October 2015 New User Contest (WIP-THREAD)
New User's Contest - October 2015
Sponsored by DAZ 3D and ForbiddenWhispers
Are you new to the 3D World? Are you at the beginning stages of learning 3D rendering? Have you been around
for a little bit but feel you could benefit from some feedback or instruction? Have you been around awhile
and would like to help other members start their creative journey? Well then come and join the fun as we
host our newest contest...
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"Atmosphere"
This month, our attention will be on 'Atmosphere'
I will be checking in on the WIP thread as will the rest of the Community Volunteers to try and help with
anything you all may need, so feel free to ask questions.
The Golden rules of rendering can be found:
Bryce http://www.daz3d.com/golden-rules-composition-helpers-for-bryce
DAZ Studio http://www.sharecg.com/v/67783/browse/21/DAZ-Studio/Golden-Rules-Camera-Prop-v1.5 Also, DS has a
built in thirds golden rule just show thirds guide); See images below.
Here are various links to other things that may help you in this months contest. Credit is given to Szark
for this wonderful thread.
Tutorials by Szark http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/2765/
More info that will help with this months contest can be found:
for DAZ Studio
http://sickleyield.deviantart.com/journal/Tutorial-Creating-Dust-And-Atmosphere-in-Iray-522291773
http://www.omnifreaker.com/index.php?title=UberVolume
http://rawart3d.deviantart.com/art/Raw-FogCam-535959358
for Poser
Poser - Material/Lighting 203: Volumetric Atmospheres
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlfYmsUCJL0
for Carrara
Atmosphere Test Scenes for Carrara http://www.sharecg.com/v/33708/related/5/3D-Model/Atmosphere-Test-
Scenes-for-Carrara
for Bryce
Artist’s guide Sky Lab page 759
Bryce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahiyabdeUBI DoF in Bryce by David Brinnen
Bryce 7.1 Pro Easy - Spooky trees in Dan's fog https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-lDcqH78Is
Bryce Basics - Free content cloud over Big Sur https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs9490Co-XE
Atmophereic Basics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VyLOZWevi8g A Blender tutorial but the first 46 seconds really give you an idea of what atmosphere can be like.
What are some other elements for creating atmosphere.
https://prezi.com/dmvb-nlsj_wr/creating-mood-in-art/
http://www.zevendesign.com/mood-lines-giving-designs-attitude/
For a list of the current contest rules, please see this thread : Contest Rules
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For those veterans of the forums that would like to help, because this contest is designed for the beginner
to learn from, we will be randomly selecting posts offering helpful tips and/or critiques to receive a
special voucher as well so, whether you are a seasoned artist or an aspiring one, there is fun for everyone!
Closing Date: October 31, 2015
Comments
looks like I get to be first post :)
I used sickleyields tutorial to make the dusty "godrays"
I couldn't decide on an outfit for my model yet, I'll get to that part :)
The environment is called Hallway from Truform
anyway,,here is WIP #1 I call it "Noise in the Hallway"
Looks good so far, but what is that for a human shape in the window?
I went with a Halloween type feel.That is "grim" a character that comes with the graveyard bundle standing near the window.
It's a dark and gloomy night.The door at the end of the hall is the master bedroom.After hearing an odd noise in the hallway, Vicky awoke to discover her lover was no longer in bed with her.Hearing the strange rasping noises again she decided to grab her lovers dagger from the night stand and go investigate the noises.Halfway down the hall. she thought to turn back, but her desire to find the noise kept her from returning to her room.
nice work so far icecrmn. like the story to go with it as well.
here's what i have as of last night.
Are you testing different camera angles? Which one is your favourite so far?
Okay I thought I would give this one a try. I am trying to create a feeling of wonder and amazement. I would like the background to be a bit darker and the mergirl and the jelly fish to really stand out. But I'm not sure
how to do it without post work. And I would like to get the jelly fish to have a glow around it as well. I figured out how to make it glow onto the girl but can't figure out how to make the jelly fish itself glow a bit.
Her pose really conveys her caution yet determination. And I like that the hallway gets darker as it gets closer to us. But i'm new so take anything I say with a grain of salt lol.
Thank you Sonja11 :)
There are a couple ways to make things glow.First,,what render engine are you using? 3Delight or iray?
Also,,there is a freebie in the Daz Store that makes jelly fish glow, but it's for a paticular jellyfish.If you have that bundle it would be a bit easier to make it glow. Check this one to see if it works with your jellyfish http://www.daz3d.com/biolight .
3Delight. and that is the the jelly fish I have. Hmm going to have to try and track down where it decided to put the glowing part of it lol. I thought it should glow and looked in materials and various other places. Will have to go look again lol. And thank you!
Okay think I found the glowing part. Darkened the background a bit in the surfaces tab and changed the circle around them to a pink purple color. Need to work on that I think and would still like to have the background a bit more in the, well, background lol. Darker or maybe change the depth of field? Although its already a bit faded. And maybe add a tint of the pink purple to the leaves that are on the jelly fish side of things.
the second and third renders were both from the same camera angle. I just 'turned on the lights' if you will in render three. right now i'm thinking of dimming those overheads so we still clearly see the terminator, but at the same time it's in the shadows (does that make any sinse?)
One way to achieve that is of course to actually move it further back ;) It's not like you will run out of space to place things in. Though it requires that it's a prop placed in the scene.
Do not take it the wrong way, but i like your first try more.
1. The camera angle is much better. You don't see the straight lines from the plants.
2. I do not like the pink ground in the second pic.
Maybe you can pose her leg so that she cover the straight lines from the plants behind her.What i really miss, is the feeling of water. She seem to flow in the air.
Ohh and a question to the veterans here. Is there a option in daz, to cut and past maps or layers? I have the same problems as Sonja in her pic. Backround and foreground do not match together. :(
This is shaping up to a really nice scene, do you have any of the 3Delight underwater camera's or some of the 3Delight caustic gel lighting? I think it might benefit from that sort of underwater effect and intensify the atmosphere you have here? I'm only a beginner myself and as of yet haven't pulled off any effective underwater scenes but I have seen some incredible ones with those sort of effects.
Yes. I was torn between your 2nd and 3rd images. I liked the effect of seeing the red eyes from the Terminator in image 2 but seeing the entire figure in image 3 tells a better story. I agree that somewhere in between should work quite well.
This is a great start. You posed her quite well and I really like the colour pallete you have chosen, espeically in the first image.
Who is the focus of your image? Is it the Mergirl or the jellyfish? In your first image, becaus she is lighter than her surroundings the Mergirl is the main focus. In the 2nd image by changing the jellyfish to a bright pink colour you have made the jellyfish the focus.
I tend to agree with daybird. The tighter camera shot in your first image emphasizes the figures and reduces the impact from the stright lines on the plants. You could bring the camera back a little bit more than what appears in image 1 but not as much as in image 2. Something in the middle perhaps?
Another minor suggestion, if possible, I would try to make the tentacle/hair a bit more random. Maybe spread them out a bit. I do not own this figure and do not know what options are available.
When you say "color pallete" ,,what is that actually? Is that a way to choose cetain colors for the whole scene? Or is it something to do with choosing colors of items in the scene depending on the placement , like foreground or background?
Colour palette usually means an over all collection of colours which go well together to form an unified complete picture, colour scheme or whatever.
k,,I googled for a easy to use color pallete maker :)
I found this https://color.adobe.com/
and this
http://www.colorhexa.com/
the second one seems a bit easier to use for a beginner :)
if I type in "blue" in the search box for it.,,at the bottom of the page it gives me several "color schemes"
If I follow this correctly, these colors would be my "pallete" to choose from when coloring things in my scene?
btw,,it also gives the color codes to put in the Surface tab to make the colors :) (RGB decimal numbers look like the ones we would use for Studio)
Thank you! I will work on all the suggestions. I agree, I don't really like the pink on the ground. But it was late and I was done for the night lol. And please, don't apologize for your opinions, I want everyone to be honest, that's how we improve! This is only my 4th render so I am a bit lost as to all of my options. which is why I am participating lol. I may have some caustics for the water I think I might have seen some as I was searching for something else. Thank you for the suggestions!
I really like the way the eyes glow out of nowhere in the second one but I also like the fact that you can see the terminator in the third one. I'm not really qualified to offer advice on how to improve them but I think its going to be super cool when its done!
Hi Icecrmn, nice of you to be the first. I like your color palette choice. A nice one for setting a mood of suspense and terror. Love the godrays and the play of shadows coming through the window. All are well done. If I were working on this render I would check my composition of the piece. Make it so Grim and the girl were more the focus and not the hallway. I would also play with the lighting to get the outer edges of the hallway more in shadow, thus increasing the tension of just what is outside of the bedroom. Next I would try a nice yellow light coming through a crack in the door but not much just enough. This would also add to the tension because that is the safe haven and this hallway is not. Lastly I would consider positions of both the subjects to add to the fear factor for the viewer. I would look for images of what people go into when faced with uncertainty and of want.
These are just considerations. Looking forward to seeing what you do in the next iteration of this image.
Welcome Shinji Ikari 9th. You have a nice idea going on here. The position of the robot really lends to the overall mood of suspense in your render. If I were working on this image. I would check that I have the figures in the most interesting position. I have attached your image with the four dots that indicate where the intersecting lines from the rule of thirds would be for the current size of the render. I would see if moving these two figures closer to one of the dots would make the image more interesting. I would see if I could get some of the metal on the robot and espcially the gun to reflect some light. Last thing I would do is work on the solider's position. I would decide, is he just hiding and waiting for the robot to go by or is he preparing to attack. The attack approach would be more dramatic but the waiting could be more suspenseful. The difference between the waiting and attacking is in his stance and in his facial expression. I would hunt for images that show what the human face looks like when they have made a decision. I would also look at images of what a human may look like is a crouch to imply that the moment of action is about to begin.
These are just ideas to play with. Looking forward to seeing how you develop your idea.
I found the caustics. But when I apply it to my scene and dial back the opacity so it looks right, my background completly disappears. I'm applying it directly to the background. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. But, I think I can do the water effect in photoshop if that's allowed. Not sure if that would be in the spirit of the atmosphere theme though since I think we are supposed to try and get the atmosphere we want in studio not in photoshop lol.
This will be most useful thank you!
Why not give it a try, looking for more beams instead of the fog.
Welcome Sonja11, I am glad you want to participate. I am impressed that you want to do an underwater scene as your first entry. You have had many suggestions about what to do and if you don't mind I would like to take those suggestions and add some additional information to them.
But first let's talk about composition. I would like you to play around with the golden rule. Mind you, these are not hard and fast rules but they come in pretty handy when you first starting out and need a little help. DAZ Studio has a rule of thirds guide that you can turn on in the preview window. Look for the arrow with 4 lines behind it. It will be in the upper right hand corner to the right of the viewport drop down list, that says things like preview,left and front view. Click on that and look for Show Thirds Guide. I have attached your image with the 4 spots where the lines would intersect. We call them the sweet spots. Having interesting things, like a face, around or on these spots, creates an interest spot that our eyes gravitate to. They are where we want to have some sort of focus. So I would play around with my camera angle and see just what I would get if I put the two subjects in these locations. As Kismet2012 asked you, what is the focus of the image. What kind of story are you trying to tell. Composition will help tell that story for you.
So now that we have talked about composition let's talk about the scene props that you are using. The DAZ Environment plant selection, the plants that daybird refers to, are really only for distant rendering when you get up close and personel with this type of geometery you really need a better set of underwater plants to give you depth and dimension. So I would suggest that you try the following. They are free but you will have to register for access to two of the sites, Sharecg and xfrog, but that is free as well:
Corail 01 by Dreampaint http://dreampaint.perso.sfr.fr/poser2.html
Sea Plants2 by dreampaint http://dreampaint.perso.sfr.fr/poser9.html
XfrogPlants Giant Sea Fan by xfrog https://xfrog.com/product/RS04.html
Underwater-land by Petra Schmietendorf http://www.sharecg.com/v/9371/browse/5/3D-Model/Underwater-land
The next thing to talk about is your atmosphere. As KA1 has suggested, caustic or gel lighting is a way to get the sense of an underwater scene. You can also do it with cameras. In both cases the default lights and cameras in DAZ Studio have to be modified so I would recommend using the more advanced lighting and camera options. None of my free lights or camera products are available any more but here are three products that might help you in setting up your atmosphere:
Advanced Spotlight by Age of Armour http://www.daz3d.com/advanced-spotlight
(I have this set and it does nicely at casting that causic effect we see when sunlight is being bounced back from a surface underwater.)
UnderWater Ambiance for DAZ Studio by DestinysGarden http://www.daz3d.com/underwater-ambiance-for-daz-studio
(I don't have this one but I have other DestinysGarden light sets and they are very good and easy to use.)
Camera Magic:WaterCam DAZ Studio by zigraphix http://www.daz3d.com/camera-magic-watercam-daz-studio
(This product was recommended by DestinysGarden product to be used in conjunction with their lights. You might get some very interesting effects using both.)
Looking forward to seeing what you do.
Hello everyone ^^
Finally done creating my scene :)
I tried to give it a moody feeling this time :P , hope you like it! and I will be happy to hear any suggestion you have in mind!
Thanks,
Trixter :)
Icecrmn, I really like your start here and I have to say that I have not used any of the atmospheric tools around yet, so for me that part looks pretty good. What I would advise you to think about ist your composition, the lady seems to be pretty much on the right side thirds grid, while the gostly figure is way out to the side, while on the left side there is a lot of empty space. I would try a differrent format eg Portrait, to convey the length of the hallway but still reduce space to the sides. Additionally think about body language. there is a woman armed with a knife, why? She is afraid of something she doesn't know yet what, she will definitely not push out breast and butt ;-)