Carrara Challenge # 51 - Here There Be Dragons! Folk/Fairy Tales WIP thread - Brilliant Images

Cbird

Diomede said:

 

ACBird - another great image.  IMHO, the Lord of the Rings qualifies as a fairy tale in the usual usage of that term, but I defer to Headwax as coordinator for an official ruling.  Fairy tales and myths influenced Tolkien.

the following is taken from a fan site - https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings

Non-Christian religious motifs also had strong influences in Tolkien's Middle-earth. His Ainur, a race of angelic beings who are responsible for conceptualising the world, includes the Valar, the pantheon of "gods" who are responsible for the maintenance of everything from skies and seas to dreams and doom, and their servants, the Maiar. The concept of the Valar echoes Greek and Norse mythologies, although the Ainur and the world itself are all creations of a monotheistic deity — Ilúvatar or Eru, "The One". As the external practice of Middle-earth religion is downplayed in The Lord of the Rings, explicit information about them is only given in the different versions of Silmarillion material. However, there remain allusions to this aspect of Tolkien's mythos, including "the Great Enemy" who was Sauron's master and "Elbereth, Queen of Stars" (Morgoth and Varda respectively, two of the Valar) in the main text, the "Authorities" (referring to the Valar, literally Powers) in the Prologue, and "the One" in Appendix A. Other non-Christian mythological elements can be seen, including other sentient non-humans (Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits and Ents), a "Green Man" (Tom Bombadil), and spirits or ghosts (Barrow-wights, Oathbreakers).

Gandalf the "Odinic wanderer", from a book cover by John Howe.

The mythologies from northern Europe are perhaps the best known non-Christian influences on Tolkien. His Elves and Dwarves are by and large based on Norse and related Germanic mythologies.[citation needed] The figure of Gandalf is particularly influenced by the Germanic deity Odin in his incarnation as "the Wanderer", an old man with one eye, a long white beard, a wide brimmed hat, and a staff; Tolkien states that he thinks of Gandalf as an "Odinic wanderer" in a letter of 1946.[3] Finnish mythology and more specifically the Finnish national epic Kalevala were also acknowledged by Tolkien as an influence on Middle-earth. [citation needed] In a similar manner to The Lord of the Rings, the Kalevala centers around a magical item of great power, the Sampo, which bestows great fortune on its owner but never makes its exact nature clear. Like the One Ring, the Sampo is fought over by forces of good and evil, and is ultimately lost to the world as it is destroyed towards the end of the story. In another parallel, the latter work's wizard character Väinämöinen also has many similarities to Gandalf in his immortal origins and wise nature, and both works end with their respective wizard departing on a ship to lands beyond the mortal world. Tolkien also based his Elvish language Quenya on Finnish

 

 

Thank you, Diomede! I love the depth of sources Tolkien draws on, but I also think a couple hundred years from now details of the story will be circulating  in minds of those who've never read the original. Then, I think it will be well on its way to full fairy tale status. I think Frankenstein has already got there. It really is a fascinating process. I also admit I reread LOTR every year, so I may be biased, lol!

Headwax

Diomede said:

Thank you for the comments on the spinning wheel, DesertDude and Headwax.

 

Here is an update of the John Henry project.  The mallet has been replaced with a maul, as per alert comments.  Genesis and custom overalls with shadow catchers against a background render from TangoAlpha's "End of the Track's" product.  A little postwork to fix some pokethrough on the left sleeve, adjust some shadows with shadow pass, and enhance the iron of the maul.

Original render, revised render, and scene setup attached.

 

very nice, the posture and character shows the weight of the action - something that a lot of 3d work lacks. Clever use of the shadow catcher!

 

Headwax

Cbird said:

DesertDude, thank you for the comment. I love, love your building modifiers. I'm thinking spooky German Expressionism possibilities now!

Diomede, The sense of power in that pose sells it for me. (and I learned about mauls).

Headwax, Daniel is wonderful. I think that tone mapping tip will be endlessly useful.

This isn't an entry unless LOTR is a modern fairy tale, but I wanted a place to post it :)

Post makes use of Topaz Glow 2 which I really like, then Impression. Frame is Filter Forge.

 

hey LOTR does it for me as a fairytale  - thanks for the heads up on Glow - it really 'enlightens' the image :)

 

Cbird

Headwax said:

Cbird said:

DesertDude, thank you for the comment. I love, love your building modifiers. I'm thinking spooky German Expressionism possibilities now!

Diomede, The sense of power in that pose sells it for me. (and I learned about mauls).

Headwax, Daniel is wonderful. I think that tone mapping tip will be endlessly useful.

This isn't an entry unless LOTR is a modern fairy tale, but I wanted a place to post it :)

Post makes use of Topaz Glow 2 which I really like, then Impression. Frame is Filter Forge.

 

hey LOTR does it for me as a fairytale  - thanks for the heads up on Glow - it really 'enlightens' the image :)

 

Thank you, Headwax. Glow 2 can result in fabulous neon night scenes, but changing the blending and opacity can get interesting and less overwhelming results in other images. There is a lot there to play with. I feel like I've only scratched the surface.

Diomede

Here is the current status of the witch morph for Veronika's Janna character.  I used the 3d paint tool to create a bump map.  I created a mixer to give the skin a green hue.  Hair is Carrara dynamic hair grown on a hair cap.

Stezza

@diomede John Henry is coming along nicely  

@cbird yep I'd say same as Headwax .. very cool work 

Diomede

Thanks, Stezza and Headwax.

I'm going to go ahead and enter this witch render. Vyusur's Janna character with custom shaping and texturing.  Carrara dynamic hair and VWD robe.

Cbird

Diomede said:

Thanks, Stezza and Headwax.

I'm going to go ahead and enter this witch render. Vyusur's Janna character with custom shaping and texturing.  Carrara dynamic hair and VWD robe.

This

I love this skin texture. All the variation makes it seem "real" if that makes sense.

Diomede

Thanks, CBird.  I like how the neck and the right hand turned out.  I copied a square section of the face bump I had painted and made a tile for the hands, neck, ears, and back of head.  I think it turned out better than the face.

To be honest, I really meant to have three witches and a weaver's loom.  Had more plans for the cloth on loom to show pictograms of someone's fate.  Not even close to getting there so I am submitting this.  

UnifiedBrain

Headwax, a terrific "Daniel."  Hard to pick from the variations, as they were all so good.

Diomede, exceptional modeling on the spinning wheel, and in making clothing with VWD.  Wish I had your skills!

DesertDude, you had better finish your moth entry, or I will be pissed!  :) Just a wonderful textural feel, consistent throughout.  Love the curviness of the buildings.

Cbird, your LOTR render is flat-out gorgeous.

Hope to enter one more before the deadline.  Doing a "final render" as I'm writing.  But you know how that goes - there always seems to be something extra to tweak. :)

DesertDude

Headwax, CBird, UnifiedBrain, thanks for the nice comments.   

This is pretty much it, just gonna take a break and look at it a bit longer then render a larger version to enter as a final.

I added the other moths bouncing around with one knocked onto the floor in the bottom right corner. The bulb in the lamp closest to us in the lower left has a bluish color in the glow channel and Aura invoked. The "sparks" are really a Fire Primitive set to Sphere. I also added some weeds and grass. The weeds are very thin cylinders from the Vertex Modeler and tapered using the Model > Deform > Taper tool, then duplicated and each duplicate was gently bent, duplicated again and again to make a clump. The grass is a model I made a while ago that keeps making a cameo in my renders...

 

 

 

DesertDude

Stezza said:

DesertDude said:

 

thanks,

that render is three renders composited in PSE with splash brushes used to get the splash effects

I rendered the wall/drain then the rat and boat then the ocean primitive saving as PNG with trans .. layered all in PSE and postworked away 

Thanks for the explanations Stezza.

DesertDude

WendyLuvsCatz said:

DesertDude said:

Diomede - Wow, that loom model is awesome, no wonder customers around you were impressed. Is it all geometry or are there some shader tricks going on, or a combination of both? Toon witches are looking great, hope we get to see them in action. And great job on the spinning wheel model and composition. You just instantly know what it's about. Great use of replicator for straw.

WendyLuvsCatz - Wow, the environment looks fantastic. So, when you say various backgrounds added in Hitfilm, were they also rendered in Carrara and with Octane? What constitutes the background? I'm asking 'cause they look really good. 

one had a DAZ iray render of Magix's iray worlds the other a Flowscape shadowplay capture so no not Carrara, the foreground figures were

but the Cat one was actually all Carrara Octane

not entries so doesn't matter 

Thanks for the explanations Wendy. I'm not familiar with any of the other software, though I think I remember a thread/discussion about Flowscape. In any event, they look great!

UnifiedBrain

A Wolf and Sheep Clothing

 

Forgive the pun. :)

M3 and a couple of G2 gals are the characters.  Sheep outfit is Restless, M3 outfit is M3 everyday wear modified with shaders and displacement.  Hair is M3 beard and Miwa Anime.  Background is a random scene grabbed from the internet and modified in PSE (didn't have time to build a background).  GMIC LyleJK filter.

No postwork.

Cbird

UnifiedBrain said:

A Wolf and Sheep Clothing

 

Forgive the pun. :)

M3 and a couple of G2 gals are the characters.  Sheep outfit is Restless, M3 outfit is M3 everyday wear modified with shaders and displacement.  Hair is M3 beard and Miwa Anime.  Background is a random scene grabbed from the internet and modified in PSE (didn't have time to build a background).  GMIC LyleJK filter.

No postwork.

I like the pun, UB. But I'm a little worried that his clothes are all that's left of Little Red Riding Hood!

Thank you for the kind comment.

Headwax

Diomede said:

Thanks, Stezza and Headwax.

I'm going to go ahead and enter this witch render. Vyusur's Janna character with custom shaping and texturing.  Carrara dynamic hair and VWD robe.

wow she looks like the witch straight out of that movie with the tornado - you know the one....

 

Headwax

UnifiedBrain said:

Headwax, a terrific "Daniel."  Hard to pick from the variations, as they were all so good.

Diomede, exceptional modeling on the spinning wheel, and in making clothing with VWD.  Wish I had your skills!

DesertDude, you had better finish your moth entry, or I will be pissed!  :) Just a wonderful textural feel, consistent throughout.  Love the curviness of the buildings.

Cbird, your LOTR render is flat-out gorgeous.

Hope to enter one more before the deadline.  Doing a "final render" as I'm writing.  But you know how that goes - there always seems to be something extra to tweak. :)

thanks UB :)

 

Headwax

DesertDude said:

Headwax, CBird, UnifiedBrain, thanks for the nice comments.   

This is pretty much it, just gonna take a break and look at it a bit longer then render a larger version to enter as a final.

I added the other moths bouncing around with one knocked onto the floor in the bottom right corner. The bulb in the lamp closest to us in the lower left has a bluish color in the glow channel and Aura invoked. The "sparks" are really a Fire Primitive set to Sphere. I also added some weeds and grass. The weeds are very thin cylinders from the Vertex Modeler and tapered using the Model > Deform > Taper tool, then duplicated and each duplicate was gently bent, duplicated again and again to make a clump. The grass is a model I made a while ago that keeps making a cameo in my renders...

 

 

 

straight out of a kid's book - love the style and crooked buildings

 

 

UnifiedBrain said:

A Wolf and Sheep Clothing

 

Forgive the pun. :)

M3 and a couple of G2 gals are the characters.  Sheep outfit is Restless, M3 outfit is M3 everyday wear modified with shaders and displacement.  Hair is M3 beard and Miwa Anime.  Background is a random scene grabbed from the internet and modified in PSE (didn't have time to build a background).  GMIC LyleJK filter.

No postwork.

ha ha, great image - I like how his nose reiterates some other graphical elements and adds unity - plus great expression - , GMIC looks terrific - and good to see M3 getting a run!

 

WendyLuvsCatz

I misread runt

them realised was an exclamation mark

Bunyip02

WendyLuvsCatz said:

I misread runt

them realised was an exclamation mark

Should have gone to Spec Savers !!!

WendyLuvsCatz

love the old folks aerobics 

UnifiedBrain

Thank you Cbird and HW for the comments on the wolf/sheep render.  Such a great Challenge theme!

Headwax

WendyLuvsCatz said:

I misread runt

them realised was an exclamation ma

heh heh loved the volley ball and the denouement

 

Headwax

UnifiedBrain said:

Thank you Cbird and HW for the comments on the wolf/sheep render.  Such a great Challenge theme!

pleasure :)

 

DesertDude

Headwax said:

DesertDude said:

Headwax, CBird, UnifiedBrain, thanks for the nice comments.   

This is pretty much it, just gonna take a break and look at it a bit longer then render a larger version to enter as a final.

I added the other moths bouncing around with one knocked onto the floor in the bottom right corner. The bulb in the lamp closest to us in the lower left has a bluish color in the glow channel and Aura invoked. The "sparks" are really a Fire Primitive set to Sphere. I also added some weeds and grass. The weeds are very thin cylinders from the Vertex Modeler and tapered using the Model > Deform > Taper tool, then duplicated and each duplicate was gently bent, duplicated again and again to make a clump. The grass is a model I made a while ago that keeps making a cameo in my renders...

 

 

 

straight out of a kid's book - love the style and crooked buildings

Thank you Headwax! 

DesertDude

Headwax - Daniel in the Lion's Den - Another beauty, thanks for the detailed explanations. Has a nice "otherwordly" feeling.

Diomede - Nice work with the VWD plugin. I'm not familiar with it but looks pretty convincing and powerful. Cool. 
Nice work on your John Henry project. I like that curved track. The image has a nice soft feeling to it, even those nice subtle glints and highlights.

"To be honest, I really meant to have three witches and a weaver's loom.  Had more plans for the cloth on loom to show pictograms of someone's fate.  Not even close to getting there so I am submitting this.  "
Great job on the witch! I know we'll see some version of witches and a weaver's loom in the future. 

Cbird - Beautiful image - has such a bright sunny day look.

UnifiedBrain - Haha, cool image. Really like those bold colors and the expression on the the sheep's face. The whole image really...er,...pops. 

 

DesertDude

Thank you Headwax for hosting another successful Carrara Challenge - great theme that inspired a wide variety of styles of images from the Carrara community and more tips and tricks to add to the collective knowledge. Yay!

And thanks to DAZ for its support and sponsoring the challenge! 

Diomede

Voting question

 

Can the "Most original interpretation" also be one of the 3 voted for?

Headwax

thank you DesertDude, that's very kind!!! It's always fun to see what brilliance Carrara users produce :)

 

Diomede said:

Voting question

 

Can the "Most original interpretation" also be one of the 3 voted for?

Good question - sure ! But I might have to change the rules so that one person cannot win more than one prize??? 

 

Diomede

Headwax said:

thank you DesertDude, that's very kind!!! It's always fun to see what brilliance Carrara users produce :)

 

Diomede said:

Voting question

 

Can the "Most original interpretation" also be one of the 3 voted for?

Good question - sure ! But I might have to change the rules so that one person cannot win more than one prize??? 

 

I'll not upset the apple cart