Nova
Sky Hndx
Posts: 142
Here are a few renders I made based author Samuel R. Delany's 1968 sci-fi novel "NOVA". I'm a fan of Delany's work and have based work on scenes and characters from his stories for practice. All characters were made using Michael 4. I model the clothing, props and everything else in Hexagon 2.5. I use an older version of Daz Studio to render. I tried version 4.5 when it became available but it slowed my computer and I really didn't have time to peruse the forums for helpful hints on what to do with it.
I try to keep the images and designs close to how they're described in the books and improvise when I need to. I'm getting a kick out of referencing older material and keeping them simple as opposed to creating over ornate objects and costumes. ...I'm still practicing after all. My modeling skills are improving, I need to learn more on lighting and cameras and I'm still learning Daz Studio at a snails pace but I'm having fun.
The first render is titled, "Mouse". His name is Pontichos Provechi. He's a gypsy from earth, a "cyborg stud" a term for people who crew on ships and operate them via plugs grafted into their wrists and base of the spine. They control technology in this universe directly through the radial nerves and spinal chords. Like Delany's "the kid" from "Dhalgren", Mouse wears only one shoe. His "sensory syrnx" is his prized possession it can project animated holographic images accompanied by sound and aromas
The second is titled, "The Crew of the Roc on Hell3". The crew are from left to right are Mouse, Katin Crawford, the twins Lynceos and Idas, second in command Tyy her companion Sebastian and his winged gillies.
The third is titled, "Pirate". He's Captain, Lorq Von Ray with Von Ray Industries freighter The Roc. The heir of a rival family dubs his family as pirates.
The fourth is titled, "Leaving Hell3". Spacecraft in this story are not rocket propelled. They employ what Delany described as "projection vanes". The Roc has it's projection vanes extended for liftoff. I had to design a ship without the standard rocket blast.
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Comments
Wow. I like these. Nice job with those rays coming out of the guitar.
Thank you. My first attempts at his syrnx came out looking like an interstellar accordion so I figured well guitars are cool and the look will fit the character. : )
THE ROC COMMONS
"The cards mostly swords and pentacles are. Much money I see. Also much struggle about and around it there is."
Tyy throws tarot for Cpt. Von Ray in the commons. She, Sebastian, and Von Ray are from the Pleiades Federation. ...and apparently people there speak like Yoda.
Characters created using Michael 4. All objects, props, clothing and sets created using Hexagon 2.5. Rendered in Daz Studio.
I connected my flat screen tv to the computer and when I opened DS I got this wide screen view so I came up with this render.
I'll admit, I'm not familiar with the novel, but nice job bringing it to life. Seems to me you've captured the mood of the scenes very well and the lighting effects add a lot of interest too.
Thank you. I discovered Delany's writing when in high school and have had years to consider what moments and characters would look like. I would borrow one of his novels from the library so often the kindly librarian let me have it when I left the school. The image on the view screens is something I designed back then.
DS and Hexagon were a great find in helping bring them to life.
The Roc Commons
Another render based on Samuel R. Delany's 1968 novel Nova.
Katin Crawford, described as brilliant, gawky and absurdly tall. He has a habit of strolling with hands shoved beneath his belt with elbows flapping while contemplating lunar surfaces.
Digital recorders are common place today but in Delany's world of the 1960's, the idea of someone owning a small portable recording device capable of storing huge amounts of personal notes was, well, the stuff of science fiction.
Katin's jeweled recorder contains thousands of notes for a project he's working on. He wanted to try reviving what he referred to as, "an archaic art form known as the novel".
Character created using Michael 4, Clothes, set and props created in Hexagon 2.5, rendered in Daz Studio. Hair; Neftis, MonChevalier Hair. Water displacement map created in Hexagon.
One of my favorite books, your doing the idea justice here. Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much I was beginning to think I was the only one who knew of the novel. : )
The Roc Commons
Another in a series of renders based on Delany's 1968 novel, "Nova"
Idas and Lynceos, a pair of brothers from a set of triplets who left one brother behind in the Illyrion mines of the Outer Colonies. They fear the one may one day lose the other so they keep close often speaking in tandem as one mind.
Characters created using Michael 4. All clothing, props and sets created in Hexagon 2.5, rendered in Daz Studio.
The Mouse 2
A redo of the Mouse render.
Gilly Released
Sebastian sends one of his pets to rescue Capt. Von Ray, dragged into the suffocating mists of Vorpis by Ruby Red.
Character created using M4 with morphs. Clothing, creature, props and set modeled in Hexagon 2.5, rendered in DS 4.6, textures, bumps, displacement and transparency maps created in photoshop, post work in photoshop.
The Black Cockatoo
Red-shift Ltd.'s freighter The Black Cockatoo, transport of Prince & Ruby Red.
Vessel and stellar backdrop modeled in Hexagon 2.5, rendered in DS 4.6. Texture and transparency maps created in photoshop, post work done in photoshop.
"And it was nova."
Capt. Von Ray commandeers The Black Cockatoo and sends it into the star. Tyy assumes command of The Roc and pilots it away from the blast. She orders the crew off sensory input, Katin disobeys and stays connected to follow the progress of Von Ray and is blinded then loses control of his projection vane.
Vessel and backdrop modeled in Hexagon 2.5, rendered in DS 2.4. Texture, bump, displacement and transparency maps created in photoshop, post work done in photoshop.
Ashton Clark to you...
Capt. Von Ray having won his star, but a great price, releases the crew of The Roc on his childhood home world New Brazillia. In Delany's story Ashton Clark was a philosopher whose work influenced the creation of the neural plugs that made it possible for humans to interface with technology, redefining the meaning of work and labor for mankind. It became customary to wish someone beginning new employment "Ashton Clark".
The final (for now) render in series of renders based on the 1968 novel "Nova". Characters created using Michael 4. Hair: Goya and Mon Chevalier by Neftis. Mouse' hair modeled in Hexagon 2.5. Clothing, props, furniture, backdrop and set modeled in Hexagon 2.5. Von Ray's veins: Vascularity from Renderosity. Texture, bump and displacement maps created in photoshop, rendered in Daz Studio 4.6, post work in photoshop.
I've been fiddling with aniMATE Lite in DAZ Studio. Basically a, hey lets see what this button does, kinda thing. So I thought I'd try a flyby shot using the "The Roc". Now that I've seen the outcome I'd like to try more. For one try to figure out how to create a convincing space field for the background. I made a test background in Hexagon 2.5 for this test.
Here's a screencap.
The test vid is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah02o2FTV3E
Here is another test animation I've been working on using aniMATE Lite. The freighter's projection vanes (glowy wing thingies) are operated by pilots connected to them directly by neural interface so I'm trying to give them an almost organic look and movement. I've been looking into ways to animate the textures and transparencies to make it appear that they're changing color and shape. That's if its possible. Its still a work in progress. The 8 second clip is 15 frames per second and took 5 hrs. to render.
Here's a screencap.
The test vid can be seen here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYmi09XF0Js&feature=youtu.be
Alrightie, it appears I can finally see the renders again. So here's test render and another that I made for this series I've been fiddling with based on the novel. I've finally learned how to create conforming clothing and how to rig. It isn't that apparent in this render but the character's clothes are now conforming and I rigged his guitar looking thingy, its called a sensory syrnx. I added a bone to what I'm referring to as it's hologram emitter. It can now pivot and swivel in any direction making it possible to aim the hologram anywhere. The light beams and glows are now in-camera. I didn't do any post work in photoshop as I usually would.
And here's one I whipped up. Mouse is improvising a piece in the commons aboard The Roc. I modeled the props, clothing, hair and set in Hexagon 2.5. Rendered in DS 4.7. I want to learn to animate this guy creating an image. His instrument is capable of creating sounds and visuals and can also generate aromas.
I tried to edit the comment that I posted on March 22 but couldn't. I tried to click the post comment button but nothing happened. (...guess I haven't figured how thats done yet) I wanted to update the youtube link since I removed the old test vid. I rendered another test vid. The current one took 17hrs to render. I added bump maps and tweaked the specular and light settings. Here's the latest link. The old one is now a dead link.
At the present time members cannot edit posts that were transferred over from the old forum:- ie posts made before July7th
I've been fiddling around again. Here's an updated version of the render titled "Pirate". I added more models that I created in Hexagon 2.5 to the background. The original had a simple transparency silhouette of buildings. Hexagon is old but I'm still determined to get the most out of it. I also figured out how to get the bump map to work on the character's facial scar thanks to the help of someone here in these forums. I've been trying out how shaders work and also how to create glass effects.
I'm bringing up the rear when comes to this stuff, I still haven't gotten to IRay yet. I updated to DS 4.8 a couple of months ago then came here to the forums to read up on it and found the forums "in transition". My old avatar was gone and things were changed so I high tailed it out of here and figured I'd get back to it later.
Nice! I like the glowing elements, and the lighting on the main figure is much better.
Thank you. I usually add flares and light effects post in photoshop but decided to try my hand at adding the effects in-camera. I went shading domain crazy once I got it figured out in Hexagon. I modified the spaceship and added lights and landing gear. I like how the lighting on the character Lorq Von Ray improved. I added another light to shine on the new structures and it seemed to carry over onto him, so that was a happy accident.
Erm, there's something I've been a teeny-tiny, tad bit curious about lately. I happened to notice maybe just a few similarities when I saw a screencap of that film.
The model sensory syrynx I began creating in Hexagon back around 2013 was based on the few descriptions of an instrument from the 1968 novel so its been out there for a while. When I was working I kept a scene from Delany's novel in mind. The gypsy character Potichos "Mouse" Provechi stole the syrynx when he was a child. Being multi-lingual the boy tried to find a word to describe it and could only come up with one word, "Bellissimo!". So I tried to keep that word in mind while creating its look. When I did my first google search I found a hand drawn sketch from the 80's that had it looking like a futuristic accordion. I wanted something that would fit the look of a wanderer so I chose something close to a guitar with the idea that I'd create a scene of the boy roaming with it slung on his back.
As a boy Mouse roamed with a band of gypsies that did not have the neural plugs common in their world. Without them there was very little they could to do to earn a living or even function in that futuristic society. Mouse also had a defect, his vocal chords didn't function properly due to what the novel referred to as a neurologically congruent birth defect. He came to use the syrynx as an outlet for self expression and sometimes earned income as a popular entertainer.
In the Mad Max film the doof warrior with the guitar has a back story where he was born blind and in that world anyone with a defect would have been easily discarded so he had to find something that would distinguish himself as worthy of keeping around. So he took up that instrument and became a master at it and grew in importance.
I'm sure its just a happy coincidence.
Just a larger version of the Mouse render I posted earlier. The silver loop in front of the main part of the body is what I came up with based on the author's discription that it had parts similar to a theremin. The hand is waved over and through a type of field genrated by the device to shape the sound, image or aromas emitted by the syrynx, or maybe it controls all three.
Character made with M4. Character viens Vascularity for M4 by Zev0. Terrace, clothing, jewelry, hair, instrument and light ray modeled in Hexagon 2.5. Rendered in DAZ Studio 4.8.
THE SUN
Mouse steals The Sun tarot card from Tyy’s deck which alters an important reading for the captain where he was hoping to hear word of his nova. But the cards themselves give Mouse away during the reading a tell of a dark haired young man that has done something to prevent that. Mouse later confesses and brings the card to Capt. Von Ray and assures him he’s committed to helping him find his sun no matter where their journey leads. Afterward Mouse apologizes to the serene Tyy who is only happy to hear Mouse and the captain had an opportunity to meditate on the card together.
Clothing, props, set (...well, everything basically) created in Hexagon 2.5. Von Ray's hair Goya Hair. Post work in photoshop.
Excellent work all around!
I love the ambiance of the scene, the lighting is spot-on. The figures' posing seems very relaxed and believable- but gotta watch floating feet, the sitting male's foot is way off the ground. Is it supposed to be that way? You do wonderfully in Hexagon!
Thanks so much for the comments. About the foot. Its meant to be the focal point of the render. Mouse is a gypsy, one of two characters in Delany novels who go around with one bare foot. In the scene he placed his foot over the captain's sandaled foot and began to create imagry and music for him.