Shadows advice please

nordic_myst_b74e320a5f

I have been using Daz for years. On and off. I am still a 1st class noob. I have been trying to do a cyberpunk image, so I am adding custom lights. The thing is the shadows on the outfit look damn ugly. It's the first thing you will notice. Is there a way that can be fix within Daz Studio or do I have to edit that in some other program, like Photoshop? Obviously the image will need some editing to look better. Yes, I suck at adding lighting too.

This is the image I am working on, click on it for closer look (using screenshot as a backdrop): https://www.imagebam.com/view/MEYCFT9

 

Elor

Do you mean the stair effect on her pants ? For that, if the pants has high resolution active, you can try to push it to a higher level.

If it doesn't, you can try to convert it to SubD:

1. Save your scene

2. Go Edit > Figure > Geometry then click Convert to SubD

3. Check that the pants doesn't suffer from the convertion, some items don't take the process well and will have deformations

Then check if HD Resolution set to 1 is enough. If it isn't try to push it to a higher level.

 

nordic_myst_b74e320a5f

Thank you kindly for the reply! I managed to lose that effect just by moving the lights a bit. I will try what you said when I get that effect again. Thank you very much!

David R

You can soften the edges of your shadows by changing the "Light Geometry" from point to rectangle or sphere, and increasing the height and width.

Rafael

I will not talk about the geometry, but how the light looks.

First of all, your background mood does not match the rendered image, and this is because of the Dark Point. The darkest point of the rendered image looks black, but the background looks green. So we have two options, either change the background or the render.

The first option, changing the background loses the mood.

So let us change the tone of the girl

But still more important is to integrate the render to the environment. In this case there are clear red neon lights behind her, so let me simulate them.

Allow me to spam you a similar image I made. https://www.daz3d.com/gallery/user/5892223518375936#gallery=newest&page=1&image=1287679

I think the image is directly from the render, with no post-production. You can see that there are several lights either reflecting on her, and a main diffusive light, Imagine it is a large window from a shop.

Soft light is almost always better for a rendering of a portrait. David R already mentioned it.

In your case, it is a hard sport light.

I recreated some of the floor below the shoes, because you never want to cut the framing slicing a part of the body, in this case the shoes, so it "invented" the shadow-reflection on the floor. In your render, the shadow should be projected on the floor, which adds a layer of complexity.

The render is not bad. It just needs some touches here and there.