July 2015 New User Contest - Portrait Rendering [WIP Thread]

frank0314 · July 2015

New User's Contest - July 2015
Sponsored by DAZ 3D

Are you new to the 3D World? Are you at the beginning stages of learning 3D rendering? Have you been around for a little bit but feel you could benefit from some feedback or instruction? Have you been around awhile and would like to help other members start their creative journey? Well then come and join the fun as we host our newest contest...

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"Portrait Rendering (Expressions and Lighting)"

This month's focus will be Portrait Rendering with focus on Expressions and Lighting.

I will be checking in on the WIP thread as will the rest of the Community Volunteers to try and help with anything you all may need, so feel free to ask questions.

The Golder rules of rendering can be found:
Bryce
DAZ Studio (Also, DS has a built in thirds golden rule just show thirds guide); See images below.

Here are various links to other things that may help you in this months contest. Credit is given to Szark for this wonderful thread.
Tutorials by Szark

More info that will help with this months contest can be found:
in DAZ Studio
VII - Lights
Light Editor
Point Lights, the Basics
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/25899/ (ideal for those who have purchased Gia 6, but the lighting tips can be used even if you haven't)
http://www.daz3d.com/great-art-now-step-5-lights

Modifiers to Basic DAZ Studio Lights -IBL or HDR type lighting environments
UberEnvironment2 Basics
Learning UberEnvironment 2 Return to Topic
Uber Area Lighting: The Basics

in Poser
Poser – Lighting 101 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QWWXZ64ZiM
Poser Lighting 102 (Attenuation) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofj-vOgbwsQ
Poser Lighting 103 (Shadows) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbHQTXiGrx0
Poser Lighting 201 (Ambient Occlusion) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GZbHV7MJD4

in Carrara
Chapter 14: Setting Lights

in Bryce
Artist’s guide page 125
Bryce: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C772CuZ6RgI
Bryce: http://www.bryce-tutorials.info/bryce-tutorials/lighting-and-skies.html#
Bryce: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH58aGjCfR8
Bryce: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_mzhnLRx0s
Bryce: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-Pe-IVp_dY

Theory:
Mastering Lighting in Blender the first 25 minutes of the video.

Lighting Basics:
http://www.amaanakram.com/lightingT/part1.htm
https://software.intel.com/en-us/articles/the-basics-of-the-art-of-lighting-part-1-simple-principles-of-and-techniques-for-creating-artful-lighting
http://www.3drender.com/light/3point.html
http://bensimonds.com/2010/06/03/lighting-tips-from-the-masters/

Examples of Lighting:
Some Examples

For a list of the current contest rules, please see this thread : Contest Rules

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For those veterans of the forums that would like to help, because this contest is designed for the beginner to learn from, we will be randomly selecting posts offering helpful tips and/or critiques to receive a special voucher as well so, whether you are a seasoned artist or an aspiring one, there is fun for everyone!

Closing Date: July 31, 2015

frank0314 · July 2015

Here is the image of turning on the thirds rules in DAZ Studio

frank0314 · July 2015

Here is another thread that you can find wonderful tutorials to get you started. We suggest to decide what you would like to render and then refer to the tutorial for best results.

Shinji Ikari 9th · July 2015

Found myself thinking of Bob Seger's song 'Like a Rock' when I rendered this. Specifically the section were he's asking were the last 20 years have gone.

kathrynloch · July 2015

Oh we're off to a great start. When I was working on my book cover thread, I rendered the following and bemoaned the fact that the book wasn't in the fantasy genre because I really liked the render. With this contest having an emphasis on expressions and lighting I'd like to use this as a jumping off point.

But I haven't a clue where I'm going to go with it yet, but I'll figure something out. lol!

DollyGirl · July 2015

Glad you both can come and participate in this month's exercise.
kathrynloch: I would pull into the image to get closer to the subject. I see to much empty space on either side of him and I think by coming in closer I would see more drama and interest.

3ch0_419: For this one I would work on introducing shadows by increasing the ambient light level. I would also work on the reflections and specularity of the subject. I would try and make those eyes come alive and see a bit of moisture on the lips and eye corners.

For all of you here is a google search on portraits to look through to get the juices flowing.

Toyen · July 2015

Yes I must take part in this one!

Toyen · July 2015

So what do you guys think?

Quick preview. Rendered in DS 4.8 with Iray, no post work.

I think I am going to render V7. I know not very creative, a portrait of a beautiful female but she is my favorite figure right now.

I´m also not going for any exaggerated facial expressions or anything dramatic.

Just a regular portrait.

What do you think of the lighting and colors? Should I change the background color? Put soem make up on her? Or should I stick to this nude theme.

Let me know!

DollyGirl · July 2015

Toyen said:
So what do you guys think?
Quick preview. Rendered in DS 4.8 with Iray, no post work.

I think I am going to render V7. I know not very creative, a portrait of a beautiful female but she is my favorite figure right now.

I´m also not going for any exaggerated facial expressions or anything dramatic.

Just a regular portrait.

What do you think of the lighting and colors? Should I change the background color? Put soem make up on her? Or should I stick to this nude theme.

Let me know!

Welcome Toyen. My first task, would be to work on the eye reflection. I think it is to bright and I would try and see if I could get the light spot into her eyes as well. I would also add some sheen to her hair and her skin and maybe some wetness to her tear ducts. I would leave the lights alone for now unless I could not make the eye reflection behave. I would change out the background to something with a little more variability or go a little lighter to make the figure more separated from the background. I might also try a back fill light to add a ring of light to separate her from the background. I would also keep her "nude". I would do this because it would be more challenging for me to see if I could get the settings on the textures correct.

Shinji Ikari 9th · July 2015

Dollygirl said:
Glad you both can come and participate in this month's exercise.
kathrynloch: I would pull into the image to get closer to the subject. I see to much empty space on either side of him and I think by coming in closer I would see more drama and interest.
3ch0_419: For this one I would work on introducing shadows by increasing the ambient light level. I would also work on the reflections and specularity of the subject. I would try and make those eyes come alive and see a bit of moisture on the lips and eye corners.

For all of you here is a google search on portraits to look through to get the juices flowing.

Thanks for the feedback Dollygirl. Lighting isn't one of my strong suits still. Added a distance light to use as a sun node in this revision.

h_habash · July 2015

Family Forest Picnic :-)
Very interesting, I've looked at some of the portraits pictures just to get the idea, and this what came to my mind while I'm going thru the contents I have, I used Victoria 4.2 and basic Millennium Baby as characters, with forest backdrop and simple lighting settings.

Rendered in 4.8 Iray HDRI Generic Sun Sky 1 Preset

I hope I'm doing the right thing here !! :roll:

aaron575 · July 2015

Basic three point lighting. Rendered in Iray no postwork.

Quixotry · July 2015

The pose here was inspired by one of the examples that popped up when I googled 'photo portrait.' Not sure about the framing yet. The lighting is still very basic, but I'm excited to play with Iray lighting. Up to now I've just been using pre made lighting setups and haven't fiddled with any of those fancy dials. :)

I was going to use depth of field on the camera to bring the focus onto the boy's face and take focus off the hand in the foreground, but I tend to need the preview in the auxiliary viewport to help get DoF right. I don't know if it's just that I haven't got my settings right, but I've never been able to get the aux viewport to do anything when Iray is selected under the render tab. It works for 3Delight, just not Iray. Has anyone else had that problem, or is it really only supposed to work with 3Delight?

Lyam · July 2015

Making Babies Cry (Jill Greenberg Style)

I'm trying to copy the photo series of Jill Greenberg. Can't get it quite to work. I definitely got the lighting wrong.

Shinji Ikari 9th · July 2015

Adjusted the distance light some. Pointed it at my subject, and lowered it on the y-axis some.

Babalar1 · July 2015

marykb said:

I was going to use depth of field on the camera to bring the focus onto the boy's face and take focus off the hand in the foreground, but I tend to need the preview in the auxiliary viewport to help get DoF right. I don't know if it's just that I haven't got my settings right, but I've never been able to get the aux viewport to do anything when Iray is selected under the render tab. It works for 3Delight, just not Iray. Has anyone else had that problem, or is it really only supposed to work with 3Delight?

If you want to get iray to show up in the auxillary viewport, just click at the bottom of the drawstyle options menu. I'm not sure if it will show up with the DoF since I haven't used that yet but it at least gives you the iray preview.

Edit; I just tried it out and DoF does work in the iray preview screen via camera settings. learnt something new today:)

Linwelly · July 2015

h_habash said:
Family Forest Picnic :-)
Very interesting, I've looked at some of the portraits pictures just to get the idea, and this what came to my mind while I'm going thru the contents I have, I used Victoria 4.2 and basic Millennium Baby as characters, with forest backdrop and simple lighting settings.
Rendered in 4.8 Iray HDRI Generic Sun Sky 1 Preset

I hope I'm doing the right thing here !! :roll:

I like the view, the posing and ther interaction. The baby looks a little too much like a puppet in the moment and there is somthing like nail polish on the babies nails

Linwelly · July 2015

lyam04 said:
Making Babies Cry (Jill Greenberg Style)
I'm trying to copy the photo series of Jill Greenberg. Can't get it quite to work. I definitely got the lighting wrong.

I think you are not far from what you want, The girl in your render has too much of the adult make-up and facial proportions for the moment. Maybe that help you to the result you want.

Linwelly · July 2015

This one is already published so it won't go into the contest. Still I would like to know what you think so the I can do better for the next one

Linwelly · July 2015

marykb said:
The pose here was inspired by one of the examples that popped up when I googled 'photo portrait.' Not sure about the framing yet. The lighting is still very basic, but I'm excited to play with Iray lighting. Up to now I've just been using pre made lighting setups and haven't fiddled with any of those fancy dials. :)
I was going to use depth of field on the camera to bring the focus onto the boy's face and take focus off the hand in the foreground, but I tend to need the preview in the auxiliary viewport to help get DoF right. I don't know if it's just that I haven't got my settings right, but I've never been able to get the aux viewport to do anything when Iray is selected under the render tab. It works for 3Delight, just not Iray. Has anyone else had that problem, or is it really only supposed to work with 3Delight?

This looks great already, the way he's looking at the camera is convincing and the pose is fitting for boy that age.
Only critique is that I feel the front hand is overpowering the rest a bit taking up a large part of the render and having the most light.
maybe you can turn the spot (I guess that's what it is) a bit so it lights more directly the face and leaves the hand in the dark (er)

Kismet2012 · July 2015

lyam04 said:
Making Babies Cry (Jill Greenberg Style)
I'm trying to copy the photo series of Jill Greenberg. Can't get it quite to work. I definitely got the lighting wrong.

The reference images look like they use a rim light coming in from either side of the figure and I think you have a light focused on the face.

Kismet2012 · July 2015

aaron575 said:
Basic three point lighting. Rendered in Iray no postwork.

This is a lovely image. I like that you used a minimum amount of make up and let the natural beauty shine through.

I have not done a lot with iRay yet so cannot suggest any specific settings.

Kismet2012 · July 2015

marykb said:
The pose here was inspired by one of the examples that popped up when I googled 'photo portrait.' Not sure about the framing yet. The lighting is still very basic, but I'm excited to play with Iray lighting. Up to now I've just been using pre made lighting setups and haven't fiddled with any of those fancy dials. :)
I was going to use depth of field on the camera to bring the focus onto the boy's face and take focus off the hand in the foreground, but I tend to need the preview in the auxiliary viewport to help get DoF right. I don't know if it's just that I haven't got my settings right, but I've never been able to get the aux viewport to do anything when Iray is selected under the render tab. It works for 3Delight, just not Iray. Has anyone else had that problem, or is it really only supposed to work with 3Delight?

They may have changed things but it is my understanding that DOF does not work in iRay at this time.

You have created a great pose and expression. He looks quite precocious. The grey background and shirt are a good choice. My eyes go right to his after being momentarily distracted, or perhaps drawn in by his hand.

Did the example have a strong light on the figures hand?

Kismet2012 · July 2015

Linwelly said:
This one is already published so it won't go into the contest. Still I would like to know what you think so the I can do better for the next one

If I am going to be really critical I would point out that Shiro's thumb intersects with the hilt of the sword. I know from experience how hard it is to get a good hand pose. Especially the thumb. I have fought many battles in renders trying to get the thumb to look right so this is something that might not be able to be fixed.

The bend in the last joint of his left hand does not look natural to me with his hand in that position. I think it would be a little straighter and not have such a strong bend. Unless he had broken his thumb at some point and it no longer bends naturally?

I am very picky about hand poses and I am constantly posing my own hands in the position I am trying to achieve to see the position of the fingers and what is natural. Or at least as natural as I can make the pose.

aaron575 · July 2015

Kismet2012 said:
aaron575 said:
Basic three point lighting. Rendered in Iray no postwork.

This is a lovely image. I like that you used a minimum amount of make up and let the natural beauty shine through.

I have not done a lot with iRay yet so cannot suggest any specific settings.Thank you Kismet, I have been following the Iray render thread in the Commons and have learnt quite a bit.
Fixed the hair and made a few changes to the light levels.

h_habash · July 2015

Linwelly said:
h_habash said:
Family Forest Picnic :-)
Very interesting, I've looked at some of the portraits pictures just to get the idea, and this what came to my mind while I'm going thru the contents I have, I used Victoria 4.2 and basic Millennium Baby as characters, with forest backdrop and simple lighting settings.
Rendered in 4.8 Iray HDRI Generic Sun Sky 1 Preset

I hope I'm doing the right thing here !! :roll:

I like the view, the posing and ther interaction. The baby looks a little too much like a puppet in the moment and there is somthing like nail polish on the babies nails

Thanks linwelly, I'm changing the baby, I know it doesn't look good, I'll find something else.

And by the way your render is cool.

h_habash · July 2015

And here is the modified render of the family picnic I hope it looks better :red:

Shinji Ikari 9th · July 2015

Loaded G2M with his IRAY mats, and am going through the tedious task of basically copying them over to G1.

I still have a ways to go, but here's what I have before I head off for work.

Linwelly · July 2015

Kismet2012 said:
Linwelly said:
This one is already published so it won't go into the contest. Still I would like to know what you think so the I can do better for the next one

If I am going to be really critical I would point out that Shiro's thumb intersects with the hilt of the sword. I know from experience how hard it is to get a good hand pose. Especially the thumb. I have fought many battles in renders trying to get the thumb to look right so this is something that might not be able to be fixed.

The bend in the last joint of his left hand does not look natural to me with his hand in that position. I think it would be a little straighter and not have such a strong bend. Unless he had broken his thumb at some point and it no longer bends naturally?

I am very picky about hand poses and I am constantly posing my own hands in the position I am trying to achieve to see the position of the fingers and what is natural. Or at least as natural as I can make the pose.

Using my small window of internet access here, you are perfectly right about that thumb thing. I did try for some time and then gave up, and the left hand thumb actually does look a bit off now that you mention it. Should have looked at that from a different anlge. Well some day I'll revisit that render. So thanks!