Sept 2016 New User Contest "Depth of Field" (WIP Thread)

mjc1016

New User's Contest – September 2016
Sponsored by DAZ 3D

 

Are you new to the 3D World? Are you at the beginning stages of learning 3D rendering? Have you been around for a little bit but feel you could benefit from some feedback or instruction? Have you been around awhile and would like to help other members start their creative journey? Well then come and join the fun as we host our newest contest...

"Focus/Depth of Field"

This month's focus will be on Depth of Field/Focus.

Depth of Field is basically controlling what part of the image is in sharp focus. A couple of explanations, from the world of photography (so not everything is applicable, but the definitions and basics do apply when rendering).

http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/depth-of-field.htm

http://digital-photography-school.com/understanding-depth-field-beginners/

Also, keep in mind all the various items covered over the past several months, because things like Portraits can greatly benefit from applying DoF.

I will be checking in on the WIP thread as will the rest of the Community Volunteers to try and help with anything you may need, so feel free to ask questions.

Inspiration:

Tips and Examples:

Studio:

http://flipmode3d.com/depth-of-field-daz-studio/

http://www.versluis.com/2015/04/how-to-render-with-depth-of-field-in-daz-studio/

http://www.sharecg.com/v/52258/browse/3/PDF-Tutorial/DAZ-Studio-Tutorial-Depth-of-Field

http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/19195/daz-depth-of-field-settings-a-general-starting-point

Poser:

http://www.keindesign.de/stefan/poser/dof_p5.html

http://www.trekkiegrrrl.dk/DOFtut1.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNTpR_qiA1Y

Bryce:

http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/3855/

Carrara:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gliniNqq8_k

Useful Tools:

Poser: DoF Script http://www.sharecg.com/v/85624/browse/8/Script/Easy-DoF-for-poser

Other Helpful Links:

When following tutorials, be cognizant of the different applications (Bryce, Daz Studio, Poser, Carrara Blender, etc.) and different render engines (3Delight, Iray, Reality, etc). Techniques for one may not apply directly to another. If you have some favorite portrait lighting and composition tips, please share them in this WIP thread.

Composition Golden Ratio helpers:
Bryce
DAZ Studio (Also, DS has a built in Rule of Thirds guide; just select Show Thirds Guide in the Viewport context menu)

For a list of the current contest rules, please see this thread : Contest Rules.

Entry Thread: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/110456/sept-2016-new-user-contest-depth-of-field-entry-thread

Closing Date: September 30, 2016

Shinji Ikari 9th

Here's the set I'm thinking of using. DOF will start being messed around with in the next version after I've picked my character(s) out.

isidorn

OOHH!! This is up already! Time to start thinking on what to do for this month then.

Shinji Ikari 9th

Here we go with version b. (Better try to get some rest though, I've got work tomarrow(or would that be later today?).)

Shinji Ikari 9th

Here's an idea for a second scene for this month focusing on Cheetah Girl, and it looks to me like she is ANGRY at us about something.

isidorn

That sure does look like one angry Cheetah! 

What first strikes me is that both images are very dark. With the Cheetah it works with the light effects, but for the first one in the corridor, I don't see any reason why it should be so dark.

Shinji Ikari 9th

isidorn said:

That sure does look like one angry Cheetah! 

What first strikes me is that both images are very dark. With the Cheetah it works with the light effects, but for the first one in the corridor, I don't see any reason why it should be so dark.

Here's version c of the one in question.

Knittingmommy

Oh, that looks much better!  I like the lighting on this version.

Kismet2012

Knittingmommy said:

Oh, that looks much better!  I like the lighting on this version.

I agree with @isidorn and @Knittingmommy.  The darker light works very well on the Cheetah Girl image (I really hope she isn't upset with me). 

I also love the reflections you have achieved on the floor of your first image.  They are much easier to see in the brigher version.

This is just a suggestion.  Please feel free to ignore it.  Perhaps something in the corridor in the background behind your characters?  Another character perhaps or a small robot.

dawnblade

Breach of the Guard Tower

3Delight render (using Light Dome Pro-R by Dreamlight)
Fantasy Guard Tower
LoREZ Skeleton Army
Elven outfit for G3F
Frawn Hair for G3F

Hi All! Here is my idea for this contest. Let me know your thoughts!

Kismet2012

I hope she has enough arrows.

You have done a good job with composition.  My eye goes right to the skeleton warrior jumping over his fallen companion.

The only thing that bothers me, and I am not sure it can be easily fixed without messing with the entire image, is the bow being used by your Heroine.  It blocks the Skeleton Warrior and his bow.

Well done.

dawnblade

Kismet2012 said:

I hope she has enough arrows.

You have done a good job with composition.  My eye goes right to the skeleton warrior jumping over his fallen companion.

The only thing that bothers me, and I am not sure it can be easily fixed without messing with the entire image, is the bow being used by your Heroine.  It blocks the Skeleton Warrior and his bow.

Well done.

Thank you @Kismet2012! An elf without arrows is like a day without sunshine! :)

I moved her bow so that more of the Skeleton Warrior and his bow are visible. Let me know how it looks to you.

Her head is still blocking the rest of his body. I tried various ways by moving her or twisting/bending her waist, but either the jumping warrior gets blocked or she is bent over too far.

I also tried to hide the post to her right. If I could free that spot up, then I could move the skeleton with his bow in plainer sight. Turns out the Fantasy Guard Tower is one object, so I can't hide individual pieces. I looked in Surfaces and changed the opacity to zero for Wood3 I believe, and it not only hides the post but also many other pieces of wood.

FrankTheTank

deleted

Shinji Ikari 9th

DvoraszeniaStudios said:

dawnblade said:

 

I also tried to hide the post to her right. If I could free that spot up, then I could move the skeleton with his bow in plainer sight. Turns out the Fantasy Guard Tower is one object, so I can't hide individual pieces. I looked in Surfaces and changed the opacity to zero for Wood3 I believe, and it not only hides the post but also many other pieces of wood.

You could also use the Geometry Editor to get rid of the post

I was about to type that myself before I read your post.

dawnblade

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

DvoraszeniaStudios said:

dawnblade said:

 

I also tried to hide the post to her right. If I could free that spot up, then I could move the skeleton with his bow in plainer sight. Turns out the Fantasy Guard Tower is one object, so I can't hide individual pieces. I looked in Surfaces and changed the opacity to zero for Wood3 I believe, and it not only hides the post but also many other pieces of wood.

You could also use the Geometry Editor to get rid of the post

I was about to type that myself before I read your post.

Thank you both! I've never used it but I found YouTube tutorials that may help.

Linwelly

dawnblade said:

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

DvoraszeniaStudios said:

dawnblade said:

 

I also tried to hide the post to her right. If I could free that spot up, then I could move the skeleton with his bow in plainer sight. Turns out the Fantasy Guard Tower is one object, so I can't hide individual pieces. I looked in Surfaces and changed the opacity to zero for Wood3 I believe, and it not only hides the post but also many other pieces of wood.

You could also use the Geometry Editor to get rid of the post

I was about to type that myself before I read your post.

Thank you both! I've never used it but I found YouTube tutorials that may help.

You could as well try to group and rotate everything a bit ( not the camera) so the elf is more to the right corner and the skeletons are moved a bit to the left, but its a tricky thing as this might throw over your composition. On a different note, I don't care to much for that background. Somethign is thowing me off, could it be that the lights come from a different direction? ( I guess its a backdrop or that light dome?)

Kismet2012

You did an excellent job.  Her bow now frames the Skeleton Warrior and his bow. 

 

There is a written tutorial on the Geometry Editor in DS Creative Magazine on Page 36.  If you have not discovered them yet they are full of great tips and tutorials.

dawnblade

Thank you all for your comments so far!

Here is version C with two of the skeletons in the background in view:

• different view of the skydome/background and slight angle change (Linwelly)
• right post next to elf removed with geometry editor (DvoraszeniaStudios and Shinji Ikari 9th)
• Geometry editor help and new online magazine source (Kismet2012)

Shinji Ikari 9th

Here's version d. Added someone entering the corridor behind them, and gave Scott some headgear.

Kismet2012

Wow...nice job @dawnblade and @shinjiikari9th.

 

Your Skeleton Warriors are much easier to see and the adjustment to the background is less distracting now.

 

I like the addition of the soldier coming in from the other corridor.  It gives the impression the complex is occupied by more than just Scott and your Cheetah girl.

mjc1016

Shinji Ikari 9th,

Check the positioning of Scott's feet.   To me it looks like he is floating a couple of inches above the floor.  There shouldn't be that gap between the toe of his boot and the reflection of it (rear foot) or the heel of the front boot and floor.

dawnblade

Kismet2012 said:

Your Skeleton Warriors are much easier to see and the adjustment to the background is less distracting now.

Thank you @kismet2012!

Shinji Ikari 9th

mjc1016 said:

Shinji Ikari 9th,

Check the positioning of Scott's feet.   To me it looks like he is floating a couple of inches above the floor.  There shouldn't be that gap between the toe of his boot and the reflection of it (rear foot) or the heel of the front boot and floor.

Here's version e fixing that. Thanks for the catch mjc1016.

Saphirewild

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

mjc1016 said:

Shinji Ikari 9th,

Check the positioning of Scott's feet.   To me it looks like he is floating a couple of inches above the floor.  There shouldn't be that gap between the toe of his boot and the reflection of it (rear foot) or the heel of the front boot and floor.

Here's version e fixing that. Thanks for the catch mjc1016.

It is looking so much better now that he does not look like he is floating down the corador!!!!

ewcarman

dawnblade said:

Thank you all for your comments so far!

Here is version C with two of the skeletons in the background in view:

• different view of the skydome/background and slight angle change (Linwelly)
• right post next to elf removed with geometry editor (DvoraszeniaStudios and Shinji Ikari 9th)
• Geometry editor help and new online magazine source (Kismet2012)

 

Wow, this has come along nicely. Looks like I need to learn about the Geometry Editor.

isidorn

dawnblade said:

Thank you all for your comments so far!

Here is version C with two of the skeletons in the background in view:

• different view of the skydome/background and slight angle change (Linwelly)
• right post next to elf removed with geometry editor (DvoraszeniaStudios and Shinji Ikari 9th)
• Geometry editor help and new online magazine source (Kismet2012)

Getting rid of that pole certainly opened up the view for the better. Well done!

Three things you might want to consider:

The charging skeleton's shield looks old (which is good) but it also looks unnused. If you could add marks and scratches to the shield's surface or otherwise make it look more used, it would improve the look and help making the skeleton warrior look more like a threat.

Switch position on the archer skeleton and the skeleton next to it. Right now the skeleton to the right is nothing else than a cheerleeder and the archer seems to be blocking its way to get to the hero archer. Switching their position gives the skeleton warrior free access to the hero archer, adding an additional threat to her.

You got rid of that post in the middle of the image. You might as well get rid of the rest that was above it. That wooden beam sticking out in the air now is kind of distracting.

On second thought, make that four things to consider. To me it looks a bit like the charging skeleton is smiling, which makes it look friendly rather than threatening. But I don't know how much, if anything, can be done about that, depending on how morphable and poseable the skull is. Also, I think deleting the eyes would be for the better. Empty eye sockets are scarier than two wide eyes, which makes it lean a bit towards the toony side. But that of course might be a good thing, if that is what your intentions are.

As always, this is just suggestions so please feel free to ignore them.

isidorn

Shinji Ikari 9th said:

mjc1016 said:

 

Here's version e fixing that. Thanks for the catch mjc1016.

Looking better and better! I personally would prefer a bit more light on the front of the two hero characters, especially Scott as his chest now mostly blends into a big dark blur. It would also make it easier to see his expression.

Again, just a suggestion, so please feel free to ignore it.

dawnblade

ewcarman said:

Wow, this has come along nicely. Looks like I need to learn about the Geometry Editor.

Thanks @ewcarman! Here is what I learned about it (and the problem I can't solve right now):

Select your object in the scene tab, then go to Tools/Geometry Editor.

1. Your cursor will change to a red circle 

2. Select the item you want to hide

3. Right-click the selected item, and choose Geometry Selection/Select Connected

4. The selection will have expanded if applicable

5. Right-click the selection again and choose Geometry Visibility/Hide Selected Polygon(s)

6. The post is now invisible!

7. Thanks to @DvoraszeniaStudios for providing help with making sure the changes you make are actually saved with the scene:

DvoraszeniaStudios said:

To hide them permanently in that scene, once you have the polygons hidden, just go to Geometry Editing > Delete Hidden Polygons. (this will permanently alter the guard tower just in the scene, not in your assets. If you want to use this same scene again with the tower fully exposed, then I would just suggest saving it with an alternate scene name.) Also, there are other useful ways to select polygons using lasso or marquee, under Geometry Selection, which is very helpful for selection of large areas in a scene. Extremely useful for kitbashing, once you play around with it, you'll wonder how you did without it.

8. Don't forget to select the Node or Universal tool to exit Geometry Editor mode when you're done

Please note: The problem is that even when I save my scene and reopen it, the post is visible again. Then I have to redo it. That's the part that I'm confused about. I don't want to permanently modify the base guard tower. I just want the modifications to be saved with my scene. Not sure how to do that.

Other than that big caveat, hope this helps you! :)

FrankTheTank

deleted

dawnblade

isidorn said:

Getting rid of that pole certainly opened up the view for the better. Well done!

Three things you might want to consider:

1. The charging skeleton's shield looks old (which is good) but it also looks unnused. If you could add marks and scratches to the shield's surface or otherwise make it look more used, it would improve the look and help making the skeleton warrior look more like a threat.

2. Switch position on the archer skeleton and the skeleton next to it. Right now the skeleton to the right is nothing else than a cheerleeder and the archer seems to be blocking its way to get to the hero archer. Switching their position gives the skeleton warrior free access to the hero archer, adding an additional threat to her.

3. You got rid of that post in the middle of the image. You might as well get rid of the rest that was above it. That wooden beam sticking out in the air now is kind of distracting.

4. On second thought, make that four things to consider. To me it looks a bit like the charging skeleton is smiling, which makes it look friendly rather than threatening. But I don't know how much, if anything, can be done about that, depending on how morphable and poseable the skull is. Also, I think deleting the eyes would be for the better. Empty eye sockets are scarier than two wide eyes, which makes it lean a bit towards the toony side. But that of course might be a good thing, if that is what your intentions are.

As always, this is just suggestions so please feel free to ignore them.

Thank you @isidorn! These are great suggestions. I can do 2) switch skeleton positions; 3) hide the post holder thingy on the top right; and part of 4) hide the eyes because there is a morph for that. There are no head morphs/expressions that affect the mouth, but I agree with you that it looks like the skeleton is smiling.

Regarding #1, I don't know how to make the surface appear marked/scratched either in Daz Studio or in Gimp yet. The brushes I've found in the Daz store are either for Carrara or Photoshop, and I don't have those applications.

dawnblade

DvoraszeniaStudios said:

To hide them permanently in that scene, once you have the polygons hidden, just go to Geometry Editing > Delete Hidden Polygons. (this will permanently alter the guard tower just in the scene, not in your assets. If you want to use this same scene again with the tower fully exposed, then I would just suggest saving it with an alternate scene name.)

Also, there are other useful ways to select polygons using lasso or marquee, under Geometry Selection, which is very helpful for selection of large areas in a scene.

Extremely useful for kitbashing, once you play around with it, you'll wonder how you did without it.

 

That worked! Thank you so much, @DvoraszeniaStudios!