Novica & Serene Night's Renders, Tips, Tutorials & Product Reviews Part 1
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This keeps the pink so you can see what this spotlight does (it holds it own) These are BOTh SPOT RENDERS. The first is just the light we are working on, the second has all the other lights turned on.
The second one by itself is a blowup of the spot render. I LOVE that teeny section on the left arm (as you view it.) Nice glow. Forest dappled nuance (once we turn it the right color.) NO color enhancement. Remember this is at a high intensity- 101.7%.
Now keep these pink areas in mind (hot pink) because I'm switching to a peach for the next post- see if you can still spot where the impacted areas are.
Here's your peach settings. It's been rendering for awhile now. (spot) Kept the intensity the same. Other lights are impacting that chest area, which are way too bright- but remember, the purpose is for you to know what THIS light does. We'll turn it down in a bit.
OOOOOH, you're gonna like peach! Subtle! The spot render is now done.
This deserves it's own post, that's for sure.
TIP: You Guess!
I turned OFF a light in one of these. See if you can tell where there is MORE light and color. THE FIRST SET (the two pictures next to each other, first row) HAS BEEN INTENSIFIED.
The second set (the next row) is just rendered. This is still with the peach at 101.7% intensity. Again, not worried about the chest being too bright. So in the first set of two, which has a light turned off? (seeing it intensified may help, that's why I want you to use the first set.) Will tell you the tip in the next post. BE SURE TO CLICK TO ENLARGE, will really help.
TIP: Adding Lights May Cancel Out Other Lights!
If you guessed the one with MORE color had lights actually turned off- you'd be right! The second one in the first set had a light turned off. And surprise, surprise- if you look closely:
1. the left side of her face (as you view it) has MORE of a glow, and a faint glowing outline compared to the somewhat flatter color of the image on the left.
2. the bridge of her nose has more of a glow, not less!
3. click to enlarge, look at the eye on the right (as you view it.) By the corner, you have a cute glowing comma of light IN THE ONE I SHUT OFF THE LIGHT! (image on right) Under that eye also glows (the hair hasn't been smoothed / collided yet)
4. The helmet piece on her cheek definitely is duller, has lost light, and the helmet too.
5. The glow on both arms, however, has INCREASED with that other light gone. The purple is obvious. The other light was cancelling that purple out!
6. Under her left arm (as you look at it) and down that side, it has MORE color, not less- it's purple. The hand on the left (as viewed) has more glow, would have to adjust that skin tone! (and the face has more color too.)
7. The green dragon definitely has more of a shadow at the end of his nose and is dimmer overall.
The list goes on- there are SOME things which lost a bit of light, but many areas INCREASED and got color. I'll leave you to find all the changes. (This is like the old Highlights for Children where you have to find all the hidden things in the drawings.)
So if you are adding lights and think you are adding light to the scene, you may be canceling light OUT! Turn them off and in in pairs, and in sets, and see what is changing. You may be able to eliminate some lights and speed up your render time!
Here's the images again (intensified)- the one on the right has a light turned OFF.
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/19756/P120/#301506 the very first image, has JUST THIS SPOTLIGHT AND AT THESE SETTINGS. It's the first image on this page (page 9) at least for me anyway. Maybe safer just to use the link.
In summary for this Spotlight, SpotChestFaceThi if you want to have it the same as mine in case we start mixing lights-
T: (translation-X/Y/Z) 226.58 / 304.35 / 217.47
R: (rotation- X/Y/Z) -54.45 / 31.20 / -16.35
in Shadows (still in Parameters) the bias is 1.0 and the shadow softess is 40.7% for these images. Shadow type raytraced.
The hot pink I am using is 255 /0 / 128 and intensity 101.7%.
You now know the light pattern of different angles too. I'm leaving this at 7.50
(FYI, if you increase it, the ground plane starts lighting up, including some of the background.)
The color is peach 255 / 205 / 205
So there you have a spotlight for figures located at the positions I gave you. If your items are in this vicinity, you can quickly type in these coordinates and see what you get :) If you didn't get the positions before, here they are-
T is translation and these are all X / Y / Z, the R is Rotation and again, X / Y / Z coordinates.
Genesis (Kaetl): Use these coordinates for objects as high as a kneeling person, if you want somewhat similar light effects)
T: 26.74 / 35.46 / -60.28
R: 17.38 / 9.72 / -11.56
Green Dragon: Use these coordinates for an item on right, as viewing it- about to middle of thigh of a 5’6” - 5’8” person
T: -1.47 / -7.80 / 0
R: 2.46 / -2.65 / 1.48
Purple Dragon: Same as above, only your object will be on your left.
T: 19.39 /-23.67 / 41.71
R: 2.97 / 118.01 / -3.27
SpotLftBtmDrag
Really busy today but for those of you doing a setup, here's another one to play with. This brings in light from the left (as viewed) and we'll be playing with this one. Again, plop some figures or objects at the coordinates I provided to see the effects I'm getting. Even if you don't, you'll have good starting coordinates for a far left spotlight. So try these coordinates on something and see how they do for you. :)
Remember though, when or if I start mixing lights, if yours aren't named the same thing, you'll be lost.
T: -250.79 / 226.12 / 20.97
R: 95.04 / -68.76 / -132.63
Scale 88.3%
Scale (X/Y/Z) 50.1 / 16.7 / 16.1
Color bluish gray- 223 / 216 / 255
Starting intensity (from Render 1, Babies First Bug) was 47.1
Starting Angle was 15.15
Shadow Softness was 39.3 and the Bias 1.49 (still learning about these though. I just experimented)
The Shadow was Raytraced.
I've intensified the images so you can see where this spotlight hits. It was a very key player in the first render. You might want to increase the Shadow Softness but I varied mine to get different dapples on the ground, and this one covered the ~40% range.
Want to show you how versatile this spotlight is. Let's Y translate (move it up) and intensify greatly so you can see it. LOOK HOW IT MAKES A GLOW DOWN THE GREEN DINOSAURS BACK, all the way to the tail. This is what other folks doing lights have suggested in tutorials- you put a spotlight behind your object to give it an outline and make it "pop out." BUT let's see what it does when spot rendered.
Hmmm, glow down back all but disappeared. Bummer. But heads up for brand new newbies- your spot renders don't always match your final renders.
I love how the purple dragon's wing is dark and stands out.
So anyway, happy playing with this one, I'll go turn on one or two of the other lights we've done and spot render for you. I'm turning down the intensity and seeing if I need to increase shadow softness- will probably just go back to original settings on those.
Am spot rendering these last two spotlights together for you- SpotFaceChestThi and SpotLftBtmDrag (at the original intensity of 47.1, but at the new location of Y translation 260.54) The intensity of 47.1 gets that arm band where it should be- it was glowing too brightly and distracting. Although we have lost that glimmer down the back toward the tail, it wasn't worth brightening that to have a glaring piece of arm armor. Another light might catch that, if not, it's easily created.
EDIT- Did you notice that sliver of light down the green dragon's wing near Kaetl's thigh? Love that.
TIP: Add A Low Point Light To Fill In Details
Adding the Point Light 1 that we already did, so you'll have this plus the other two mentioned in the previous post. The Point Light is in the opposite direction from the spotlight we just did, it would be in the bottom right in your viewport.
The subtle difference is going to be additional light on the green dragon's body, the glow on the right side areas (as viewing) of Kaetl. I will post a side by side in a minute, of just the two lights vs with the Point Light added. The FIRST ONE is with the Point Light added.
THESE HAVE BEEN INTENSIFIED. Are spot renders.
So with these three lights, this is what you'd get- toned down of course. I really intensified it so you could see it.
EDIT- look at the difference in the bend of the green dragon's foot. Can't see it without the Point Light! AND THAT ARM!!!! And the glow on the purple dragon's nose, and....and...
You need this Point Light! It's your "low" light.
EDIT: Did you notice that ADDING the Point Light darkened Kaetl's face? (From earlier tip- don't assume adding light will lighten everything.)
Someone PM'd and asked if I could show where that point light and spotlight on the left is (as viewing) Sure! Here you go.
I am also going to add the other light we've done- the SpotlightHairTop. But first, here's what you'd be seeing if you have the Point Light and that Spot Light. THIS HAS BEEN INTENSIFIED.
So what's it look like with that Spotlight from the top of the hair? As you recall, it lights up so much more. These are NOT rendered, again- but INTENSIFIED. See if you can "spot" (couldn't resist) what has changed now that you have all four lights that we have covered so far. Will do a render for you in a minute.
The one on the right has the hair spotlight added.
All four lights (including the hair Spotlight. Remember, the one we adjusted the angle up to four times?) with it intensified so you can see it, and not intensified. Both are spot renders.
TIP: Lights To Counter Lights
If you like a light setup but find that you only want bits and pieces of its effects, you can use another light to counter balance what you don't want. If these were the only lights I was using, but hated that bright glare on the helmet piece, I'd use a targeted spotlight to dim that piece.
EDIT- and the glare of that Point Light on the ground plane. Nice white glare there!
TIP: Create A Variety Of Shadows And Layer Them
Look at the green dragon's neck and body. By using a variety of shadows- some stronger than others- you create more depth. The viewer subconsciously registers that there is a variety of light sources, that things from above and the side are all impacting the scene in different ways. If you have all your shadows the same, BORING. And the shadows criss cross that are of different intensity.
http://youtu.be/QYdKu3VRxoE
Here's the first four lights we just discussed (3 Spotlights, 1 Point Light) being turned off and on so you can see them in action. Coordinates also given. As a newbie, I would have loved to have this when I first started so I could jump in and play. That doesn't mean you shouldn't learn about cameras and lights, but playing around with the lights would have kept my frustration down a bit while learning about cameras. I wanted to see what lights could DO. That's just me though. But in case it's you too...
Enjoy :)
Cathie
POSER VS DAZ: INFO ON DYNAMIC CLOTHING
Chohole clarified this for someone, thought it would be good to share.
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http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/20673/#303605
And the link to the free stuff by Optitex (Martin.) Thank you Martin!
http://www.optitex-dynamiccloth.com/FreebieDownload01.php
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http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/14171/P60/#247928
Read up from my Kudie Bugs thread about dynamic clothing and its background (If you haven't surfed that thread, it's interesting. We had some cool discussions going. We discussed different tablets, people post their experiences with products, stuff they really want (hence the Kudie Bugs title- and yes, I got them.)
INFO: Motion Blur
Kaputcha was nice enough to provide a line to a tutorial, and Arkathan gave some tips. Here's the thread. :)
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http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/20136/
and the tutorial link.
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http://sedorrr.deviantart.com/art/Motion-Blur-And-DAZ-Studio-4-5-358199754
INFO: Saving Only Facial Expression: By HeraldOfFire
Want to just keep the facial expression and not the entire pose? Here you go.
File -> Save As -> Pose Preset. Select a filename and then ensure you only select the face when the dialog box shows up. This will ensure that only the expression is saved rather than the figure’s entire body pose.
INFO: Genesis, Morphs, Good & Free Products. Genesis With Generations
Nice information from: Wancow, Kattey, cecilia.robinson, Murgatroyd, Chohole
If you're not following this thread, you might take a peek. Explains the morphs, Genesis, skin textures, etc for different Generations.
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http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/20778/
INFO: What You Might Not Know About Spotlights- A MUST READ!
Well, this was a surprise! Thanks to Scott-Livingston for educating a lot of us! Do you know how many lights can be spot rendered?
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http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/20792/
INFO: Do You Know What DSON Really Is And Does?
While I'm waiting on spot renders (lighting, SIGH) I'm surfing for interesting tidbits for you. Thanks to Sickle Yield, here's what you need to know about DSON. :)
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http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/20445/P90/#305386
Well, to clarify, there isn't a limit* to how many lights will show up in a render (or a spot render), but there is a limit to how many lights will show up in the viewport.
Since you do a lot of spot rendering you might be interested to know that there's a new beta release of DAZ Studio, and one of the added features is the ability to spot render to a new window. Info here: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/20688/
*at least not that I'm aware of!
Ooops, I had read that! I remember thinking how it didn't affect me at all because I spot render, make a tiny change, spot render (small sections) over and over again. I'm really curious as to how many spotlights folks use on average in a scene, although there probably isn't an "average" depending on if its a daylight scene, woods at night scene like what I'm working on, etc. It took 3 spotlights just to get the banded colors on the dragonfly's wings.
Thanks for clarifying!
This is important!!!! If you are placing orders today (Friday, April 19th, around 3pm Central time) Paypal is messing up- please read or you may double order!
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/20855/
Hey Scott-L, I forgot to mention- Yes, I already have that version with the separate window for spot rendering :) I haven't a CLUE what all those other improvements do though. Just muddlin' along.
Okay, on to what I'm working on-
Not sure if this will show up well for you, but am still working on "What Was That?" (Scene 2, sequel to "Babies First Bug")
For newbies, a quick review of tutorials/videos you may have seen. You experienced users, feel free to jump in. I am just doing basics/ the way I'm tackling it at the moment. Remember, this is only my second render and I have zero previous experience. But I spend a couple weeks (five weeks on render 1) trying to learn and experiment. So if you see I'm doing something wrong or a way to do it better, jump in, would love it. I may or may not take your advice but it's always good for others to experiment with every way possible!
TIPS: LIGHTING AND SKIN TONES
1. I start out with the entire body's surface settings the same. This means the face, arms, neck, etc all have the same skin tone, if I am using Lighting Model-plastic or skin settings, it's all the same.
2. I get my lights where I want them, for the skin areas all lights I'm using a light blue/gray at first since it's moonlight. For daylight, will go more a light peach or gold/peach mixture.
3. I get the lights at the intensity I want them, but if they are hitting multiple areas and one has too much "oomph" (aka, intensity) then I have to adjust the surface to tone it down. (I tweak diffuse, then ambient and usually that does it.)
4. I then use the color of the light to fine tune, but remember that affects all the objects it's hitting, so try and use the SURFACES of that ONE object first.
Here's the face with gold lights, peach, blue. Testing the intensity with different colors- taking both down and still working on it. Just did a full render and yuck- face still too bright.
The render looks much brighter than the spot render (which can happen. The spot is only a guide, not a certainty.) So instead of a lighter blue for diffuse, it went darker, and the ambient is going more a mauve. I can always then tweak the light with a light blue if the mauve gets too drab. Here's the first render though, you'll see what I mean about BRIGHT. Will have to adjust the helmet too. (I"ve got THAT down pat. You will see when I do the full render for you, the chest plate rocks. No glare, just highlights. Took me days to get that the way I wanted it, but I have those settings as a starting point.)
Working on it, this is the mauve and the slightly darker diffuse blue.
Upped the shadow softness, darkened the helmet surface area for that flap (took six times of spot rendering) and adjusted the face surface diffuse and ambient again. The shadow softness on that light went from a 20 to 50 to up to 80, will see if it dulls the helmet details too much from a distance. Some weird lines in it too.
Have to take some of the red out. Still working on it, headed out to the barn (going to be "real feel" in the 30's here in Pensacola, unreal- was 85 a couple days ago, 75 yesterday and today. Going to blanket Nova. Back later tonight. :)
Also note in the two side by side facial images, how the shadow softness took out SO much detail from the hair strands. Keep that in mind when you are softening!
WIP. (Work In Progress.) Going to experiment with the face lighting and color, etc.