was a bit worried, but it would be a sad day when anyone feels an obligation to post pictures here every day. It should be a fun experience, not a duty.. You have the awesome responsibility of being the inspiration for this thread and I highly value your input.always. In the next few images it will become clear to anyone who saw the original, in where the inspiration comes from. Anyone not familiar with the original I will be happy to direct them to it, BUT I think it will be more enjoyable to just see where it goes without the 'spoiler' of seeing the original. While It might be fun to copy the original closely it would also restrict what I can do, and it would at best be a pale shadow and plagarism. So I'm taking the concept and making a new story based on it, and really only put my approximate likenes in there for fun, not for any delusions that I was ever, or could ever have lived this story.
Other Richard: Yes I didn't think that through very well. I wasn't until I arranged the car on the HDRI that I realised that it was so close to the corner, and then forgot to turn the speedometer down to a more realistic number. I really just wanted some way to do a scene cut. I only mentioned the the kmh becasue if I left people to think it was mph then the car would have a speedo that implies it can reach 230 mph or so.
He's getting close to home.
I apologise for the state of the City. There's no excuse apart from it was the only available model at a reasonable price. This is about as close as we can get before it starts looking like playdough.
Ah he's arrived home at last, and without any accidents ( but a couple of close shaves).
The post box tells us which country we are in ( and it adds a nice bright element for the picture. ). I should probably call it a pillar box, especially since it's painted pillar box red.
Hmm, seems like we're not the only people following him...
Now I want you all to concentrate hard and convince yourselves that, the stretched Austin FX4 taxi is actually an Austin Princess Hearse ( that's why I took the TAXI sign off the roof ).
If it's a bit slow we haven't really started yet, and if it's too much like the original, things will soon start to go in unexpected ways. If you spot the mistake don't tell anybody, I din't notice it until I had uploaded it.
background,
Just wanted to say I'm enjoying this story and hope to see more.
Cheers!
Thanks csaa, you're very welcome, and if you have any suggestions please feel free to chime in.