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Thank you all! I like the second one best too. Fun to play and find what works, what doesn't. Trying to integrate typography with art effectively is still something I'm learning. That font is called "Love Moon." It's one of my favorites. I used it on "The Guardian" cover I did as well.
Novica, you can have the brownies! I had some last night and started feeling bad. I have noticed that some processed foods make my blood pressure spike weirdly. This just started earlier this year. I haven't had an episode for months, but wouldn't you know, made brownies from a mix and there it goes again. I don't eat much processed stuff. I think it's MSG causing the issues, but I'm not sure. All my routine tests came back fine. Guess I'll have to make the goodies from scratch next time.I also had really bad plantar fasciitis and am finally getting better. It's one of those catch-22s- I need to move more but it hurts to move more. A lot of this came on from the enormous stress of my last job. I am thankful not to be there anymore and glad to be finally healing. Art has helped so much.
Shared this on Novica's thread, thought I'd add it here too. Keeps it easier to find things, since I post all over. Novica has some great hair painting tips starting here.
Painting Hair
I actually painted hair for the first time on my "Maiden with the Flowing Hair" image.
Before: (Rough draft) Love this hair, but there was a wide gap that even stacking multiple layers of the same image didn't fix.
I used the flat angled brush that comes with Photoshop and did each color on a different layer, then played with layer order, opacities and blending styles. I added some effects to the layers as well to give them more depth. I think I did a Guassian Blur on the brown layer to blend it more behind the others.
Final: I used Ronya HD for V7, Olenna Hair, Jepe and Muscleman's Equine Dreams, and DA Unicorn for DAZ Horse 2 here.
Crazy in the Heart Cover Redo
This is the book cover that got me into 3D in the first place. My current cover was made by a friend. It took me two years to get to the point where I'm close to what I originally envisioned. It's still not 100% but I think it's good enough for now. I may have to re-render the couple with her hand relaxed more. That's the only thing I'm unsure of on this. Pretty happy with everything else on this mockup. I might paint her hair a bit too.
Its beautiful! I do agree on the hand though, when I look at it I feel like the fingers should be touching him. Of course, I may just have noticed because you said something lol. I love to paint hair, its a total pain in the butt, and can take a long time but its totally worth it.
I ran it past my parents, they've been doing book stuff forever. They thought the hand was okay, it showed action, so unless it starts really bugging me, I'm going to leave it for now.I painted the hair a little to soften and adjusted that purplish glow next to Erica's arm and lightened their faces slightly. I'm going to slap it on my desktop background and see what bugs me. The staring test is usually the best way to find issues, LOL.
Very nice cover! I think it will really stand out, in a good way. The thumbnail looks good, too. The only problem I really see as far as the thumbnail goes, is that your name doens't stand out that much. It might blend into the wheat a little too much making your name just a little difficult to read.
Thanks, and good point. I lightened it a little and made the series name just a bit smaller. I think it's ready! Now to do a light edit, add a character index, and then work on a print cover. Getting there!
Looks much better! I can actually read your name in the thumbnail now.
Love the cover, pose, lighting and her hair looks great..very interesting and professional looking.
This is awesome, love the postwork so I think not being able to do the flames was a plus in this case. I do have a fantastic resource for you though!! http://www.obsidiandawn.com/creating-realistic-flames-in-photoshop-tutorial this is redheadstock - from DA - it's her website where she sells her brushes - commercially for $3 and the fire tutorial is exactly how most people do it.
This is amazing, the child looks so real, what character is this? Also the pose is perfect, children always stand that way, tummys out. Fantastic work!
The book cover is really good, I love blended covers like that but haven't tired any of them myself yet. The pose is perfect and I love the light coming in brhind them. Love, love the unicorn image, hate, hate painting hair. lol There's a lady on DA that sells it for $3 to $5, commerial use, I just buy hers if I really want painted hair. :D
Thank you all so much! It means a lot to get your feedback and I'm so glad you like the artwork. It's hard to work in a vacuum (so much of writing is that way!) Lately I feel like I've relaxed and found a good stride in my art, finally. It's a great feeling.
@deathbycanon - Thanks for the info on that flame tutorial. I remember you saying flames were a pain. I hadn't tried them till now and I thought, "Boy was she ever right!" I tried rendering with Jepe's fire effects, I tried Ron's flame brushes, and nothing looked right to me. The lens flares are actually part of Photoshop. You can get to them by navigating to Filters->Renders->Lens Flares. I wish there were more options, but it's a good start.
The child in the angel pic is MRL Willow for G3F. Most of Mihrelle's characters have a dreamy look that works very well for children. I can't remember what pose I started off with, then tweaked for that. Thanks- I tried to make it look good. So hard to pick a pose when many of the female ones are women poking their breasts and rear ends out.
I hear you on the hair painting. Wow, can that burn up some serious time.
Oh, and the lighting on the book cover is The Philosoher's Epic Props: Dynamic Lens Flare and Sunburst for Iray. Love his products!
I agree the book cover looks better now and your name is much easier to see. Will also have to check out that fire tutorial. One of Ron's flame brushes comes with a tutorial as well but I can't remember which one it is.
I actually love painting hair but ya, its a long process.
Yea, I use flares a lot. One thing people have trouble with when 1st learning to use them is that they can't be on a blank layer, so sometimes people copy their image layer and then try and place the flare where it goes, they don't realize you can create a flare on a solid black layer, then put it into screen or lighten mode and move it where ever you want, just like a png image.
A great way to get magic effects is to use fractals, they are usually on a black layer so you can just use screen or lighten layer mode to get them separate. Remember if they aren't the shape you want them that Photoshop has great transformation capabilities and they can usually be bent into any shape you want. You can also get lens flares that way too, just search lens flares on DA, lots more options, just have to remember to read the TOU
The transformation tools are one of the reasons that I broke down and went with the monthly subscription. I have elements which honestly, is a very good program especially for the price the improvements and additional stuff in CC makes it worth it. Especially now that I am doing a lot more postwork.
Honestly, its been so much fun this past year to see how much everyone has improved and grown here, its really very inspiring!
Oh that's a brilliant tip! Hadn't realized that. Thank you so much, Deanna! I will definitely be taking that for a spin!
And I agree. Sonja. It's amazing to see how much everyone has progressed this year, especially since quite a few of us started in the newbie contests together. My favorite thing is seeing everyone's styles emerge, and being able to see something posted on FB or in the galleries and know before looking at the name, whose artwork it is. That's especially true in Val's FB group. You can identify the artist by the style as soon as you see the images. Really, really cool!
Wow, have you all seen Mirandus-Arts' store? It's in the Mega Fast Grab today. Looks like she came over with the RDNA merger, but this is the first time I remember seeing her stuff. She's got some lovely V4s that are quite lifelike, like MA Lillian for V4. Stunning!
MA Lillian for V4
Just a test render but she really is gorgeous. She converts to Iray beautifully. Don't write off the older generations. Many of them look amazing in Iray and have very unique skins and morphs. She's wearing Optitex's Bra Dress for V4, which also converts very well to Iray. These are the original textures.
Couldn't get shadows to match well above without re-rendering. Same render here, different background and postwork techniques. Went for a more sun-washed look. Just messing around.
As FSMC pointed out, looks like the textures for the hands and feet have shadows baked in. It's too bad, they make her look older. I'd either have to repaint the render or the skin itself to get those out. Her face is very beautiful, and I like her morphs.
Funny you should post an ealier generations I just did Genesis figure last night lol. Many of them are very beautiful and come with a ton of options. And, its not as hard as one would think to move them up to Gen8 morphs and skin - to make use of the better expressions etc.
We must be on the same wavelength!
Teen Josie 8
Now, to play with something new. Last night I finally caved and got the new gal. The freebies were just too tempting and the deals were pretty good. I didn't own any of it. There's lots of modest clothing in these bundles, some cute hairstyles, and interesting characters. I figure I could probably use teenagers more in my Midwest series, but I actually do have quite a few teenage Supers later in my series, so why not?
The base Teen Josie 8 certainly makes a good Belle or Disney princess of your choice. I don't have Beast yet, but I imagine her here seeing him for the first time, dressed in all his finery.
Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme...
Wow! That is so Belle! She looks really good and love those dimples! Great framing with the stained glass behind her.
You're right, now all you need is the Beast.
Thanks, Dracorn! Wouldn't you know, Beast was on sale today, so I picked him up. I'll work on a picture of them together. Should be fun!
Layla for G3F and G8F
Meanwhile, here's a first look at Layla, who was released today. She comes in G3F and G8F versions, and each has human and elf formats. She's also got a ton of options that give her many looks. I love that she's got TEN different eyebrows, including no brow. Her makeups are nice too. She has a frail, delicate look. I tried putting some V8 armor on her and it looked too heavy for her thin frame. Some characters take certain looks, colors and clothing lines better than others, and she is one of them. Time to whip out the Color Me Beautiful and Dressing Your Type/Truth stuff on this one.
Here she is as a G8F human redhead:
Not the most flattering shot of here, but here she is as a G8F Elf:
I like the morphs of Lillian, particularly her flared nostrils and nose overall. Josie as Belle is just precious!
I wishlisted Layla - she looks pretty cool. I love Yvoire - it's beautiful.
I saw the Beast for G3M. He needs a mane. Maybe SAV's Alpha Moikana will fit nicely between those horns. LAMH would help too.
Those are all great images. I really love the Josie as Belle image. It looks fantastic.
Thank you both! And what a great idea for The Beast, Dracorn. I will give that a try.
And now for an interracial romance of a different kind! This is Layla with dark hair in her G3F elf form, who is spending some time with The Lord of the Bears. He has four different sizes, this is his biggest. She's pretty tall too (though maybe taller as a G8.)
Enchanted
Can an elf find love with a bear shifter? Will hibernation take its toll on their love life come winter? Tune in for the next exciting episode of "As the Forest Turns!"
Ok, I'm stupidly excited about FW's new character, Kieron. He looks a lot like his older one, Sebastian for G2M It took me a while to convert Sebastian to Iray, since he wasn't made for it. I used him as the visual basis of my main character in the Black Kat series, Hugh Harrison. He appears on the next book cover, Kat & Mouse, which I'm working on now. Strangely, the same thing happened last year when I was working on the Unlucky Charm cover. The right model showed up and everything just clicked.
Here's a comparison of Sebastian HD for G2M and Kieron HD for G8M. They are both great, but I'm loving the better details and skin on Kieron. I'm going to grab him and do some test renders for the book cover. I may just have a new Hugh!
Edited to add: I didn't realize that FW Galan HD is also very close and has wonderful elf options. With discounts today, he's under $5.