October 2019 - DAZ 3D New User Challenge - Atmosphere

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  • TigerAnne said:

    So here's my second entry. It's a bit grainy in places, because I stopped the render when I realised I would have to re-do it to get it how I wanted. There were too many flaws that weren't obvious in preview. I went with a kind of folksy fantasy feeling again, but this time not so spoopy. As a child I loved the illustrated stories by Elsa Beskow, as well as this atmospheric children's book from Norway, and that was the vibe I was trying for. This was originally meant to be a much larger scene, but I had some trouble when I added in animals, and after I took them out there's just a lot of woods with nothing really going on.

    Anyway, here's the whole thing. I think I'll have time to rework it before the deadline, but in case I don't then this isn't the entry. The cropped version is the only one I want considered in that case, because this one isn't quite there.

     

    absolutely lovely renders

    nice work

    yes

  • And a second entry, this one working with something a little more complicated. I'm attaching the original render, and the edit of the art with a minor amount of postwork done to add flames around her hand and such.

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  • Okay- I take it it can only attach one at a time, since only one attached to the final post. Here's the original render. Still a WIP though- I may do a little more tweaking in PS to get the contrast and colors exactly where I want it when I finish cleaning it up. 

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  • WinterMoonWinterMoon Posts: 2,001
    daedalus7 said:

    @TigerAnne When I have an image that's "off" it's usually a composition problem (not having a proper "focus" point), or a color/luminosity problem.

    Your larger image seem good, except maybe for the red tree that seems to be fighting for attention with the yellow one. Also, the tree in front of the yellow one seems to be a bit "in the way".  If you remove both, the yellow tree would become the focus of attention; then, if you like, you could brighten it up a bit in postwork, or even giving it a soft glow effect.

    Hope this helps!

    Thank you for the suggestions! I did keep the red tree and the pine, but the yellow one got replaced with a white fir. (Although maybe you meant the oak, which I see as orange. That one's more in focus.) My idea was for a landscape with many details to discover, so I didn't intend for there to be special focus on any specific item. It's just a sort of snapshot from my memories of growing up on the edge of a forest like this. Those skinny pine-trunks are everywhere in sight. :)

     

    _ AL1vE _ said:

    absolutely lovely renders

    nice work

    Thank you! heart

     

    And after several very dumb mistakes by yours truly, I seem to have ironed out the worst of them and version 2 is brewing. The animals are back in place, even.

  • Daedalus-7Daedalus-7 Posts: 198
    edited October 2019

    Ok, so I was still not happy with my 2nd entry (the vampire on the throne); for some reason it was just odd and it wasn't really working out for me. 

    So, after going (again) back to the drawing board, I made something new (inspired by my last entry) and, for ease of use, I am going to put here both my entries for this month, the first one (with some new fixes) as well as the second one (it uses a spherical atmospheric effect to fit this scene, as well as godrays from the back...wings are Arki's Wings by the way), so you don't have to search among all my posts:

    Entry #1: Sandstorm


    Entry #2: Witching Moon

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    Post edited by Daedalus-7 on
  • @L'Adair: Thank you so much for that tip, it makes many things so much easier! This isn't the only context where I've tried to adjust multiple things at once, but until you pointed it out my attempts always ended with just doing everything one by one.

    19-10-Tentacle Threat-Mk1

    Here's the second version of the spooky spacestation scene. The kid's dilemma is a bit more evident, and the previously quiescent tentacle is both more active and joined by a pair of compatriots. Given how much easier it was thanks to L'Adair, the next version will probably round out the set with another three making their way around the top and right sides of the image. The lighting can still use a bit of work. I think the current hierarchy is how I want it, with the main light coming from the left with additional lighting outside the room to the right, but right now I think both of them are a bit too sharp. Right now the majority of the scene's lighting comes from a pair of tiny sphere primitives floating out of view. Especially on the right, I think the next step is going to be trading luminosity from the spheres to the neon light geometry in those areas of The Green Room. Though, it might lend a suitably spooky feel to move the left light close to the ground, like a flashlight was abandoned over there.

     

    I haven't gotten into contrasting the cubic atmospheres of the two scenes I made yet, but I suspect that their might be an issue with all of the lights being inside the cube, similar to how it fails if the camera is inside it. If that's the case, then I could probably get it to work by being a lot more selective about where the primitive covers. (My current approach was to parent it to the camera, scale it super big, and then move it by a hair more than half its length to get it entirely in front of the camera. Super quick and dirty, and may be contributing to the issues I saw.)

  • DaventakiDaventaki Posts: 1,624

    My second entry I decided to try to hand at fog.  Tried to do it all myself but ended up buying Sickleyields Fast Fog IRay made things to much easier!

     

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  • Daventaki said:

    My second entry I decided to try to hand at fog.  Tried to do it all myself but ended up buying Sickleyields Fast Fog IRay made things to much easier!

     

    nice render I really like that superb ground fog yes

  • Luftsturmregiment40Luftsturmregiment40 Posts: 328
    edited October 2019

    november skillion - second entry

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    Post edited by Luftsturmregiment40 on
  • DaventakiDaventaki Posts: 1,624

    @_AL1vE_  Thank you!  Your entries are awesome, I like the interesting POV you use in your images.

  • WinterMoonWinterMoon Posts: 2,001

    Aight, here is the final version of the autumn morning picture. Yes, I know the area around Mrs. Moose is very dark, but she's shy and doesn't like her picture taken. frown

  •  

    TigerAnne said:

    Aight, here is the final version of the autumn morning picture. Yes, I know the area around Mrs. Moose is very dark, but she's shy and doesn't like her picture taken. frown

    personally I think the previous render was better from the lighting

    in the updated version it's very dark on the right 

    but I understand, it's your call

  • .

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  • Hi Newbie contest thread :)

    I'd like to present the first - presentable - version of my, a bit late, entry. This wasn't an easy one but I learnt a lot during the making. :D

    A summary of what I tried to accomplish and how I tried to do it, please gimme all your precious feedbacks and critiques! *-*
    The original idea was a creepy foggy night scene, but I had to realize that I had no idea how to illuminate it properly, even after reading+watching various tutorials the result was super weird, so eventually decided to change it to a hazy sunset scene instead.
    I used the dome and scene version of sun and sky environment and a big volume to give this orange-ish hue to the scene. Not sure if I should make the fog a bit thicker? Alas I have no volume fog products or blender skills yet, so can't go with those nifty textured fogs atm.
    Tried to add some extra fog planes around her feet with Jepes SteamZ but they never wanted to appear (Will have to figure out what did I do wrong there).
    I wondered what extra lights I should use aside from the Sun (still not sure). Eventually went with two point lights, an orange one near the ground front right (their right) of the figures and a purple/pink one up and behind to the right to tone down the orange in its vicinity. (Maybe that one needs to be a bit stronger?). Wanted to use it as a rimlight too but if I made it bright enough to outline the actors then it turned most of the scene to purple :(

    Normally I tweak the levels, brightness and contrast of my renders in Photoshop a bit (haven't learnt to use canvases), but this one is an unedited pic. Although adjustments brought out the actors, it also kinda killed the hazy look.

    Pumpking and the Fox (temporary title, shameless ripoff tho)

  • WinterMoonWinterMoon Posts: 2,001
    _ AL1vE _ said:

    personally I think the previous render was better from the lighting

    in the updated version it's very dark on the right 

    Oh durr hurr, I messed with the light. Shouldn'a done that... Well crap, I have time for one more version. crying

  • ariochsnowpawariochsnowpaw Posts: 147
    edited October 2019

    I've been a bit busy with starting a new job so it took me a bit to circle around and get all the fixes in place.

    But on the upside the new job does mean I will be getting a much better computer for doing this :D

    I'm really having issues getting the splashes to render well in the dark environment but can't have everything...yet.

    Only Memories

    Rendered in Daz Studio.  Postwork in PS for a small area of clothing poke through and to resize.

    Only Memories v5pw.jpg
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    Post edited by ariochsnowpaw on
  • daer-thingdaer-thing Posts: 70
    edited October 2019

    Tweaked my scene a bit. Rotated the Sun to backlight the image and moved the lights a bit to illuminate the figures from the front. Also added another, thicker volume behind the first one. Not sure what happened, but when they didn't overlap but lined up next to each other, the 2 volumes tinted the whole pic very bright and glowing red.
    Eventually played a bit in photoshop. Adjusted levels and the contrast a little. Tried out autotone, it made the center of the image a little colder which looked interesting so I stayed with it.

    Also, I remembered a question that I wanted to ask: In many renders I saw bright specks of dust in the air. Similar to fireflies but they are inside the scene (i.e. DoF makes them blurred) How can those things be made? I make a few primitives, scale them down to dust-size and make them reflective?

    edit: Sorry, quick edit, didn't read the rules carefully ._.

    Pumpking and the Fox


    Rendered in Daz Studio 4.12. Some postwork in Photoshop.

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    Post edited by daer-thing on
  • Tweaked my scene a bit. Rotated the Sun to backlight the image and moved the lights a bit to illuminate the figures from the front. Also added another, thicker volume behind the first one. Not sure what happened, but when they didn't overlap but lined up next to each other, the 2 volumes tinted the whole pic very bright and glowing red.
    Eventually played a bit in photoshop. Adjusted levels and the contrast a little. Tried out autotone, it made the center of the image a little colder which looked interesting so I stayed with it.

    Also, I remembered a question that I wanted to ask: In many renders I saw bright specks of dust in the air. Similar to fireflies but they are inside the scene (i.e. DoF makes them blurred) How can those things be made? I make a few primitives, scale them down to dust-size and make them reflective?

    technically and thematically the best render in the entire contest so far

    very nice colour palette and great composition

    really like the sun beams coming through

    great job dear-thing

  • Luftsturmregiment40Luftsturmregiment40 Posts: 328
    edited October 2019

    Also, I remembered a question that I wanted to ask: In many renders I saw bright specks of dust in the air. Similar to fireflies but they are inside the scene (i.e. DoF makes them blurred) How can those things be made? I make a few primitives, scale them down to dust-size and make them reflective?

    It's a camera lens effect called Bokeh where bright things get blurred by the lens and DoF.

    Common is hexagonal, oval, and circular shapes to "fake it" set to a darker background usually a city scene in the night with street lights and so on to make the render look more interesting.

    You could try the Bokeh-Particle stunt and randomize the hexagonal or circular shapes but it's either hexagonal or circular, both will look weird.

    Don't make them ALL reflective and try making them all look a bit different in colour and size.

    There should be an option in IRay to enable Bokeh (I think) to get real Bokehs without added geomettry, but of course dust in the air is awesome for that effect.

     

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    Post edited by Luftsturmregiment40 on
  • WinterMoonWinterMoon Posts: 2,001

    Only a handful of fireflies to go, and I'm tempted to just post-work them. *sigh*

  • Thank you for both the feedback and the tips,  AL1vE :)

    So if I want to make a couple of specks to be seen as individual dust particles, either sharp or out of focus, I just make a few random hexagonal/circular geometries and scatter them manually in the area I want them to be seen?

  • Thank you for both the feedback and the tips,  AL1vE :)

    So if I want to make a couple of specks to be seen as individual dust particles, either sharp or out of focus, I just make a few random hexagonal/circular geometries and scatter them manually in the area I want them to be seen?

    a more thorough approach you can find here at  BSE it applies to other apps pretty much the same

  • Thank you for both the feedback and the tips,  AL1vE :)

    So if I want to make a couple of specks to be seen as individual dust particles, either sharp or out of focus, I just make a few random hexagonal/circular geometries and scatter them manually in the area I want them to be seen?

    Personally, I would add Bokeh in post work. Much faster and much less work for effectively the same effect. Just something to consider.

  • WinterMoonWinterMoon Posts: 2,001

    I. Am. SCREAM!

    So I tried lighting up the shadowy area around the moose with a spot-light aimed squarely at her. It didn't make a split of a difference! The next step now is using a ghost light, and see if that does the trick. crying

  • Daedalus-7Daedalus-7 Posts: 198
    edited October 2019
    TigerAnne said:

    I. Am. SCREAM!

    So I tried lighting up the shadowy area around the moose with a spot-light aimed squarely at her. It didn't make a split of a difference! The next step now is using a ghost light, and see if that does the trick. crying

    In your render settings, just go under Environment / Environment Mode, and make sure "Dome and Scene" is selected, otherwise lights in the scene will not be rendered. Happens to me all the time when I'm trying to assess some lights just to forget to reset the settings properly later.

    Post edited by Daedalus-7 on
  • daedalus7 said:

    Thank you for both the feedback and the tips,  AL1vE :)

    So if I want to make a couple of specks to be seen as individual dust particles, either sharp or out of focus, I just make a few random hexagonal/circular geometries and scatter them manually in the area I want them to be seen?

    Personally, I would add Bokeh in post work. Much faster and much less work for effectively the same effect. Just something to consider.

    ditto that, and it works "most" of the time... (emphasis)

  • WinterMoonWinterMoon Posts: 2,001

     

    daedalus7 said:

    In your render settings, just go under Environment / Environment Mode, and make sure "Dome and Scene" is selected, otherwise lights in the scene will not be rendered. Happens to me all the time when I'm trying to assess some lights just to forget to reset the settings properly later.

    It is set to Dome and Scene. The ghost light worked a bit better, but wasn't strong enough. I'll up the strenght a bit and see if seventh(?) time's the charm. frown

     

  • TigerAnne said:

     

    daedalus7 said:

    In your render settings, just go under Environment / Environment Mode, and make sure "Dome and Scene" is selected, otherwise lights in the scene will not be rendered. Happens to me all the time when I'm trying to assess some lights just to forget to reset the settings properly later.

    It is set to Dome and Scene. The ghost light worked a bit better, but wasn't strong enough. I'll up the strenght a bit and see if seventh(?) time's the charm. frown

     

    Well, worst case scenario, you can always "cut" the tree casting the maga shadow over the moose and the water. ...And people say I am not an environmentalist angel

  • FishtalesFishtales Posts: 6,131

    What is your Crush Black setting in Tone Mapping? It might lighten the shadow if you can lower it.

  • AZDigitalArtistAZDigitalArtist Posts: 792
    edited October 2019

    "Into the Night".    A girl never knows when fog might turn into drizzle....

     

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