April New User 3D Art Contest "Open Render" (WIP)

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  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    posjon said:
    posjon said:

    Ok new Render in 3Delight! a big improvement on the lighting from Iray. :)

    Changing render engines makes a huge difference.  Using the wrong one is something I have done on more than one ocassion.  Then I hit render and wonder why it doesn't look right.  Sometimes I figure out immediately it is the wrong render engine and sometimes it takes a while.

    Kismet2012  as always your advice has got me looking in the right area! I do appreciate it :) So far all of my previous renders were with Iray which seemed well to me for, I guess day time lighting. In short could you give a break down on the differences from one render engine to another? is there a best or is it best to use multiple pending the scene?

     

    That is a hard question to answer.  There is no blanket, this render engine is better for blank than the other render engine.  It really comes down to which one works best for you.  Some people prefer 3DL.  Some prefer Iray. 

     

    The only way to know which one you prefer is to use them.  Over time you will probably find yourself using one more than the other.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    posjon said:

    Well I'm at it again. Here I have two new charachters for the new contest on the left AmberMae & MadDee on the left. So what I am attempting at this point is two things one I am making a play on the lights utilizing the primary colors, red, green, blue. Also on my second model MadDee I have a red mask in the first pic & removed for the second. I'm not sure if I should use or not what do you think? any & all comments are welcome

    I found myself focused on the figure on the left in the version with the mask.  When the mask was removed my eye was drawn to the other figure's eyes.  Which version you go with will depend on which character you want to make the focus.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    posjon said:

    Ok so I've overcome one difficulty to encounter another :) Using 3Delight for RenderThe model on the left, her gloves in this view has become, distorted. No idea what is going on here? Also the Model on the right her outfit for some reason I am not getting the shine as I was able to on the first model. Her outfit is set to Lighting Plastic, Glossiness 100%. I have her dress settings identical to the first. I've attempted to relocate the light & this has made no change. As always your input is appreciated :)

    Have you tried Glossy Plastic or Glossy Metalic under the Lighting Model?

  • posjonposjon Posts: 34
    posjon said:

    Ok so I've overcome one difficulty to encounter another :) Using 3Delight for RenderThe model on the left, her gloves in this view has become, distorted. No idea what is going on here? Also the Model on the right her outfit for some reason I am not getting the shine as I was able to on the first model. Her outfit is set to Lighting Plastic, Glossiness 100%. I have her dress settings identical to the first. I've attempted to relocate the light & this has made no change. As always your input is appreciated :)

    Have you tried Glossy Plastic or Glossy Metalic under the Lighting Model?

    Ok cool I'll play with the diffrent Render engines as for the pose thanks for the input I'm hoping to find a happy medium between both charachters. I might have to change camera angle for that? Finally yes I currently have it set to Glossy Plastic. I will make the switch to metalic & give another go! Thanks Kismet2012 ! I appreciate your help! hope you have a great night or day! :)

  • mjc1016mjc1016 Posts: 15,001
    posjon said:

    Ok so I've overcome one difficulty to encounter another :) Using 3Delight for RenderThe model on the left, her gloves in this view has become, distorted. No idea what is going on here? Also the Model on the right her outfit for some reason I am not getting the shine as I was able to on the first model. Her outfit is set to Lighting Plastic, Glossiness 100%. I have her dress settings identical to the first. I've attempted to relocate the light & this has made no change. As always your input is appreciated :)

    A little tip...

    100% Glossiness is not going to give you a very shiny, hi-gloss item...well, it will, but not quite in the expected manner.  The glossiness slider basically controls the 'spread' of the highlight.  At 100% it is focused into a tiny pinprick.  80 to about 97% would be the choice for something in the shiny vinyl/latex suit type material.

    Also, with the lights on, it is hard to say what is going on with the glove.  If you turn them off and go back to the headlamp, you may be able to see better what is happening.  In the parameters for the lights flipping the Illumination to OFF will kill them (or in the Scene tab, clicking the little eye icon next to each one will also kill them).

  • h_habash said:

    with another caracter

    Hi Lucas

     

    Your kneeling firgure needs to be in contact with the floor.  Right now she is floating about it.  The heel of your right foot might be in contact.  If that is the case you just need to adjust the bend in the foot and possible either the twist or side-side to get it flat on the floor.  Her left knee can be lowered by manipulating the bend in her thigh then working your way down to her left foot as needed.

     

    It is completely up to you but I would flatten the feet of the figure in the back.  Her foot position would be appropriate if she is wearing heels but with flat boots it looks a little uncomfortable.

     

    Before you make any changes are you keeping this background?  If you are changing the scene they are in then wait to make any adjustments to match the environment.

    Hello Kismet

    I was thinking to ad a texture to the background, with some more props. A bit of green maybe ? I changed the foot pose and the entire thing while I was busy :). Also I going to try IES lights. But this will me more or less it apart from the textures. Thx for the help

    Nice work Lucas, check the front lady fingers, I noticed her fingers not grasping the swords properly.

    Ok I will, thx

  • posjonposjon Posts: 34
    mjc1016 said:
    posjon said:

    Ok so I've overcome one difficulty to encounter another :) Using 3Delight for RenderThe model on the left, her gloves in this view has become, distorted. No idea what is going on here? Also the Model on the right her outfit for some reason I am not getting the shine as I was able to on the first model. Her outfit is set to Lighting Plastic, Glossiness 100%. I have her dress settings identical to the first. I've attempted to relocate the light & this has made no change. As always your input is appreciated :)

    A little tip...

    100% Glossiness is not going to give you a very shiny, hi-gloss item...well, it will, but not quite in the expected manner.  The glossiness slider basically controls the 'spread' of the highlight.  At 100% it is focused into a tiny pinprick.  80 to about 97% would be the choice for something in the shiny vinyl/latex suit type material.

    Also, with the lights on, it is hard to say what is going on with the glove.  If you turn them off and go back to the headlamp, you may be able to see better what is happening.  In the parameters for the lights flipping the Illumination to OFF will kill them (or in the Scene tab, clicking the little eye icon next to each one will also kill them).

    mjc1016  Cool Thank you! you have given me a better understanding of these lights should work, greatly appreciated! :)

  • this will be it more or less

    april.png
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  • isidornisidorn Posts: 1,601

    this will be it more or less

    This looks nice. You might want to consider hiding or blurring the sharp line where the ground meets the background wall. It's clearly visable under the blue haired woman's left arm. The flowery portal and the characters says this might be somewhere in a fantasy setting, but that line kind of ruins that and reveals it to be a studio setting.

    The reflective floor is great for making it look like there's more flowers than it really is in the scene, but I find it a bit confusing seeing the characters reflected in the floor/ground.

    Just my opinions though. Please feel free to ignore them. smiley

  • DAZ_ann0314DAZ_ann0314 Posts: 2,847
    edited April 2016

    For those discussing the PC Contest and what it is etc. I have moved that part of this thread to here: http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/78896/what-is-the-pc-contest since it is unrelated to the New User Contest and also to make this thread easier to follow and offer help smiley Please use this new thread to continue that discussion smiley

    Post edited by DAZ_ann0314 on
  • isidorn said:

    this will be it more or less

    This looks nice. You might want to consider hiding or blurring the sharp line where the ground meets the background wall. It's clearly visable under the blue haired woman's left arm. The flowery portal and the characters says this might be somewhere in a fantasy setting, but that line kind of ruins that and reveals it to be a studio setting.

    The reflective floor is great for making it look like there's more flowers than it really is in the scene, but I find it a bit confusing seeing the characters reflected in the floor/ground.

    Just my opinions though. Please feel free to ignore them. smiley

    I think I have a idea on how I can solve that thx smiley

  • SaphirewildSaphirewild Posts: 6,668

    I am still working on my entry should be putting my WIP here soon

  • isidornisidorn Posts: 1,601
    edited April 2016

    Finally got working on my entry now. Here's a first rough draft. A background, lights and something for the heroine to rest her right foot on are still missing. Once I get that in I'll start adjusting the poses. I'm also attaching the image that is my inspiration for this, so you all can get an idea of where I'm going.

     

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    National-Lampoons-Vacation.jpg
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    Post edited by isidorn on
  • Here's my latest work. Hate to say it, but they should have been posted sooner.

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    april2016c.jpg
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  • isidornisidorn Posts: 1,601

    The new pose is a nice change. Both versions have good things going for them but if I'd had to pick one I'd take the second one, that's more close up. Of course, we're allowed two entries so if you have nothing else in mind you can always keep working on both.

  • KaliadderKaliadder Posts: 70
    edited April 2016

    These past couple of weeks I've been watching and reading about the entries, and the progression on y'all projects are really looking awesome!!!!  

    I really really wanna enter this month's contest, particularly since January and February hit on two major topics that I need help with.  I've been reading up on composition, and I have two ideas I'm just itchin' to do.  When I'm not juggling job and house and kids and other busy-nesses .. if I can only just get to a PC in this house that is not being used ...........

    isidorn said:

    7200 seconds are 4 hours if I'm not mistaken. If you set the time to 0 seconds it will take as much time as it needs (until the other requirements are met) so you don't have to worry about that. I would also recommend putting the max samples slider all the way up to 15000. I've made plenty of renders where not even that has been enough and I've had to remove the limit for the max samples. (click that little cogwheel to the upper right of the slider). A render I'm doing now is currently at almost 17000 iterations and counting, with just below 93% converged. You could also try out increasing the render quality and raising converged ratio to 97-98%. I personally always do 97% but that's me. I have no idea if it's optimal or not. 100% converged ratio is apparently very bad though, so best to stay away from that. Increased Quality and converged ratio will of course increase render time, but with time set to 0 that won't be a problem and it will only be a matter of how patient you are to wait until it finishes.

    I cannot even begin to tell you how invaluable this information is to me.  I personally prefer Iray rendering due to it's flexibility in rendering time.  If I don't mind a quick, small and grainy render because it's just a draft, I can do that.  If I want a better render, make it larger in height and width, hit render, then walk away and come back to check on it a few hours later.    Lately though I've been having fits (I think sometimes depending on who's product's render settings I use), but sometimes I've set the settings, walk away, but when I come back it's finished and still a crappy grainy look.  It could be any number of things as this is one of those areas I'm still learning.  

    I read in one forum entry something about turning "Rendering Quality Enable" to OFF, which I haven't tried just yet.  However, your above advice (particularly the bolded parts) gave me some great insight I didn't have before!

    Post edited by Kaliadder on
  • KaliadderKaliadder Posts: 70
    edited April 2016
    h_habash said:
    mjc1016 said:

    Ok folks, here's a quick tip...

    For WIP renders, you can cut the dimensions and even allow 'grain'.  This can dramatically speed up the process of bringing everything together.  Remember, if you are still changing things, all you really need is to see a general idea of what it's going to look like.  After you have everything placed, posed and most of the lighting set, then go 'full size' and do a not quite 'final' render...about 50% or so.  There will still be an 'unfinished' look to it, but you can use that to finalize lighting and surfaces.

    This tip works in both 3Delight and Iray.

    This is a great tip, I never thinkd about before, I'll follow this on my second entry wink, instead of waiting for hours or days to complete 100% of render, and find that something wrong with your scene is a real frustrating and disappointing, Thanks for the tip Mjc1016.yes

    If I might throw in a tip, something that helps me prep for Iray render is the dropdown thingee as marked by the arrow here (sorry, not on the laptop with Daz installed.  Gotta go with "thingee" for now):

    Anyways, click on that dropdown, the one on the bottom says something to the effect of Iray Preview (or something like that).  Select that, the screen loads, and then you can view your render in real-time while making tweaks at the same time.  Major updates, like moving things around, is really really sluggish, but for changing surfaces, lighting adjustments, pose tweaking, etc etc ... this has been one of my favorite latest finds!

    I really hope this helps someone as much as it has really really really helped me!

    Post edited by Kaliadder on
  • mjc1016mjc1016 Posts: 15,001
    Kaliadder said:

    If I might throw in a tip, something that helps me prep for Iray render is the dropdown thingee as marked by the arrow here (sorry, not on the laptop with Daz installed.  Gotta go with "thingee" for now):

    Anyways, click on that dropdown, the one on the bottom says something to the effect of Iray Preview (or something like that).  Select that, the screen loads, and then you can view your render in real-time while making tweaks at the same time.  Major updates, like moving things around, is really really sluggish, but for changing surfaces, lighting adjustments, pose tweaking, etc etc ... this has been one of my favorite latest finds!

    I really hope this helps someone as much as it has really really really helped me!

    You can set the Aux Viewport (if you have it enabled) to that and have the preview on all the time, without too much of a hit to performance.

  • KaliadderKaliadder Posts: 70
    mjc1016 said:
    Kaliadder said:

    You can set the Aux Viewport (if you have it enabled) to that and have the preview on all the time, without too much of a hit to performance.

    Huh ... didn't think of that one ... I will definitely try that. I've been using the Aux Viewport for viewing at different angles.  Otherwise, I've been switching back and forth between tabs, but I like your idea much better. Thanks!

  • isidorn said:

    The new pose is a nice change. Both versions have good things going for them but if I'd had to pick one I'd take the second one, that's more close up. Of course, we're allowed two entries so if you have nothing else in mind you can always keep working on both.

    They're actualy the same project isidorn, just from distict camara angles.

     

  • WonderlandWonderland Posts: 6,880

    I've been trying to upload an image 938x864 at 72 dpi and I keep getting "An unknown error ocurred." Is there a size limit and is that too big? Thanks.

  • Typing about my project for this month, I just grabbed a set of "Cyber Optics" from over at renderocity to see if I can incorperate them into this, but I can't decide on just what pair looks best.

    Here's a set of test renders with each of them. Feedback please.

    Note that I used the same Iray settings on each set, and used a new camera so we get the actual lighting that I'm using for the project and not a headlamp like I would have if I had used the preview angle.

     

    april2016c-2a.jpg
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    april2016c-2b.jpg
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    april2016c-2c.jpg
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    april2016c-2d.jpg
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  • h_habashh_habash Posts: 230

    Typing about my project for this month, I just grabbed a set of "Cyber Optics" from over at renderocity to see if I can incorperate them into this, but I can't decide on just what pair looks best.

    Here's a set of test renders with each of them. Feedback please.

    Note that I used the same Iray settings on each set, and used a new camera so we get the actual lighting that I'm using for the project and not a headlamp like I would have if I had used the preview angle.

     

    Nice set of eye glass, I'd suggest number (4) from left to right, but my openion is to look at it as how it'll look like in the full render view.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252

    I've been trying to upload an image 938x864 at 72 dpi and I keep getting "An unknown error ocurred." Is there a size limit and is that too big? Thanks.

    There is a 2MB limit on the file size.  Sometimes getting an image uploaded is finnicky.  I have had to try several times and sometimes even come back hours later or even the next day to get an image uploaded.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    h_habash said:

    Typing about my project for this month, I just grabbed a set of "Cyber Optics" from over at renderocity to see if I can incorperate them into this, but I can't decide on just what pair looks best.

    Here's a set of test renders with each of them. Feedback please.

    Note that I used the same Iray settings on each set, and used a new camera so we get the actual lighting that I'm using for the project and not a headlamp like I would have if I had used the preview angle.

     

    Nice set of eye glass, I'd suggest number (4) from left to right, but my openion is to look at it as how it'll look like in the full render view.

    I agree with h_habash about needing to see them in the full image but from the shots you have provided I like the pair on the far left ( 1st pair ).

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,345
    h_habash said:

    Typing about my project for this month, I just grabbed a set of "Cyber Optics" from over at renderocity to see if I can incorperate them into this, but I can't decide on just what pair looks best.

    Here's a set of test renders with each of them. Feedback please.

    Note that I used the same Iray settings on each set, and used a new camera so we get the actual lighting that I'm using for the project and not a headlamp like I would have if I had used the preview angle.

     

    Nice set of eye glass, I'd suggest number (4) from left to right, but my openion is to look at it as how it'll look like in the full render view.

    I agree.  The 3rd from the left has some material under the eyes that gives him the football greesepaint look.  I can see his eyes better in the 4th pic.

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,345
    edited April 2016

    Here's the beginnings of 'Mandala.'  I created 6 different mermaids and am placing them using the hexagon as a template.  It's a concept I've had for a while, and I wanted to challenge myself with this one, as I am not using Kaleidoscope.  So, I used a little math for radius on the z Rotate put them at the right angle, then I had to play with x and y to position them. 

    So far the most difficult part has been posing the interlocking arms between the zero position mermaid and the one on her right.  I was thinking about alternating interlocking arms and clasped hands between the pairs.

    I haven't decided if I'm going to fill the rest of the design with sea creatures or just put whatever will create an aesthetic shape.  Think butterflies and mermaids.  I'm still thinking about the lighting and the background.  My first thought was to have no background with different rim lighting on each mermaid, then bring it into Photoshop and create background there that will follow the hexagon shape. 

    This is one of those 'develop as you go with whatever looks good when you get there' pieces of art.

    Mandala 01.jpg
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    Post edited by dracorn on
  • LlynaraLlynara Posts: 4,770
    edited April 2016

    Rough draft of "Kiss Me", rendered in Poser 11 with Superfly.

    Still need to tweak a bit and try to reduce the noise/grain. May need to do some postwork on her hair as well. Happy with it so far. I've only been using DAZ for four months, Poser 10 for three months, and Poser 11 for three weeks on my "barely good enough to render computer". I wanted to see if I was really serious about this hobby. Might be time to build a new machine, but I'm having fun seeing how far I can push this one.

    Post edited by Llynara on
  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,345
    Llynara said:

    Rough draft of "Kiss Me", rendered in Poser 11 with Superfly.

    Still need to tweak a bit and try to reduce the noise/grain. May need to do some postwork on her hair as well. Happy with it so far. I've only been using DAZ for four months, Poser 10 for three months, and Poser 11 for three weeks on my "barely good enough to render computer". I wanted to see if I was really serious about this hobby. Might be time to build a new machine, but I'm having fun seeing how far I can push this one.

    Considering your experience, this is a pretty good pose.  I'm afraid I can't help you with the noise, as I am not a Poser user.  Just a matter of opinion, but perhaps close the woman's eyes?

    I know exactly what you mean about a barely able to render computer.  When I first started DAZ, I had a 7-year old VISTA PC with 2GB RAM and a 1 GB video card, but it was an NVIDIA.  I could do people, but no background - so I settled for just color.  Lights would usually crash the render, because 32 Bit Daz Studio gave me a maximum of 2 GB for rendering.  It was also prone to crashing.  I got fed up and added 2 more GB Ram which helped some, but it was unstable and gave me the blue screen of death frequently. 

    My best render was a head and shoulder portrait with a photo background and simple lights (she wore a collar and was naked from the neck down).  Finally a blue screen of death was true death for my poor 'ole PC.  So without shame or remorse I went out and bought a powerhouse workstation.  It was expensive, but I hold on to my machines for 5+ years, so I didn't want to have to upgrade too soon.

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,345
    edited April 2016

    Here's my latest work. Hate to say it, but they should have been posted sooner.

    Shinji:  I would like to suggest that you bring his left foot underneath his thigh.  It's too far forward and puts him off balance.  He is in action mode, and having his foot back will support his weight, and enable him to spring up like a cat.  Spin your view around him and you can see where he is in balance or is not.  Try getting into the position yourself, then try to get up quickly, and you will see that the foot has to move back towards the center of your weight before you can lift yourself off the ground. 

    Besides that, I like his expression.  His eyes are looking at what he is firing on.  I also like that flying shell - nice touch.  I think the glasses will add to the effect, especially the ones that show his eyes.  It's hard to get a character looking where you want him, so show that off.

    Post edited by dracorn on
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