July, 2019 - Daz 3D New User Challenge - Portrait Rendering

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  • richardandtracyrichardandtracy Posts: 5,733
    edited July 2019

    That is really quite something. Can I ask if there was much post-work, or was it all in DS? The focus on the far side of the figure's hair looks as if it could be either. Really impressive.

    Regards,

    Richard.

    Post edited by richardandtracy on
  • GalaxyGalaxy Posts: 562

    Update: Tried to follow Coryllondragoneyes002

    With a zombie and without zombie

    I forgot to change boots for the zombie scene

    ariochsnowpaw

    Trying to play with shadow (tried settings and increased value is 200, I need to learn) and camera (depth of field enabled but still not getting blurred background, I will probably try again).

    correction 2.png
    1080 x 1440 - 2M
    Ready to action update.png
    1080 x 1440 - 2M
  • NabouNabou Posts: 15
    edited July 2019

    Hello Folks , this are not my entrys but maybe an Inspiration for new User. Both are old Render in 2012 with DS3A. Try to play with Light it will some changes dramatical. PS: both are untouched Render, with no Postwork!

    Simple Portrait by Avanysa-full view-2012-ds3a.jpg
    900 x 900 - 64K
    Portait-create in DS3A and rendered via Reality in Lux-Render-2012.jpg
    840 x 743 - 161K
    Post edited by Nabou on
  • If you were asking about the render that I did, most of it was done in DS with some depth of field and some softening was done in Photoshop. 

  • CoryllonCoryllon Posts: 284

    @Galaxy that's better I like. you could also use smaller boulders and more of them in various places so it doesn't look like a jsut a line of random boulders... or even stack MANY to look like an old stone wall.  once again though, LOVE the character and the pose!

  • I forgot to mention my computer does not do well rendering complex scenes so I usually have to do backgrounds and such in Photoshop.

  • @vpaintersue - Just breathtaking!

  • GalaxyGalaxy Posts: 562

    Galaxy,

    Interesting pose, looks like a nice action pose. I have a couple of comments where the usefulness is debatable, just take them as you will.

    The lighting of the forest and figure are fairly similar, but not quite close enough to look as if part of the same scene. Would going to the IRay renderer cure this? I don't know, but it might. I agree about the idea of having cover nearby, though a back story of stalking an enemy also works.

    On the dagger, you have a hybrid dagger/sword hold. It's a heavy bladed dagger, so you would expect the hilt to be parallel with the knuckles. The way it's being held is similar to the way a light bladed poignard for stabbing would be (like you hold a fencing foil). If that's what you want, the thumb needs to be more along the line of the hilt, and a lighter, longer, bladed dagger would be a little more in keeping with the grip. The light blade is more in keeping with a woman holding the knife, where skill rather than brute strength is needed.

    Like it though.

    Regards,

    Richard.

    My machine is setup for 2d graphics. Last year I tried Blender and due to complexity of that software I gave up within few days. Also the PC shopkeeper told me more ram is waste. I tried to convince him I am going to use it for 3d then he showd me by playing a heavy 3d game that more ram is waste. Also almost all over the internet people are talk about more ram is waste and I end up with a low ram machine.

    This year I started using DAZ (Though I found it years ago but necessary morphs, contents were out of my budget also at that time I was not familier with time to time special sale of DAZstore also at that time I was busy purchasing 2d contents)  and probably in future most of my work will be 3d.

    Would going to the IRay renderer cure this?

    No, because if I try Iray render it will choke entire system ram, even sometimes DAZ hangs and exit due to low ram. I will build a new machine within few months which will contain at least 32GB RAM and then I will try Iray with heavy scene and light. Even then I will use Iray for the project that require realistic render due to huge time it require.

    hilt to be parallel with the knuckles

    The updated version is almost parallel.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252

    wow cant believe this month is almost half over already, so here is the start for my entry this month, A "mother/Daughter" pic of my characters Delicate Delussions(frame left), and her daughter, Delema. no post work.

    there are some changes that I can make, but I welcome suggestions,advise, comments and crits.

    Title: Meet my "little" Delema

    I love the attitude in the body language of both characters.  Especially the daughter's.  She really has that cocky attitued that most teenagers seem to develop when they hit puberty.

    Part of the challenge here is cropping/framing the image to highlight both figures.  I find their heads are a little too close to the top of the image.  Perhaps load a new camera ( so you do not lose this framing ), lower it's height and go with a slightly more upward angle.  I sometimes find interesting angles just looking through the perspective when setting up a scene.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    Galaxy said:

    Update: Tried to follow Coryllondragoneyes002

    With a zombie and without zombie

    I forgot to change boots for the zombie scene

    ariochsnowpaw

    Trying to play with shadow (tried settings and increased value is 200, I need to learn) and camera (depth of field enabled but still not getting blurred background, I will probably try again).

    Is the background on a plane or added through the Environment?  If it is added through the environment tab I am not sure DOF will work unless the background image itself is blurred.

    Is her knee intersecting with the ground or is it just the camera angle?

     

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252

    The first challenge I entered here was 'Raining Men'

    We have so many amazing female shapes and skins and so few male one's with character I really wanted to do a male as well.  So, second entry...

    Weary

     

     

    Such an interesting face. 

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252

    looking at the stars.   

    You have such a wonderul soft light on her and a great expression.

  • vpaintersuevpaintersue Posts: 63
    edited July 2019

    Thank you so much, ariochsnowpaw and Kismet2012 for your kind comments.    ariochsnowpaw I love your  portrait and the realism you achieved.  

    Post edited by vpaintersue on
  • @chaynawolfsmoon -  The first image is really good.  Normally you would pose the figure looking into the empty space but rules are made to be broken and I think your positioning makes it strong.  The lighting is severe but so is the expression so I think it works as is although I’m very fond of mesh lighting so I can put just a little fuzziness on the shadows.  The second image has much richer use of lighting.  Highlights in eyes could be stronger so try upping the cornea.  It’s a great Rembrandt lighting.  The triangle on her cheeks is perfect so don’t mess with lighting position at all.

    Thank you for you kind words. Yup, I'm a rule breaker when it comes to negative space though sometimes I like to remind myself of the rules because breaking habits can lead to amazing discoveries. I'm still new to this but I definitely want to fuzz up my shadows to see how that looks. Thank you for the advice on the cornea. I kept trying to get a bigger catch but what I was doing was tumbling things out of control.

    Alternate takes below.

    A010.png
    1920 x 1080 - 4M
    A011.png
    1920 x 1080 - 4M
  • I was checking on my render and I kind of liked how it looked at the moment so I grabbed a screen shot. Forehead and left side of the face are blown out but I kind of like it.

    I kind of think I need to comp in some cigarette smoke.

     

    PS: Where's the best place to share renders?

    Nice High Key lighting.  Maybe adjust the camera angle slightly down so her chin is not being cut off by the edge of the image.

    You have 2 options I can think of for sharing your images.  If you haven't done so already you can start your own thread in the Art Studio where you can post your images.  There may also be threads in the Art Studio where you are allowed to contributre your images.

    The 2nd option is the User Gallery.

     

    Thank you. I agree about the framing. See above post for alternate takes/renders. There are things I like in each but I'm not 100% sold on either. 

    I'll check out the other info.

  • GalaxyGalaxy Posts: 562

    Submission specially for feedback and learning purpose.

    This time Iray. 9 min and 9% render. No postwork. I messed up the hair.

     

    test 2 Iray 9min 90 iteration.png
    640 x 480 - 720K
  • @chaynawolfsmoon - I'm always surprised at how such small changes in lighting and camera position can completely change the character of a portrait.  these have such incredibly different feels to them.  The high key image is myssterious, dangerous, assasin, Jane Bond.  Someone not to be trifled with.  The second image is rich and sensual, soft, warm, the eyes are deep pools that you can drown in.  The moment right before a kiss.  I fancy the high key lighting a bit more I think but maybe it's because I'd like to think I live on the edge (even though I really don't and would hate it there).

    @Galaxy - That's a really interesting expression for a girl lying in the middle of such beauty.  Her finger is cut off in the frame just below her breast and that really distracts me a bit.  Her breasts defy gravity a bit so you could try adjusting sliders on them to separate them a bit and flatten them (easy for me to say because I bought Zev0's Breast Control).  I'm curious about the whole dynamic of this...she is so dark by comparison to her surrounding.  Definitely emotionally evocative.  You might try picking out the highlights on her face a little to bring some contrast to her features but you'll really have to play a lot to figure out a good way to do that.  Tone mapping in the render settings might help but I haven't really tried them for that so may be leading you on a wild goose chase.

    @Kismet2012 -  Thank you.  My wife looked at it and said "So, you rendered Walter Mathau.  Why?"  *sigh*

  • GalaxyGalaxy Posts: 562
    edited July 2019
    @Kismet2012

    Is the background on a plane or added through the Environment?  If it is added through the environment tab I am not sure DOF will work unless the background image itself is blurred.

    Is her knee intersecting with the ground or is it just the camera angle?

     

    It is MPC (multiplane Cyclorama) props are added seperately. The scene comes with MPC.
    Post edited by Galaxy on
  • CarlCGCarlCG Posts: 114

    This is a custom-morphed character combining several models and using rarestone’s head morphs, and the shapeshifter morph package.

    (There's supposed to be 2 images, but only 1 will upload right now for some reason) I chose to go a bit non-traditional as far as “rules” for portraits go. So here’s some of the stuff I broke: Both my images are wider angled rather than a traditional portrait crop. I instead used the environment, architectural lines and light/shadow to frame the figure as best I could. In the second image, the body and outfit are very important to the overall image so I did not want it cropped off. There’s an assortment of lights in the lighting setup I put together but for the first image I intentionally used a very non-traditional approach for the key light… aiming from a lower angle pointed upwards normally will give an unnatural “creep” factor to a figure’s face, but I did it in a way that I intended for it to add interest to the look of the character and some edge to her overall look and expression.

    I also tested the images with DOF, and having the room’s background and cityscape blurred actually detracted from the overall feel of the portrait imo. Even though DOF often does, it really didn’t enhance the focus on the figure in this case. Wondering if there were any thoughts on this and if others see problems with how I went about composing these 2 portraits.

    Even though I can’t think of anything that hasn’t already been mentioned, I will try to keep up and offer whatever constructive criticism I can offer to others in this challenge. Thanks very much for any feedback.

    Alexa 012.jpg
    4800 x 3150 - 7M
  • chaynawolfsmoonchaynawolfsmoon Posts: 675
    edited July 2019

     

    @chaynawolfsmoon - I'm always surprised at how such small changes in lighting and camera position can completely change the character of a portrait.  these have such incredibly different feels to them.  The high key image is myssterious, dangerous, assasin, Jane Bond.  Someone not to be trifled with.  The second image is rich and sensual, soft, warm, the eyes are deep pools that you can drown in.  The moment right before a kiss.  I fancy the high key lighting a bit more I think but maybe it's because I'd like to think I live on the edge (even though I really don't and would hate it there).

    You get it. :)

    Post edited by chaynawolfsmoon on
  • punkypunky Posts: 25
    edited July 2019

    @testingtesterson35

    Since I somehow triggered you to enter the challenge, I feel I have to leave a comment on your image (first one, can’t see the 2nd) as well ;) Great portrait overall, I can just share some observations on mostly details:

    I really like the custom character morph and the colors in the image. Although you said, that you didn’t like the DOF, I still think at least a tiny blur on the buildings in the background could improve it. 

    Regarding the cropping, try to place the character in the left 3rd of the image (no need to break all rules at once ;) ). Maybe even reduce the height by cutting more from her chest, but leave some space for the bones. Overall it could be more calm if you cut away the orange light on the left (although by itself it looks beautiful and it adds to the colors, so up to you what you like better)

    The hair strands, especially on the right side, look very transparent. You could try doubling the hair and applying slightly different morphs to gain more volume (or maybe just increase the opacity)

    Her eyes look a bit flat, but eyes are always hard to get great. Did you dial in the cornea bulge? Do you have an Iris concave morph? Setting thinwalled off for cornea and eye moisture surfaces might help a bit, too, but increases rendertime.

    The sky seems a bit bright for the evening/nighttime setting, but color wise the blue fits beautiful. Not sure if I would change it, probably try darkening it a little.

    The light box in front of the window is floating above the floor.

    Tiny detail: The bottom part of her piercing goes directly in the lip, probably it should pierce the skin slightly below the lower lip.

    Post edited by punky on
  • Keeping with the bite lower lip theme found another pose which works and is more face on than the previous.

    kyla1m.jpg
    2373 x 3502 - 5M
  • CarlCGCarlCG Posts: 114

    @punky  Thanks so much for the detailed feedback, I see everything you've mentioned now that I somehow missed before. The lip ring and floating light definitely need adjustment. I'll look into the other stuff as well with the cornea/eye moisture and darkening the background. I'll also have to see how a re-crop and adjustment of her placement on to the thirds-line will look... and try a very light blur on the background instead of something strong. 

    I also just wanted to mention to anyone reading this, some great examples of excellent portrait renders can be found in Punky's gallery (linked at the bottom of their post). My all-time fave of Punky's (and one of my all time favorite wild 3D portraits period) is here:

    https://www.daz3d.com/gallery/#images/735936

  • ariochsnowpawariochsnowpaw Posts: 147
    edited July 2019

    @testingtesterson35 - I was starting to worry you'd be a no show. Punky totally beat me to everything. Cutout opacity (very light touch) would really help the wispies in the hair. If you put her in the left third and get the ceiling light in the upper right third it would potentially strengthen the composition. Unfortunately you have incredible lighting and if moving stuff breaks the lighting then you'll have to pick and choose. The lighting is very important for this so I would hesitate to do anything that damages it.

     

    @dragoneyes002 - I am so jealous of that lip bite. She is cutting through the cushion a bit so a dforce simulation or maybe try coming tighter in on her face. I like the first image a lot and think you should keep playing with it. This second render has a lot of potential as well.

    Post edited by ariochsnowpaw on
  • punkypunky Posts: 25

    Haha - thanks for advertising ;)

    Looking forward to see or read about your results. As I wrote, I’m not totally sure about how a slightly darker blue in the background would look like...

  • @punky - It's a unique and awesome image.  Deserves to get some 'retweets'

     

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252

    @chaynawolfsmoon - I'm always surprised at how such small changes in lighting and camera position can completely change the character of a portrait.  these have such incredibly different feels to them.  The high key image is myssterious, dangerous, assasin, Jane Bond.  Someone not to be trifled with.  The second image is rich and sensual, soft, warm, the eyes are deep pools that you can drown in.  The moment right before a kiss.  I fancy the high key lighting a bit more I think but maybe it's because I'd like to think I live on the edge (even though I really don't and would hate it there).

    @Galaxy - That's a really interesting expression for a girl lying in the middle of such beauty.  Her finger is cut off in the frame just below her breast and that really distracts me a bit.  Her breasts defy gravity a bit so you could try adjusting sliders on them to separate them a bit and flatten them (easy for me to say because I bought Zev0's Breast Control).  I'm curious about the whole dynamic of this...she is so dark by comparison to her surrounding.  Definitely emotionally evocative.  You might try picking out the highlights on her face a little to bring some contrast to her features but you'll really have to play a lot to figure out a good way to do that.  Tone mapping in the render settings might help but I haven't really tried them for that so may be leading you on a wild goose chase.

    @Kismet2012 -  Thank you.  My wife looked at it and said "So, you rendered Walter Mathau.  Why?"  *sigh*

    He is an excellent likeness of Walter Mathau.  wink

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    Galaxy said:
    @Kismet2012

    Is the background on a plane or added through the Environment?  If it is added through the environment tab I am not sure DOF will work unless the background image itself is blurred.

    Is her knee intersecting with the ground or is it just the camera angle?

     

     

    It is MPC (multiplane Cyclorama) props are added seperately. The scene comes with MPC.


    I do not think I have MPC but I will check when I get on my rendering computer.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252

    This is a custom-morphed character combining several models and using rarestone’s head morphs, and the shapeshifter morph package.

    (There's supposed to be 2 images, but only 1 will upload right now for some reason) I chose to go a bit non-traditional as far as “rules” for portraits go. So here’s some of the stuff I broke: Both my images are wider angled rather than a traditional portrait crop. I instead used the environment, architectural lines and light/shadow to frame the figure as best I could. In the second image, the body and outfit are very important to the overall image so I did not want it cropped off. There’s an assortment of lights in the lighting setup I put together but for the first image I intentionally used a very non-traditional approach for the key light… aiming from a lower angle pointed upwards normally will give an unnatural “creep” factor to a figure’s face, but I did it in a way that I intended for it to add interest to the look of the character and some edge to her overall look and expression.

    I also tested the images with DOF, and having the room’s background and cityscape blurred actually detracted from the overall feel of the portrait imo. Even though DOF often does, it really didn’t enhance the focus on the figure in this case. Wondering if there were any thoughts on this and if others see problems with how I went about composing these 2 portraits.

    Even though I can’t think of anything that hasn’t already been mentioned, I will try to keep up and offer whatever constructive criticism I can offer to others in this challenge. Thanks very much for any feedback.

    There is nothing wrong with breaking the "rules". 

    I think the choice of red hair is a good one.  It really draws the eye away from the bright cityscape on the right to her face.  I find myself drawn to that one eye that is visible.

    I think the lip rings need to be adjusted slightly?  They are right on the edge of her lip at the bottom and I think should be just below the lip's edge.  I found this image after a quick Google search.

    Image result for lip rings image

    Great start.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252

    @Galaxy

    This is not a very good render.  I have not used 3DL in a very long time but I did manage to get DOF on the Cyclorama set.

    I started by adjusting the Focal Distance so the cross was close the figure.  Then I turn DOF on which activates the guides then I adjust the Focal Distance until the guides are roughly where I want them.

    By changing the FStop you can increase or decrease the area between the guides.

    I hope this helps.

    Cyclorama DOF Settings.png
    1920 x 1041 - 407K
    Cyclorama DOF Example 1.png
    695 x 1125 - 1M
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