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The 2013 Stonemason Catalogue Contest

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  • srieschsriesch Posts: 4,241
    edited December 1969

    Geminii23 said:
    I have tried to merge but it doesn't seem to work. For example: I tried selecting multiple sets and when I selected merge it just keeps replacing the previous set.

    Load the scene you want to extract the lights from, and save just the lights. When you save a scene as a .duf, select File > "Save as" > "Scene subset..." to create a partial scene that can be loaded as a merged scene. (If you select File > "Save as" > Scene, it will replace the current scene when being loaded.

  • BWSmanBWSman Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Geminii23 said:
    Forgive me. I am on a MAC. I have tried to merge but it doesn't seem to work. For example: I tried selecting multiple sets and when I selected merge it just keeps replacing the previous set.

    Follow Szarks example; except for a MAC you hold down the CMD key when clicking on the second light set.

    While the merge option works; it adds steps to the initial process.

  • FirstBastionFirstBastion Posts: 7,760
    edited December 1969

    The advantage of LUX render, is if you have any kind of real world photography or cinematography experience, the placement of lights follows those rules exactly as expected.

  • UHFUHF Posts: 512
    edited December 1969

    Kyoto Kid said:
    ...grrr, another stupid network reset ate my post.

    One of the things about earlier versions of Lux I have been disappointed in are the skin tones as they tend to appear rather pasty compared to the results I can get with 3Delight and just the standard Daz lights. Not sure if this has been dealt with in the latest update of hte render engine.

    As to setting up lighting, that is one of my strong points as I worked in stagecraft. Many of my early scenes employed light arrays I set up rather than using a commercial one. The only commercial light set I ever used to any extent was LDP, but alas it has not been (and probably will never will be) updated for 4.5.

    Personally speaking there are some aspects of UE I don't like (besides increased rendering times). For example in scenes with characters who have a smile or open mouth expression the teeth do not show up very well or at all making everyone appear to have left their dentures at home. The other issue with UE is also having to tweak with the materials/shaders to get things to work right or in the case if skin shaders, use HSS and SSS which again adds to the render processing/memory load even more.

    I just DL'd the latest updates for Reality (2.5) and LuxRender (1.2) the other evening for installation on the new workstation. If I can get everything up and running in time, I will give it a shot for the submission I have in mind.

    That's a good thing to know about Lux and Stefan's sets. His attention to detail and surface textures have always been a big selling point for me.

    I've had some hit or miss results, but I'm getting better.

    First, for Lux you need decent specularity more than anything else.
    Check out callad31735's renders at deviant art. She's provided a script (Spec-Script for DazStudio) to apply Charlie & Neve's specularity skins to dull models.

    But in looking through the majority of models that I own, they don't have any specularity, at least none that are automatically applied. Hence, Callad's reason for creating her script.

    Personally, I've only done a few renders that needed really could show good skin work. Pheonix1966 does great work as well. I have quite a few of his skins;
    http://www.daz3d.com/phoenix1966


    Anyways, you should definitely do more reality. You'll probably be better at it than me if you already understand lighting.

    This is one of the things I find most interesting about Lux... all that time on unbiased rendering and one often has to resort to lighting trickery to get a scene that looks good anyway. I understand this is a function of the camera, and that real film has exactly the same problem, but it would be quite interesting to see a camera built into Lux which views scenes the way your eyes do, rather than emulating actual camera technology, which is still unfortunately limited.

    It seems as though this should be possible. Real cameras can shoot at multiple exposures and then have the shots combined into a final HDR image which has a much nicer range - but Lux is entirely a simulation and therefore shouldn't need multiple exposures, simply some kind of tweak to the way the camera's viewing the scene.


    I find the effect as pleasing as it is annoying. It depends on the effect you are trying to achieve.

    If you read Paolo's article you'll see that using a single camera isn't really true. You get 11 fstops of dynamic range from a $100,000 professional camera. More often than not we're pushing the renders way beyond that kind of dynamic range.

    I suspect that the answer is much more complicated. You probably can't see something that is 10,000 times dimmer when its next to something very bright. In real life you do see washout or blow out with lighting. In professional set ups they light up the background, effectively limiting the dynamic range of the shot.

    If everything you said was true, there would be no need to lighting specialists.

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,639
    edited February 2013

    Utopia Labs Bus Stop
    DAZ, and a bit of Photoshop
    Utopia Labs.

    final-1.jpg
    843 x 600 - 184K
    Post edited by Serene Night on
  • FSMCDesignsFSMCDesigns Posts: 12,754
    edited December 1969

    SereneNight said:
    Utopia Labs Bus Stop
    DAZ, and a bit of Photoshop
    Utopia Labs.

    Nice idea and I love the faces. Looks like her right arm is resting on nothing and his right leg is cutting into his left though

  • MachieltjeMachieltje Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Ok, I'm not sure this is the place for a 3Delight vs Lux but still...

    First off: you are not getting photo-realistic skin without Sub Surface Scattering, specularity may be important but without SSS it'll still look off somehow. You might not see it until you compare a render with and the same render without SSS but once you've seen it you'll know what I mean. I don't know if and if so how well Lux does SSS however in 3Delight it looks pretty good.

    Secondly: From what I've seen there is no "best" renderer; you can get some amazing results with Lux but the same is true for 3Delight. Now I've not used Lux but I imagine it takes a fair amount of skill to get the kind of results you see really good Lux renders, however there are some great renders out there that were done in 3Delight. Both engines have their strength's and their weaknesses and the key is to work with what you have to get the effect you need.

    In short: don't expect Lux to auto-magically give to "professional" renders because you will be sorely dissapointed, if you've invested a lot of time and effort in learning 3Delight you might be better off sticking with it and take it to the next level...

    /rant off

    sorry had to get that off my chest hope it made sense.

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,639
    edited February 2013

    FSMCDesigns said:
    SereneNight said:
    Utopia Labs Bus Stop
    DAZ, and a bit of Photoshop
    Utopia Labs.

    Nice idea and I love the faces. Looks like her right arm is resting on nothing and his right leg is cutting into his left though

    Oh, thanks. I've moved the figures around and I think it looks better.

    Post edited by Serene Night on
  • LucynskyLucynsky Posts: 64
    edited December 1969

    Title
    "Hold My Spear," You Said...

    Software
    Daz 4.5 Pro
    GIMP

    Stonemason Products
    Floater-bot

    hold_my_spear_01.jpg
    800 x 1333 - 1M
  • agent unawaresagent unawares Posts: 3,513
    edited February 2013

    UHF said:
    Agent_Unawares said:
    This is one of the things I find most interesting about Lux... all that time on unbiased rendering and one often has to resort to lighting trickery to get a scene that looks good anyway. I understand this is a function of the camera, and that real film has exactly the same problem, but it would be quite interesting to see a camera built into Lux which views scenes the way your eyes do, rather than emulating actual camera technology, which is still unfortunately limited.

    It seems as though this should be possible. Real cameras can shoot at multiple exposures and then have the shots combined into a final HDR image which has a much nicer range - but Lux is entirely a simulation and therefore shouldn't need multiple exposures, simply some kind of tweak to the way the camera's viewing the scene.
    I find the effect as pleasing as it is annoying. It depends on the effect you are trying to achieve.
    I'd rather have the option to achieve either effect.

    UHF said:
    If you read Paolo's article you'll see that using a single camera isn't really true. You get 11 fstops of dynamic range from a $100,000 professional camera. More often than not we're pushing the renders way beyond that kind of dynamic range.

    So we can get a bit closer than a regular camera right now - which means it should eventually be possible.

    I suspect that the answer is much more complicated. You probably can't see something that is 10,000 times dimmer when its next to something very bright. In real life you do see washout or blow out with lighting. In professional set ups they light up the background, effectively limiting the dynamic range of the shot.


    That's true. Still, the way our eyes/brain process a scene is different on some level to the way a camera/the Lux camera processes it. I'd still like to see a simulated camera that behaves similarly to our eyes. Of course, the effect would be necessarily limited due to being displayed on a computer screen; something closer would be nice though.

    If everything you said was true, there would be no need to lighting specialists.
    ...Lighting specialists are brought into play so the final shot will look good to a camera; I don't see where you're going with this.

    If you're talking about people who light stages for a live audience, they work under an entirely different set of constraints - of course they're going to shoot for a pleasing dynamic range, but what winds up looking good to the audience who are there in person often appears way off when filmed. It would be nice to have a camera in Lux which could take a scene that looks nice in the real world, lit as it is in the real world, and have it produce an image that has similar quality. I'm not saying one's better than the other, only that it would be fun to have both.

    Post edited by agent unawares on
  • agent unawaresagent unawares Posts: 3,513
    edited February 2013

    Double post. :red:

    Post edited by agent unawares on
  • Muon QuarkMuon Quark Posts: 562
    edited December 1969

    Second Entry

    Name: Urban Street
    Products Used: Urban Future 2, TraffikCar, TraffikCop, City Signs
    Rendered in DAZ Studio 4.5 with a couple of filters done in Photoshop.

    Just another early evening on Urban Street. :-)

    urban_street_final.jpg
    1050 x 750 - 629K
  • XandoryXandory Posts: 139
    edited December 1969

    Used: Streets of Asia
    Title: Close Call
    Posed in Daz 4.5 and rendered in Lux via Reality and photoshop

    gunfight2a.jpg
    1162 x 746 - 269K
  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,036
    edited February 2013

    Machieltje said:
    Ok, I'm not sure this is the place for a 3Delight vs Lux but still...

    First off: you are not getting photo-realistic skin without Sub Surface Scattering, specularity may be important but without SSS it'll still look off somehow. You might not see it until you compare a render with and the same render without SSS but once you've seen it you'll know what I mean. I don't know if and if so how well Lux does SSS however in 3Delight it looks pretty good.

    Secondly: From what I've seen there is no "best" renderer; you can get some amazing results with Lux but the same is true for 3Delight. Now I've not used Lux but I imagine it takes a fair amount of skill to get the kind of results you see really good Lux renders, however there are some great renders out there that were done in 3Delight. Both engines have their strength's and their weaknesses and the key is to work with what you have to get the effect you need.

    In short: don't expect Lux to auto-magically give to "professional" renders because you will be sorely dissapointed, if you've invested a lot of time and effort in learning 3Delight you might be better off sticking with it and take it to the next level...

    /rant off

    sorry had to get that off my chest hope it made sense.


    ...actually given the time remaining for this challenge, it is probably unrealistic that I would have a piece finished in time that is rendered with Lux/Reality. My comment a couple pages ago was over having to go up against those who have been able to spend the time mastering it, who understand how to use SSS, AO, IBL and such. As I have been working in 32 bit for the last four and a half years, using such effects were a "no-no" as they would quickly exceed the memory limits of my system, resulting in the application crashing. Hence, photorealism has been pretty much moot for me.

    I am currently moving to a 64 bit system which I hope will be ready in time to at least get one submission finished, most likely in 3Delight. As I don't quite understand the principles of photo real lighting and surface tools like IBL, SSS, or AO (nor have the time to sit down and become confident enough with them in the time remaining) they most likely won't be involved in my submission.

    Post edited by kyoto kid on
  • mrposermrposer Posts: 1,130
    edited December 1969

    This is my first entry
    Title: The Protector
    Software: Daz Studio 4.5 Pro, Photoshop CS4
    StoneMason product : Winter Kingdom Castle Ruins

    the_protector.jpg
    861 x 892 - 535K
  • MadbatMadbat Posts: 382
    edited February 2013

    Edit: I just read the entry rules again, and this one's disqualified, as I've posted it elsewheres....whoops! :red:

    Post edited by Madbat on
  • ISIKOLISIKOL Posts: 386
    edited December 1969

    FIRST IMAGE - "QUEEN OF SHEERA" a fantasy one using Stonemason's Jungle ruins
    SECOND IMAGE - "SURRENDER OR DIE" using the MECH
    THIRD ONE - "MECH WARS" using MECHS and Streets of Asia

    none of them my official entries, but since i m having so much fan with Stefans models thought i should post them... :)

    mechwars.jpg
    1500 x 1061 - 844K
    robot_0001.jpg
    1071 x 1500 - 748K
    Untitled.jpg
    1002 x 1500 - 995K
  • DireBunnyDireBunny Posts: 556
    edited December 1969

    Isikol said:
    FIRST IMAGE - "QUEEN OF SHEERA" a fantasy one using Stonemason's Jungle ruins
    SECOND IMAGE - "SURRENDER OR DIE" using the MECH
    THIRD ONE - "MECH WARS" using MECHS and Streets of Asia

    none of them my official entries, but since i m having so much fan with Stefans models thought i should post them... :)

    oohh i really like "QUEEN OF SHEERA".

  • DireBunnyDireBunny Posts: 556
    edited February 2013

    Hmm.... well okay. there is not really any way i could follow those awesome not an entry pictures but I am going to have to submit my second entry at some point since it's finished so just let me pick up the shattered remain of an ego i may still have left and........

    Second entry-

    Title: When worlds collide

    Programs used: D|S3a,Gimp

    Product used: The Core

    When_Worlds_Collide_jpg.jpg
    1500 x 1500 - 451K
    Post edited by DireBunny on
  • ba_aca2a9241dba_aca2a9241d Posts: 55
    edited February 2013

    Well, don't enter a contest too often and I don't think I'll even win something, but Stefan your work is so awesome, it deserves to be rendered. So here's mine..... the first one, plan on doing one in Vue also.

    The title of the image: ARF (Alien Response Force)
    Software used to create the image: Poser Pro 2012 and Serif DrawPlus for the effects.
    Stonemason products used in the image: Dark Place Back Alley.

    contest_stonemason_edited1.jpg
    1280 x 784 - 371K
    Post edited by ba_aca2a9241d on
  • StorypilotStorypilot Posts: 1,675
    edited February 2013

    Nice one, Dire Bunny


    And Isikol, you are maddening with these tantalizing non-entries... :)

    Post edited by Storypilot on
  • EmsimEmsim Posts: 234
    edited December 1969

    Here's my first entry. Hopefully I'll be able to come up with a second.

    Title: Courtyard Encounter
    Software Used: Carrara 8.1 (Photoshop used to add sig)
    Stonemason product used: Village Courtyard

    Courtyard_Encounter.jpg
    1500 x 1125 - 208K
  • BeltazarBeltazar Posts: 2
    edited December 1969

    ***********Shimmers in*********

    wow, a lot of great images are in, I hope to post mine soon..

    *************Shimmers out***********

  • sfaa69sfaa69 Posts: 353
    edited December 1969

    Wow! Some pretty great images. As long as there is a random prize, I'll take a chance.

    Title: "Moonlight Candy Quest"
    Stonemason Product: The Village Courtyard
    DAZ Studio 4.5

    village_courtyard_night2.jpg
    1500 x 817 - 117K
  • anmcmack@comcast.net[email protected] Posts: 4
    edited December 1969

    Title: Leap of Faith

    Stonemason products used:
    M.E.C.H. Enforcer
    Greeble City Blocks 2

    Software used:
    DAZ Studio Pro 4.5
    Photoshop

    Mech-Scene-2-W-Leap-of-Faith-a.jpg
    1800 x 1273 - 375K
  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 41,036
    edited December 1969

    Madbat said:
    Title: A Girl & Her Aubrey
    Used: Tin Pan Alley
    Rendered in Daz 4.5, postwork in Photoshop Elements 10.


    ...I love it.
  • MadbatMadbat Posts: 382
    edited December 1969

    Kyoto Kid said:
    Madbat said:
    Title: A Girl & Her Aubrey
    Used: Tin Pan Alley
    Rendered in Daz 4.5, postwork in Photoshop Elements 10.


    ...I love it.

    Thank yah!
    That's what happens when I listen to Volbeat :roll:

  • IceScribeIceScribe Posts: 694
    edited February 2013

    Hello Stonemason and fellow contestants, I'm going to post an entry into the 2013 Stonemason Catalogue Contest for the first time.
    Stonemason Product used: "Under the Bridge"
    Title: "Maybe It Can Be Fixed"
    Posed in DAZ 4.0/Rendered in Bryce7Pro/postwork in PaintShopPro7
    copyright IceScribe 2013

    I had a hard time deciding if I wanted to work from the top which is nice and ruined and unsafe, or from the bottom with the great rivets and trusses and great brick work. Since I got the beat up Meteor sports car, just seemed go together, under the bridge :-) I have some other ideas for using the Stonemason bridge but I tend to get distracted so I'm posting this one now. Enjoy!

    MaybeItCanBeFixed.jpg
    986 x 554 - 118K
    Post edited by IceScribe on
  • jonreajonrea Posts: 2
    edited February 2013

    Title: Amazonian Fae
    Used: Jungle Ruins 2
    Software: Poser 2012

    amazonian_fae_by_jonrea-d5u7xg9.jpg
    2000 x 1600 - 265K
    Post edited by jonrea on
  • GopherusGopherus Posts: 1,108
    edited December 1969

    Here s my first

    Title: A Level Too Far
    Used: Level 19, Sci Fi Crates 'n Containers
    Rendered in Daz 4.5, postwork in Photoshop CS4.

    Tribute to 50's Apocalyptic Sci Fi

    shock013ss.jpg
    600 x 600 - 135K
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