Dartanbeck's Journey - CG Filmmaking

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  • Dartanbeck said:

    The Official Trailer

    That is a compelling trailer.  

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623

    Diomede said:

    And to really top things off, between my fully punched punchcard and today's Sci-Fi sale, I've landed Polish's Space Battle Fleet Bundle - the Whole Kit and Kaboodle!!! Oh My!!!

    Three massive battlecruisers and a fighter jet, along with all of the space props! This will be fun! 

    Epic!  Can't wait to see more of your fun with the fleet.

    Um... Oh My!!! This is turning out Great! What a fun set to work with!

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623
    edited December 2023

    FirstBastion said:

    Dartanbeck said:

    The Official Trailer

    video from quote

    That is a compelling trailer.  

    Man! Check out how they made this show! It's a short video behind the scenes. It's So Inspiring!!!

    I have more videos on my inspiration page for this show, including the first 22 minute episode of the show

    Inspirations - Blade Runner Black Lotus

    Post edited by Dartanbeck on
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623

    Dartanbeck said:

    Diomede said:

    And to really top things off, between my fully punched punchcard and today's Sci-Fi sale, I've landed Polish's Space Battle Fleet Bundle - the Whole Kit and Kaboodle!!! Oh My!!!

    Three massive battlecruisers and a fighter jet, along with all of the space props! This will be fun! 

    Epic!  Can't wait to see more of your fun with the fleet.

    Um... Oh My!!! This is turning out Great! What a fun set to work with!

    I'm rendering out some cool space animations and they are looking really nice!

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623

    I have more videos on my inspiration page for this show, including the first 22 minute episode of the show

    Inspirations - Blade Runner Black Lotus

    I have just added to that page a Special Bonus - Making of Bladerunner - Warner Bros Entertainment

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623
    edited December 2023

    Just FYI - Blade Runner: Black Lotus is an Incredible Journey from beginning to end. The season is a complete story - so we're not left with unfinished business, which is really nice. We're getting a look at the world through the eyes of a replicant - a very special replicant. 

    For fans of the Blade Runner universe, we'll recognize certain things and feel as if the series truly belongs among this great saga.

    For folks who have never seen Blade Runner, you'll be immersed in a world that is a very realistic look of an absolutely believable possibility of a dystopian future in a combination of live action - like realism with subtle but enjoyable thrills of anime style pulse-pounding fun.

     

    The CG is fantastic. The people are made more on the artistic side as opposed to pushing for the uncanny valley, while the rest of the screen is filled with incredible and wonderful settings - carefully blending photorealism with a more artistic look and feel.

     

    As the series progresses, bits of the very well-written story unfold, revealing more and more truths about what's really going on - all the way up intil the end. Fanstastic!

     

    I found my copy of the series at Vudu, where I shop for my movies and TV for my online streaming collection, but it's available elsewhere too. I strongly recommend picking up a copy. You won't be disappointed!

    Post edited by Dartanbeck on
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623
    edited December 2023

    Diomede said:

    And to really top things off, between my fully punched punchcard and today's Sci-Fi sale, I've landed Polish's Space Battle Fleet Bundle - the Whole Kit and Kaboodle!!! Oh My!!!

    Three massive battlecruisers and a fighter jet, along with all of the space props! This will be fun! 

    Epic!  Can't wait to see more of your fun with the fleet.

    As the Capital Ship and a squadron of fighters approach the recent wreckage of two massive battlecruisers, the bits of wreckage from whatever blew them apart are still slowly wandering away from the carnage as the life support from both ships is trapped in the vacuum of space. 

    Setting this up, I saved it with the impression that it would take several tries to get the effect right - especially timing-wise. To my amazement, it's Wonderful! First take! Move on to the next scene which, as I watch the frames go by - looks like this one is a winner as well. 

    Post edited by Dartanbeck on
  • What I never found out from the book or film was the answer. The answer to the book's title. It's a simple Yes/No answer. To 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?'. Apart from that massive fail, I think the films are a huge creation, taking what I felt was a fairly mediocre book with big ideas and turning up the quality and significance dials to 11. Thanks for linking to the two films, would never have seen either otherwise. Just mulling it over. Think I first read the book in 1978, maybe 1977. Didn't see the film until 2002. Regards, Richard.
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623

    Well, the famous line from the original movie: "Like Teardrops in the Rain", I think, implies that the answer must, at least to some degree: "Yes".

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623

    Oh My! Adventures in Space!

     

    So Much can be Done with This!!!

     

    I have to reiterate - Animating in Daz Studio is a BLAST!!!

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623
    edited December 2023

    The Power of aniMate 2

    A new page at my website

     

    A truly wonderful experience of animating in Daz Studio awaits, and this page will help you delve right in with ideas, links, images and videos 

     

    But Daz studio isn't the end of it - Carrara and Poser each also have aniBlock Importers, so using this wonderful workflow can be invaluable to those as well - especially since this whole process allows us to expand our collections to reach Any Daz  Figure Generation from M4/V4 forward!

     

    Along with the actual User Manual for aniMate 2 viewable/downloadable right on the page!

     

    Links to products specifically designed with animation in mind as well as direct links back to this forum thread if you need help with any of it - I monitor this thread manually and I also get an email if someone responds - so you can expect to get answers in a timely manner.

     

    I'll also be adding subpages to this one that will expand our learning experience within the realms of aniMate 2 and animating in Daz Studio in general - because in my world, animating in Daz Studio almost Always involves aniMate 2.

    The Power of aniMate 2

    A new page at my website - Come on in an Join the Fun!!!

    Post edited by Dartanbeck on
  • richardandtracyrichardandtracy Posts: 5,727
    edited December 2023

    Dartanbeck said:

    Well, the famous line from the original movie: "Like Teardrops in the Rain", I think, implies that the answer must, at least to some degree: "Yes".

    wink

    I was thinking a bit more literally. Electric sheep are a really specific thing to dream about...

    We are getting to the point where I think rules need to be put into place preparing for self aware general AI (whether in an android, cyborg or computer), and pre-define humane 'turn-off' conditions that need to be put into place before they are needed. And preferably have humane rules based limits to be built into the AI That is one of several major lessons that needs to be learnt from this book/film combo.

    Regards,

    Richard 

    Post edited by richardandtracy on
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623

    Oh. I saw the question more metaphorically. I don't recall ever actually 'counting sheep' or 'sawing logs' as I slept - or tried to fall asleep. 

     

    The toughest part about rules - who is actually going to follow them? Who actually has to? In Blade Runner, replicants become banned. Yet... here they are!

    Computer viruses are an infiltration of someone else's property and can carry some pretty tough consequenses in a court of law, yet look at how many $ billions are spent on Anti-virus.

     

    In a World-Gone-Wrong scenraio, it'll be the AI themselves making, breaking and changing the rules as in James Cameron's Terminator

    So in effect, Sarah has already failed. The end is near!

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623
    edited December 2023

    Pbttkscrchshhhhkt - "Hellion David Delta Niner, Command Actual - Captain we have what appears to be a survivor out here"

    Post edited by Dartanbeck on
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623
    edited December 2023

    Enter Reisormocap's Sci-Fi Moves

    After transferring the complete collections from both the newer Genesis as well as what other motions came in the earlier M4/V4 series, I knew I had the perfect motion for this shot - Airlock Shunt.

     

    I kept only a few seconds toward the end, slowed it down a bit and, after baking to the timeline I removed the movement in the Z axis so she doesn't just fly past the screen.

     

    Created a Group around her, put that group in motion and applied yet a little more rotation here and there until the movement turned out to my liking - to fit my vision.

    A little more tweaking here and there with pose control dials - render.

     

    The sequence, like the others of the star ship movements turned out really well! 

     

    I must be getting a knack for this stuff. It's amazing how many animation tests I used to have to throw away doing these space scenes in the past!

    Post edited by Dartanbeck on
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623

    The glowing fog we see is air and water vapors from the life-support systems fighting the vacuum of space - trying to find a way to dissipate. It, too turned out pretty cool looking.

    SpaceFleet_DestroyedInvest_RT8inSpace01a076.png
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  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623

    Oh My!!!

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623

    Here you go, Diomede!

    Adventures in Space are pretty fun!

    One really fun fact about this project is that the plot was driven by the original idea I had when I made the song - "Attack from the Void", which is only a minute long, so the video is also one minute long.

     

    Polish's Space Battle Fleet Bundle is a pretty darned cool kit! I haven't tried the other two ships or the planets pack yet, but I will very soon. The Capital Ship and Squadron used in this were really fun to work with. The other ships are from Cofek-Gnorg and the leaked-out live support is an iReal Animated Cloud by ThePhilosopher.

    Kara Pitat provided the helmet as a free bonus for buying any of the Adventurer's Toolbox Vehicles Edition (ATVE) vehicles - and I think I made own them all. If not... most. Midnight Stories made the rest of the outfit - Hypersuit for Genesis 1 and it works great on Rosie 8 - so here it is! 

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623
    edited December 2023

    And the Marcoor Hunter Kit Bash is under way!

    I Love this ship!

    MHunt_WIPa.png
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    Post edited by Dartanbeck on
  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,182

    Dartanbeck said:

    Here you go, Diomede!

    Adventures in Space are pretty fun!

    One really fun fact about this project is that the plot was driven by the original idea I had when I made the song - "Attack from the Void", which is only a minute long, so the video is also one minute long.

    Way cool!  I am grabbing some popcorn and ready for the full show!

     

    Polish's Space Battle Fleet Bundle is a pretty darned cool kit! I haven't tried the other two ships or the planets pack yet, but I will very soon. The Capital Ship and Squadron used in this were really fun to work with. The other ships are from Cofek-Gnorg and the leaked-out live support is an iReal Animated Cloud by ThePhilosopher.

    Kara Pitat provided the helmet as a free bonus for buying any of the Adventurer's Toolbox Vehicles Edition (ATVE) vehicles - and I think I made own them all. If not... most. Midnight Stories made the rest of the outfit - Hypersuit for Genesis 1 and it works great on Rosie 8 - so here it is! 

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623

    Elele's Arachnoid and Herschel Hoffmeyer's Dragonhide PCS make it into Rosie 8 videos!

      

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623
    edited December 2023

    Getting closer with Starry Sky Iray for Daz Studio, I wanted to try a shot using an HDRI when the sun is still up. When I loaded Denka Gaka's Ocean Sunset from the Fantasy IBL - Above The Clouds HDRI set, I really found something special, I think. It reminds me of when I first saw my Starry Sky for Carrara with the Spectral Clouds preset from the browser... just... Mmmmm.

    Not sure if you get that feel too, but I'm really proud of this moment.

     

    I also just got 3D Universe's Catcher Plus, so I used that to mask out the stars from the HDRI, which worked beautifully! But instead of catching shadows and reflections, I had to try and cast them away. I love it when I get a good chance to think outside the box!

     

    Post edited by Dartanbeck on
  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,182

    Starry Sky Iray for Daz Studio?

    Yay!  I am excited for you.  Will you also do an Underwater Realms or other enviro-kit 'for Daz Studio' product?  It might make sense to focus on items more related to your cinematic ventures.  So cool.  Stay motivated; it inspires the rest of us.

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623
    edited December 2023

    A single frame of an animated test render that's currently underway of the product as it will no longer be - but has been tweaked a bit to give clues as to the next phase.

    This single frame represents success in many ways. It's nothing but the ship and Starry Sky Iray for Daz studio (that is about to be redesigned) rendered to alpha and then loaded as a brush in PD Howler and stamped onto a pure black background - just to see how it's all performing.

    The shaders are still in their infancy, but the solution I've created for surfacing over ten thousand stars is working really, Really well. Pretty proud of myself for that. And that has led to how it can all be improved upon in this next design coming quickly here.

     

    No bloom or post effects of any kind. We can see how elegant it will be, to be able to use Any backdrop of Any kind, using Any HDRI as our lighting source - or not. Could be ghost lights or simply light emission from scene elements. This one is using the same HDRI set I use to light my characters, with the intensity turned down to 30%.

     

    Scene lighting and HDRIs won't affect the stars since they cast their own light.

     

    As my friend pointed out to me when I was talking about my need to have this - parallax of distant stars is very minute - even unnoticeable. Well... yes. When we're planted on a planet.

    Even traveling at fantasy-unreal speeds, parallax isn't huge or perhaps even all that noticeable. But when all of the stars are stuck to an image, animations flying through space just don't look right. Our constellation stars are nowhere near each other or even similar in distance from Earth. So if we traveled from here to the next solar system, we'd be seeing plenty of parallax along the way - trust me on this!

    Post edited by Dartanbeck on
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623
    edited December 2023

    Another wonderful feature is having the ability to add stars to a scene which uses and HDRI or other backdrop that has none. 

     

    Additionally, they render unbelievably fast!

    SSI_WIP_MarcHunter_Test01_frame134.jpg
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    Post edited by Dartanbeck on
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623

    Diomede said:

    Starry Sky Iray for Daz Studio?

    Yay!  I am excited for you.  Will you also do an Underwater Realms or other enviro-kit 'for Daz Studio' product?  It might make sense to focus on items more related to your cinematic ventures.  So cool.  Stay motivated; it inspires the rest of us.

    Well, those other Carrara products I made catered to my need for animation as well, so there is a possibility. For now, I'm really liking the idea of offering more in the realms of space travel. There's a quite a bit out there, but many of the things I've been waiting for simply are not happening on their own. So maybe I can help that along? ;)

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623

    I really love the artistic direction of The AntFarm and coflek-gnorg, whose products can work very well together. They have that... look. I'm grateful that I won't have to dabble into that stuff. They ROCK that already!!!

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623
    edited December 2023

    Wow. Do any of you Bryce?

    Whether you do or don't, you really should check out the images they're rendering over in the Bryce forum! Super Delicious!!!

     

    I'd love to just put up a big gallery with just the images and the accompanying notes from each.

    Oh wait... that's what that thread is!!! :)

    Post edited by Dartanbeck on
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623

    You know, it's so incredible to be doing some work in Carrara again. I'm definitely going to make this a more regular habit.

    Some of the little things that, after being in Studio for a while I didn't quite realize that I took such advantage of before - like setting the render camera, which can be completely independent from the working view. That's pretty precious when working diligently on - especially large, busy scenes. Any scene that really requires a lot of tweaking though... it's really nice to be able to zoom in or out to work out specific parts of the scene and hit Ctrl R and pop out a render to see the results.

    Oh My! Speaking of Zooming! Ungh!!! Carrara is so Immediate, while Studio... um... okay I'm going to take a nap. Please wake me up when we're getting closer - and don't let me overshoot!

    Anyway, enough of the ol' Carrara vs Daz Studio rant. I'm really Loving Daz Studio!

     

    Making a lot of headway with my Space adventures - and having a lot of fun doing it too. Iray lends itself pretty well to something like a Starry Sky for Iray. 

    Special thank to Daz 3D and their PAs though. The timing of me getting into another genre and this truly amazing Punch Card/Advent Calendar sale is priceless.

     

    I had a mere wish that I could get this particular AntFarm kit to use as a kit bash with my Ravnheart Marcoor series. Boom. 1am my time rolls around, I'm still working away, and what goes on sale? Oh too cool! So I'm using the Air Lock Construction Kit to turn the Marcoor Control Room into a bridge for my Marc Hunter FG. The air lock itself is a really cool set of doors for dividing different parts of Marcoor too... which is Awesome!

     

    Looking at the ship and then at my interior, going back and forth, I've got a pretty cool thing going. I mean, Marcoor FG is a pretty decent sized star ship. 

     

    I decided to put one of the Marcoor Lifts directly behind the bridge control room. When I get into that lifts room, I'll put two air lock assemblies in there to stay on this deck and head back into the various crew-type needs. Mess, sleeping, and facilities - that sort of thing and further down will be cryo.

    The engineering level will be a lot of fun to design too. 

    The Air Lock Kit will also make for an excellent means to create a launch bay for the smaller craft to exit. I haven't completely worked out what I'm going to use for escape pods, but I have a lot of these sorts of things already. I've been collecting Sci-Fi since I started. 

     

    For the quick Space Fleet demo I did, I used my kit bashed Astro Commander as the Command bridge of the Capital Ship. I think Commander and Star Carrier will work beautifully for that. I also have the really cool 2660 series by 3-D-C, which I think will work great with my Phillip Drawbridge Heavy Cruiser for Carrara. I love using Jack Tomalin's GIS series for Phillip's HMS Destroyer. They just seem to really work together. 

    I place the GIS Skyway into the nose of the thing and it Rocks!!! GIS Terminal goes underneath so I have the two main launch zones. 

    Here's a old picture of those two ships by Phillip. The HMS Destroyer is on our left - the furthest one and the Heavy Cruiser is in front here. 

    And this is the look of the 2660 series

    Reactor/Engineering level

    CIC

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,623
    edited December 2023

    Spoiler Alert Concept Art

    Post edited by Dartanbeck on
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