Carrara Challenge XVII - Wonder of my World - WiPs Thread

StezzaStezza Posts: 8,050
edited April 2015 in Carrara Discussion

Carrara Challenge #XVII
Wonder of my World

For as long as there has been art, artists in all mediums have wondered and inspired us as to what was and what is. This
month’s EPIC challenge is to emulate those artists and show us a scene of your own that is inspired by a Wonder of Your World

Your subject can be anything from the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World to what you think is wonderfull of the area you come from or live in.
Maybe the Hanging Gardens of Babylon is your inspiration or maybe the old house down the road where once a famous to be person once lived.
Whatever your Wonder may be, make it EPIC with a story to tell.

And to do this takes time and that is what this challenge gives you, time to create, time to think and time to put together the most impressive, epic render you can with a ton fullof fun along the way with your WiPs..

As previous hosts have done I have plageurised the rules for simplicities sake.

Challenge Rules
1. Having FUN is compulsary

2. Each participant may submit up to two images into the Challenge. Only one image per artist will be eligible to win a

prize. If two images from the same artist receive a prize-winning number of votes, the image with the most votes will win

the prize it’s eligible for, and the second prize will go to the image from another artist with the next highest vote total.

Votes will be counted per-image, not per-artist. More detailed voting rules will be posted when voting opens.

3. The images must be new (previously unpublished).

4. The images must be set up and rendered in Carrara or in an external renderer for which an intermediate Carrara plug-in is

available (LuxRender, Octane…).

5. Two items must be created or significantly modified in Carrara (see below for more detail)

6. Content use is welcome and encouraged, but it must be fully listed and credited.

7. At least two WIP (work in progress) images must be posted in the WIP thread. At least one WIP image should be a screen

grab of the setup of objects and lights in Carrara.

8. Post-work is allowed and welcome, but raw render(s) must be posted to the WIP thread (in addition to the 2 required WIP

images) and the post-work must be fully described.

9. Whosoever shall win this Challenge shall become Monarch of the following Challenge and shall win the right to pick the

next theme and rules to please their royal whim. The current host is not eligible to win their own Challenge but may submit

his/her works for the enjoyment of such.

10. Have Fun! (Yes, this is a rule, see 1.).

What qualifies something as “created or significantly modified in Carrara?
• Altering or creating UV-maps, or creating special shaders or textures.
• Covering an object with fur or creating dynamic hair for it.
• Creating an object in one of Carrara’s modelers: vertex, spline, metaball; or using one of Carrara’s editors to create

unique variations of things like plants, oceans, particle generators, terrains, clouds, etc.
• Inventive use of replicators to create new shapes using replicated objects, using distribution maps or nested replicators

to create environments, or other creative/unusual use of replicators.
• Morphing or modifying an object (including a primitive) beyond recognition or cutting parts from it for use in other

objects.
• Rigging an object and using that rig to pose the object.
• Using the 3D-paint feature to texture the object or to create shaders, masks, distribution maps, etc.
• This is by no means an exhaustive list; if you are not sure whether your modifications qualify, please ask in this thread.

Thank you to our generous sponsor DAZ 3D for once again offering the following awards to the winners:

1st Place: $100.00 towards DAZ 3D owned item(s)
2nd Place: $50.00 towards DAZ 3D owned item(s)
3rd Place: $25.00 towards DAZ 3D owned item(s)
Honorable Mention: $10.00 towards DAZ 3D owned item(s)

Thank you to our generous PA sponsor STONEMASON for offering the following awards to the challenge winners:
1st Place: 3 Items from Stonemason's store
2nd Place: 2 Items from Stonemason's store
3rd Place: 1 Item from Stonemason's store
Stonemason's award: 1 Item from Stonemason's store

Thanks to Stefan for his support.. He will be popping in to see how we are all going during the challenge.
His DAZ store is here:
http://www.daz3d.com/stonemason
Please support our PA

You might find the following links useful, interesting or inspiring:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonders_of_the_World
http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0770163.html


Dates to remember: DAZLand Time
Challenge Thread opens for WIP submissions: 11th April 2015
Entry Thread opens: 5th May 2015
Entry Closes: 23rd May 2015 23:59:59 CMT (UTC-6)
Voting Period: 24th May 2015 0:00:01 CMT (UTC-6) to 31st May 2015 23:59:59 CMT (UTC-6)

NOTE: as I'm down the bottom of the world I may be a bit late at times in posting updates while waiting for the rest of the world to catch up ;-)

REMEMBER - HAVE FUN

Post edited by Stezza on
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Comments

  • StezzaStezza Posts: 8,050
    edited June 2015

    RESERVED for stuff :-)

    i. Commons link - http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/55009/
    ii Updated posts here & commons at 10am to show DAZ3D prizes - 10-04-15 my time
    iii Updated the Commons thread for voting - 4.15pm my time 24/05/15

    ENTRY THREAD CLOSED
    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/56009/


    VOTING THREAD CLOSED
    http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/56009/

    Post edited by Stezza on
  • evilproducerevilproducer Posts: 9,050
    edited December 1969

    Sounds like a great theme!

    If you start a thread in The Commons, could you link back to it here? Stuff gets buried fast in there. It's kind of scary. :ahhh:

  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 9,986
    edited December 1969

    Stezza said:
    RESERVED for stuff :-)

    Nice choice Stezza! You should slip in a porky in the cut and paste rules to trip over the next winner ;)
    Stonemason? I am in awe !

    cheese

  • MarkIsSleepyMarkIsSleepy Posts: 1,496
    edited December 1969

    An epic place of wonder?

    http://www.marscheese.com/ :)


    Seriously - great theme idea - I have some idea notes already!

    MarsCheeseCastle.jpg
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  • StezzaStezza Posts: 8,050
    edited December 1969

    Britney has confirmed DAZ3D continuing support of these challenges which is awesome as well as EPIC..

    I hope everyone gets inspired with this challenge and can showcase what is Wondrous to you, where I live we have a small aerodrome which is home to an historical aircraft restoration society, well, the other week we a 747-400 Jumbo land which was donated by QANTAS to HARS for display now that it is retired..

    It was an awesome morning for the townsfolk to witness the landing and was the biggest thing to happen to our town since 1959 when a plane lost it's load of Kellogs Cornflakes..

    now that was epic .. lol

    check out the landing:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KQm05om2no

  • StezzaStezza Posts: 8,050
    edited December 1969

    MDO2010 said:
    An epic place of wonder?

    http://www.marscheese.com/ :)


    Seriously - great theme idea - I have some idea notes already!

    awesome..

    reminds me of when my daughter who was 20 yo at the time went to the USA for a holiday back in 2002 and went to Chucky Cheese I think it was called.. is this the same?

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,165
    edited December 1969

    Chuck E Cheese - now that is a wonder. The target audience is a little younger than 20 somethings, though.

    Each spring my town has a festival to celebrate the blooming of the cherry trees. This weekend will be peak bloom, with a parade, tours, and all that good stuff. I might find some inspiration on Saturday.

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  • bighbigh Posts: 8,147
    edited December 1969

    MDO2010 said:
    An epic place of wonder?

    http://www.marscheese.com/ :)


    Seriously - great theme idea - I have some idea notes already!

    been there - great food

  • StezzaStezza Posts: 8,050
    edited December 1969

    According to my clock it's about 2.30am in DAZLand..

    I look forward to the development of this thread good luck everyone..

    I'll just post some of my random renders I do every now & then hopefully representing Wonders in my world.. knocked this one up this arvo..

    Vegemite is definitely one wonder in my household... yum ;-)

    Vegemite.jpg
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  • DUDUDUDU Posts: 1,945
    edited December 1969

    Super topic Stezza, but I can't imagine my dream world without nudity and I'm very afraid of Chohole! :vampire:

  • StezzaStezza Posts: 8,050
    edited December 1969

    I think some strategically placed modelled fig leaves may be needed .. to keep within the ToS lol

    ;-)

  • StonemasonStonemason Posts: 1,179
    edited December 1969

    Stezza said:
    According to my clock it's about 2.30am in DAZLand..

    I look forward to the development of this thread good luck everyone..

    I'll just post some of my random renders I do every now & then hopefully representing Wonders in my world.. knocked this one up this arvo..

    Vegemite is definitely one wonder in my household... yum ;-)

    mmm,,vegemite :)..looking forward to seeing everyone's images

  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 9,986
    edited December 1969

    Stezza said:
    According to my clock it's about 2.30am in DAZLand..

    I look forward to the development of this thread good luck everyone..

    I'll just post some of my random renders I do every now & then hopefully representing Wonders in my world.. knocked this one up this arvo..

    Vegemite is definitely one wonder in my household... yum ;-)

    .

    That a white pointer or a bronze whaler in the middle distance by chance?

  • DiomedeDiomede Posts: 15,165
    edited December 1969

    Here is a before and after pic, taken 4 days apart. Plus, a little something from the parade.

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  • JonstarkJonstark Posts: 2,738
    edited December 1969

    Never heard of vegemite before, I'll have to go look it up. It doesn't *sound* like it would be wondrous (sounds to close to 'vegetables') but life is full of surprises :)

  • evilproducerevilproducer Posts: 9,050
    edited December 1969

    Jonstark said:
    Never heard of vegemite before, I'll have to go look it up. It doesn't *sound* like it would be wondrous (sounds to close to 'vegetables') but life is full of surprises :)

    Have you ever seen the brown juice that a grasshopper spits out? It's that color. Now, you know the consistency of grease from a grease gun? Not the titanium white grease, but the old style grease? It seems to be like that. Look up Vegemite taste challenges on youtube to see how it tastes. ;-)

  • StezzaStezza Posts: 8,050
    edited December 1969

    Stezza said:
    According to my clock it's about 2.30am in DAZLand..

    I look forward to the development of this thread good luck everyone..

    I'll just post some of my random renders I do every now & then hopefully representing Wonders in my world.. knocked this one up this arvo..

    Vegemite is definitely one wonder in my household... yum ;-)

    mmm,,vegemite :)..looking forward to seeing everyone's images

    Stonemason, not only the final images but even the WiPs that are done are great and are a tremendous learning tool to get the best out of Carrara for not only the old hands but also those that are new to Carrara..

    and with Carrara being on sale recently hopefully the new owners will post there works , and why wouldn't they with some great prizes on offer :-)

    head wax said:

    That a white pointer or a bronze whaler in the middle distance by chance?


    I think there may be both of them... but not sure who's on top :vampire:

    diomede64 said:
    Here is a before and after pic, taken 4 days apart. Plus, a little something from the parade.

    awesome snaps ... I can imagine you putting together a render with all these elements ;-)

    Never heard of vegemite before, I'll have to go look it up. It doesn't *sound* like it would be wondrous (sounds to close to 'vegetables') but life is full of surprises :)

    Jonstark,

    we're happy little vegemites as bright as bright can be

    we all enjoy our vegemite for breakfast, lunch and tea..

    That little ditty is known by all Australians... it's the first song we learn when we are about 6 months old lol

    Never heard of vegemite before, I'll have to go look it up. It doesn't *sound* like it would be wondrous (sounds to close to 'vegetables') but life is full of surprises :)

    Have you ever seen the brown juice that a grasshopper spits out? It's that color. Now, you know the consistency of grease from a grease gun? Not the titanium white grease, but the old style grease? It seems to be like that. Look up Vegemite taste challenges on youtube to see how it tastes. ;-)

    you need to come down under EP .. we have all the vegemite you can poke a knife at ;-)

  • TangoAlphaTangoAlpha Posts: 4,584
    edited December 1969

    Jonstark said:
    Never heard of vegemite before, I'll have to go look it up. It doesn't *sound* like it would be wondrous (sounds to close to 'vegetables') but life is full of surprises :)

    Imagine the dregs at the bottom of a brewer's barrel after all the delicious beer has been siphoned off. Now add a few herbs and spices, stick it in a jar and spread it on your toast. That's ... MARMITE! You either love it or you hate it. There is no middle ground.

    Sad to say, that VEGEMITE is just a poor bastardised Australian imitation, with no real flavour to it.

    ;-P

  • ncampncamp Posts: 345
    edited December 1969

    I tried Vegemite the couple of times is was in Australia, but did not care for it personally.

    My impression, overall, is the Australians think of it much like us southerners (U.S. southerners) think of grits. It is a part of the culture and heritage. We don't understand why the rest of the world thinks its strange.

  • JonstarkJonstark Posts: 2,738
    edited December 1969

    Grits are quite tasty, and even though I'm from the South I don't care for a lot of southern-style stuff.

    I went and youtubed vegemite taste challenge, pretty hilarious, but from the reactions I think I had better steer well clear. I think the most common description was 'nasty!' :)

  • JonstarkJonstark Posts: 2,738
    edited December 1969

    I was able to free up some time this weekend and do a little bit towards making an entry for this challenge (for the first time ever, I'm getting an early start instead of waiting til the 11th hour :) )

    So here's my backward and sorta crappy modelling of a cardboard tube (the sort of tube that Christmas gift wrapping paper often comes rolled around).

    First I inserted a vertex object into the scene, which pulled me into the vertex modelling room. I inserted a cylinder, and really only changed it from the default by making the cylinder long and thin using the scaling controls, left all the default number of polys in place.

    Then I grabbed each connecting loop of lines for each circular 'joint' of the cylinder and rotated them on the z axis, twisting each one right to the point of distorting the cylindrical shape. (1st pic).

    Next I selected two sections of polys on either side of the cylinder, spiraling their way from top to bottom (pic 2) and created a new shading domain for them (pic3) calling it 'darker'.

    In the texture room I selected a brown color for the whole object, but in my darker shading domain I made an every so slightly darker brown. (pic 4)

    I discovered that even 'twisting' my polys as much as I had it simply wasn't even close to enough spiraling, so I went back into the assembly room and selected the 'modifiers' tab for the cylinder vertex object and added a 'bend and twist' modifier. I didn't use any bending, but did quite a lot of twisting, till I was happier with the amount of spiral that I was getting (pic5), which is actually what shows in the preview render in the texture room in pic 4.

    The tube has to be hollow, so I deleted the top and bottom of the cylinder, but actually for the render I have planned it won't really be viewed from an angle that will show this so it didn't really matter.

    Now I'm 100% sure this isn't the best way to create a cardboard tube, but I'm not at all good with modelling, so this is the way I kludged it up. If others have a much simpler and easier way to make a cardboard tube please share, as I'm sure there are better methods but this was the best I figure out :)

    !!underbedcardboard5.png
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  • MarkIsSleepyMarkIsSleepy Posts: 1,496
    edited December 1969

    After many days of Google-ing I think I am leaning toward trying to do an image based on some part of Starved Rock State Park (http://www.starvedrockstatepark.org/). It's about an hour and a half from me and I should have time next weekend to drive out there and take some pictures. The forecast says upper 50's/low 60's and sunny for next Saturday which sounds great for a long hike, plus it's Spring so the waterfalls should be in full effect.

  • evilproducerevilproducer Posts: 9,050
    edited December 1969

    MDO2010 said:
    After many days of Google-ing I think I am leaning toward trying to do an image based on some part of Starved Rock State Park (http://www.starvedrockstatepark.org/). It's about an hour and a half from me and I should have time next weekend to drive out there and take some pictures. The forecast says upper 50's/low 60's and sunny for next Saturday which sounds great for a long hike, plus it's Spring so the waterfalls should be in full effect.


    And here I thought all you Chicagoans headed north to bother us! ;-)

    Looks very neat. I actually was born in Rockford, and lived there 'til I was thirteen. We used to go to state parks all the time. I'm surprised my mom never took us there, as this is the first time I've heard of it.

  • StezzaStezza Posts: 8,050
    edited April 2015

    Just a quick example for those that haven't participated in these challenges before..

    Here is the Colossus of Rhodes I put together this morning..

    I used the boats & buildings from Carrara's object library, made my own building with columns and built the wall & piers that Colossus is standing on using primitives and modifying in the vertex room..

    The water I downloaded from EvilProducers site ( thanks EP )
    see this thread: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/55137/

    The background mountains are from mmoirs set found in the store

    and I used Genesis and added the Rangers bow & quiver by 3DU and used the apron from one of the Genesis sets and retextured the lot with a metal shader that also comes included with carrara ..

    Postwork is allowed and encouraged.. see the last image

    This is just a quick & dirty example of what can be done with relative ease to get a render done, so don't be put off by having to model complex items & stuff..

    Use your content you have bought off DAZ or anywhere else, retexture it or anything else you may want to do with it in the modelling room ... seemple .. yes?

    and if you get stuck.. just ask in this thread with your WiPs ( work in progress screen shots )

    Colossus_of_Rhodes_Post.jpg
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    Post edited by Stezza on
  • JonstarkJonstark Posts: 2,738
    edited December 1969

    Stezza that's incredible, and so amazing you were able to put it together so quickly!

    Also I really should look more often at my included content, looks like with a little texture reworking some of it can look pretty great. And Evil's ocean is excellent too!

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,537
    edited December 1969

    Curious, can it be something entirely made up? Fiction?

  • StezzaStezza Posts: 8,050
    edited December 1969

    imagination is your tool ;-)

    If it's a wonder for you that's fine.. a story to go with it would be great as well :-)

  • JonstarkJonstark Posts: 2,738
    edited December 1969

    I think I need to ask for help on this, because right now I'm struggling, even though I'm relatively certain there must be a way to do this.

    I wanted to add a light blue glowing 'aura' effect for my cardboard tube, but for the life of me I can't seem to figure out how to do it. The best I've been able to manage so far is to put a blue fire around it, but that doesn't look right and kind of obscures the tube. There is an 'aura' effect in the effects tab for the vertex object, but as far as I can tell it does nothing (or else I'm not using it right). Anyone got any ideas to steer me in the right direction?

    Below is the current pic of the scene mockup, some elements I'm pretty happy with others not so much so, so this is still very much in progress, but the main problem is that cardboard tube. I want it to be clear that it is only a cardboard tube, (with the fire effect it kind of obscures it) but also wanted to denote it is 'special' at least in the mind of the boy holding it, thus I thought maybe to add some kind of glowing aura around it but not obscuring it. Maybe it's best to leave it a bare brown cardboard tube, but that kind of looks flat in the scene...

    !!underbedcardboardfire1.png
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  • DUDUDUDU Posts: 1,945
    edited April 2015

    If you add a color in the glow channel, that must work !
    Edit: An aura needs a color in the glow channel.

    Post edited by DUDU on
  • JonstarkJonstark Posts: 2,738
    edited December 1969

    Thanks DUDU, I'll give it a try. My hesitation is I still want the cardboard tube to be brown like cardboard, don't want it to glow blue... but actually since I'm going to be rendering in Octane and compositing the effects I actually just realized it probably doesn't matter. I'll give it a try, thanks!

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