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February 2017 - Daz 3D New User Challenge - Lighting

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  • nekyonekyo Posts: 54
    edited February 2017
    Linwelly said:
    nekyo said:

    Hello all, decided to do a second submission to get some more lighting practice!

    This time I tried to pick a really simple environment so I could focus on lighting. Nonetheless I got a little carried away with the scene composition...but I like the way it turned out! At first I was going to place the camera in a dark room peering through the glass door into a lit room. However, after playing around I came on the idea of placing the camera on the ground and trying to get arms in the frame, like you were knocked down. That got me to thinking of bullying in a school environment, so I modified the hallway (which is actually a "confinement corridor") into a school hallway - adding some lockers and chairs. I still wanted to play with lighting, so I decided to have the lights in the background off, and pretend there is a light directly above / slightly behind the camera that is on. I also liked having a lit hallway in the background through the doorway. It was tricky getting enough light to light the characters, but still maintain the mood I wanted - I don't think it's quite there yet.

    "High School Bullying"

     

    High School Bullying

    Nice start on your second one and a well thought perspective, I can feel the urge to punch those two... ;). Personally I would maybe not take someone knocked out ( because then you don't look anymore, but probably someone knocked down trying to get back up, so hands flant to the ground or a fist to lean on ( makes the hands look less like from a puppet)

    The light setting is a bit boring right now. I get you want a dark surrounding. You could try to ge the the two bullies more singled out by the light ( going for some kind of spot light) or you could try with a strong backlight (open that door and let the light come through the door, so that the bulies get to be mostly sihouettes ( there should be a bit light around to see some of their front).

    There are plenty of possibilities, try to experiement a bit with that.

    Thank you for the feedback Linwelly! I like all your suggestions so I tried them all...

    First I went for the backlit approach with the door open, but I didn't find a setup I liked without drastically changing my camera and figure setups, so I left that alone for now...

    Second I tried a spotlight, and really thought the tall imposing shadows fit the theme! I was trying to soften the spotlight effect on the girls as much as possible while still getting the cool background shadows. Then I added an emissive plane angled down from above to get enough light on their faces, and small weak emissive plane on the floor behind the camera (lighting up the hands on the ground).

    I also adjusted the hand poses - I like the idea of one of them clenched like a fist as if the victim wants to fight back!

    One thing I definitely don't like is all the grainyness in the shadows themselves...but I'm not sure how to go about getting rid of that (tempting to just open up photoshop but that feels like cheating :P)

    bullying06.png
    1400 x 1050 - 2M
    Post edited by nekyo on
  • barbultbarbult Posts: 24,379
    nekyo said:
    Linwelly said:
    nekyo said:

    Hello all, decided to do a second submission to get some more lighting practice!

    This time I tried to pick a really simple environment so I could focus on lighting. Nonetheless I got a little carried away with the scene composition...but I like the way it turned out! At first I was going to place the camera in a dark room peering through the glass door into a lit room. However, after playing around I came on the idea of placing the camera on the ground and trying to get arms in the frame, like you were knocked down. That got me to thinking of bullying in a school environment, so I modified the hallway (which is actually a "confinement corridor") into a school hallway - adding some lockers and chairs. I still wanted to play with lighting, so I decided to have the lights in the background off, and pretend there is a light directly above / slightly behind the camera that is on. I also liked having a lit hallway in the background through the doorway. It was tricky getting enough light to light the characters, but still maintain the mood I wanted - I don't think it's quite there yet.

    "High School Bullying"

     

    High School Bullying

    Nice start on your second one and a well thought perspective, I can feel the urge to punch those two... ;). Personally I would maybe not take someone knocked out ( because then you don't look anymore, but probably someone knocked down trying to get back up, so hands flant to the ground or a fist to lean on ( makes the hands look less like from a puppet)

    The light setting is a bit boring right now. I get you want a dark surrounding. You could try to ge the the two bullies more singled out by the light ( going for some kind of spot light) or you could try with a strong backlight (open that door and let the light come through the door, so that the bulies get to be mostly sihouettes ( there should be a bit light around to see some of their front).

    There are plenty of possibilities, try to experiement a bit with that.

    Thank you for the feedback Linwelly! I like all your suggestions so I tried them all...

    First I went for the backlit approach with the door open, but I didn't find a setup I liked without drastically changing my camera and figure setups, so I left that alone for now...

    Second I tried a spotlight, and really thought the tall imposing shadows fit the theme! I was trying to soften the spotlight effect on the girls as much as possible while still getting the cool background shadows. Then I added an emissive plane angled down from above to get enough light on their faces, and small weak emissive plane on the floor behind the camera (lighting up the hands on the ground).

    I also adjusted the hand poses - I like the idea of one of them clenched like a fist as if the victim wants to fight back!

    One thing I definitely don't like is all the grainyness in the shadows themselves...but I'm not sure how to go about getting rid of that (tempting to just open up photoshop but that feels like cheating :P)

    I think the image is way too dark to see the concept you are tryng to portray. I can barely see the hands in the foreground. I believe that darkness is contributing to the graininess problem. You might want to try going to the Render Settings pane and adjusting the Tone Mapping Eposure Value to a smaller number. The default is 13. Try 11 or 12 and see what you think.

  • LinwellyLinwelly Posts: 5,956
    barbult said:
    nekyo said:
    Linwelly said:
    nekyo said:

    Hello all, decided to do a second submission to get some more lighting practice!

    This time I tried to pick a really simple environment so I could focus on lighting. Nonetheless I got a little carried away with the scene composition...but I like the way it turned out! At first I was going to place the camera in a dark room peering through the glass door into a lit room. However, after playing around I came on the idea of placing the camera on the ground and trying to get arms in the frame, like you were knocked down. That got me to thinking of bullying in a school environment, so I modified the hallway (which is actually a "confinement corridor") into a school hallway - adding some lockers and chairs. I still wanted to play with lighting, so I decided to have the lights in the background off, and pretend there is a light directly above / slightly behind the camera that is on. I also liked having a lit hallway in the background through the doorway. It was tricky getting enough light to light the characters, but still maintain the mood I wanted - I don't think it's quite there yet.

    "High School Bullying"

     

    High School Bullying

    Nice start on your second one and a well thought perspective, I can feel the urge to punch those two... ;). Personally I would maybe not take someone knocked out ( because then you don't look anymore, but probably someone knocked down trying to get back up, so hands flant to the ground or a fist to lean on ( makes the hands look less like from a puppet)

    The light setting is a bit boring right now. I get you want a dark surrounding. You could try to ge the the two bullies more singled out by the light ( going for some kind of spot light) or you could try with a strong backlight (open that door and let the light come through the door, so that the bulies get to be mostly sihouettes ( there should be a bit light around to see some of their front).

    There are plenty of possibilities, try to experiement a bit with that.

    Thank you for the feedback Linwelly! I like all your suggestions so I tried them all...

    First I went for the backlit approach with the door open, but I didn't find a setup I liked without drastically changing my camera and figure setups, so I left that alone for now...

    Second I tried a spotlight, and really thought the tall imposing shadows fit the theme! I was trying to soften the spotlight effect on the girls as much as possible while still getting the cool background shadows. Then I added an emissive plane angled down from above to get enough light on their faces, and small weak emissive plane on the floor behind the camera (lighting up the hands on the ground).

    I also adjusted the hand poses - I like the idea of one of them clenched like a fist as if the victim wants to fight back!

    One thing I definitely don't like is all the grainyness in the shadows themselves...but I'm not sure how to go about getting rid of that (tempting to just open up photoshop but that feels like cheating :P)

    I think the image is way too dark to see the concept you are tryng to portray. I can barely see the hands in the foreground. I believe that darkness is contributing to the graininess problem. You might want to try going to the Render Settings pane and adjusting the Tone Mapping Eposure Value to a smaller number. The default is 13. Try 11 or 12 and see what you think.

    You can as well increase the lights you are using, for the emissive planes try to switch to kcd/m^2 in the Luminance units, so don't have to deal with too large numbers to get a change.

     

  • KnittingmommyKnittingmommy Posts: 8,191
    soc_stig said:

    Okay, here's my attempt at a tutorial regarding certain effects I used.

    EMISSIVE BACKGROUND

    First import a simple background (I have a "Paper roll" prop for simple portrait backgrounds that came with a light set I purchased)

    I'm not sure that the forums are setup to imbed .pdfs like you are tying.  All I'm getting are broken links for the impeded ones.  The attachments show though.  If you don't have a jpeg to imbed, perhaps the best way to do the imbeded part is to just link the appropriate .pdf from the attachments instead of trying to link it like an image.  I'm not sure because I've never tried imbeding .pdfs before.  It looks like a great little tutorial.  Nice work.

    @Chohole might have a better solution or suggestion.  I'm not sure.

  • yhzmurphyyhzmurphy Posts: 434

    I'm headed to the airport on business and will be away through the end of the month - good luck and keep up the great work everyone and I'll be back next month for whatever the next challenge is.

  • KnittingmommyKnittingmommy Posts: 8,191
    yhzmurphy said:

    I'm headed to the airport on business and will be away through the end of the month - good luck and keep up the great work everyone and I'll be back next month for whatever the next challenge is.

    Safe travels!!

  • geek-pixiegeek-pixie Posts: 11
    edited February 2017

    Okay.  Here is an entry from me.  I call it simply:  "View From My Window; Forest" and I did this one in Blender 2.78.  I initially started with quite a different image than the one pictured here, and about three times was the idea changed.  But, here is what has come of it-Journey through a path down to a lake through the woods.  Just beyond the trees lies the sun and its warm, yet subtle and welcoming rays, beckoning one to draw near.  With almost a dreamlike feel, one ventures through these mysterious woods, and careful to take one's time as not to miss the wonders that dwell hidden within this mystical realm.

    Forest Norm.b.jpg
    1000 x 562 - 347K
    Post edited by geek-pixie on
  • daybirddaybird Posts: 655
    edited February 2017
    geek-pixie said:

    c

    Okay.  Here is an entry from me.  I call it simply:  "View From My Window; Forest" and I did this one in Blender 2.78.  I initially started with quite a different image than the one pictured here, and about three times was the idea changed.  But, here is what has come of it-Journey through a path down to a lake through the woods.  Just beyond the trees lies the sun and its warm, yet subtle and welcoming rays, beckoning one to draw near.  With almost a dreamlike feel, one ventures through these mysterious woods, and careful to take one's time as not to miss the wonders that dwell hidden within this mystical realm.

    Very good start. I know, you wanted catch the feeling of the moment you had and it looks very good. I like, how the light falls in and give the whole scene a mystical touch, but the composition of the scene let me miss a figure ( maybe a animal or a person ) in the middle of the picture.

    Post edited by daybird on
  • daybirddaybird Posts: 655
    edited February 2017

    I deleted the entry, because the Background I have used, seems not be a free one . 

    Post edited by daybird on
  • nekyonekyo Posts: 54
    edited February 2017

    Finally got a chance play around with exposure levels - let there be light!

     

    High School Bullying

     

    bullying07c.png
    1400 x 1050 - 2M
    Post edited by nekyo on
  • LinwellyLinwelly Posts: 5,956
    daybird said:

    I deleted the entry, because the Background I have used, seems not be a free one . 

    I hope you will find something fitting to your image that is free, it would be a pity to have all the work you have done gone to waste. I know there is quite some people over at dA giving out their images as resources ( probably wanting to be quoted)

  • LinwellyLinwelly Posts: 5,956
    nekyo said:

    Finally got a chance play around with exposure levels - let there be light!

     

    High School Bullying

     

    Very nice work with the lights here, I like how they are spotlighted, and the rest is darker but still visible enought to be seen.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252

    Wow.  Where did February go?  Only a couple of days left to this month.

    Everyone's images are looking great.

  • daybirddaybird Posts: 655
    edited February 2017

    After the last disaster, I renounce a background image and limit myself to the freestuff I own.
    The picture is compiled on the fast and will hardly tear something, but without a contribution I wanted the month also not run out.

     

    Peaceful sunset.jpg
    1800 x 1200 - 1000K
    Post edited by daybird on
  • geek-pixiegeek-pixie Posts: 11
    edited February 2017

    Here, I have added some wildlife into the centre of the scenery, as daybird suggested. =)  And, I also decided to go ahead and dirty up the lens a bit more.

    Forest Norm.b3.jpg
    1000 x 562 - 363K
    Post edited by Chohole on
  • bluetidesbluetides Posts: 19

    Nothing special in the narrative, just a guy walking in a tunnel but it's a chance to try out lighting affects using spotlights and points.  I'm trying to create a mood of mystery and solitude with the blue point hidden behind him and the long shadow meeting the wall..  

    hdhhdjfueuhuuuGG.jpg
    1218 x 753 - 727K
  • social_stigmasocial_stigma Posts: 107
    bluetideN838 said:

    Nothing special in the narrative, just a guy walking in a tunnel but it's a chance to try out lighting affects using spotlights and points.  I'm trying to create a mood of mystery and solitude with the blue point hidden behind him and the long shadow meeting the wall..  

    Cool work with the shadow! My only suggestion would be to add another shadow (character off-screen) creeping up behind this guy, maybe with a dagger or something. Maybe this guy sees the shadow coming up behind him and is preparing to react (gun? sword?). It would add to the mystery but not necessarily the solitude.

    Either way, a neat image.

  • social_stigmasocial_stigma Posts: 107
    daybird said:

    After the last disaster, I renounce a background image and limit myself to the freestuff I own.
    The picture is compiled on the fast and will hardly tear something, but without a contribution I wanted the month also not run out.

     

    It's a shame you had to switch images at the last minute. On the bright side, this one that you threw together looks really good. I like how the character is in silhouette.

    Her edges seem a little blurry though -- did you use depth of field on the camera? Are you trying to have the fopcus on the cityscape or the character. If it's on the character, I would use DoF to make the city blurrier and her silhouette sharp (and maybe add a rim light). If it is the cityscape your are highlighting, iwould try to light it a bit more dramatically -- I'm thinking lens flare reflected off glass, but I have no idea how to achieve that effect.

    That said, I really like the feel of this image.

  • daybirddaybird Posts: 655
    edited February 2017

     

    bluetideN838 said:

    Nothing special in the narrative, just a guy walking in a tunnel but it's a chance to try out lighting affects using spotlights and points.  I'm trying to create a mood of mystery and solitude with the blue point hidden behind him and the long shadow meeting the wall..  

    I absolutely like the blue light and the shadow. Well done.smiley

    Post edited by daybird on
  • demonskatesdmdemonskatesdm Posts: 0

    This is my submission, I hope Black and white is allowed. Always loved how lighting effects black and white images. New to Daz 3d and the forum. Cheers.
     

    Black and White (2) - Copy.jpg
    479 x 558 - 90K
  • leatherthumb_ef62888abcleatherthumb_ef62888abc Posts: 0

    Hello!  I am brand spanking new to this forum, and I have to say this is a very cool community to discover. Actually, y'all got me back in to modeling/rendering after a several year creative slump, so a big thank you for the inspiration.

    "Facing the Causti-nomicon"  Daz 4.9 / Iray - no post-render work

    This challenge got me thinking about ways to controll or "draw" with caustics. The sphere is volumetric (smoke) and the geometry inside is highly refractive glass. There is a WAY too hot spot-light off frame to the right pointed directly at the center. Aiming the whole thing at a white wall generates some slick textures.

    Sadly, the system I am currently running Daz on does not quite have the moxie to tackle this scene in full, but I thought the nicer partials I got might be of interest., so here they be. I have one more cooking as I type which I may post if it turns out.

    Thanks again for the inspiration!

    caustinomicon01.jpg
    1920 x 1080 - 4M
    caustinomicon02.jpg
    1920 x 1080 - 4M
  • bluetidesbluetides Posts: 19
    soc_stig said:
    bluetideN838 said:

    Nothing special in the narrative, just a guy walking in a tunnel but it's a chance to try out lighting affects using spotlights and points.  I'm trying to create a mood of mystery and solitude with the blue point hidden behind him and the long shadow meeting the wall..  

    Cool work with the shadow! My only suggestion would be to add another shadow (character off-screen) creeping up behind this guy, maybe with a dagger or something. Maybe this guy sees the shadow coming up behind him and is preparing to react (gun? sword?). It would add to the mystery but not necessarily the solitude.

    Either way, a neat image.

    So I added the sword and it definitely started the imagination rolliing.  The addition of a secondary shadow was trickier than I thought it would be.  Mostly because the addition of extra lights kept contrasting with the lights already set up.  So finally worked out a way to bring in a shadow in the hall without it affecting the foreground. Very good suggestions Soc-stig.    Thanks for the comment Daybird.  I appreciate it.  Yours is looking good as well.  I'm enjoying the concept you came up with.  

    man walking in tunnel with sword.jpg
    818 x 506 - 477K
  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    leatherthumb_ef62888abc said:

    Hello!  I am brand spanking new to this forum, and I have to say this is a very cool community to discover. Actually, y'all got me back in to modeling/rendering after a several year creative slump, so a big thank you for the inspiration.

    "Facing the Causti-nomicon"  Daz 4.9 / Iray - no post-render work

    This challenge got me thinking about ways to controll or "draw" with caustics. The sphere is volumetric (smoke) and the geometry inside is highly refractive glass. There is a WAY too hot spot-light off frame to the right pointed directly at the center. Aiming the whole thing at a white wall generates some slick textures.

    Sadly, the system I am currently running Daz on does not quite have the moxie to tackle this scene in full, but I thought the nicer partials I got might be of interest., so here they be. I have one more cooking as I type which I may post if it turns out.

    Thanks again for the inspiration!

    Interesting concept.  I may have to try that sometime.  I hope you get your cooking done before DAZ Midnight but even if you do not please feel free to share the image if you wish.

     

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    bluetideN838 said:
    soc_stig said:
    bluetideN838 said:

    Nothing special in the narrative, just a guy walking in a tunnel but it's a chance to try out lighting affects using spotlights and points.  I'm trying to create a mood of mystery and solitude with the blue point hidden behind him and the long shadow meeting the wall..  

    Cool work with the shadow! My only suggestion would be to add another shadow (character off-screen) creeping up behind this guy, maybe with a dagger or something. Maybe this guy sees the shadow coming up behind him and is preparing to react (gun? sword?). It would add to the mystery but not necessarily the solitude.

    Either way, a neat image.

    So I added the sword and it definitely started the imagination rolliing.  The addition of a secondary shadow was trickier than I thought it would be.  Mostly because the addition of extra lights kept contrasting with the lights already set up.  So finally worked out a way to bring in a shadow in the hall without it affecting the foreground. Very good suggestions Soc-stig.    Thanks for the comment Daybird.  I appreciate it.  Yours is looking good as well.  I'm enjoying the concept you came up with.  

    The added little details really make a huge difference. 

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    demonskatesdm said:

    This is my submission, I hope Black and white is allowed. Always loved how lighting effects black and white images. New to Daz 3d and the forum. Cheers.
     

    I also love B&W images.  I love the play between light and shadow.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    edited February 2017
    geek-pixie said:

    Here, I have added some wildlife into the centre of the scenery, as daybird suggested. =)  And, I also decided to go ahead and dirty up the lens a bit more.

    Your deer added to the tranquility of this image.

    Post edited by Chohole on
  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    daybird said:

    After the last disaster, I renounce a background image and limit myself to the freestuff I own.
    The picture is compiled on the fast and will hardly tear something, but without a contribution I wanted the month also not run out.

     

    The Heroine protecting her city.  Lovely concept and execution Daybird.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    nekyo said:

    Finally got a chance play around with exposure levels - let there be light!

     

    High School Bullying

     

    Those exposure levels can really make a difference.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252

    Last day everyone.  The Challenge will end at DAZ Midnight.

  • social_stigmasocial_stigma Posts: 107
    bluetideN838 said:
    soc_stig said:
    bluetideN838 said:

    Nothing special in the narrative, just a guy walking in a tunnel but it's a chance to try out lighting affects using spotlights and points.  I'm trying to create a mood of mystery and solitude with the blue point hidden behind him and the long shadow meeting the wall..  

    Cool work with the shadow! My only suggestion would be to add another shadow (character off-screen) creeping up behind this guy, maybe with a dagger or something. Maybe this guy sees the shadow coming up behind him and is preparing to react (gun? sword?). It would add to the mystery but not necessarily the solitude.

    Either way, a neat image.

    So I added the sword and it definitely started the imagination rolliing.  The addition of a secondary shadow was trickier than I thought it would be.  Mostly because the addition of extra lights kept contrasting with the lights already set up.  So finally worked out a way to bring in a shadow in the hall without it affecting the foreground. Very good suggestions Soc-stig.    Thanks for the comment Daybird.  I appreciate it.  Yours is looking good as well.  I'm enjoying the concept you came up with.  

    that looks great. and now the warning above the figure seems appropriate (perhaps a happy accident)!

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