May 2017 - Daz 3D New User Challenge - Action & Props

Scott Livingston

New User's Challenge - May 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!
 

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"Action and Props"
 

This month's focus will be action with an emphasis on interaction with props. Your characters' actions, or the props they are using or interacting with, should be a major aspect of your image. As always, posing techniques, composition, and lighting will be important considerations as well.

Here are some useful links:

For some inspiration:
Digital Art Action Scenes
Fighting Poses
Action Poses
Dynamic Poses

May 2016 New User Contest (Action & Props)
May 2015 New User Contest (action)
September 2012 New User Contest (props)
Tips for composing action photographs (can also be applied to renders)
The Fundamentals of Action Photography
Best Sports Photos of 2016

Finally, while we encourage you to create your own poses from scratch for this contest, many of the pose sets available in the store can offer some great inspiration on how to use props in active situations!

To fit the theme of "Action & Props," your render could depict anything from a melee to a barbecue, or from a pop concert to a masquerade ball. The key points are that it must include some sort of dynamic movement or activity, and that it must involve interaction between figures and props (tools, weapons, or any sort of objects being manipulated.

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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]
The Daz Studio Timeline Explained
How to Make Your Own Props in Daz Studio
How To Create A Smart Prop in Daz Studio
Importing Props Into Daz Studio
Daz 101: Posing
Pinning, Posing and the Active Pose Tool

in Poser
Parenting a Prop to a Character
Poser Smart Props Basics
Pose and Editing Tools 101
Artistic Posing Techniques for 3D Human Figures - Very in Depth

in Carrara
What Content Can I Use in Carrara? (Using DS and Poser Props)
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 Puppeteer
Carrara 3D Tutorial - Posing a Figure
Posing in Carrara
Posing Tips - Carrara Cafe

in Bryce
While it is not possible to pose things in Bryce, you are welcome to do your posing in another program such as DAZ Studio or Poser, then export and render in Bryce. For information on how to use the Bryce bridge to import a DS scene into Bryce: http://brycebasics.blogspot.com/2009/12/using-daz-studio-with-bryce.html

 

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
 

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Closing Date: May 31st 2017

Shinji Ikari 9th

Looks like we're running in the shadows again this month.

Shinji Ikari 9th

 

Added a third team member and set the rounds from the orc's revolvers airborn.

Shinji Ikari 9th

Added a third team member and set the rounds from the orc's revolvers airborn.

Kismet2012

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

Added a third team member and set the rounds from the orc's revolvers airborn.

I looked at this image the other day and did not notice the bullets.  This looks like it could be a still from a movie.

Shinji Ikari 9th

Kismet2012 said:

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

Added a third team member and set the rounds from the orc's revolvers airborn.

I looked at this image the other day and did not notice the bullets.  This looks like it could be a still from a movie.

Thanks Kismet.  It brought a smile to my face when I saw your comment.

harrykim

I have the story and I have the interacting. Well, probably you cannot catch it by the first sight. So a dog hysterical running away would be nice. But difficult still to find a place for that :)

The interacting is basicaly done by D-Former on the Chubbies face and the shirts. The flying teeth I find funny, and yes, they need to be arranged a bit different. The story btw. acts of football. You can see at the poster, its about the rivalry between the fans of ManU and ManchesterCity.

 

Scott Livingston

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

Added a third team member and set the rounds from the orc's revolvers airborn.

Nice work so far, and great improvements (especially lighting) between the initial render and the new version. I still feel this could use a bit more light in the foreground (for the characters), but I love the way the orange glow illuminates the set. And the gunfire effect is excellent!

Shinji Ikari 9th

harrykim said:

I have the story and I have the interacting. Well, probably you cannot catch it by the first sight. So a dog hysterical running away would be nice. But difficult still to find a place for that :)

The interacting is basicaly done by D-Former on the Chubbies face and the shirts. The flying teeth I find funny, and yes, they need to be arranged a bit different. The story btw. acts of football. You can see at the poster, its about the rivalry between the fans of ManU and ManchesterCity.

 

Is it just me but are the people on the bus watching this?  I meen, it looks like they're about to arrive on the sceen as it's happening.

Shinji Ikari 9th

Scott Livingston said:

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

Added a third team member and set the rounds from the orc's revolvers airborn.

Nice work so far, and great improvements (especially lighting) between the initial render and the new version. I still feel this could use a bit more light in the foreground (for the characters), but I love the way the orange glow illuminates the set. And the gunfire effect is excellent!

Thank's for your feedback just now Scott.  The only change in the lighting between the two versions is the gunfire from the third character I had added.

 

I'll have to wait until I'm home from work to sit down and see if I can come up with something to cast some light on my forground characters, (more so the orc in the middle of the three.)

harrykim

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

harrykim said:

I have the story and I have the interacting. Well, probably you cannot catch it by the first sight. So a dog hysterical .Is it just me but are the people on the bus watching this?  I meen, it looks like they're about to arrive on the sceen as it's happening.

 

and they do good so, because what you can not see, but me because I can expand the periverie, is the roth of others on their way to enter the scene :))

Kismet2012

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

Scott Livingston said:

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

Added a third team member and set the rounds from the orc's revolvers airborn.

Nice work so far, and great improvements (especially lighting) between the initial render and the new version. I still feel this could use a bit more light in the foreground (for the characters), but I love the way the orange glow illuminates the set. And the gunfire effect is excellent!

Thank's for your feedback just now Scott.  The only change in the lighting between the two versions is the gunfire from the third character I had added.

 

I'll have to wait until I'm home from work to sit down and see if I can come up with something to cast some light on my forground characters, (more so the orc in the middle of the three.)

I agree the orc in the middle needs some light.  Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Shinji Ikari 9th

Added what they are fighting outside the frame and have it firing back at them to add illumination.

Noswen

Not exactly a lot of action going on in this render, but hopefully it just about qualifies for the theme.

Here is my first attempt for juggling, with faking juggling balls by scaling down the volleyball prop to a more reasonable size for it.

harrykim

I think it is better to change the dimensions. It is still a rough rendered version posted.

So this is my new concept

 

Kismet2012

Noswen said:

Not exactly a lot of action going on in this render, but hopefully it just about qualifies for the theme.

Here is my first attempt for juggling, with faking juggling balls by scaling down the volleyball prop to a more reasonable size for it.

Another option for juggling balls is a primitive sphere.  You might also want to consider adding a different shader or texture to the balls.  Most juggling balls I have seen are usually a solid colour.

Good start.

Kismet2012

harrykim said:

I think it is better to change the dimensions. It is still a rough rendered version posted.

So this is my new concept

 

I like the closer crop.  It makes the action betwen the 2 figures more prominent.  The change in the bus confuses me a bit though.  It looks like it is crossing lanes?  It is a bit of a distraction for me at the moment.

Kismet2012

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

Added what they are fighting outside the frame and have it firing back at them to add illumination.

Adding people/things off camera can make such a huge difference to an image.  Nicely done.  The centre orc is much easier to see now.

 

Noswen

Kismet2012 said:

Noswen said:

Not exactly a lot of action going on in this render, but hopefully it just about qualifies for the theme.

Here is my first attempt for juggling, with faking juggling balls by scaling down the volleyball prop to a more reasonable size for it.

Another option for juggling balls is a primitive sphere.  You might also want to consider adding a different shader or texture to the balls.  Most juggling balls I have seen are usually a solid colour.

Good start.

Aha, I had not realised that option existed. Switched the juggling balls to now be primitive spheres with a glass shader applied, as that felt like it would fit the background to me. Then rejigged the camera a little so there wasn't so much empty space on either side of the character.

Thanks for pointing that out

Kismet2012

Noswen said:

Kismet2012 said:

Noswen said:

Not exactly a lot of action going on in this render, but hopefully it just about qualifies for the theme.

Here is my first attempt for juggling, with faking juggling balls by scaling down the volleyball prop to a more reasonable size for it.

Another option for juggling balls is a primitive sphere.  You might also want to consider adding a different shader or texture to the balls.  Most juggling balls I have seen are usually a solid colour.

Good start.

Aha, I had not realised that option existed. Switched the juggling balls to now be primitive spheres with a glass shader applied, as that felt like it would fit the background to me. Then rejigged the camera a little so there wasn't so much empty space on either side of the character.

Thanks for pointing that out

You are welcome.  Primitives are awesome and very versatile.

 

dracorn

harrykim said:

I think it is better to change the dimensions. It is still a rough rendered version posted.

So this is my new concept

 

This close up is much better.  I also like that top down view you showed earlier.  I think if you rotate the camera up slightly to get a hybrid between this and the top down view would nail down the angle.

Lighting - bring it down just a tad, the scene is slightly overexposed.  See if you can darken the texture on the tooth a little - it's too bright white and hard to recognize as a tooth. 

I think the fist impact on the big guy is on the wrong side of his face.  The fist is coming in on his left to right side, and his head is being knocked back towards his right, so the impact should be on his left cheek.

Great posing by the way.  Love the way he's grabbing the kid's T-shirt.  Fun scene!

dracorn

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

Added what they are fighting outside the frame and have it firing back at them to add illumination.

I love this camera angle, Shinji!  It's very dramatic - you nailed it!  This is the best one you've done to date - seriously.

Are you looking for an 'ice man' expression on the big orc?  Some other expression suggestions: bring his right lip up into a lopsided snarl.  Lift the outer brow too.  Maybe a slight glow to his eye?

Love the slow motion bullet coming from his gun.  Lighting is great, too.  The only other suggestion is to clean up the grain.

Great job!

Shinji Ikari 9th

Added what they are fighting outside the frame and have it firing back at them to add illumination

dracorn said:

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

Added what they are fighting outside the frame and have it firing back at them to add illumination.

I love this camera angle, Shinji!  It's very dramatic - you nailed it!  This is the best one you've done to date - seriously.

Are you looking for an 'ice man' expression on the big orc?  Some other expression suggestions: bring his right lip up into a lopsided snarl.  Lift the outer brow too.  Maybe a slight glow to his eye?

Love the slow motion bullet coming from his gun.  Lighting is great, too.  The only other suggestion is to clean up the grain.

Great job!

Thanks for the compliment Dracorn, you really made me smile when I read it.

Let me tell you, when I scaled down the mussle flash on the big guy's gun it was a pain in the rear to recenter the dang thing as I shrunk it.  I'm glad to see that you loved the outcome.

Shinji Ikari 9th

Added what they are fighting outside the frame and have it firing back at them to add illumination

dracorn said:

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

Added what they are fighting outside the frame and have it firing back at them to add illumination.

I love this camera angle, Shinji!  It's very dramatic - you nailed it!  This is the best one you've done to date - seriously.

Are you looking for an 'ice man' expression on the big orc?  Some other expression suggestions: bring his right lip up into a lopsided snarl.  Lift the outer brow too.  Maybe a slight glow to his eye?

Love the slow motion bullet coming from his gun.  Lighting is great, too.  The only other suggestion is to clean up the grain.

Great job!

Thanks for the compliment Dracorn, you really made me smile when I read it.

Let me tell you, when I scaled down the mussle flash on the big guy's gun it was a pain in the rear to recenter the dang thing as I shrunk it.  I'm glad to see that you loved the outcome.

harrykim

Kismet2012 said:

Noswen said:

Added what they are fighting outside the frame and have it firing back at them to add illumination.

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

dracorn said:

I love this camera angle, Shinji!  It's very dramatic - you nailed it!  This is the best one you've done to date - seriously.

Are you looking for an 'ice man' expression on the big orc?  Some other expression suggestions: bring his right lip up into a lopsided snarl.  Lift the outer brow too.  Maybe a slight glow to his eye?

Love the slow motion bullet coming from his gun.  Lighting is great, too.  The only other suggestion is to clean up the grain.

Great job!

Thanks for the compliment Dracorn, you really made me smile when I read it.

Let me tell you, when I scaled down the mussle flash on the big guy's gun it was a pain in the rear to recenter the dang thing as I shrunk it.  I'm glad to see that you loved the outcome.

I agree completely with dracorn !

 

harrykim

dracorn said:

harrykim said:

I think it is better to change the dimensions. It is still a rough rendered version posted.

So this is my new concept

 

This close up is much better.  I also like that top down view you showed earlier.  I think if you rotate the camera up slightly to get a hybrid between this and the top down view would nail down the angle.

Lighting - bring it down just a tad, the scene is slightly overexposed.  See if you can darken the texture on the tooth a little - it's too bright white and hard to recognize as a tooth. 

I think the fist impact on the big guy is on the wrong side of his face.  The fist is coming in on his left to right side, and his head is being knocked back towards his right, so the impact should be on his left cheek.

Great posing by the way.  Love the way he's grabbing the kid's T-shirt.  Fun scene!

thank you for your comment. There is still a bit to do ;)

The impact I changed from one side to the other and am still not shure. Best way I will center it

 

harrykim

Kismet2012 said:

harrykim said:

I like the closer crop.  It makes the action betwen the 2 figures more prominent.  The change in the bus confuses me a bit though.  It looks like it is crossing lanes?  It is a bit of a distraction for me at the moment.

Thank you Kismet. You are completely right regarding the bus. So far I thinkt I have to solve it with gimp, since the prop has no curves.

 

daybird

Ok, the new shader looks much better. Now you should try to blur the Balls and give them an appearance ( cant find the right word) of up and down movement.

Noswen

Thanks for the tip daybird, I had no idea motion blur was even doable.

Looking through the options, and some googling, I can only seem to manage to do this with animation and setting the render engine to 3Delight, not sure if I'm just not seeing the option for doing this with iray rendering.

Switching to 3Delight also required the addition of a distant light as I'd just been using the default light that iray was using previously, though oddly without it the juggler's fingernails seem to glow.

sueya

This is my image for this contest. I welcome your feedback.

Shinji Ikari 9th

Noswen said:

Thanks for the tip daybird, I had no idea motion blur was even doable.

Looking through the options, and some googling, I can only seem to manage to do this with animation and setting the render engine to 3Delight, not sure if I'm just not seeing the option for doing this with iray rendering.

Switching to 3Delight also required the addition of a distant light as I'd just been using the default light that iray was using previously, though oddly without it the juggler's fingernails seem to glow.

There's a script available in the store that will let you do motion blur with iray. I'm posting on my cell phone, otherwise I would provide a link for it. Edit-looking good so far.