Creating SciFi scenes
XoechZ
Posts: 1,102
Hello!
Currently I am trying to learn creating scifi scenes. I did a google image search on that topic and I realized that many scifi images have several things in common.
They are rather dark, but have strong colors and strong contrast. The color scheme is simple, mostly blueish to indicate a night time scene. Props and clothes vary but are often simple and not very colorful (to match the overall simple color scheme).
Ok. Now, has anyone some more tips on how to create such scenes? Especially on lightning and how to create that dramatic dark and strong contrast look.
Thanks in advance!
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The great thing about scifi is it can be anything you want. what you list is not the base of every scifi scene. Are your scenes character focused or scene focused or environment focused? Whatever the focus is, that is where you start and work your way out. If you are just doing a generic scifi scene, find/invest in some interiors and go from there.
sci-fi can be anything, dark and industrial like blade runner or something more bright and colorful. My sci-fi usually tends to look more retro, i go for the look of the 50's and 60's sci-fi. Being more retro i use brighter bolder color choices. I try to capture the look and feel of the old movie posters
Flash Gordon would be a good example of a brighter more colorful sci-fi
Thanks so far. I know that it can be everything :-)
But I am looking for that dark, blueish, strong color and high contrast look I have described above. Oh, and all my images are character focused - female charactes :-)
Any help for getting that style, especially concerning lightning would be great!
Can't help with lighting as I render outside of DS, but over at Rendo coflek-gnorg has his store at 50% off and has some great scifi rooms/props.
i like to use source lighting, that is something in the scene that is the light source, a lighted sign, a lamp, a fire, what ever, i like to see where the light is coming from. I don't use DS, I render in Poser, in Poser i can set up objects to emit light. I also use spot and point lights. Also in poser you can set lights to negative values so they cast darkness instead of light, you can do some kool effects with that. I also like to add images to my lights to produce shadow effects. If all you want is a blueish look, just set the light color to blue.
Camera settings are important as well. I often use 25 mm or lower lenses, this gives a dramatic foreshortened effect, making scenes more dramatic. Adjusting the F-stop also affects how the lights work in a scene.
If you're rendering a space scene, sharpen the shadows all the way. There's no atmosphere to diffuse the shadow boundaries.
(That's a decent technique for high-contrast images anywhere, but it actually has a scientific basis in space.)
what if you are in a gas nebula?
what if you are in a gas nebula?
Usually there isn't enough gas to make a difference.
(Unless a star's about to ignite, but you've got bigger problems in that case. :P )
Usually there isn't enough gas to make a difference.
(Unless a star's about to ignite, but you've got bigger problems in that case. :P )
exploding star, i would go for lots of lights and over expose the scene
Here is a very good example of what I mean :-)
http://isikol.deviantart.com/art/BLACK-WIDOW-ICONIC-325791513
Postwork! isikol spends a ton of time on postworlk, so what you usually see is far off from the original render usually.
yeah, isi and i are known for our postwork skills. somewhere i saw where he had posted a raw render, there was a figure and maybe 2 props, the rest was all painted in
My kingdom for Isi's postwork skills.
Here are a few of his before and afters, and a tutorial showing his process.
http://isikol.deviantart.com/art/CHUNLI-VS-SAGAT-BEFORE-AFTER-POSTWORK-272628506?q=gallery:isikol/2952787&qo=228
http://isikol.deviantart.com/art/ATLAS-BEFORE-AFTER-POSTWORK-264908784
http://isikol.deviantart.com/art/DARKSTAR-POSTWORK-208178504
http://isikol.deviantart.com/art/WAR-WORKFLOW-TUTORIAL-253647576
I think the only requirement with sci-fi is that it contain futuristic elements. I'm not personally a fan of overly dark images. It is tough to see what is going on. I prefer character driven image images which tell a story.
Hey LycanthropeX, then you are the man! :-)
I also like postworking and my arsenal is full of mighty weapons. Photoshop CC, tons of Rons brushes and layers, Nik Collection filters.
Of course my skills are not that good, but I try to learn and develop. So, could you give me some tips? Especially concerning the workflow. I always try to do everything at once and my images end up in a huge mess.
Sci-Fi isn't so much about the look as it is the story. As long as there's an element of science (or pseudo-science) involved it qualifies as sci-fi.
Hey LycanthropeX, then you are the man! :-)
I also like postworking and my arsenal is full of mighty weapons. Photoshop CC, tons of Rons brushes and layers, Nik Collection filters.
Of course my skills are not that good, but I try to learn and develop. So, could you give me some tips? Especially concerning the workflow. I always try to do everything at once and my images end up in a huge mess.
what are you rendering in? Studio or Poser?
DAZ Studio, 3Delight engine.
a few of my sci-fi images
mine are more orange than blue lol
Cool images!
Why did you ask me if I render in DAZ Studio or Poser?
My answer was DAZ Studio btw :-)
bloody forums are hating me tonight, not letting me post
i don't know anything about studio, there is stuff i do in Poser that makes my life easier when i get to post work
No problem. Poser and DAZ Studio are different, but not too much. Most of the stuff is the same, only the names are different :-)
If you would be so kind and explain those stuff, then I hope I can adapt it in DAZ Studio.
well a big thing that helps me a lot is i can render mask images in Poser, and they render like stupidly fast, so after i do my render i can create any masks i need for post working
Ok, thats no problem in DAZ Studio. I always render some masks, to be able to "paint behind" objects in Photoshop. I also render a depth mask of the whole scene which is useful for some things like faking DOF.
well that is kool then
Hm, nothing more? Come on, pleeeease :-)
Here's an example or two rendered in Daz. Really all a scifi image needs is some kind of content that's high tech, or not obviously modern or fantasy.
This one used one of stonemasons sets, some Rawart and Dzfire characters and some atmosphere camera's and DOF.
....I tend to be one who does more in render work than postwork as I do not have a steady hand to do intricate painting like Isikol and LX do.
Granted it makes it more difficult to get the "pop" (as some call it) since I am pretty much at the mercy of the render engine and "in scene" lights. I do occasionally use filters in 2D programmes to create a mood or occasionally use overlays or certain effects I want, but that is about the extent of my postwork.
I'm finding Age of Armour's Advanced lights rapidly becoming my go to lights so to say as one can flag different elements within a scene to be illuminated, ignored, and/or exploit certain properties of the lights themselves. Granted it can be a painstaking process at times as you have to keep track of which surfaces are flagged to which lights but I find it worth the trouble in the end.
I also make extensive use of "in render" effects like the HeroFX Xtreme effects and Jepe's various billboard effects as well as using custom shader kits, "kitbashing" textures in PSP, and making adjustments in the Surfaces tab to generate the desired look I am going for.
Most of my Sci Fi work tends to be on the lighter to humourous side, though I do have a strong love for the dark future of the Cyber world genre.
A few samples: