Cartoon-y scene rendering for backdrops?

mindsong

Hi all,

While I've got the wonderful Brinnen/Horo stylized rendering toolkit from here at DAZ, it seems like it's tuned more for static/one shot image-building than toon-effect landscapes (unless I missed a chapter!). I think I'm looking for more of a global 'toonycam' rig solution where the outlining and cel-rendering effects (saturation, edges, etc.) are done 'closer' to the render engine - less scene-specific, etc.

I can see using shader smarts to apply tricks like ambient surfaces (all tricks are welcomed), and perhaps some good hard-edged lighting techniques to also simulate higher contrast cel-inking shadows, but was wondering if there are any other studies/tutorials/threads on ways to arrive at this sort of effect without resorting to much post-work? The scenario that has me stumped is skies and clouds and getting that contrasty, almost water-color look.

@fencepost52's pencil/sketch technique looks like it could be pushed in that direction - any ideas/experiments are appreciated!

cheers!

--ms

Horo

Since you have the Stylized Rendering toolkit, you know as much as I do. Creating a terrain from the render gives the best outlines as far as I know. Another means to create toon shading is use a colour for Specular, set Specularity to max and Specular Halo to full white (255/255/255).

Edited to add:
There are many Bryce videos available on YouTube, most of them by David Brinnen. Check out this list: http://www.bryce-tutorials.info/bryce-tutorials.html. About 2/3 down, my videos hosted on David's YouTube channels are listed, the third in the list "Pencil Sketch - Adding Haze and Clouds" could interest you.

mindsong

Thanks Horo - That's the sort of info I was hoping for - not only for my project, but this thread may serve as an ongoing collection for such 'tricks' and links.

I think I've watched all of those videos at least once (!) but with a new task in mind, I'll enjoy reviewing those you mentioned.

cheers,

--ms

mindsong

Hey there,

As I continue towards my goal (and then thoroughly enjoy the experiments/distractions as I meander there - "squirrel!"), I 're-found' a couple of videos from the Brinnen/Horo 'Bryce Mentoring DVD'

  http://www.daz3d.com/bryce-mentoring-dvd-videos-scenes-and-resources

that address the effects I believe I'm looking for more directly/generically than the great 'Stylized Rendering' package did for my goals, and wanted to make a note of that for others that may happen upon this in the future!

Specifically on the DVD, related to toon/cel shading:

   .../Materials/10_CELshading.mp4

   .../Materials/09_ToonShading.mp4

And it seems, as Horo mentioned above, that the key technique is to crank specularity and specularity halo, then tweak things to taste. There are some clever IBL and sphere lighting tricks too, so it doesn't stop there.

Again, these techniques are a bit more generic to most anything in your scene, and once set, the entire context can be animated. Some of the other techniques are better suited to fine-tuning a staic scene, so it's good to know when to use each.

These may be available at www.byceinfo.com, but the Mentoring DVD with its organization, extras, and samples is an easy win, and supports our most generous community members!

cheers, and thanks, Horo/David!

--ms

 

Horo

Thank you for your kind words mindsong. Here's another document about drawing effects in Bryce: https://horo.ch/docs/mine/pdf/DrawingEffects.pdf that may be of help.

 

mindsong

Thanks for that pdf pointer!, I believe I pulled that over a while back, but I wasn't working on my current task, so it got lost in the mix. Going to review it now!

I spent far too long (enjoying) experimenting with the specular/specular-halo/bump effects. The bump effect for getting the half-tone-like shadow edges has a lot of potential. Could spend all day playing with that alone.

cheers,

--ms