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Yeah, that would be funnier if it showed a previous render of him taking like half an hour to get the suit on. lol And yes! I knew those delicious lines would be perfect for NPRing. I'd love to see what your algos would do with them! :)
Thank you for the compliment on the NPR style and lettering! :D That put a big smile on my face! I'm having fun learning to letter. :)
OK... I posted this here because it's from a comic page, even though the style is NPR (I think? Correct me if I'm wrong, it would be good to know) it makes more sense that it falls under the umbrella of Comic Books... This is a frame from one of my recent comics. I was (and am) amazed by the super crisp lines and color that I see posted up here in many of your examples on this and the NPR thread. I did a lot of testing and experimenting, and received some helpful advice, but in the end I really don't think I can replicate any of the sweet NPR stuff I've seen with any consistancy. At least, not enough for a comic. SO, I tried to go a bit of a grittier and less precise route, and I've found there to be some flexibility in this workflow that I've really enjoyed. I just wanted to share with you all... I don't want to be the forum guy who constantly takes and receives and never posts anything up for anybody to look at LOL.
It's been pointed out in the past that my colors are weird... they always are a little off, but unfortunately I'm colorblind (which is why I like 3D vs having to color everything in). They may be a little strange, but at least they are consistant from frame-to-frame haha... I think this is because I rely on the automatic color correction inside of Photoshop too much. I should play around with maybe decreasing my reliance on that ;)
That's a great art style look for a graphic novel or comicbook. The lighting is superb !
Wow thanks!! I'm not sure if you remember, but you gave me some good advice past year when you posted up an example from your work in response to a question I had. It's encouraging to hear that you like it, thanks for the comment!
I totally agree with @FirstBastion ! This is a great style and looks REALLY GOOD, @duckbomb !
Excellent work! I look forward to seeing more!
Thank you! I can post up a whole page so ya'll can see how I do full frames and stuff and see what you think...
That would be great! I look forward to seeing it! :)
Hope you guys don't mind me promoting this here, but this Sunday I'm teaching a class on using Poser to create line art for comics and illustration. This is a paid class and, although it focuses on Poser, there are some general tips you could apply to using Daz Studio. Here's the link (with a space before the .com – you'll need to delete that in order to use it): https://digitalartlive .com/event/create-a-signature-line-art-style-with-poser/
This is a very nice panel. I did have a few issues with the composition, but they are very minor (those pictures in line with her head detract from the clarity of the scene, and that door with windows (?) that we see behind her is good for light to help illuminate her, but it is distracting from the emotional intensity of a lone figure descending the stairs. As for color, since this is kind of a horror/menacing scene, the off colors did not bother me at all. I suppose I might see something in more normal/sedate scene, but here it was okay. And you do a good job of compensating for your color blindness.
Consistency is the BIGGEST issue I've seen with NPR work, and one I've been working on for years. I do think I've finally got it down (and documenting my process was a BIG part of that. I cannot stress it enough that you need to write out your process in detail and then follow it. To the letter. And then pass it off to someone else and see if they could follow the directions. If it can pass those tests, you'll succeed in being able to maintain consistency between panels.
Again, great panel! I'm looking forward to seeing more.
This is funny! Although I think the highlight on his codpiece in the non-NPR does a slightly better job of highlighting the problem! Heh.
If I can make one observation and one suggestion:
Anyway, I know this was just for fun. Nicely done and that is a cool outfit and FUNNY. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thanks! I'm glad you like! Yes, I agree on consistancy... that's why I ended up with this tyle as opposed to the clean line style you all do so well here. This is something I can replicate, so it won over a more technically-impressive style. I appreciate the notes on composition... I have to admit, this panel didn't make the cut (not for the reasons you mentioned, but just because it didn't fit the way I thought it would), so it's really the only reason I posted here. In fact, the DOOR was supposed to be the focal point but, alas, I covered it with speech bubbles so you would never have known that.
At any rate, I'll be back at it again this weekend and so I'll have a couple pages to post early next week. I'm excited to see what you think about the overall panel-to-panel flow, since for me that's been the biggest struggle. It's funny to me that something as dynamic as 3D sure can be difficult to communicate motion with...
I'm looking forward to it. And don't be surprised about the difficulty in showing motion: that is the ETERNAL struggle of all artists. We are trying to capture movement and depth in what is, essentially, a very flat and static medium.
Edit: Nevermind, PM Sent Instead.
@Divamakeup, I appreciated what you said, and you were entirely justified with your comments. Threads should be nurturing and inviting, giving people who post a welcoming opportunity to share their work with us.
That would indeed be cool to see!
I've been doing cell-shaded renders for a while now, here's one of my favorites.
Cool! I really like the textures on this. Have you discussed your process in the past (software, shaders, etc.)? If so, I apologize for not remembering.
And thanks for reminding me that I need to sit down and finally watch Deadpool 2.
Alrighty, got a note saying just post up... let me know if my pages are too suggestive or inappropriate, and I'll gladly pull them...
SO, when I first started trying to use DAZ for comics I had a hard time getting consistancy with the linework, like I mentioned before. I decided to build a few different PS actions, combined with Filter Forge filters, that did very specific things like pulling the "linework" out, another that increased contrast, and another that "flattened" all of the color. I was got really into trying to make my pages look as "flat" as possible, so that they would mix with word bubbles better. Unfortunately, my panel arrangement leaves a lot to be desired, but this was an early crack at it. I'll post up a few pages of a more recent comic later, but I thought I'd show you how it all came together with panels and such...
Again, I know the colors are strange, and even worse I know her skin color is all blown out. At the time, I struggled with contrast... either I had too much or to little...I made some strides forward in that department, as you'll see in my newer stuff.
What do you think?
I have before, but it's always evolving and I've gotten better since I shared it online. Right now I use the Octane plug-in within Daz, and manually adjust each texture or play with it in Gimp. Really all it needs, I don't do postwork unless it's to compress an image. I'd want to get a better handle on skin textures before I put the method out there, right now it's really hit or miss. I only share the hits lol
I think you can stop apologizing for the color choices, because to me it is a style choice. A unique one at that. YOu have a unique art style. Period. Sequential Art has a flexibility of style, and works with the dialogue to drive the storytelling narrative. If I saw this kind of stylizied art sitting on the shelf of a local comicbook shop I would certainly pickup the book and read a few pages. ( I would have pre covid atleast haven't been into a book stores lately ) So the art is doing it's job..I like the artwork and the lighting. And the story is compelling enough, with just the right hint of subtext that I would certainly read further. Keep doing what you're doing. Cause It works.
OK, I can do that! I appreciate it. I know that I come off as apologetic... I actually spent a lot of time inking and coloring my own comic pages, but the constant feedback I received is that skin tones would change from panel to panel and that most of the times the people looked gang-green and sickly. I suppose I just became used to mentioning it so people don't get hung up, but I've had similar feedback on DA so I should work at just presenting my stuff without negative context. I'll work on that.
I'm glad you like the overall vibe! If somebody would take time out to browse the pages if they were to stumble upon it... well, that's the best you can hope for! I appreciate it. I'll post up what examples of my newer pages look like early next week... I just need to let the 'ol render queue do it's thing!
Thank you, @FirstBastion - I think that sounds like a great environment and one that we should aim for. I would love to see these threads be as inviting and supportive as we can make them and not be too critical if people just want to share what they've been playing around with -to keep it as fun and supportive as we can. That's just my two cents anyway. lol
These are fantastic! You've grabbed me with these pages immediately and really make me want to find out what happens next with her! The art looks good, imo. To me the colors don't look off - it has a gritty look to it, which is a nice choice considering the subject. I really like the camera angles, you've made each panel so far visually interesting and engaging. Very cool! It looks like you have a real talent for visual storytelling. I would love to read the story and find out what happens to Morgan. :)
I like what you're trying there and I think the coloring in general works, it's different from the mainstream that for sure but, that's not a bad thing. i believe you found your elvel between original rendered look and lineartbased comic book style. The only thing I wonder about with her skin is that it looks dirty. I assume that is a consequence of your postwork process but that is something I would suggest to think about again. Probably there is an option to clean up the filter over her skin?
On the story and panel flow you did a nice work, you've got interesting camera angles, introduce the location with a wide angle shot and give us a good first impression of your character.
The posing in the first panel of the second page is a bit weird. Take care with pose presets for females, the tend to be backbreaking just so the boobs stick out at every possible situation ;)
@Divamakeup thanks a lot for the feedback on the font some pages ago, I was on vacation, that's why I didn't react sooner. I guess I will add those brackets <> beside the different font at least for the time he's the only one talking that language
Hey thank you!! Oh I'm so glad you (and everyone) liked it! I know that as artists we always strive for that balance of what "works" for us and what makes us happy, but I have to admit that I still find my encouragement when I see that people like what I work on :). The gritty style actually came out of the fact that I couldn't get my lines to look super clean, so I kinda veered the other direction with it. Since these pages I've balanced it out a bit more with the actual renders, subtlely, but it helps. I'll finish up some pages this weekend where I experimented with various panel shapes and sizes, not just boxes... Thanks again!! :)
Also, I have to confess, I've been a fan of what you've been posting and all of your custom shader work, but I very rarely comment. I think it's just a social anxiety thing (go figure), but I've only recently tried to commit to being active on the forums, although I may just relegate that to the Art Studio forum since I seem to have different opinions that what most post in teh commons haha... I will do a better job of commenting on the incredible (and clean!) stuff you post here!
AH Her BOOBS! YES! I know... my wife sometimes walks by and she'll be like "nope... that does NOT look right". LOL. Your advice is something I learned the hard way through trial and error. It's funny, because most pose sets seem to rely on the back to do all of the bending, instead of rotating the actual hip. At any rate, you're exactly right and actually was something that if I went back now I would address.
I felt the exact same way about her skin... and you're also right about the process. Part of what I do to "flatten" the whole thing out is to add a very specific layer of noise into the whole thing that I blend in via a layer mode. The issue with scenes like this, however is that there is so much dark and her skin is so fair (not to mention the cool temperature lights), so what happened was that when I applied the texture to the whole page it REALLY dug into the skin tones. What I learned was to mask off those areas that I think will be a problem during render, and then attack it from both sides... using a multiply layer on the darker areas and a screen layer on the light ones, and this helped to calm it down. Good eye!
I'm encouraged you like it, as well! Your art is TOP NOTCH! I just stumbled on your page on DA (don't worry, I won't actually follow you there or comment on your page because you probably don't want to be linked to a page like mine in any way haha), and I was very impressed. I'll have to start reading your comic now from the beginning! :)
Yeah, that was something I struggled with for a long time. I could create a great standalone image, and I could even do a comic page or so at a time, but if I took any time off between pages, I would forget some of the tricks I was using and then the new material wouldn't look quite right. That's why I switched back to Poser so i could get consistent results with their Comic Book Preview. I do like that you're using Actions. That will do a lot to create consistency in what you do.
I really appreciate this thread and the chance to learn from techniques you all are finding useful. I've been developing a personal approach that uses both Daz Iray and Twinmotion for my projects. I must say that not having to do any rendering for the Twinmotion frames is really liberating and it has some filters that can generate interesting results. This is a frame from a sci-fi dystopian project:
Daz models import beautifully and I'm using it for big sweeping landscape shots like this one:
I'm also attaching some pages from a scene set in the beautiful Dekogon subway set. These are about 50/50 Daz vs Twinmotion renders (attached). Obviously, I'm steering more towards realistic renders for this project. I'd appreciate any comments or questions.
You're welcome. I would just try a few different things - maybe different colored text or something - but yeah the tried and true <> is always an option for another language if you don't think any of the other variations work very well. :)
Very nice!! I really like the attached sequential pages too! I like the panel where you're seeing the green night-vision view through the character's eyes -that's was a cool idea!
Since you mentioned looking for suggestions:
In page two, panel two I think the narration bit isn't really needed: "Jimmy let loose a couple bursts into the squirming mass." I believe, traditionally, narration should be used sparingly and only when necessary (unless, of course, it's a consistent storytelling style that continues on for several panels or several pages). You could have Jimmy say something like "Ugh! I HATE rats!", or "Ugh! Eat lead, you nasty bastards!", or something to that effect. I think a good rule of thumb is "Don't Tell when you can Show". I would only use narration if you can't really fully show what's going on simply by the panels alone, as narration can pull the reader out of the story a little bit. And on page three, panel three, you could drop the narration of "The pair cautiously made their way deeper into the subway tunnel." and convey pretty much the same information to the viewer simply by having one of the characters say "Alright, let's keep going" or "Man, is it just me or is it getting even darker the farther in we go?", or some other bit of dialogue between the two that indicates they are going deeper into the tunnel.
That's just my opinion on it, whether or not you agree with it or want to go with that or the original narration is completely up to you of course. :) Hopefully you find it helpful though.
All in all, it looks like a great start! The lighting and atmosphere are really well done!