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So it's almost end of month, I'm not sure how much i will be around for the last days, so time to wish everyone who enters the contest good luck for that,
Thanks again to mods and everyone else for advice and support ( Blurst of Times, my leaves will still not be really chaotic, guess they never will :-)).
Very nice work from everyone, and really nice to see the improvements over the month again.
Here is my entry : About gymnastic : Learning gymnastic with coach
Thanks for your comments.
About those leaves :-)
I was going to say that it is difficult to make things look naturally disordered, but then there's the mess around my computer work space. Disorder is a natural state, but it's hard to make things perfectly and intentionally disordered.
3d art does not often lend itself to naturalistic disorder. The super symmetry in the figures is one issue. Perfect teeth, great hair, no lopsided breasts, eyes that are clear and bright. So much about the art is perfection, which I also enjoy.
In some art, mastery isn't perfection. It's making things look casually great. That's what I aspire to, anyway. Even if I used a Sci fi corridor,I wanted to make it look as if people had been there.
I spent a lot of time adjusting the disorder in my image. Turning the beer bottles so the labels weren't all facing the same way, shifting the bottles around so that they were not spaced too evenly, shifting boxes and containers for the same reason. Of course it helps to have all of those things in my library so that I could do that
I still see things I wish were different about my image, but it was time to let it go.
You've done an excellent job posing the student on the beam. The upper body of the teacher is also excellent. The legs of the teacher seem unnatural to me. She's perfectly in that spot, as if planted there. She's too flat-footed to look natural in that pose.
The frame of the scene is a bit off. The student on the beam seems like she is touching to top edge of the image. The left and right sides of your image are very empty. I think you need to have your camera closer to your subjects and to move the camera upwards so the student is more centered.
What about a gym mat? You could create some simple gym mats with primitive objects. I'd consider that only if you have time to add them and experiment with your image since the deadline is coming up.
Thanks for your comments.
I tried this; Is it better?
I do like the camera position. It allows you to see the width of the beam, which makes for a more dramatic scene. I think our traditional television view of the beam (mostly from the side) is mostly meant to show off leaping and not the balancing aspect. So, knowing that you know the sport of gymnastics, think about placing the camera in locations that emphasize the action in the best way.
And I do like the subjects. I think they need to be more centered in the image. If I were at home, I'd crop the image to show you what I mean... maybe later I can explain it better.
Thanks Blurst, but honestly, not seeing the butterfly net here. lol! I did change it however.And yes, I do have the depth of field effect on the camera and have tried a bunch of different things with that. I got a foundation of the effect I wanted and only bumped it a little in Photoshop. At first, I just thought to adjust the spin blur but then I tried different ones in the Blur Gallery and find that the Tilt Shift blur seemed to give me a nicer balance. I blurred the end of the handle just a bit and made the axe a bit sharper.
In PS I've got almost everything set as smart objects so I can try non-destructive tweaks. I changed up the layer blend modes on the flames then put more smoke in so it's easier to see the structure of the trebuchet. I also duplicated some flame and smoke layers putting them behind the trebuchet as well as over the top of it, so the fire and smoke extends a little - as if other things are burning in the background that we can't quite see. The smoke along the bottom I thought helped block out the horse and rider more so it doesn't appear as if they were on fire - it helps separate them from the background. Then I increased the size of the trebuchet in the background. You can't see the sling anymore but with adjusting the fire, you can see the big counterweight better. Some folks might realize it's a trebuchet but I think most will because of the counterweight. I also adjusted the depth of field blur on that - so hopefully now the edges don't detract from the image I can always crop it a little if I was unsuccessful.
So hopefully this is improved.
Thank you for all of your help Linwelly! I really appreciate all of your suggestions. Thank you so very much!!
Cheers,
Kathryn
I like what you've done here. I've also enjoyed observing the process. Good luck!
Thank you very much, ewcarman!
Another render after at least 7 times trials, I'm still struggling with my scene and hope to complete before the contest close :cheese:
Oh lyam - I wanted to tell you that I did experiment with this quite a bit, especially when I was fiddling with putting the archer into the scene. Unfortunately I couldn't quite get it to work but I did try several things. While I couldn't get it to work for this round, I did want to thank you for this suggestion as I'll be sure to take this into consideration for future projects. It's never good to be stuck in a rut so at least this gives me a different way to look at things. Thank you very much!
Cheers,
Kath
Oh lyam - I wanted to tell you that I did experiment with this quite a bit, especially when I was fiddling with putting the archer into the scene. Unfortunately I couldn't quite get it to work but I did try several things. While I couldn't get it to work for this round, I did want to thank you for this suggestion as I'll be sure to take this into consideration for future projects. It's never good to be stuck in a rut so at least this gives me a different way to look at things. Thank you very much!
Cheers,
Kath
Kath, your final picture looks good. Forums are really only for suggestions and technical advice anyway; you can't please everyone since everyone will like something different. Your image is your own; as long as you like it.
I like it. The business end of the axe needed to look meaner, I guess. Sharpening it up is a good choice.
Regarding the trebuchet, it almost doesn't matter what is on fire. The fire looks good, and the fact that it's a huge fire is all I need to know & you don't need to say much more than that.
You're pushing yourself,I can tell. That's good. At this point, maybe it's time to dial it back? Just focus on a hero fighting a dragon. Use only the things you need to sell that story.
Your main hero is excellent.
Get the main dragon more visibly dangerous. Claws, fangs, fire.
Unless you want to add a victim, discard the rest and keep it focused because time grows short.
Ok, here's what I mean by centering the subjects in your frame... borrowing Cris Palomino's technique of criticism.
I extended the bottom of the image, and I pulled in the sides of the image.
Our focus should be on your gymnast and the coach.
The poses look excellent, though.
If I might comment on your two figures, I think I'd like an expression on the gymnast on the beam. Is she concentrating? Is she frightened? Is she fierce and determined? Her face is blank. While that's okay, I think it might be better with more expressiveness.
I add expression for student.
And I tried to center subjects.
I think it's my last try for this month beacause I have to post my picture today to not be too late.
Thanks a lot for your comments.
..and here is mine rendered in iRay..
i have to work textures a lot..but i m newbie so.... %-P
Here's the final version of mine. I replaced the hero's outfit, tweeked their poses, and converted everything to Iray.
Welcome!
The choice to work with an outdoor scene is very good if you are new to Iray. That simplifies lighting considerably. Indoor is more of the challenge in understanding how the lights work.
Nits. I'd like the woman on the right to be further from the edge of the image. You have the space to play with.
Also, if she could move one hand under the glass wall, it would make more sense since that must be quite heavy.
The woman in the middle has a strong pattern on her clothes. If you could add a background behind her, like a concrete wall, it would look less eye stabbing on top of that tile pattern.
That's all I have at the moment.
Welcome!
The choice to work with an outdoor scene is very good if you are new to Iray. That simplifies lighting considerably. Indoor is more of the challenge in understanding how the lights work.
Nits. I'd like the woman on the right to be further from the edge of the image. You have the space to play with.
Also, if she could move one hand under the glass wall, it would make more sense since that must be quite heavy.
The woman in the middle has a strong pattern on her clothes. If you could add a background behind her, like a concrete wall, it would look less eye stabbing on top of that tile pattern.
That's all I have at the moment.
thanks .. i will try today
You're pushing yourself,I can tell. That's good. At this point, maybe it's time to dial it back? Just focus on a hero fighting a dragon. Use only the things you need to sell that story.
Your main hero is excellent.
Get the main dragon more visibly dangerous. Claws, fangs, fire.
Unless you want to add a victim, discard the rest and keep it focused because time grows short.
Thanks Blurst, I've minimized the render to just the Dragon and hero, I've also added some blood splatters to dragons wounds, finally managed to complete the scene render and uploaded to the entry thread.
Although, I'm not good in commenting on other contest entries, and I know I cannot be helpful to others as I've just starting using DAZ Studio a few months ago, but I like what all had participated.
I Wish Good luck to all participant and congratulations to the future winners... :-) ;-)
Here is my new render by sugestion of The Blurst of Times
i also edited some materials....
Nice effect with the glass. I'm waiting for it to shatter!
But the person with the ball is still too unruly textured.
Thanks
you are right , person with the ball is still too unruly textured...i will try to change this if is not too late...
when contest finish ? at midnight?
Nahhh this is finaly , .. i dont have time anymore :(
Ha! Well, it looks good, generally. That outfit is very busy, but the idea was funny. As good as the idea was, it could have been executed better... but there is always next month!
At some point, we all reach the, "F--- it" moment. There's always one more thing that might make the whole image better, or that tweak could also completely ruin the image.
Fortunately, unlike a Bob Ross painting, we get very simple do-overs when we can re-render the scene. Now that we're near the end of this month's contest, the ability to do the do-over is greatly diminished.
Yes time is ticking down
MAKE sure you have your finalised images transferred to the entry thread
Where is this ? entry thread ?
----------------------------------------------
EDIT
ah , got it %-P
Here. :)
So some things to think about for next time. The idea is funny, now we talk about reality. Depending on the glass, it's going to shatter and splinter, so there are two things: 1) the ones holding the glass are definitely in peril of being hurt and are very casual about it, and 2) while he may be able to keep standing after the glass shatters, she is definitely struggling with the weight of the glass and is more likely to fall as soon as the glass is hit. So these are the kinds of things you have to take into consideration when setting up a scene.
Good luck with your entry.