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April 2017 - Daz 3D New User Challenge - Open Render Challenge

mjc1016mjc1016 Posts: 15,001
edited April 2017 in New User Contests and Events

New User's Challenge - April 2017

Sponsored by DAZ 3D

Are you new to the 3D World? Are you at the beginning stages of learning 3D rendering? Have you been around for a little bit but feel you could benefit from some feedback or instruction? Have you been around awhile and would like to help other members start their creative journey? Well then come and join the fun as we host our newest render challenge!
 


"Open Render Challenge"
 

This challenge is a general render challenge with no real focus.  You can concentrate on using the skills learned in the past few challenges, create and focus on something new or that you've wanted to try out or go with the 'season'...for those in the Northern Hemisphere, that would be springtime.


How to Use Your Software:
Software is often updated, and online tutorials and information often demonstrate older versions of the software. The software version you are using may differ in User Interface and tools available. Please share links to reference material that you have found helpful in the Challenge thread.

in DAZ Studio
Daz Documentation Center [Wiki] [Associated YouTube Video]

As a refresher, here are the links for the past 3 challenges:

March:Posing

Daz 101: Posing
Pinning, Posing and the Active Pose Tool
Great Art Now - Posing And Morphing [Daz Store Download] [YouTube Video]
Some good tips in this forum thread.

in Poser

Pose and Editing Tools 101
Artistic Posing Techniques for 3D Human Figures - Very in Depth
Introduction to Posing in Poser
Poser Tutorial: Quick Posing

in Carrara
Dartanbeck's simple method of character animation (Carrara Cafe article, great for those who prefer illustrated written tutorials)
Huge list of helpful forum links (scroll to Animation and Posing section) If you have a problem, your answer might be here!
Carrara 8 Joint Rotation
Carrara 8 Puppeteer
Carrara 3D Tutorial - Posing a Figure
Posing in Carrara
Posing Tips - Carrara Cafe

 

 

Februrary:Lighting

DAZ Studio
VII - Lights
Light Editor
Point Lights, the Basics
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/25899/ (ideal for those who have purchased Gia 6, but the lighting tips can be used even if you haven't)
http://www.daz3d.com/great-art-now-step-5-lights

Modifiers to Basic DAZ Studio Lights -IBL or HDR type lighting environments

UberEnvironment2 - Made Easy
UberEnvironment2 Basics
Learning UberEnvironment 2 Return to Topic
Uber Area Lighting: The Basics

Iray
Iray Magic Light Box
Creating and Lighting a Scene with Iray in DAZ Studio by SickleYield 
Lighting and Tone Mapping in Iray by SickleYield
DAZ Studio Iray:  Undercover Way of Lighting V6 While Getting Stunning Results Quickly & Easily by Dreamlight 
Ghost Lights: Interior lighting Tutorial

Poser
Poser – Lighting 101 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QWWXZ64ZiM
Poser Lighting 102 (Attenuation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofj-vOgbwsQ
Poser Lighting 103 (Shadows) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbHQTXiGrx0
Poser Lighting 201 (Ambient Occlusion) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GZbHV7MJD4

Carrara
Chapter 14: Setting Lights

Bryce
Artist’s guide page 125
Bryce: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C772CuZ6RgI
Bryce: http://www.bryce-tutorials.info/bryce-tutorials/lighting-and-skies.html#
Bryce: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH58aGjCfR8
Bryce: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_mzhnLRx0s
Bryce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-Pe-IVp_dY

Theory:
Mastering Lighting in Blender the first 25 minutes of the video.

Lighting Basics:
http://www.amaanakram.com/lightingT/part1.htm
https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/the-basics-of-the-art-of-lighting-part-1-simple-principles-of-and-techniques-for-creating-artful-lighting
http://www.3drender.com/light/3point.html
http://bensimonds.com/2010/06/03/lighting-tips-from-the-masters/

Examples of Lighting:
Some Examples

January:Composition

General Composition Rules:
http://design.tutsplus.com/articles/5-fundamental-skills-every-artist-should-master--psd-28054

The Golden Ratio:
https://holycrop.wordpress.com/tag/golden-spiral/
https://designschool.canva.com/blog/what-is-the-golden-ratio/
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/golden-ratio-in-moden-designs/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8A3JnWzgXGk

Some Tools for DS and Bryce:
Golden Rules Camera Prop v1.5 by Jaderail http://www.sharecg.com/v/67783/browse/21/DAZ-Studio/Golden-Rules-Camera-Prop-v1.5
Golden Rules Composition Helpers for Bryce by David Brinnen Horo http://www.daz3d.com/golden-rules-composition-helpers-for-bryce


Artists, filmmakers and photographers share similar traits in how we present our work, so you will find that a study of the art of photography will help, which is why you see various links to photographic articles included.

Photography Composition:
http://digital-photography-school.com/5-elements-of-composition-in-photography/
http://digital-photography-school.com/5-more-elements-of-composition-in-photography/
 


Color can be used as a compositional element, especially when you have color contrast. Here are some fundamentals on color:

Color Fundamentals:
http://www.tigercolor.com/color-lab/color-theory/color-theory-intro.htm

Other Types of Contrast:
http://www.neilblevins.com/cg_education/composition_contrasts/composition_contrasts.htm
http://photoinf.com/General/NAVY/Contrast_and_Framing.htm

Examples of Composition:
http://www.cybercollege.com/comp_ex.htm
http://www.cybercollege.com/comp_ex2.htm
http://www.pinterest.com/dawnshiree/rules-of-composition/

I will be checking in as will the rest of the Community Volunteers to try and help with anything you all may need.


For a list of the current challenge rules, please see this thread : Challenge Rules

Closing Date: April 30th 2017

Post edited by DAZ_ann0314 on
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Comments

  • Shinji Ikari 9thShinji Ikari 9th Posts: 1,188

    Ended up not doing much last month, but my grandmother whom I had mentioned back in febuary had to spend some time in the hospital, had come home from rehab after about a month and has been rather popular with the theapists.  As a result I didn't get back to what I had been kicking around for things.

     

    Those who had replied back wishing grandma well, we thank all of you, and she's doing better slowly but surely every day.

     

    Anyway back on track for this month's challenge I've got something rendering as I post this.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    Shinji Ikari 9th said:

    Ended up not doing much last month, but my grandmother whom I had mentioned back in febuary had to spend some time in the hospital, had come home from rehab after about a month and has been rather popular with the theapists.  As a result I didn't get back to what I had been kicking around for things.

     

    Those who had replied back wishing grandma well, we thank all of you, and she's doing better slowly but surely every day.

     

    Anyway back on track for this month's challenge I've got something rendering as I post this.

    That is good news Shinji.  So happy to hear she is doing better...even if slowly.

     

  • yhzmurphyyhzmurphy Posts: 434
    Shinji Ikari 9th said:

    Ended up not doing much last month, but my grandmother whom I had mentioned back in febuary had to spend some time in the hospital, had come home from rehab after about a month and has been rather popular with the theapists.  As a result I didn't get back to what I had been kicking around for things.

     

    Those who had replied back wishing grandma well, we thank all of you, and she's doing better slowly but surely every day.

     

    Anyway back on track for this month's challenge I've got something rendering as I post this.

    Welcome back Shinji.  Good to hear that your gradma is getting better.

  • Shinji Ikari 9thShinji Ikari 9th Posts: 1,188
    edited April 2017

    Here's version a of what I've started with this month. Going to have to try using some bloom and dof I think but for now let me know.

    april2017a.png
    1031 x 872 - 1M
    Post edited by Shinji Ikari 9th on
  • rcbcgreenpanzerrcbcgreenpanzer Posts: 99

    tentacle fight render mk0

    *Monster sounds*

    "White Phantom": ^%&#, I thought this was a safe area!

    "Host of Embers": Not since last patch.

  • Shinji Ikari 9thShinji Ikari 9th Posts: 1,188
    edited April 2017

    Here we go with version b.

     

    april2017b.png
    1031 x 872 - 1M
    Post edited by Shinji Ikari 9th on
  • sueyasueya Posts: 832

    This is an experiment with area lights I have one on the ceiling and one on the floor and three spotlights . All comments welcome

    Arealighttest.jpg
    1132 x 1415 - 1M
  • AloreeaAloreea Posts: 285
    edited April 2017

    For this month, I decided to make a render of a character from a story that I'm writing. She's an android...Ths scene is supposed to show her as she was developed. She is an adult in my story, but I made her look like a young teenager to show development. 

     

    Anyway, I am working on lighting and composition.

    I want the lighting to be bright like in a lab....but also kind of dramatic and edgy.I'm probably going to add more things to the scene later, but for now I just want to get the lighting right.

    What do you guys think?

     

     

     

    SCI FI 2.jpg
    1920 x 1080 - 478K
    Post edited by Aloreea on
  • nickashman68nickashman68 Posts: 21
    edited April 2017

     

    New Render on my new machine. Image size 1920 X 3107, render time 2hrs 3mins. 15342 iterations, 3 light setup, wide angle camera, Infinity cove backdrop with concrete texture, Ultra high render settings. fullsize image here.....http://nickashman68.deviantart.com/art/Lean-In-Shoot-Pose-673588005?ga_submit_new=10:1491625678

    lean in shoot pose.jpg
    1920 x 3107 - 2M
    Post edited by nickashman68 on
  • Shinji Ikari 9thShinji Ikari 9th Posts: 1,188
    nickashman68 said:

     

    New Render on my new machine. Image size 1920 X 3107, render time 2hrs 3mins. 15342 iterations, 3 light setup, wide angle camera, Infinity cove backdrop with concrete texture, Ultra high render settings. fullsize image here.....http://nickashman68.deviantart.com/art/Lean-In-Shoot-Pose-673588005?ga_submit_new=10:1491625678

    Not a bad start, can I ask what he's wearing?

  • ewcarmanewcarman Posts: 180
    Aloreea said:

    For this month, I decided to make a render of a character from a story that I'm writing. She's an android...Ths scene is supposed to show her as she was developed. She is an adult in my story, but I made her look like a young teenager to show development. 

     

    Anyway, I am working on lighting and composition.

    I want the lighting to be bright like in a lab....but also kind of dramatic and edgy.I'm probably going to add more things to the scene later, but for now I just want to get the lighting right.

    What do you guys think?

     

     

     

    I really like this so far. One thing that caught my eye was how her calves are intersecting the underside of her thighs. This is hard to avoid in extreme poses. If you can make the back of her thighs "squish" a little, this will go a long way to making the legs look real. You can try deformers and there are products in the store (i13 has a couple called Squish) that might help. Otherwise, I like the drama, the cabling and I look forward to see where you are taking this.

  • AloreeaAloreea Posts: 285

     

     

     

    ewcarman said:
    Aloreea said:

    For this month, I decided to make a render of a character from a story that I'm writing. She's an android...Ths scene is supposed to show her as she was developed. She is an adult in my story, but I made her look like a young teenager to show development. 

     

    Anyway, I am working on lighting and composition.

    I want the lighting to be bright like in a lab....but also kind of dramatic and edgy.I'm probably going to add more things to the scene later, but for now I just want to get the lighting right.

    What do you guys think?

     

     

     

    I really like this so far. One thing that caught my eye was how her calves are intersecting the underside of her thighs. This is hard to avoid in extreme poses. If you can make the back of her thighs "squish" a little, this will go a long way to making the legs look real. You can try deformers and there are products in the store (i13 has a couple called Squish) that might help. Otherwise, I like the drama, the cabling and I look forward to see where you are taking this.

    Ah ok, didn't see that before..thanks!

  • LinwellyLinwelly Posts: 5,956

    Lots of nice starts so far, will be interesting to see how they will evolve.

    @sueya the light is currently only lighting up her lover body, her face is in the dark. that is probably something you want to change.

     

     

    Shinji Ikari 9th said:

    Here we go with version b.

     

    this looks interesting with the lights you used but I have the feeling that the bloom is a bit over the top as his face is completely outbleached

  • Shinji Ikari 9thShinji Ikari 9th Posts: 1,188
    Linwelly said:

    Lots of nice starts so far, will be interesting to see how they will evolve.

    @sueya the light is currently only lighting up her lover body, her face is in the dark. that is probably something you want to change.

     

     

    Shinji Ikari 9th said:

    Here we go with version b.

     

    this looks interesting with the lights you used but I have the feeling that the bloom is a bit over the top as his face is completely outbleached

    Thanks for the feedback linwelly, the bloom filter isn't something that I use that much so I'll have to see what I can do after I return home from work this afternoon.

  • AloreeaAloreea Posts: 285
    edited April 2017

    Fixed her legs...

     

    Sci Fi 3.jpg
    1920 x 1080 - 489K
    Post edited by Aloreea on
  • AloreeaAloreea Posts: 285
    edited April 2017

    Here, I adjusted the contrast and made the scene a little brighter. 

     

    0001125.jpg
    1920 x 1080 - 545K
    Post edited by Aloreea on
  • LinwellyLinwelly Posts: 5,956
    Aloreea said:

    Here, I adjusted the contrast and made the scene a little brighter. 

     

    I like the adjustments, it gives a bit more focus on the figure.

    Some thoughts, in no particular order. I assume you want to work with the empty space, however to me it looks a bit unbalanced rather than the empty space being the balance. You could try a different format or move the figure to one side. another  thing to try would be to tilt the camera or use DOF (depth of field) so that only parts of the tubes are in focus and maybe even just parts of the figure.

  • bluetidesbluetides Posts: 19
    Shinji Ikari 9th said:

    Here we go with version b.

     

    The bloom feature makes some awesome effects.  I'll have to explore it myself some day.  The action and intensity is coming through nicely but it might be just me but even though I know the light saber (?) Is   behind the main man, my eye keeps wanting to see it as in the foreground. Maybe because it seems larger than the other, perhaps.  Also it would be nice to see some more details of their surroundings. Not to much but enough to get a better idea of where they are.

  • bluetidesbluetides Posts: 19
    Aloreea said:

    Here, I adjusted the contrast and made the scene a little brighter. 

     

    This scene looks amazing.  Very simple which gives it a quiet, serene feeling.  How did you make that nice lighting? It looks very soft.  

  • bluetidesbluetides Posts: 19
    edited April 2017
    sueya said:

    This is an experiment with area lights I have one on the ceiling and one on the floor and three spotlights . All comments welcome

    What a cute character.  I see her and wonder what she is doing in that office.  She can't be working there in her bare feet.  Hmm  is there a way that you could create more of an idea of who she is or what she's doing.  Maybe she's late and running to her appointment (sounds like me all the time) or something like that to add more fun to the scene.

    Post edited by bluetides on
  • AloreeaAloreea Posts: 285
    bluetideN838 said:
    Aloreea said:

    Here, I adjusted the contrast and made the scene a little brighter. 

     

    This scene looks amazing.  Very simple which gives it a quiet, serene feeling.  How did you make that nice lighting? It looks very soft.  

    Thank you very much! I used a white HDR background for part of my lighting and the rest are a few spot lights. 

  • AloreeaAloreea Posts: 285
    Linwelly said:
    Aloreea said:

    Here, I adjusted the contrast and made the scene a little brighter. 

     

    I like the adjustments, it gives a bit more focus on the figure.

    Some thoughts, in no particular order. I assume you want to work with the empty space, however to me it looks a bit unbalanced rather than the empty space being the balance. You could try a different format or move the figure to one side. another  thing to try would be to tilt the camera or use DOF (depth of field) so that only parts of the tubes are in focus and maybe even just parts of the figure.

    Ok, thanks..I will try it right now.

  • sueyasueya Posts: 832
    edited April 2017

    I decided to change the pose and found some shoes for Star. I have also made sure she is better lit.

    Starbusinessseated.jpg
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    Post edited by sueya on
  • social_stigmasocial_stigma Posts: 107
    edited April 2017

    a rough (grainy) test render.

    surprise.jpg
    569 x 938 - 334K
    Post edited by social_stigma on
  • Shinji Ikari 9thShinji Ikari 9th Posts: 1,188

    Here's version c. Made some adjustments to the bloom filter, and some flames in the background.

  • Shinji Ikari 9thShinji Ikari 9th Posts: 1,188
    edited April 2017

    Here's version c. Made some adjustments to the bloom filter, and some flames in the background.

    april2017c.png
    1031 x 872 - 1M
    Post edited by Shinji Ikari 9th on
  • barbultbarbult Posts: 24,375
    nickashman68 said:

     

    New Render on my new machine. Image size 1920 X 3107, render time 2hrs 3mins. 15342 iterations, 3 light setup, wide angle camera, Infinity cove backdrop with concrete texture, Ultra high render settings. fullsize image here.....http://nickashman68.deviantart.com/art/Lean-In-Shoot-Pose-673588005?ga_submit_new=10:1491625678

    That is a render??!! Fantastic work, @nickashman68.

  • SaphirewildSaphirewild Posts: 6,669

    Wow some great starter renders so far I am all excited to see how they are going to each turn out.

  • harrykimharrykim Posts: 225
    edited April 2017

    Hi there, nothing special. I´ve started with the idea to creat a something with water. This is what comes out

    Summer outside.png
    1200 x 960 - 2M
    Post edited by harrykim on
  • harrykimharrykim Posts: 225
    edited April 2017
    harrykim said:

    Hi there, nothing special. I´ve started with the idea to creat a something with water. This is what comes out

     

    Post edited by Chohole on
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