Carrara Challenge #34 - Sing to Me, Muse - WIP Thread

Diomede · July 2017

Thanks, Phil. I'm sure I've had it come up before, but I just don't remember. I'd like to add some clutter around the base of the tree, insert the figures on the landscape, and move on to post.

WendyLuvsCatz · July 2017

WIP video

Headwax · July 2017

Diomede said:

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!

Mike Moir (MMoir) is sponsoring this 34th Carrara Challenge

In addition to the Daz sponsored items, an image or animation will be selected to receive an item from Mmoir's Daz products.

https://www.daz3d.com/mmoir

Mike Moir is a long time Daz PA and a leading member of the Carrara community. Mike Moir started in 3d around 1995 with Raydream Studio 5. He was doing Architectural Illustrations by hand at that time and decided to make the switch to working on the computer. The options he looked at were Bryce and Raydream Studio and he chose Raydream Studio because it seemed more full featured. Of course, Raydream Studio became Carrara and he has used Carrara ever since for his Architectural Renderings as well as for fun. He enjoyed entering Cgtalk challenges in the past and found those challenges to be great learning experiences, sadly they don't seem to have those challenges any longer. He dosn't remember exactly when he became a Daz PA but it has been a while. Right now he is more interested in animating than modeling but still enjoys working in 3d.

His products include landscapes, models, and training videos. Here is a selection of some of his products.

Here are some sample renders that I did with mystic gorge, BMF winter, and the bedroom.

great news! I have most of his work and highly recommend it!

Headwax · July 2017

Diomede said:

Gamma 2.2 question. How do you align the lighting if you insert a render in the background and then use lighting gamma 2.2? The background gets washed out. I tried to put an updated version of the previous render in the backdrop with a small terrain and foreground tree. Here are two renders, one with gama correction 2.2 and one without. I like the foreground tree and terrain with gamma 2.2 but not the render in the backdrop. I'm sure it is covered in one of PhilW's videos but I don't remember. Could always try to address in a composite, but I suspect there is a simpler way.

Here is gamma 2.2 and I like the tree and foreground but backdrop is washed out.

.

Here no gamma 2.2, backdrop render looks fine but the foreground tree and terrain are too dark and no detail.

.

Could try to composite

yes render with and without gamma - or even with and without background would be better :)

Headwax · July 2017

th3Digit said:

I scrapped the HW3D cat in preference to both MilCats

mix of Lynes and Daz textures layered in Gimp on Lynx

360 of my bedroom in BG

first 3 Carrara renders last Octane4Carrara

looks superb = great idea to mix those textures

Stezza · July 2017

I have several of MMoirs products... as we all do ( should )

Nice to see your cats Wendy....

more ideas are coming to me than I can handle.... great topic diomede

and looks like ideas are a plenty with everyone...

The main problem I'm having recently are crashes.... not sure if it's nVidia's latest drivers or Windows 10 updates or just time for a cleanup and reinstall.

This latest render went fine then when I went to save the car file boom!

Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft

Headwax · July 2017

nice work Stezza, love how you combined the geometry on those aliens , oh I just realised that's Karen Carpenter....

bad you are getting those crashes.... is it the beta ?

Stezza · July 2017

Thanks HW, nope.. it"s not the beta..

The figures are from VanishingPoint, a new release... I seem to be getting stuff more from other sites now as they tend to work in Carrara better than stuff from Daz

Not sure if Karen is related to Colin...

Stezza · July 2017

The Muse

Sometimes the Muses are referred to as water nymphs, associated with the springs of Helicon and with Pieris.

It was said that the winged horse Pegasus touched his hooves to the ground on Helicon, causing four sacred springs to burst forth, from which the muses were born.

The Rabbit of the South is here to help Pegasus and the Muse from the dangers that are around..

Headwax · July 2017

Nice water! I think you need a few more Nymphs = I have a Pan lying around with nothing top do...

Here's a start on mine - "Ship Of Fools" detail. The old oil is part of a Bosch work that I am misappropriating.

The nun;s and priests robes and three of the hats/scarves were draped in VWD - much better than wrinkle free

Post work in Waterlogue and by hand to fix it up - waterlogue is pretty lousy for faces.

Image result for bosch ship of fools

Stezza · July 2017

the other 8 haven't popped up yet..... sneaky things

your utube vid doesn't play in the forum...

great image... love it

WendyLuvsCatz · July 2017

wow some awesome stuffs here

Vyusur · July 2017

Andrew, you are a true artist. The guy in the white scarf is very similar to the Dean of the department of the University which I graduated from, and curator of my thesis.

UnifiedBrain · July 2017

th3Digit said:

wow some awesome stuffs here

Yes, and some excellent hosting going on as well.

Headwax · July 2017

thanks :) Stezza, I will sing it for you doo dood to dooo

We're setting sail to the place on the map
from which no one has ever returned
Drawn by the promise of the joker and the fool
by the light of the crosses that burned.
Drawn by the promise of the women and the lace
and the gold and the cotton and pearls
It's the place where they keep all the darkness you need.
You sail away from the light of the world on this trip, baby.
You will pay tomorrow
You're gonna pay tomorrow
You will pay tomorrow

etc.

Thanks Vyusur !! Yes, it is actually an Ugly Nun :) (it is V4 with a male morph added )

I'm still working on the whole composition but it is c oming together ( I hope)

Wendy et Unified Brain - you can say that again :)

Diomede · July 2017

Wow, Headwax, I am just stunned. Beautiful painterly look.

Stezza, the alien contact render is fantastic. Did you use caustics? And if so, how long did it take to render? And really like the Rabbit of the South helping out the muses - nice connection to Pegasus and the cassical origins.

Well, promised myself that I would try an animation. Results are not so good. But, I can have the renders going in the background while I'm working on my writing project. Here is my first attempt to record a cyclopstritch in motion. Click to be horrified. By August, the cyclopstritch cavalry will ride to the rescue. Maybe.

Diomede · July 2017

One inspiration for the cyclopstritch was Ralph Bakshi.

.

Headwax · July 2017

heh thanks Diomede - love the silly walk.

maybe it needs more flesh wobble - sparrowhawke has a jiggle modifier?

"Wizards' eh? I admit to seeing that twice at the Uni cinema when it first came out ..

wgdjohn · July 2017

I'm not horrified... it a start but need more movement in other areas... check this out to give you a few ideas.

Crazy John wanders off shaking head and mumbling... there is too much fantastic competition here. All the while he knows he'll be getting started on his project hopefully soon.

Headwax · July 2017

pretty sad being in a zoo , looking forward to seeing your work!

wgdjohn · July 2017

Been a bit busy getting Animation in Carrara - Let's Animate - Q&A - Come One & All started with a few tutorials and goofy, not that great, anim examples. I think it's about to the point where I won't have to make additions everyday.

Regarding my project I'm wanting to create vertex trees for my little forest... they will have non-realistic roots. I'm wondering if I should start with a cube, shape it into a somewhat cylindrical design the extrude the roots off of it... just got another idea... start with a grid for a template and do much the same with dynamic extrusion. Hmm... gottta get something started tonight even if it gets trashed for another method.

Headwax · July 2017

the vertex modeller5 has a little used tool called organic (make organic?)

to use you draw the shape of your eg rock out with one of those curvy line tools polyline that automatically add verticies

then hit enter (?) to seal the shape

then fill polygon

then use the organic command to buid it up in 3d

it would work for trees

make a few then add them together with a boolean

theb

use the same method to make a branch - then replicate leaves on branches then replicate the resuting leafy branch on the tree via it;s shaders

Complex models can be created very simply by using flat polygons and applying Organic functions to them.

To create organic models:

Create a closed polyline using the polyline tool and select it.

In the Construct menu, choose the Organic item.

Stezza · July 2017

Diomede said:

Stezza, the alien contact render is fantastic. Did you use caustics? And if so, how long did it take to render? And really like the Rabbit of the South helping out the muses - nice connection to Pegasus and the cassical origins.

Thanks diomede..

no caustics, just the models texture map in reflection & upped highlight, lowered shine and used a background HDRI

It took 4mins 4 secs to render of that about one & half minutes to render the glass alone.

wgdjohn · July 2017

Thanks, You've also reminded me that I need to get back to my rock design. 3DAGE and others showed how to use and where to find organic tool in my Modeling thread... gosh I should have an index to find such things quickly... can't worry about that today though. Ohhh... goodness I'd not even considered leaves... even some trees in winter will have a few leaves on them. Glad you brought up leaves, I've never made any in 3D, but perhaps I could start with a string of flat polys and extrude off the sides to get a template which could be given a teeny teeny tiny amount of thickness... probably wouldn't even need the thickness.

The entire scene should see the world perhaps as a 3D modeler or program might... alien and resembling cubes etc. I haven't been able to get the last render FifthElement did that I voted for, a greyscale render with the Robot on a bike in the alien woods with antlike bugs on trees. I'm holding myself back from looking at it again until I come up with something very different.

Ooooh... I love a Challenge since I always learn something.

wgdjohn · July 2017

Diomede said:

Hear ye! Hear, Ye!
[edit cut]
** Best Carrara Animation ** : $45 towards DAZ 3D owned item(s) -- (this replaces Best Demonstration of Theme just for this month because of unique self-selected muses)

It would be great to have an anim catagory each month or perhaps even every other month or so... just my opinion.

I do have a question though... If I were to create an anmimation could I also use one of it's frames as a 2nd entry or would I need to change it in some way or even have the 2nd entry be something entirely different.

Vyusur · July 2017

head wax said:

the vertex modeller5 has a little used tool called organic (make organic?)

to use you draw the shape of your eg rock out with one of those curvy line tools polyline that automatically add verticies

then hit enter (?) to seal the shape

then fill polygon

then use the organic command to buid it up in 3d

it would work for trees

make a few then add them together with a boolean

theb

use the same method to make a branch - then replicate leaves on branches then replicate the resuting leafy branch on the tree via it;s shaders

Complex models can be created very simply by using flat polygons and applying Organic functions to them.

To create organic models:

Create a closed polyline using the polyline tool and select it.

In the Construct menu, choose the Organic item.