657 replies to this topic

[Garagarape]

Tony> Yes you're right. Won't open a hole in the roof 'caus I'm too lazy to tweak the lighting = Bones + armor and treasure only

Chris> I want to change it all each time I go back to it... It's not done at all.

 

Another attempt to change the lightning+ slight different pose:

 

[digman]

Again what I like about your renders are the more intense colors, not so muted...  Each artist brings his own style to his work, whether colors, setting up the scene or posing... This gives us a fantastic array of art styles... 

[Tony Nemo]

This is really looking good!

[Garagarape]

Thanks mates! You bring me courage to push it a little further.

The dragon looks stiff (is that correct english?). The previous one

was like, just about to move. This one, seems to be... doing nothing.

I have to tweak it again. oh my... dragons are hard to handle.

[Garagarape]

Ok, this one has a little more move feel:

 

[Tony Nemo]

Okay, it looks like a lunge. From the previous pose where the weight appeared to be on the left leg, this would allow the right leg to be raised with a bent knee for a more regular advance (rather like the common 'classical' pose).

[Garagarape]

Thanks Tony. To tell the truth... the model skin is kind of roten, and don't allow me

to make extreme poses. No moves sucks. But there's no too many options with such a skin

(the wings are horrible to manipulate too).

 

I added a simple treasure behind him to give a little idea of the scale.

This guy took all my strength. Have to rest for a while. Let's call it done.

May tweak the lighting a bit after having a look on other display;

the one I use gives quite dark results.

 

[Tony Nemo]

If you want to call it "finished", I'm sure no one would quibble. Bravo!

[Garagarape]

Thanks Tony. I know it is not perfect.

For example, the pose could have been better with a little more curvy neck.

But after 7 months working on it (irregularly), I'm kind of exhausted.

Anyway, from now, I'll try to make a presentation effort to show

work made in 3dCaot. A scene brings a lot.

After a while in middle age, I'm dreaming of Sci-Fi scenery

with flying cars like in Blade Runner. 

[alvordr]

Well done.  I would tone down the lighting a bit on the hallway to the left of his head, as it takes some focus away from the main subject.  There's something odd about the lighting used to highlight details on his head.

[Garagarape]

Thanks Alvordr. Yes, the lighting is not perfect, probably. But I need to forget this one for a while

in order to see it with new eyes.

About the light on the hallway: I wanted to add a light source outside the camera view field.

Someone is coming, men in armour holding torches? That's a part of the theme.

This dragon is obviously facing someone and is about to defend his treasure.

That's why I have a slightly warm color in the front of the scene.

Yes, there's probably something odd about the head lighting. It is not a hundred percent realistic.

I understand that too, but I don't know how to fix it. I probably need more practice.

I'll see what I can do about that in the next trials.

[michalis]

Smaug !!! 

Amazing. 

Some fine tuning of DOF is needed. Some better posing? A turn of the head towards camera? 

There is a reputation of a curve pattern. The head - neck and this vaulted ceiling behind it. Better brake it. IMO.

[Garagarape]

Thanks Michalis.

 

A turn of the head towards camera? > I tried that. But the model is not good enough (completely symetric).

So I chose to show the profile (just like for birds, the shapes are more readable from the side).

But I know it lacks dynamism. A dragon rushing toward us would be more impressive

(with bones and flesh stuck between the teeth? ).

May be for the next work.

This one is to be seen as an illustration in an old book.

 

I like the fact that arch and neck repeat the same kind of curve. I don't know if it is good or bad.

But the previous pose version was rather too stiff. I prefer this one.

 

Of course it is not perfect. In a first place, I'm weak for rendering realistic feel;

The stone pilars look like steel. The dragon skin don't look like real lezard skin,

but more like plastic.

 

I know there's a lot to enhance. I used DOF like that both to hide bad parts of the scene

and give a little more move to the whole.

 

Anyway. I'll try to be better on the next one and learn more to improve.

Thanks for the feed-back.

[michalis]

May I ask? 

How did you model the vaulted ceiling? It looks good. 

[Garagarape]

It is just a small part (half the arch) that I sculpted and retopoed in 3dCoat.

I didn't spend too much time on the sculpt and added details afterwards with

additionnal normal map layers in photoshop (a stone picture converted in NM and AO in Crazybump).

This is a cheating way... But I knew there were no need to focus on it from the start.

I duplicated the result and rotated it to get domes, arches and other ceililng parts.

 

I also often use deformers in Maya to get this kind of curves. It is very handy.

But it is to be avoid as a method when you want a normal map that fits perfectly the model, of course...

[Garagarape]

Michalis, Alvordr,

You were both right about DOF and lighting.

Sorry for my lazy negative guy reaction.

But I'm just a kid after all

Updated #647 and that's probably better thanks to you.

Once again thanks for the good ideas.

[alvordr]

Hey, no worries.  Feedback, while sometimes helpful, isn't always correct.  Only you know what you had envisioned for this.  It's also hard to hear anything other than "awesome," when you've been working so hard on something.  I still really like it.

[Garagarape]

I'm thankful for that Alvordr. Without crits I would have been satisfied with less.

When you work for a long time on the same thing, you lose objectiveness.

Only too solutions for me:

1) Forget the work for a while and then look it with new eyes.

2) accept the crits and re-think the work = fight your own ego and incorporate ideas you didn't have in the beginning.

Japanese people are good at that. But when you listen too much advices to satisfy everyone, you often get something

lacking originality.

Thanks for your help. Little tone down + adding light source on the front part was necessary.