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This is my final entry. I think I am becoming more confident in using Depth of Field.
Beginners Challenge (DOF)
Name: Safe
I played around with the F/Stop because the background is quite distant and it seemed too blurry to me. May have gone too far the other way, but don't have time now to do another.
Title: Serpent Spa
Software used: Daz studio and photoshop cc2017
Entry for intermediate challenge
Thank you for the canvas+postwork tutorials, they have been super helpful! I was completely clueless about canvases and learned a lot in the past 2 weeks. My computer hates me now I think, but I had tons of fun rendering + editing this image. Attached the raw render (full scene beauty canvas, converted to jpg and left unedited) and the image assembled from canvases with postwork.
This was my first attempt of canvas rendering with extensive postwork, sooo comments, feedback and critiques are welcome, more than ever! :)
Canvases used: light group canvases for the main spotlights and emissives and beauty canvases for the sakura trees, the serpent and the warrior (skin, hair, clothes, weapon). Emissive light groups and the beauty canvases were used with alpha. I'm not sure what emissive canvas is used for, I couldn't use it to rebuild the image with main light canvases, but then found a thread suggesting to use light groups instead.
DoF: Used camera DoF instead of depth canvas. Didn't try to overdo the effect, especially since the moon was a prop too (Terraluna product). Didn't use atmosphere because I was a bit worried about computer melting down...
Bloom: Added a little bloom effect in Daz (probably could have added more - will need to play with this effect more in the future). Tried to add more in photoshop with gaussian blur but the result wasn't very nice, it blurred not only the lampions but the image too around them too :/
Is it okay that I assembled my image from components and didn't use the full scene beauty canvas?
Can I render my scene multiple times, with different canvases and then combine those canvases? Somehow managed to make my GPU dumping the image on the CPU quite a few times when I started the rendering, sometimes even after fresh Daz start. Not sure if because I tried to render too many canvases at once (had 15 canvas in total). Or the number of canvases shouldn't make my computer suffer more than a simple render.
ninjaedit: based on 3141592654's comment I updated the PW file and uploaded the new one.
Wow! As another first time canvas user I am impressed with the difference between the two images. I know what you mean about taxing the computer system.
One question for possible improvement: the upper right corner of the image seems to have some bright sky in it that does not seem to match the nighttime environment. Perhaps there is a light source offscreen and you intend it ... or maybe not. But to my eye, that bright spot is more of a distraction from the center.
Oh whoops... nice catch, thank you! Didn't notice that o.o Yes, there is the background spotlight and it illuminates the tree. Didn't use any skydome, only scene lighting. Updated the postwork image in my previous post.
Rogue Run
Another play with canvases. Again, including base png and then tweaked work. Completely changed lighting around and enjoying the learning curve. Least happy with the expression - turned out more bland than intended!
Title: And Stay Down!
Daz 4.12
Entry for beginner challenge
Title: Waterlily
Software: Daz3D and GIMP
Entry for intermediate challenge
My computer was not a fan - I was only able to get beauty canvases of the full image, her skin, and her hair - so I have to admit I faked the DoF with gaussian blur in postwork
The original render, for comparison, is below.
edited to post a version that has been converted from 32 bit to 8 bit
This challenge is now closed.
Thanks to everyone for participating!
And a HUGE thank you to @DAZ_ann0314 for taking the time to create three amazing, helpful, and understandable tutorials - and then taking even more time to fully index them. Canvases terrified me, and I never would have been brave enough to attempt using them without your videos!!
September 2020
Showcased Participants for the September Beginners "Depth of Field" Challenge
phatmartino
Upset Slumber
Sanity Lost
bookaholic121
8
Tirick
After the Fall v2
Showcased Participants for the September Intermediate "Iray Canvases" Challenge
3141592654
Dystopian Future #3
Alias52
Rogue Run
bastian2560
9c
New User Welcome
katywhite
Pounce
We had a small turnout in September, compared to a typical month, and yet it was still very difficult to select which entrants/entries to showcase. The renders entered this month were outstanding all around. (And I'm personally envious of the skill level displayed with the canvases for the intermediate challenge. Your artwork was amazing!)
Congratulations are in order for one and all.
Congratulations everyone! I enjoyed looked at everyone's beautiful renders.
And my pounce image got featured! YAY!
=)
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much! I have still to sort out how to best use/try canvasses, but your tutorials have encouraged me to try my hand at it.
Congratulations to the winners and thanks for the wonderful renders everyone.
Agreed, congratulations to all and thank you so much to those who put the work into preparing, monitoring and helping new users with these challenges. This was so fun and so particularly inspiring for me, thinking about a lot of things I hadn't before. I learned a ton. Very appreciated!!
Wow, thank you! It wouldn't have been possible without the amazing videos by DAZ_ann0314. They really got me into canvases and made it so much less threatening!
Congrats everyone and good job on so many beautiful renders!
I am so glad that those who used the videos found them useful
Over time I hope to add more on other topics as well. Congratulations to those who were spotlighted and Happy Rendering Everyone! 
Congrats to the winners and thank you again for the canvas and postwork tutorial, DAZ_ann0314. It was super helpful! :)
Wow, thank you!!!
Well ...I do not usually do contests, but this was a fun way to learn something new. Perhaps I will come around here more often.
Also, congratulations to the entrants and thanks to the people who make this happen. You all made this a good experience ... not quite the 'competitive spirit' one would normally see but more of a helping each other out mentality. It's great.