Constructing Outdoor Scenes
fakedoctor
Posts: 30
Since I started playing around with Daz Studio, I've mostly just been just messing with things like posing, lighting, materials, etc. to see how to achieve certain effects and get a feel for how this stuff all ticks.
Now that I'm thinking of actually trying to put together a complete picture, I find myself wondering how that actually works before even getting to the lighting, surfaces, camera settings, and so on. Let's say I want to create an image in an open field or wooded area outside.. what sorts of resources actually go into that? Looking around the Daz store and some other places on the internet, it looks like you can get a flat "tile" grass prop, but obviously you'd need more to create something that doesn't look like a human standing on a disk of grass floating in an endless expanse of nothingness.
I figure that the distant background and sky will be a flat background image no matter how you do the foreground, but I'm having trouble coming up with a good idea of what else is going to be involved.
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There are several packs in the store that come with already made ground plains. I know I'm done several the are DAZ Originals. But its very easy to create one yourself. Take a mapped plain map into photo shop. Get a free grass texture and paint it on the surface. Duplicate that layer desaturate that copy and adjust the levels to create a displacement map. You should end up with a black and white image. The Black goes down, and white is going to stick up in DS once you plug it into the displacement channel. Adjust your displacement setting to get the desired effect.
This is something I struggled with for quite a while (just look at my render thread--especially the first page).
Often a good solution is to put some architectural elements (walls, buildings, etc.) and/or natural features (hills, rocks, hedges, etc.) behind the subject of your image, in order to break up the transition between the ground plane and backdrop. Take a look at other people's renders, including product promo images, to see how others do this.
An easier (but often more expensive) solution is to purchase a full environment from the store, like this or this. There are also products designed to give you an empty environment with a nice horizon, like this or this. Plus there are things like the Millennium Environment or the Cyclorama that use a ground plane and backdrop to create the illusion of a full outdoor environment.
You can also find some freebies at places like shareCG that serve a similar function.
Alternatively, you could use a creative camera angle to eliminate the issue--perhaps a bird's eye view, for instance.
Also, if you want to branch out from DAZ Studio, Bryce and Carrara (along with some other 3D programs) have built-in terrain editors, so you can easily construct your own environment.
If you're brand new to this, go with the Millennium Environment and then add props in front of it, such as trees, so you have actual items in the scene. The panoramic backgrounds are easiest for a newbie. Many of your props (sets) come with skydomes and lights so you can use theirs and then add/subtract to get it the way you want it. Below is Angkor Wat, the panorama is provided. The second image I was playing with the lights (not done, WIP) but I'll share it so you can see the background.
EDIT: So what you'd do is add another palm bush or blocks between the set and that panorama to really tie them in. Again, this was a light test, not meant to be a finished render. I lowered the panorama so it was lower than the set, the blocks in the background help with the blending that way, because they are higher than the seam line of the panorama.
Here's one with a forest background that I did just to show some characters. What you'd need to do if keeping this for a render is to add some leaves, grass poking through the ground plane, a couple tree trunks in the background- more 3d stuff to make it seem less flat.
And don't ask what a chicken and a giraffe are doing in the woods. They just got lost.
Hey, thanks for the tips and examples guys.
Just to make sure I've got this straight (because I'm unfamiliar with some terms), a ground plain is essentially a 3d object in the scene that serves as the ground, correct? So it could be a flat square or something a little less flat to appear "hilly" or natural, but either way it's a bunch of polygons that your characters stand on. I gather that the plain itself doesn't need to be very big - it's mainly there for the center of the scene, and edges should be concealed by rocks, plants, elevated terrain, etc. in order to transition to the panoramic image or the background image?
It sounds like I've been going at this the wrong way. I figured it would be something like setting up an idea that I have and then playing with camera angles and perspectives until I find something that I like, but it seems like I'd need to start with the finished image in mind so that I know where I need to put everything to even make the camera angle possible. Barring a more complete environment or enclosed space, anyway.
I did think about using Bryce (I've got it available for download on this account but I don't believe it's installed at the moment), but man.. that's kind of intimidating. There are still a ton of things in Daz Studio (and Hexagon for that matter) that I need to figure out, and adding a whole new piece of software to the process sounds like a huge new list of things that I have no idea how to do. I'm not even sure exactly what Bryce does aside from generating fractal volcanic islands in the middle of infinite oceans, heh.
Yes the ground is a plain of geometry that you apply a texture to
I can recommend the Millenium environment as well.
It's quick, not too heavy on the viewport and even though it's an older item, the results can be quite stunning and fast!
Also, there are some nice freebies to find for it on ShareCG and it's rather cheap to buy as well here in the store.
In my experience, it's a blend of the two. Only rarely does a finished scene pop into my head and remain essentially unchanged until I construct my way to it. Mostly it's a general idea, followed by some time playing around and trying (and discarding) different elements, and then gradually a path to a finished render will start to come into focus.
I think two of the things that will come with time and experience are: (1) a growing toolbox of set components for you to grab and try out. (You were going to set up your first ground plane sooner or later...either via purchasing or modeling/painting your own...once you've done that it +1's your creative options at the outset for all future scenes.) And (2) a growing ability to approach your work on both levels at once. While your front brain is working on the scene's story...noodling around figuring out exactly what you want do with the dragon, the temple wall, and the warrior princess, the back of your brain will start working on your scene mechanics. Or vice-versa :D
Or maybe that's left brain/right brain for you humans? We Elves have always thought that arrangement was a bit inefficient.
Serendipity will always be your friend.
Do you belong to the Platinum Club? If not, join! You can pick up a slew of things that have floors, grassy or sandy areas, etc. You mix and match, it's called "kit bashing." You can do that with clothes too. And my favorite- flip the floor and use it as a backdrop. (Just use the rotates in your Parameter tab. Some of these stone floors are beautiful backdrops. Take a look at the front porch stones from here:
http://www.daz3d.com/mgm-the-mill
Here's a closeup of them. These would be very pretty to rotate and use behind a person in a portrait. Get the gist?