Non-photorealistic Renders (NPR)

16162646667100

Comments

  • SammagiSammagi Posts: 137

    Cover for my first vol 1 graphic novel

    Very cool. i do like the simple composition (notice how you can still get the gist of it, even when I shrank it this small). Your text treatment is okay, but I suggest removing the texture from your name. It is diminishing the contrast with the black background and decreasing legibility. And please consider how the slash/cutout is affecting the letter A. I'm not saying it's not attractive or that it doesn't add interest, but the combination of the slash and the darker texture is affecting legibility at small sizes. Just think about it. In general, though, the brighter colors do help convey a sense of desert (by that, I mean her orange headdress and the white on him). This is a good start for a cover. You definitely have some good character designs.

    Thank you! I'm putting thought of the slash and decided to go with a more simplitic approach. I'm also working on test layouts for the pages now. Here they are so far!

    JTA Title title fix.png
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    Page 2 test 2.jpg
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    Page 3 test.jpg
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  • Thank you! I'm putting thought of the slash and decided to go with a more simplitic approach. I'm also working on test layouts for the pages now. Here they are so far!

    You're welcome for the comments. I think this looks interesting. 

    I don't want to go into a lot of it here (I only have about 30-45 minutes before I have to go to bed, and I really want to work on texturing a character I'm having trouble with). But would you be interested in hearing some very specific critiques on these pages? I like them in general, butt here are several things I would suggest, primarily about the lettering, if you're interested in hearing my thoughts. And I kinda like the updated logo, but I also liked the old one. It was maily the texture/fill that was affecting legibility for me. What if you made the J bigger, but kept it aligned to the top of the other letters and let the desceender go down below the bottom of your underline? Just a thought.

  • BriannahBriannah Posts: 13
    edited August 2017

    My holidays are over, and unfortunately that means a lot less time to render. At the moment I'm experimenting with filters and I really love that you can turn a normal render into something totally different. Here is something I did with the Nik filters which are free.

    The Proposal

    The Proposal.jpg
    3000 x 3313 - 7M
    Post edited by Briannah on
  • tkdroberttkdrobert Posts: 3,549
    Briannah said:

    My holidays are over, and unfortunately that means a lot less time to render. At the moment I'm experimenting with filters and I really love that you can turn a normal render into something totally different. Here is something I did with the Nik filters which are free.

    The Proposal

    Very cool. I have Nik, which filters did you use?

  • BriannahBriannah Posts: 13

    These filters are great. For this I used one of the Silver Efex Pro 2 Filters and tweaked it until I liked the result.

  • SammagiSammagi Posts: 137

    Thank you! I'm putting thought of the slash and decided to go with a more simplitic approach. I'm also working on test layouts for the pages now. Here they are so far!

    You're welcome for the comments. I think this looks interesting. 

    I don't want to go into a lot of it here (I only have about 30-45 minutes before I have to go to bed, and I really want to work on texturing a character I'm having trouble with). But would you be interested in hearing some very specific critiques on these pages? I like them in general, butt here are several things I would suggest, primarily about the lettering, if you're interested in hearing my thoughts. And I kinda like the updated logo, but I also liked the old one. It was maily the texture/fill that was affecting legibility for me. What if you made the J bigger, but kept it aligned to the top of the other letters and let the desceender go down below the bottom of your underline? Just a thought.

    Ahh, thanks for the input on that, and I don't mind constructive criticism as it has got me much farther than I did :). And I'm interested in your input on the lettering. as for the panels, these are just just layout before I start coloring through photoshop.

  • Thank you! I'm putting thought of the slash and decided to go with a more simplitic approach. I'm also working on test layouts for the pages now. Here they are so far!

    You're welcome for the comments. I think this looks interesting. 

    I don't want to go into a lot of it here (I only have about 30-45 minutes before I have to go to bed, and I really want to work on texturing a character I'm having trouble with). But would you be interested in hearing some very specific critiques on these pages? I like them in general, butt here are several things I would suggest, primarily about the lettering, if you're interested in hearing my thoughts. And I kinda like the updated logo, but I also liked the old one. It was maily the texture/fill that was affecting legibility for me. What if you made the J bigger, but kept it aligned to the top of the other letters and let the desceender go down below the bottom of your underline? Just a thought.

    Ahh, thanks for the input on that, and I don't mind constructive criticism as it has got me much farther than I did :). And I'm interested in your input on the lettering. as for the panels, these are just just layout before I start coloring through photoshop.

    You're definitely getting far with this project. I'll work up my comments soon (on deadline today, and I'm working on a long series of blog posts).

  • Sorry I've been so quiet these past two weeks or so. Busy, busy, busy. Just put that fanzine to bed (the one with the two-page Contents illustration), and I've got a new work project ramping up (gotta pay to keep the lights on, you know how it is). And, silly me, started a short tutorial on my noir illustration technique, and it's ballooned into a large tutorial. I'll post a link to it shortly.

     

    I also thought you guys might be interested in this thread (if you don't know about it), as it has a lot of very nice NPR work in it: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/153221/old-dog-new-tricks#latest ;

  • tkdroberttkdrobert Posts: 3,549
    edited August 2017

    Hey everyone.  Still leaning Manga Studio.  Here is a practice render I initially did in Manga, then threw all my other techniques at it.

    Need for Speed by tkdrobert

    Post edited by tkdrobert on
  • SammagiSammagi Posts: 137
    tkdrobert said:

    Hey everyone.  Still leaning Manga Studio.  Here is a practice render I initially did in Manga, then threw all my other techniques at it.

    Need for Speed by tkdrobert

    Whoah, Sick! I love the shading and texture of this ship!

     

  • tkdroberttkdrobert Posts: 3,549

    Thanks.  I'm mostly please with how it turned out (I am my own worst critic).  The more I learn Manga Studio, the more I like it, but my old techniques can still enhance the look quite a bit.

  • KnittingmommyKnittingmommy Posts: 8,191
    Briannah said:

     

    I have been watching this thread for a while and am very impressed by all the work I see here. I'm currently experimenting with Dogwaffle which has some really nice features. One of my first tries is in my galleries and mmitchell_houston left such a nice comment that I finally dare posting something here as well. I hope you like it.

    I just saw this in the gallery!  Very nice.  I've been debating about getting Dogwaffle.  It's very nice to see some of what it can do.  You have a striking, forlorn emotion in this image.

     

    Crescent said:

    Okay, let's see if I can post this correctly this time - my DS shaders and Photoshop actions.

    image

    This turned out great!  Nice definition and shading.

     

    tkdrobert said:

    Hey everyone.  Still leaning Manga Studio.  Here is a practice render I initially did in Manga, then threw all my other techniques at it.

    Need for Speed by tkdrobert

    That's really cool.  

     

  • Briannah said:

    My holidays are over, and unfortunately that means a lot less time to render. At the moment I'm experimenting with filters and I really love that you can turn a normal render into something totally different. Here is something I did with the Nik filters which are free.

    The Proposal

    You created a classic, fairytale scene here. The two characters are so detailed in regards to expression and body language. Nicely done. This is also an interesting effect. The only thing I notice is that there isn't a lot of contgrast between the foreground figures and the background. If the background were a little lighter, the to lead characters would "pop" a little more. Nevertheless, this is a nice,romanic scene. I really love the details onher dress and his clothing. Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

  • KnittingmommyKnittingmommy Posts: 8,191

    I've been playing with Snuggles the Bear.  Just couldn't resist him when he popped up in the store.  I came up with the following image experimenting with layering some new filters.  I really like how my final image turned out, but I thought it was missing something so I tried some framing.  I came up with two frames that I really liked, but they are markedly different and I'm not sure which one I like better.  They both have points for and against so I'm looking for opinions: with or without the frame and if framed which one and why?

    Original with Post:

    With Frame 1:

    With Frame 2:

  • tkdroberttkdrobert Posts: 3,549

    I like the 2nd one.  The 3rd one makes me think of blood. Maybe I need therapy. lol

  • 31415926543141592654 Posts: 975
    edited August 2017

    Good day all,

    I am learning to do toon shading in preparation for a series of animations I will be making. I am realizing that any and all generations are optional with toon shading. This is Victoria 3 with the Firedancer outfit ... simply done with Visual Style Shaders and Toonycam Pro. I like the effect, but what would improve this in terms of proper toonifying? Thanks.

     

    Victoria 3 Firedancer

    Post edited by 3141592654 on
  • KnittingmommyKnittingmommy Posts: 8,191
    tkdrobert said:

    I like the 2nd one.  The 3rd one makes me think of blood. Maybe I need therapy. lol

    Lol, you actually aren't the first one to mention that.  A friend told me the same thing and said he thought it reminded him too much of a horror movie or something like that.  I appreciate the feedback. :)

  • Worlds_EdgeWorlds_Edge Posts: 2,152

    I used various topaz lab filters on this one.  I can probably improve it with some additional hand draw lines but trying to make them nice and clean will be the trick.  Maybe I'll test how my line work looks when drawn in photoshop, clip studio and leonardo.  At the very least, that would give me some much needed practice.  If I follow through, and I get results that aren't too embarrassing, I'll report back on which program worked best for me.

     

    Boy in prison tooned.jpg
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  • I've been playing with Snuggles the Bear.  Just couldn't resist him when he popped up in the store.  I came up with the following image experimenting with layering some new filters.  I really like how my final image turned out, but I thought it was missing something so I tried some framing.  I came up with two frames that I really liked, but they are markedly different and I'm not sure which one I like better.  They both have points for and against so I'm looking for opinions: with or without the frame and if framed which one and why?

    Original with Post:
       

    Like you, that character was just too darn cute. If I weren't saving my money for something else right now, he would have definitely come hom to my Runtime!

    The poses and scenes are good (although that big tongue makes me think he's planning to eat her), and this is emphasized in Frame 2, which definitely looks like blood and changes this to a horror image. Frame 1 is cuter.

    My concern comes with the clash between detail and comic style. The render is too realistic, what with the texture on his clothing and fur, and it clashes with the toon sensibility. I would suggest running the Topaz Simplify filters (if you have them) to change the texture of his clothes into a single block of color. Ditto for the furn; we only need a few strands here and there to convey that it's fur. Or, try rendering it again without the pumpb maps (or maybe a toon render and use it as an overlay). 

    Anyway, have fun with this figure! I'm looking forward to seeing more of him soon.

  • I used various topaz lab filters on this one.  I can probably improve it with some additional hand draw lines but trying to make them nice and clean will be the trick.  Maybe I'll test how my line work looks when drawn in photoshop, clip studio and leonardo.  At the very least, that would give me some much needed practice.  If I follow through, and I get results that aren't too embarrassing, I'll report back on which program worked best for me.

    You touched right on the first thing I thought of: the inking/lines. This is a pretty good scene with lots of emotion. You can definitely read hopelessness and dejection in the character's face and body language. If I were going to suggest a way to tighten up the composition, it would be to simplify the panel designs behind his head, and then to try going with darker lighting. If he's in a simple spotlight or glow (or if the only light comes from the hallway so we get those cool bar shadows playing across his body), that would emphasize the lonliness of the scene. Overall, though, thhis is pretty top notch and I look forward to seeing what you do next!

  • Worlds_EdgeWorlds_Edge Posts: 2,152

    Thank you @mmitchell_houston.  I've been working on learning better posing and expressions and this is the first time I've been really happy with those two elements.  I completely agree that focusing the light on the character would be better.  In face, I did that on my photorealistic render which is in my thread and in the gallery.  Shadows from the bars is an excellent and dramatic suggestion.  

  • Thank you @mmitchell_houston.  I've been working on learning better posing and expressions and this is the first time I've been really happy with those two elements.  I completely agree that focusing the light on the character would be better.  In face, I did that on my photorealistic render which is in my thread and in the gallery.  Shadows from the bars is an excellent and dramatic suggestion.  

    You're very welcome! And your hard work at mastering poses and expressions is really paying off.

  • mmitchell_houstonmmitchell_houston Posts: 2,484
    edited August 2017

    I don't normally link to my blog, or mention it for that matter, and I hope it's not against the Forum Policies to do so, but I'm writing a detailed tutorial on my Noir Comics Style, and later today I'll be posting the latest chapter. In the meantime, if you're interested, you can find it here: http://mikemitchellonline.blogspot.com/search/label/Tutorials

    Sorry, but it will load in reverse order (newest one first), so if you want to go back to the beginning, you'll have to scroll down.

    Again, if this doesn't quite meet forum guidelines, let me know and I'll voluntarily pull this myself.

    Don't know if this matters, but my blog is 100% work safe.

    Post edited by mmitchell_houston on
  • I have been making a few renders so I could learn more about post work in photoshop.  Basically I have felt too much in a rut with my workflow.  There are styles and layers and oh my I just needed to just practice.  This is the result. I also have some test renders which have no background and these make great practice because it allows easier masking. 

    aandra1.jpg
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  • This is another where I was working on the layer effects.  It was a black and white render on blank background.  

    1500xunderwatern1.jpg
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  • HeadwaxHeadwax Posts: 9,989

    I don't normally link to my blog, or mention it for that matter, and I hope it's not against the Forum Policies to do so, but I'm writing a detailed tutorial on my Noir Comics Style, and later today I'll be posting the latest chapter. In the meantime, if you're interested, you can find it here: http://mikemitchellonline.blogspot.com/search/label/Tutorials

    Sorry, but it will load in reverse order (newest one first), so if you want to go back to the beginning, you'll have to scroll down.

    Again, if this doesn't quite meet forum guidelines, let me know and I'll voluntarily pull this myself.

    Don't know if this matters, but my blog is 100% work safe.

    hey that looks spiffing , thanks so much!

     

  • ArtiniArtini Posts: 9,471

    Great looking images, Lorraine Purviance. I like them, especially the second one.

     

  • tkdroberttkdrobert Posts: 3,549

    I really like the second one too.  Nice water effect.

  • This is another where I was working on the layer effects.  It was a black and white render on blank background.  

    Thanks so much for coming by to share these with us. As I told you before, I love what you're doing with texture. In this image, the addition of the bubbles are a GREAT touch. And you create such interesting characters.

  • head wax said:

    I don't normally link to my blog, or mention it for that matter, and I hope it's not against the Forum Policies to do so, but I'm writing a detailed tutorial on my Noir Comics Style, and later today I'll be posting the latest chapter. In the meantime, if you're interested, you can find it here: http://mikemitchellonline.blogspot.com/search/label/Tutorials

    Sorry, but it will load in reverse order (newest one first), so if you want to go back to the beginning, you'll have to scroll down.

    Again, if this doesn't quite meet forum guidelines, let me know and I'll voluntarily pull this myself.

    Don't know if this matters, but my blog is 100% work safe.

    hey that looks spiffing , thanks so much!

    Thanks! naturally, right after I post the links here, I miss my deadline yesterday. I was working on it when inspiration for a comic script hit me, so I completed that, instead. I will resume work on yesterday's post tonight after work.

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