Novica & Invited Guest Contributors Tips & Product Reviews Pt 4
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I haven't looked at these in years, because as I said, the originals were destroyed. You can tell this xerox copy is rumpled, but at least we managed to save it so I at least had something from the original. Sorry about the quality, this was actually a PHOTO of the zerox. The original was much crisper.
This piece was actually a pet portrait done for Arabian Horse Network in California. I sold pet portraits to pull two Arabians out of a slaughterhouse feedlot. So somewhere, there's two gray Arabians still enjoying their forever homes due to art. :) Here's a cat portrait that was also done. My favorite from the group was a dog named Casey, will never forget it. The daughter secretly bid and submitted a photo of her dad's golden retriever who had died, and the family was heartbroken because due to a housefire, they had NO photos of their 14 year old dog left- except one. The daughter had it in her photo album. Her dad and his golden retriever went out on their lake almost daily. In the photo, Casey was sitting in the bow of the boat, staring straight ahead. Her 72 year old dad sobbed when he got the portrait for Father's Day- and I knew I had to draw the dog exactly as he was, in the boat, all pointillism. I SO wished I could have been there for that.
I have Casey somewhere, but not on this external hard drive, so don't know if I'll be able to find that one. I did two, one in the boat, and one portrait, and one xerox was damaged so bad I don't have it. Can't remember which one it was.
There's not a single line in any of these .All lines are made from dots. Billions and billions of dots. I remember the tip of the horse's nose took about 35-40 hours to do. My husband said I sounded like a woodpecker! Tap tap tap...tappity tappity tap...tap tap tap...tap...tappity...
Cat coming in next post due to file size.
CLICK TO ENLARGE, CLICK AGAIN. Count the dots- (wicked cackle.)
Here kitty kitty...
Again, all dots.
And don't know if you can see it, but the bald eagle is Chevron. This is a really tiny image, the original is 8 x 10 and was destroyed. That really made me mad. Dots with ink are one thing, this was multi-media.
I did the art for the Mobile Environmental Studies Center in Mobile AL for their shirts (donated the artwork, they do rehabilitation of wildlife.) This is scratch art (take a razor blade and scratch through black paper, to get to the white underneath. Like what you did in gradeschool) then I water colored the torn paper underneath, then used white out with blue and black ink for the feathers. Named Chevron because that was the eagle I spent hours with (inside his aviary, really cool) and he began calling for me when my car would drive up. Donna, the assistant director, thought that was so cool! He had a golden eagle with him that I named Hershey, because he was so dark.
Click to enlarge to see dots. (Chevron won't enlarge.)
Some well-placed dots, Novica! Beautiful textures. Do you still draw and/or paint?
I like the pointillism technique but never had the patience (or possibly the ability) to do drawings that way. For the past few years I've actually gotten so wrapped up in 3D models and rendering that I haven't taken the time to do any drawing or painting. My original intention when I started doing this was to create scenes to make paintings from. I would like to be able to do both but they both take a lot of time.
@ Luci45: I have looked at woodgod before. That is some nice underwear. I didn't know it was separate from the loin cloth but that could be useful. I
@Novica: Lovely pointillism. Great job on those animal portraits.
@TJohn: Like your little wee collie. Dogs are my favorite animal, so any picture of a dog is great by me! Great work, and sense of expression.
Anikad is so special they are the only one in the special and just don't know it. :)
Not sure why I got targeted. I've never paid for v4/m4. picked them up as freebies though. Anyway there were some people who weren't seeing the banner or message (60% off over 2400 items) but when they added one of these items to their cart they got the 60% discount: http://www.daz3d.com/v4-m4-products
Not sure why I got targeted. I've never paid for v4/m4. picked them up as freebies though. Anyway there were some people who weren't seeing the banner or message (60% off over 2400 items) but when they added one of these items to their cart they got the 60% discount: http://www.daz3d.com/v4-m4-products
I'm lucky enough to have gotten that email. Though 95% of my library is Gen-4 compatible, so I'm not particularly surprised.
The sale stacks with the $5 off $30. With some careful planning and splitting up orders, I'm getting $24.95 products for around $5.
It also stacks with the buy-new-item-get-50%-off-vendor sales in the "Promotions" tab, though there hasn't actually been a whole lot of crossover yet.
I think that's the same link I got a few weeks back, it had 2400 products and was M4 V4. I did pick up a few more things during that sale, and just tested them and it's the same deal. :) Thanks for mentioning that though, may help some other folks. Better hurry though, not sure when it ends but the site changes over in about 10-25 minutes. (1am to 1:15am Central Time.) That $5 off will probably end then too.
I haven't in years- got into ceramics and opened my own studio for a year to disperse some merchandise and to give art lessons/work with kids. I had sold online for about two years prior to that and wanted to do a closeout that was fun. Doing a website business is a full time thing and I am the type of person that when I jump in, I get totally entrenched. :) Would love to see what you've done too!
If you haven't seen Ivy's hummingbird, pop in! It's animated, and works if you enlarge the image. Very nicely done!
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/9050/P435/#603779
The winners of the RRRR whacky sports are posted. A job well done by TarinaKivi, it was one of my favorites. I loved the energy and lighting with that one. The winners are here:
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/41434/
and I do want to mention I loved the virtual chess by Luci as well. Great job gal!
Gorgeous artwork Novica. I'm glad I stopped by and saw it.
I know I've said it elsewhere but the standard was even higher than usual, so big congratulations to all of you who placed. Your winewalk limbo was both funny and packed to bursting with detail, Novica. :) Tarina Kivi's render stopped me in my tracks when I first saw it. I was thrilled for Tarina (but not a bit surprised) when I saw the results.
I too loved Luci's virtual chess render, another stand-out entry.
Thanks Jindi :)
http://www.daz3d.com/real-weapons
http://www.daz3d.com/dms-sensual-olympia
are both in the 60% sale, and DO's so you can also use your monthly code. The real weapons are already 70%. Bought together, the poses ended up costing me $4.53 and the weapons 80 cents :)
Thank you Novica! I feel so humbled and honoured by this win! There were so many entries I thought had the chance of getting the first prize, I guess it might have gone either way - the quality was so high. As it happens the virtual chess by Luci was my favourite by her. : ) I really liked your WineWalk Limbo too, it was one of my choices in the poll. ; )
Edit: I've just had time to go through the last pages of the thread. Those drawings are beautiful Novica!
Olympia Cityscape (Powerage)
http://www.daz3d.com/olympia-cityscape
This is in the sale so I am showcasing it for you. A large sky/background is of course, Easy Environments: The Rock. Renders fast too, as we've discussed many times. For lights, went back to one of my favorites, and that is Ruins of Angkor Wat Temple. I took it off the white and put a dull whitish brown. Changed the UE2 from 100% intensity to about 80%. The images are brightened overall in postwork for intensity.
http://www.daz3d.com/the-ruins-of-angkor-wat-temple
I have to say I am in the process of rendering the larger images for you, having done them in small test sizes, and this renders at a nice clip and SO many nooks and crannies. Excellent for a background set- ITS HUGE. You can put an army around this place! At the discount offered today, I'd certainly take a look at it. Instead of $32.95 it's $16.47.
I'll add to this post as the renders come in, I do have Life errands to run, aka a trip to the vet for a stray cat that I took in during our horrendous floods who I think is pregnant (if not, she's getting fixed and her shots, etc.) She has NO car sense and I couldn't stand it any longer.
Render: 91% at 8 and a half minutes, .20 shading rate, all settings on excellent. No additional lights added, used the full Angor Wat Temple lightset. Done in 9 minutes and 15 seconds, render is 1270 x 1100 too!
EDIT: Not thrilled with the vertical lines in the stone trim for the third one, but I do like the detail in the walls for closeups. No fuzzy. The vertical lines are an easy post work fix, if you're going to do closeups, you wouldn't have that part of the wall in view anyway.
Thank you Jindi, it means a lot. I feel so uplifted by your words and happy I was part of something special. I agree that the quality of entries was really high, any one could have won and so I feel all the more humbled and honoured. : )
I guess the virtual chess by Luci has many fans. ; ) I thought that entry was excellent.
Two other ones that I really liked didn't even place- Scott's frantic Game of Thrones and Totte's car / skating combination. I loved those two! Scott's had great attention to detail and Totte's made me feel like I was in the render and trying to balance along with the character. Pack Your Granny made me giggle too, as well as the Whack A Cowboy and the African animals racing along. Sheesh!
One thing I would like to see is the products required listed in the entry thread. Many people may not realize we had to work with required products- they could have thought we just dreamed these up. I know when I viewed entry threads before I read the discussion threads, it took me a bit to catch on. I hope I never draw three SETS again! I might sit out this next one as I am working on Silo and a big project with DAZ Studio.
Fun fact about the WineWalk- the sci-fi bar, all tables and stools are actually bright white, it's easy to change the diffuse. So keep that set in mind for futuristic renders. Second- that is only a TEENY section of it. It is embedded in/past the wall. Speaking of which, the bar stuck out and interfered with the wall, so that section of the wall behind Benjamin (the African American) was completely painted and textured by hand. :)
Fast note- the other 3d site (R) has 19 stores on sale too- several at 60% off which doesn't happen often.
I really liked Scott's entry too! Totte had some excellent ones as well (stiff dress hurdle - wow! - pure crazy!). I loved all of Luci's, virtual chess one especially, also barbult's Polar Bear Plunge-Cliff Diving Style and animal husbandry. I liked ones by Ippotamus and Zawarkal too. There where simply too many to choose from, I thought I would go crazy when casting my votes, kept changing them around because no choice seemed fair...
Thanks to your entry I wishlisted that bar. You really are getting better with each entry, they get more and more sophisticated each time too. : )
I've just noticed the new RRRR contest thread! ;P I think I really did start exhibit withdrawal symptoms. ^^ Even if I won't be able to participate (which happens too often) just waiting for the others' entries to appear is very addictive and so much fun when someone finally posts something (and there are those on whom you can always count to post sth, like Luci and Totte^^).
Oh yes, those two entries as well! Zawarkal's colors and pogo-ing and the fun twist on the polar bears :) There's a new RRRR already?!
Here's more of the city. Depending on the angle, it might be necessary to try smoothing to see if the somewhat sharp edges will round out on the pavilion.
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/41451/ Already? I thought we've waited for it long enough. ;P
I really like your city renders btw. Does this set look ok in close-ups?
I'll do a figure by a wall. So far, everything appears nice and crisp. Here's a couple I got done right before I left for the vet. BTW, the kitty got a clean bill of health- no leukemia, etc. She's being spayed tomorrow morning and becoming another indoor kitty.
Will plop a figure by a wall and render it for you after the current one finishes rendering. :)
Thanks. I really like the roofs in this set.
These are rendering astoundingly fast- 60% at 11 minutes with excellent settings, done in under 14 minutes on average, with these large render sizes!
Wanted to get another peek at the floor tiles, I think they are very acceptable- not fuzzy at all. Keep in mind the props are all moveable so if you don't want a downed pillar, just move it.
To save time on that person by the wall, I just did a multi-level shot showing you the floor, a wall, etc- and will do more zoom in shots.
I'm not impressed with the two upright pillars with all the black "cracked" lines, those look fake, but the actual crumbled pillars and the uprights closest to our view look fine with those lines. I'd probably remove those other two for distant shots. Maybe they look good up close. The crumbled pieces on the ground appear to be fine.
EDIT: Added a closeup of those columns. Still don't particularly like those, too geometric for my tastes.
EDIT: Doing closeup by door.
The columns do look a little too simplistic for close-ups and those lines do look artificial, but the texture looks acceptable, not too blurry.
I'm rendering a person (Echo) in the scene for you. Just slapped some lights on her (no pre-tests) so we'll see how it turns out. It's for size comparison- I was AMAZED when I put her by the front door and that column. Give me about 30 minutes :)
I think with postwork and blotting out some of those column lines, it would be okay. :)
EDIT: Okay, I couldn't stand it. Way too dark with her dark hair so I added two more spotlights and it's rendering now. I like the closeup details, very nice.
True, nothing a little postwork won't fix, but I prefer for the sets to work out-of-the-box. Still, it seems that it's just that one element that looks not quite right. ; )
Olympia Cityscape (Powerage)
End of Summer Hair (DAZ3D / Goldtassel)
Echo (Countess / Silver)
Vault Rustler (Slide3D)
http://www.daz3d.com/olympia-cityscape
http://www.daz3d.com/end-of-summer-hair-for-genesis-and-genesis-2-female-s
http://www.daz3d.com/echo
http://www.daz3d.com/vault-rustler
Here you go Tarina :) Look at the size of that column!
Door wood grain also looks good. I really like this scene and think for under $17 it's a really good deal.
Hmm..Vault Rustler goes nicely on Genesis with only one tiny tweak at the waist, which is an easy slider. It's for Genesis 2. (Luci, that's the pair of pants you liked, if I recall- for the loose fit.)
Click to enlarge, click again.
Thanks Novica! It looks good and that column is gigantic! ; ) Vault Rustler is a really nice outfit.
You're welcome- I was curious about closeups too :) Here's the last one. Ignore the tweaks that didn't get made, aka the shoulder straps and hair moved- I was focusing on size comparison and closeups of the set. Wanted to get a figure inserted so we could see what a "typical" closeup and full figure would look like on the set.
And again, I do recommend the Angkor Wat lightset, it lit the entire set and it's huge.
Looks good, though what this set lacks for close-ups is better bump maps (if it has any). There is simply not enough detail on the columns, as you've already said, they are too "geometric", or rather too smooth, which doesn't look too realistic... The floor and doors look fine though.
Thanks, Novica, Jindi and Tarina Kivi. The May RRRR was really exceptional and so much fun. And so many excellent renders. Tarina Kivi, your win was well-deserved - elegant, silly and whimsical. Who could ask for more?
Novica, I liked WineWalk a lot too and I loved Scott's Game of Thrones, and most of Totte's, barbult's and and MelanieL's (what a wacky sense of humor she has.) And of course gopherus and Zawarkal.
I just noticed Tarina Kivi's post about a new RRRR contest thread, so I must look for it as I am having terrible withdrawl issues. I'll be back when it's over... ;-P
Thanks, Novica, for posting the Vault Rustler. I do like those pants! :-)