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"Twas brillig and the slithy toves did gyre and gimbal in the wave
All mimsy were the borogoves and the momrathes outgrabe"
Say, does that sword go snicker-snack?
Sure. There's always so much interaction between items and settings that getting things tuned optimally can be quite interesting. I had some scenes that rendered with awkward banding and only recently realized that it was because of using the default light quality. In a different direction, *enormous* gains can be had by switching from the default ray traced light to buffer mapped. Depending on the scene it may or may not work out. Iit is *so* much faster for non-trivial scenes I've wished for the ability to specify larger buffer maps to get adequate results in more situations.
Your image is very nice. Sure, as Evil pointed out, there's the issue with the fence, but I was just looking at it from the total scene perspective. There's enough depth and interest to the environment to be very nice. One thought about the foreground would be to use displacement painting to tweak the flat area for a particular scene. I don't think you can do that in the assembly room (which, if so, is a shame), but using the preview window in the modeling room to keep an eye on things should be doable.
I see you are signing your renders now. I think that counts as post-work! :lol:
I really should play around with the dragon models some time soon. Oh why can't we have 7 day weekends? :smirk:
I see you are signing your renders now. I think that counts as post-work! :lol:Nope. :coolhmm:
If you want to learn about Post, Might I suggest This Thread? lol
Anyhow... here's what that's really all about:
When making renders as a painting or illustration, We should almost feel obligated to perform at least some post work. An image should truly be all it can be before being considered done.
However, when promoting a product for Daz, it is best (and almost a bit of a rule) to present images that have not been altered by post work. This way potential customers are actually seeing what they would be getting. So that's where all of That comes from :coolhmm:
So that's where I started learning how to produce different effects and solutions within Carrara. If I can make my images look great simply by hitting the render button, so can anyone using the product... and that's what I want. 100% Satisfaction!!!
I do get that bit. It makes perfect sense and does send a powerful message. It was just a little good-natured ribbing.
I do get that bit. It makes perfect sense and does send a powerful message. It was just a little good-natured ribbing.That's what I figured... and I like that! Rib away, my friend!
You did a beautiful job on your brass posts with the red velvet rope. Very nice work. ;)
Okay, I have been adding a lot to this baby. I'm still going to try to have it incredibly affordable and hope it flies with the upper office.
Along with the normal style of preset scenes, with all of the stuff in there, I'm taking a large pile of extra time to include 360 degree backgrounds that can be used in addition to the rest of the set. Presets using the backgrounds preloaded, along with the appropriate lighting set up for each, allowing the flexibility of bringing in anything else you want from the kit, or from your own collection.
The kit will also include a video tutorial set - which may or may not (I haven't thought it through yet) be available for free from my YouTube channel.
The first addon pack, also incredibly inexpensive, has undergone its first test although not yet complete.
The Amazing Flying Flyrms!
Although they look like a fairytale miniature form of some sort of dragon species up close, they were actually designed to be used in realistic settings as well as fantasy and/or scifi as well, as distant background movement objects to add motion activated realism to your scenes. Incredibly low in poly-count, these cute little fellas will come with many presets to chose from to simply drop into your scene - which will give a variety of ideas for how you can create your own, custom uses for these little sprites on your own as well.
Some presets will include (not a complete list, btw) a large dragon flying over, casting a giant shadow below, insect swarms creating a subtle fog of lively movement, single dragonfly-style insect flittering from here to there in an instant, like dragonflies do, and, as this example shows, a small flock of Seagulls flying overhead in their semi-chaotic fashion, which utilizes a special form of Flying Flyrm, that has been altered and given a new, gull-like shader set to look more like a realistic bird. Each preset includes 10 second NLA Clip(s) that can be moved around, set in reverse, stretched and shrunk to give more differentiation between the various models seen together, or near one another. This is the process used in the above test clip which, by the way, was rendered at low settings that nicely show the Flyrms, but the environs get a bit jittery as the distance increases. Please note that the purpose of the render was simply to test the Flyrm's animated effect.
I continue to wait impatiently...hands trembling over my wallet...eyeing the Dartanbeck store...itching but unable to scratch! :coolsmile:
I continue to wait impatiently...hands trembling over my wallet...eyeing the Dartanbeck store...itching but unable to scratch! :coolsmile:Wow! You're back! I trust your away was a success?
As much as can be expected I supposed. I sure did miss my 3D!
Much has happened to this project since it has begun. Working with it has now become a real treat! I am now finishing up the last bits that need addressing before I submit it for Q&A. I like to use a fine-toothed comb for this part. Ever since I invented Starry Sky, I've been using it so much that I really can't imagine not having access to it in my browser. This thing has quickly taken on that same warm feeling of necessity, which makes me very happy.
Lots of presets!
There are now forty-three presets. Thirty that use the realistic sky and sun light, twelve that use 360 degree background images, and one bonus scene that uses an animated 1280 x 720 backdrop of a rainstorm and the scene comes with a matching animated camera.
Each scene now comes with a new group called: "Focus Group".
In order to have the easiest experience possible for new users of Carrara, I am also assuming that these users might also be new to 3d scenes in general. It's so easy to not use what you don't want, because except for presets that are based upon using clouds, for example, none of these elements are turned on by default. But if you want clouds, simply turn them on.
The Focus Group is an otherwise empty group aside from a light rig that provides additional accent lighting to anything you drop into the group. And that's it. Done. This came about during a beta test. I asked Garstor what he thought and he e-mailed me a picture of my sunset scene with the Mil Dragon 2 in the center. Well since the scene's main illumination is the sun light, and that the camera is catching the sun as it sets, I'm sure you can imagine that the dragon was not lit much. You could see him, however, because I've included an ambient lighting rig as well as a low-powered light dome to help to provide a global illumination without turning GI on in the render room. A very popular technique that I find to be a very welcome feature in presets of this type.
Now, it doesn't matter what the lighting of the scene is, if you use "Film Camera 1", and drop anything that you want highlighted into the Focus Group, you'll have highlighting appropriate for the lighting included in that preset.
Interface Instructions
Using the instances tab of the interface, each preset comes with sets of instructions that you may open and close if the need arises. This took a long time to implement, but it attempts to answer many of the questions that often come up when using new kinds of products.
Simplicity
One of the things I still just love about Starry Sky for Carrara, is that if you need stars in your scene, all you have to do is drag them into your scene and you're done, right there. Yet if you want to do more, the possibilities aren't just there, they're ready for more! I often tweak and tweak and then I go in and tweak some more. So I wanted SS to have the tweakability of it to be easily accessed, welcomed and even encouraged.
Environ Kit: Woodlands is just that. Simple. With so many presets to choose from, you don't even really need to tweak anything. But if you want to, each of the scene's is begging to be altered in any way you want. The important stuff like lighting and environmental effects all taken care of, you come into a scene where you can grab this and rotate it round to see if you like that better. Grab this and move it over there, or even delete it altogether. Need more trees? You can grab a whole terrain block that has already been planted and over-grown for years before your arrival. Just want the plant, shrub or tree? You can bring that in as well, or load in it's settings on a new plant object that you can tweak into whatever you want it to be! If you want ground fog, simply make the clouds group 'visible' and ground fog is all you get. Open the cloud group and you can grab the second cloud from far up overhead, and position it where you want a cloud in your scene. Want a sky full of clouds? Turn on either or both of the two replicated sets of volumetric clouds! Each of the two Volumetric clouds in the scene have already been replicated onto a morphing, invisible object. I have included morphs to expand or shrink the distribution template both horizontally and vertically and all at once. Beyond that, I've also created two "Storm Clouds" morphs, that positions the clouds all together in a menacing wall of darkness. You can animated the morphs as well. Rather than covering your whole sky with a dome of clouds, this kit uses a slice of a globe slightly wider than the field of camera view. These morphing objects rotate around the scene from point zero (0x,0y,0z) so duplicate + rotate is as simple as typing "Ctrl D" and a simple twist on the z axis! Sweet, huh!
Very excited about this thing. Here are some of the promo shots. More to come soon!
New Plants
These trees have been built using Carrara's own plant editor and shader system. I made them to be a bit less saturated color-wise, and to render quickly in masses, with the exception of the Specimen Maple, which is more of a focal-point, specimen tree. In making them, I've really come to take a liking to the new Plant Editor additions made to Carrara 8. What I wasn't think of, until recently, is that this makes the kit work only in Carrara 8 or later. Bummer. I easily could have continued making more plants but these really go a long way already. I'm sure many people who own Howie's kits will enjoy using his, too.
Images rendered for the browser thumbnails for the trees:
The product, itself, is finished. Now I'm making demonstrative tutorial videos for it. In doing so, I'm finding so much fun within it - much like what happened when I began making promo pictures and tutorials for Starry Sky. I start thinking... Okay, what are people going to want this to do for them, and let those thoughts lead me towards answering those questions. So I start uncovering how simple the whole thing is!
Messing around in Carrara is really fun.
Below I've taken a preset from the kit and added a preset from Jack Tomalin's GIS Link, which also loads in a copy each of GIS Project and GIS Nova. I messed with the shaders a bit and then replicated the GIS Project hallway, and the inner walkways included with the link twenty times in succession of into the horizon.
After a twist and translation... I'm thinking about how cool it looks - and then it hits me...
What this cool thing needs is a nice surrealistic sky from Tim Payne's Carrara Skies: Volume 2, of which I chose #29 and played with a few settings, just for fun. This was really cool. But then...
Kibarreto's Watchtower loaded in eight times and positioned into a sort of colony looking placement really added to the appeal. Loading in a couple of Thunderbikes and a beautiful Vanguard, both of which are also made by Kibarreto, were just the ticket to help finish the scene. From there, I just plunked in a couple of pieces included with the Woodlands kit and, Voila!
That looks really cool Dart!
It was a lot of fun to make, too!
This one uses various elements from Lisa's Botanicals' "The Heart of the Matter" series, including "The Forest Whispers" and "Remembering How to Fly". Which perhaps explains where the whole idea came from in the first place? :)
This looks really promising :) can't wait for its release. This looks like one fine versatile product.
This is really cool. Dartanbeck, you're a wizard.
Hey, maybe if you add some snow, rain, blizzard or mud presets from the particle emitter? Just thinkin'...
Thank you.
It truly is a lot of fun to work with :)
It will come with a sample lightning storm in the rain, but the particles and mud will have to wait for an expansion of sorts :)
Excellent work my friend!
Some of those images in the thread are amazing!
Just when I thought I was done buying ... :-D
Amazing. So far, whenever I drop in something with a base terrain, I just drop one of the custom terrain shaders that comes with the kit onto it, and it melds in with the surrounding Woodlands scene. Here is Alcazar del Pantano, a texture kit preset for Castillo del Diablo, an excellent adventure destination. That cliff side that the castle is built into is wearing my "Forest Terrain" custom terrain shader that comes with the kit. I am constantly being surprisingly pleased with how easily scenic props and figures are to work with - which was the idea in the first place - but I wasn't actually expecting the shaders to be so helpful in scenic match-ups. Before I woiuld simply hide the non-matching terrain, as this kit has terrain-a-plenty. But why do that if a simple shader selection from within the scene is so simple? :)
This whole scene took less than a half an hour, including the time of deciding what to add to the scene - in this case - Alcazar del Pantano
**cancelled post**
Looks good Dartan.
yes, does look good, now what's the eta?
Hopefully get it submitted this week to QA. They will test it most rigorously. That's why I already did! :)
thanks I'm looking forward to it!
PS I started a Welcome to my Garden thread in the carrara forum.
Hey Dart, love the dragon and it's baby render. Somehow I missed it when you posted it! Great job!
Hope you feel better soon!
Wow... thank you.
It was a total blast to make the scene, too.
Have you thought of posting a YouTube of you using it (i.e. putting one of these scenes, or a couple of scenes together), so that the buyer has a better idea of how they would use it? Sounds like you are putting together scenes pretty quickly and easily with it, and a video of you doing that would definitely be interesting to me! (even without audio)
I have made a couple of videos - one explaining the base set-up that you'll have in all of the presets - super simple - but quite fun! Then another where instead of using a preset, I start with just the blank base, and build a complete scene. I haven't finished editing them yet - but they seem pretty cool to me.
Cool! I am subscribed to the thread now, so I'll keep an eye out for the links, thanks.