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Thank you very much for your comments, Kismet2012...
Not that I'll have the time (or skill) to do anything about it, but do you have any suggestions on how do deal with the issue? I played around a bit trying to move her hair without shortening - but those still had clipping issues except moving the hair back, which totally changed the look and practically eliminated the shadows all together...
maybe move/mess/add/change the lighting? Right now there's just the HDRI (stock) and a single spot, coming from her right and above...
~ Andy
Hi Andy, I have come into this at the same time as you. I had similar hair clipping issues. I found that some could be done with shortening hair but, like you, found that changed the look. So, I have tried to use hair with more morphs or more poses available to allow a bit more tweaking. For lighting, I have looked at lots of different articles but found that this link has helped me some (as it links to other places.) https://thinkdrawart.com/how-i-light-my-daz-studio-iray-scenes - maybe it will give you some ideas too.
Thank you for the input, Kismet. It took a lot of trial and error, but I didn't stop until everything was "just right", especially for the eyes (adding the eyeliner really helps creating contrast).
The background is just an image, I just matched the light colors with an appropriate HDR (used only for light) and added some ghost lights (otherwise I would get tons of noise on the armor, for which I also enabled caustics).
Finally for postwork, I should mention that I did only some color toning as well as dodging and burning, and that's it. The render had come out pretty well without any strange artefacts, which is almost a miracle (there is always a pixel out of place), and so it took me only a few minutes.
Thank you for your compliments and your suggestion. After a crash course in exactly what a rim light is, I gave it a shot. It's a very subtle effect. I don't know if I did it 100% right. But without your suggestion, it's something i never would have even thought of.
Authentic art! The 100 is wonderful! Congratulations!
@jecswp One of the thing you want to have on your characters is a an alternation of highlights and shadows.
Rim light: in your case, it doesn't have much room to come from (because of the wing) so it can only come from behind the head. Make sure it hits a bit the ear, the shoulder, and probably make it a bit brighter than what you have there (the Rim light is usually the strongest of the lights used in a 3-light system).
Key light: Also, the face of your character doesn't have any highlights, and with a nice light coming from the right, you could add some interesting details there. Also, consider adding some color to this light. Your character's hair is...blue. What goes well with blue? ;) I'll leave it to your experimentation.
Lighting in general is considered on of the toughest things for beginners, but if you think in terms of highlights/shadows it can help you a lot. If you have still have difficulties, you can always preview your renders in black & white by setting the saturation to 0. By removing the colors your brain will have to process far less information and will be able to concentrate more easily on the lights.
Just some food for thought. :)
@daedalus7 Thank you for the advice and information. I worked on it today throughout the day and came up with this. I turned off the hdri so now you can really see the light behind her. I also turned off the light from the original picture, which was above and to the left. I replaced it with one to the right at face height. I like this a lot better. I should try one where I move the wing out of the way.
Portrait Rendering (Expressions and Lighting)
Hello, at the beginning of May I discovered DAZ3D. The possibilities for image composing, perspective and lighting design immediately convinced me.
Here are two pictures for the New user challenge. The "Bass Guitar Lady" Pic is a mix of the Shan and Charlene models. I think she's a real groove hacker and plays the bass as good as Ida Nielsen. The second picture "The Shooter" is based on the model "Tennessee". In the after work of this image I used the NIK Color FX Filter for Photoshop to add a some noise and a fistful of dust to get a vintage look.
@jecswp @ekke2020
Since this month's challange is about Lighting, I want you guys to think of these elements:
Shadows (black/dark), Midtones (grey), and Highlights (whites/light). These three elements represent 3 levels of illumination that, used together, create contrast.
In other words, if you have an image with too much of any one element what do you get? A flat image.
Of two elements? A more interesting, yet "missing" something image.
The perfect blend of all three? The perfectly balanced image.
So, let's analyze the images you guys posted:
jecswp:
ekke2020
Well, just some food for thought guys :)
Portrait Rendering (Expressions and Lighting)
Guardian of the Moon
2944 iterations
Rendering Time: 22 minutes 13.6 seconds
Character: Loomie La Fee G8
Morphs Body: Young Generation Girls, Beauties for G8F and EJ Body Shape And Detail Morphs
Morphs Ears: SY 200 Morphs for Genesis 8 Head and Body
Skin Surface: ShaderPlan Glitter
Lips Surface: LIE Make-up Set 2, just shine purple
Nails: Hand Salon with Finger Jewelery Indian Inspiration
Hair: Calista Tail, Lashes Utilities
Clothing: Warrior of Dusk G8
Prop: Technomancer Sphere
Skydome: Orestes Iray HDRI Skies - Fantasy Moon
Filter rendering: Fast Production Lights
No bright spot. Emissive ambient light only. No photoshop.
I hope I have achieved the objective of the topic.
All tips and observations are welcome!
So, I've tried to play with the L.I.E. image editor (since, after all, I'm trying to learn something new) and see what I could come up with.
Entry #1: Otherwordly Beauty
Intermediate Challenge - L.I.E. (Layered Image Editor)
[FINAL VERSION, Daz Studio - Iray Render]
Thank you very much for the comment. Yes, he is a bit too close to the camera. I'll make another render. :)
Great work on this one. I will try to add my textures to the Glossy surface tab too. I wasn't doing that, just Base and Translucency. Do you also change the translucency color? It is a shade of red as default. I'm also doing some make up for my characters and the lipstick always turns darker than it is.
Thanks for the compliment! (I just fixed my image, and replaced it in my post above, BTW).
Alright, I finally decided which altered render to replace my original entry with. Thanks for the feedback given to me, I appreciated it.
Beginner challenge entry.
Title: Surprissse...
Software used: Daz Studio 4.12 (no postwork)
Gallery link with a list of the products used: https://www.daz3d.com/gallery/#images/1052741
I like the chiaroscuro and chromatic effect you are going for. The only things that seem a bit off are the sword, that seems to be hiding some nice white fur on the left side (remember, in chiaroscuro you want to go from bright to dark, putting something dark in the "bright" region breaks the effect). Persoanlly I would try a render without it, see how it goes.
The other thing that seems a bit too "unnatural" is the perfect look straight ahead expression. Perhaps you could consider playing around a bit with the head direction, tilt as well as the eye's.
For the expression: I "assume" you are going for an agressive look. Just google "cat agression" and you will see that there are various types of looks for feline agressivness. The expression you chose seems to be missing a few "indicators".
Just some food for thought. :)
Thank you for the feedback, I am glad you like the work I spent on the lighting of the scene.
Just a little bit of explanation on the idea behind this scene.
The mugger is not holding a sword, rather a glaive (from Rogue Element Arsenal), in her right hand. Her left hand is grabbing the viewer by their throat, while she is holding the sharp glaive in a threatening pose. She is looking the viewer straight into their eyes to emphasise the feeling of prey when ambushed by a predator suddenly appearing from the scary darkness. The looking straight into the viewer's eyes is very intentional, It is supposed to almost instill fear by fixating the viewer's eyes on the eyes, the fangs shown in the angry expressions, and the sharp blade aiming at the viewer's throat. A cat playing with a mouse feeling, sort of...
The covering of the fur on the left is also intentional, as that fur is on her breasts, and it tends to seriously poke through chest armour.
Hmm, see the problem there? You actually had to explain to me what was going on and how to feel. Don't you think that an image is should "show, not tell?". Again, food for thought ;)
Well, I am not sure what problem am I supposed to see here. Not everyone sees the same things on any given piece of art, or gets the same feeling from it. Some people do see what I try to create, some don't. No harsh feelings here.
This is one of the images that I keep trying to refine as I learn new tricks. This is nearing version 20 at least. It helps to be able to see progress across a single pose, and then I try to incorporate the things I learn into my other renders.
The figure is Mylene HD. The skin was modified slightly using Skin Builder.
The hair is Lynette hair. I wish it was a bit more readable on top, but I like the style and color.
Her outfit is from MEGA Wardrobe.
The scene itself is Medical Center Waiting Room. Kind of an odd choice, but it's what I had when I was starting. Removed nearly all of it to improve render times.
The lighting is what I think is 3 point lighting based on a few tutorials and a whole lot of tweaking.
The pose is something I modified from a random standing pose. The left hand could be brought closer to the body, but I like the pose overall because I think it conveys some attitude on her part.
I'm fairly new to Daz still (picked it up a hobby while on lockdown). Trying to learn still so all feedback is welcome.
@watchdog79 The problem, in my opinion, is that you are probably going for an overly complicated narrative that you are not showing.
For example:
Her left hand is grabbing the viewer by their throat, while she is holding the sharp glaive in a threatening pose.
Do you see it in the picture? No. I'm only seeing a small part of an arm. For all I know she may be holding a pizza and saying "eat pizza! Now!"
So it seems to me that perhaps you could go for a simpler narrative, like "portait of a tiger-woman with an expression that represents her personality".
I am saying that because a complex narrative would require an equally complex picture with many small details to convey all the information that you are seeking to convey, and a portrait may not be the appropriate format size to do so.
Again, I am just stating my opinion, so take it as you want.
Well, I do see it there, and certain other people do too. Especially those who immediately think of the term "Khajiit mugger" as soon as they see it.
I do, however, understand that some people do not see the same things. And that's fine.
I think that was an error on my part. I usually get the starting posts proofed by the other Community Volunteers.
As far as I know you do not need to have participated in the other Challenges.
Hair can be tricky and I can understand you not wanting to lose the shadows the hair created on her face.
A deformer might have moved those strands just enough to prevent the clipping. A push modifier might work. No one tool seems to work in every instance. Sometimes, if you have the time and patience, you have to experiment with different things to see what might work in any given situation.
It makes a difference. I am often amazed by how a little change can really make a big difference to an image.
I think I might have forgotten to mention I like the way you used a wide format for the image. It is quite effective and really helps to show off those wings.
I like your posing and the camera angle. You have some interesting shadows on her face. I think you were smart to use a lighter colour palette with her hair, makeup and elements in her outfit.
I like the shot of blue from the orb but it does have a tendency to draw my eye...but then the moon behind her head tends to draw it back.
You have the begings of a vingette feel with the shadows on the right side of the image. If that is what you want you might be able to achieve something close if you reduce the size of the radius on the spotlight. I believe you have a light source off to the right of the image judging by the shadows.
I like your use of DOF. The pictures/paintings on the wall add some texture and colour but are not distracting due to your use of the DOF.
@daedalus7 You could try loading the claws as a prop and then parenting them to G8's fingers. This is a suggestion from one of the Community Volunteers. Not sure if it will work.
Her instructions/suggestion:
The chances are really good "claws" will be a pair that load one to each hand, rather than two separate items that load individually.
It can take a bit of work to separate them. I think the easiest way would be export each one as an OBJ and then import them as Left Claw and Right Claw.
If they load separately, I'd recommend turning them into Props via the Edit > Asset menu, (Convert Figure to Prop) assuming it works with the older rigging.
Hope this helps.
Thanks a lot for the tips, Kismet. Luckily, the claws were two separate objects, I'll see what I can do.