July 2016 New User 3D Art Contest “Portrait Rendering” – WIP Thread

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  • sueyasueya Posts: 832

    I also did this image in a spare half hour yesterday.

    I am considering changing his pose to show off his tattoo on his arm.

     

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  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    sueya said:
    sueya said:

    I have changed my pcture to portrait format and zoomed in on the girl more.

    What kind of a light setup are you using?  Are you using 3Delight or Iray?

    I am using Iray.

    What are you using as the light source?  An HDRI?  Spotlights? The Sun/Sky mode? 

  • evilded777evilded777 Posts: 2,464
    Mendoman said:

    Ok, here's my next version. Thanks for great ideas @dracorn, and I agree that Gandalf's pose was definitely too stiff. I tried to aim for what you described, and personally I think it looks much better now. I changed that character is looking at the camera, and tinkered a little with the lighting, so that I could get something that resembles flames. I also changed blade's shader ( thank you @ewcarman ), to make the blade more reflective to the light. Unfortunately I was unable to get nice flames reflections, but I did manage to  get pretty decent reflections from staff's "light bulb", that didn't wash out all the shadows. I think blade looks much better now, or at least it doesn't look like it's made of plastic anymore. All and all, I'm quite happy with this version.

    Just light years better.

    From lights to pose and a few materials, this is head and shoulders above where you stared.

    He needs a touch of direct light on his face, I think.  Don't get me wrong... the framing is fantastic, everything brings me right to his face. But then his wonderful face with its aged details is... kind of muddy.

    This is so good on so many levels... I want to mention that framing again: you've got me looking right where you want... with the weapons in front and the receding pillars and the touch of DOF, I am looking right at his face.  But you have to lift that face a touch.  The ambient light it is recieving right now is just not enough.

    I forget, is this Iray or 3Delight?

  • MendomanMendoman Posts: 404
    edited July 2016

    And here's my next version. I made some tiny adjustments to the lighting, since I didn't like it how viewer could see inside characters left sleeve. I also added vignette, to make image a little darker and to make Gandalf the focus of the image. Personally I'm happy with this version, and unless somebody sees something really weird, I think this will be the final version.

     

     

     

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    Post edited by Mendoman on
  • sueyasueya Posts: 832
    sueya said:
    sueya said:

    I have changed my pcture to portrait format and zoomed in on the girl more.

    What kind of a light setup are you using?  Are you using 3Delight or Iray?

    I am using Iray.

    What are you using as the light source?  An HDRI?  Spotlights? The Sun/Sky mode? 

    I am using a spotlight and a distant light.

  • LinwellyLinwelly Posts: 5,944

    Here is what I think is the final draft for this entry.

    I really like this one, with the light and the colours, there is just one thing thet bothers me, it's that the hat is more popping than the lady. Its probably because of the strong reflections, but it could be focus, if you use that.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    sueya said:
    sueya said:
    sueya said:

    I have changed my pcture to portrait format and zoomed in on the girl more.

    What kind of a light setup are you using?  Are you using 3Delight or Iray?

    I am using Iray.

    What are you using as the light source?  An HDRI?  Spotlights? The Sun/Sky mode? 

    I am using a spotlight and a distant light.

    Is your distant light shining towards the camera?  It is coming from the direction behind the background and causing the background to put the girl in some shadow?  I hope those questions made sense.

     

    The reason I ask is in your image with the guy sitting in the chair I can see shadow being cast by his head on his neck and chest.  This tells me the light source is located behind him.  I am guessing you might be using a similar light setup for both images.

  • SaphirewildSaphirewild Posts: 6,668
    Linwelly said:

    Here is what I think is the final draft for this entry.

    I really like this one, with the light and the colours, there is just one thing thet bothers me, it's that the hat is more popping than the lady. Its probably because of the strong reflections, but it could be focus, if you use that.

    The whole render is really about the HAT Linwelly, it is the focus totally.

  • Finally had a chance to work on the specular in the eyes now that I figured out how to get that to work.

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  • DAZ_ann0314DAZ_ann0314 Posts: 2,847
    edited July 2016
    Linwelly said:

    Here is what I think is the final draft for this entry.

    I really like this one, with the light and the colours, there is just one thing thet bothers me, it's that the hat is more popping than the lady. Its probably because of the strong reflections, but it could be focus, if you use that.

    The whole render is really about the HAT Linwelly, it is the focus totally.

    Since it is a portrait contest you may want to consider how to put the focus from the hat to the person. The hat can be a secondary focus (how it adds to the personality or emotion of the person that you are trying to convey) but the main focus of the image should be on the person, expression, personality etc. Other additions should be seconday focuses lending to the main focus smiley

    Post edited by DAZ_ann0314 on
  • barbultbarbult Posts: 24,240

    Finally had a chance to work on the specular in the eyes now that I figured out how to get that to work.

    Now this is what we always knew was hiding in that dark image!

  • barbult said:

    Finally had a chance to work on the specular in the eyes now that I figured out how to get that to work.

    Now this is what we always knew was hiding in that dark image!

    My thanks to everyone who pushed me in the right direction. This was a great learning experience.

  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,345
    edited July 2016

    OK, so my husband tells me that my evil Faerie doesn't look so evil.  Her smile is too bright... she must be the friendly one.  Ugh!  So I had to wicked her up a little bit.  I changed the expression and lowered her chin. 

    Also, I have been struggling with the lighting balance between too bright and too dark.  My laster render was too bright, and the silver was over exposed.  I didn't want to turn down the lights, because I lost detail in her dark skin.  I found if I made the light color darker, I could retain the intensity while darkening it and bringing out the detail of the jewelry.  I may play with it a little more.  I'm working in 3Delight.

    My husband also said that the colors were too vivid.  The background is dark and spooky, and my evil faerie and her props are too colorful. 

    ...!!!...

    Well... if there's one thing I hate about today's horror movies, it's that they desaturate too much, too often.  It's a bright, sunny day, but everything is gray without a cloud in sight, and that's just not the real world.  I want COLOR!  Give me more color, mwa ha ha!  I want the brightest markers!  Give me Avatar and Wizard of Oz!!!

    OK, well I am kicking around desaturating it a little bit in Photoshop, or maybe trying a volume camera. 

    She'll Never Suspect 09.jpg
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    Post edited by dracorn on
  • sueyasueya Posts: 832
    sueya said:
    sueya said:
    sueya said:

    I have changed my pcture to portrait format and zoomed in on the girl more.

    What kind of a light setup are you using?  Are you using 3Delight or Iray?

    I am using Iray.

    What are you using as the light source?  An HDRI?  Spotlights? The Sun/Sky mode? 

    I am using a spotlight and a distant light.

    Is your distant light shining towards the camera?  It is coming from the direction behind the background and causing the background to put the girl in some shadow?  I hope those questions made sense.

     

    The reason I ask is in your image with the guy sitting in the chair I can see shadow being cast by his head on his neck and chest.  This tells me the light source is located behind him.  I am guessing you might be using a similar light setup for both images.

    Yes you are probably right in thinking that I used the same lights in both images.

  • Kismet2012Kismet2012 Posts: 4,252
    sueya said:
    sueya said:
    sueya said:
    sueya said:

    I have changed my pcture to portrait format and zoomed in on the girl more.

    What kind of a light setup are you using?  Are you using 3Delight or Iray?

    I am using Iray.

    What are you using as the light source?  An HDRI?  Spotlights? The Sun/Sky mode? 

    I am using a spotlight and a distant light.

    Is your distant light shining towards the camera?  It is coming from the direction behind the background and causing the background to put the girl in some shadow?  I hope those questions made sense.

     

    The reason I ask is in your image with the guy sitting in the chair I can see shadow being cast by his head on his neck and chest.  This tells me the light source is located behind him.  I am guessing you might be using a similar light setup for both images.

    Yes you are probably right in thinking that I used the same lights in both images.

    There is nothing wrong with using the same light set.  Many people do it.  They have a standard set up they like to use then tweak the lights by adding, moving, adjusting intensity, colour, etc to suit the scene and character(s).

     

  • KA1KA1 Posts: 1,012

    Beautiful renders coming along this month, I haven't visited much as I've been working on animation which as it turns out takes a LOT of time! Who knew....

    Anyway, I was inspired to have an attempt at a portrait seeing the great work from everyone for this month (and going forward I'm going to attempt portraits for all character concepts I have for future animatiosn!), so thanks to you all I rendered 

     "Kamiko"

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 24,240
    KA1 said:

    Beautiful renders coming along this month, I haven't visited much as I've been working on animation which as it turns out takes a LOT of time! Who knew....

    Anyway, I was inspired to have an attempt at a portrait seeing the great work from everyone for this month (and going forward I'm going to attempt portraits for all character concepts I have for future animatiosn!), so thanks to you all I rendered 

     "Kamiko"

    She has a nice soft airbrushed look.

  • dHandledHandle Posts: 617
    edited July 2016

    Miss Mcgillicuddy - 2nd grade teacher

    3Delight render

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    Post edited by dHandle on
  • dracorndracorn Posts: 2,345
    dHandle said:

    Miss Mcgillicuddy - 2nd grade teacher

    3Delight render

    Wow, dHandle!  This one made me laugh with delight!  (no pun on 3Delight intended...)

    What a great face - fantastic expression too.  What did you use - aging morphs?  Did you create some custom morphs?

    Looking at the portrait, I see that her figure is pretty good for someone her age.  If you want her body to look a little older, I suggest you make her bustline less perky... a lot less perky.  For somebody 60+ years old, breasts that heavy would be hanging closer to the crooks of her elbows - especially with no bra straps showing under the lace.  That is, unless she's got a full body corset-girdle under that dress. 

    There is a lot of blue and purple in the scene, so maybe add a little more yellow to the light on the left side of her face to contrast.  Bring up the over all lighting just a little bit and keep those nice, soft shadows. 

    I see an earring in her right ear, but I don't see the left one.  Is it hidden?  Changing the earrings to gold instead of black will add nice contrast, and gold goes great with purple. 

    By the way, the spell checker wanted to capitalize the G in McGillicuddy...

  • dHandledHandle Posts: 617
    edited July 2016

    Thanks Dracorn!  You have a great eye for detail.  Good comments and suggestions all around.

    I was concentrating on the face and expression and overall layout.  One thing I know I need to work on, but am really hesitant to tackle is the Fit Control. The gown really got distorted when I made adjustments to the bustline. That's next.

    I did make a few changes. Color scheme still needs work, I know. Maybe a gold background...

    Oh, and I stand corrected.  McGillicuddy it is!

    smiley

     

    edit to add: yes, I did use an aging morph for V4;  and yes, I tweaked the settings for the face, and the expression  .

    V4OldLady2.jpg
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    Post edited by dHandle on
  • evilded777evilded777 Posts: 2,464
    KA1 said:

    Beautiful renders coming along this month, I haven't visited much as I've been working on animation which as it turns out takes a LOT of time! Who knew....

    Anyway, I was inspired to have an attempt at a portrait seeing the great work from everyone for this month (and going forward I'm going to attempt portraits for all character concepts I have for future animatiosn!), so thanks to you all I rendered 

     "Kamiko"

    There's a lot to take in here.   It is a nice fantasy-styled portrait.  The background, while complementary, is distracting. I follow the starburst from her hair to her bustline...not the effect you are going for, I think.

     

    I don't think the downcast eyes really fit in with the pose. She doesn't look coy. I'd work on her expression and her body language a bit, then reframe the background. It is nicely lit, if a little too evenly lit for my taste, she just doesn't speak to me.

  • Here's what I'm working on for No. 2 ...

     

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  • IceDragonArtIceDragonArt Posts: 12,548
    edited July 2016

    I thought I would try and get a second one in before the end of the month.

    Lost In Time

     

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  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,118
    dHandle said:

    Thanks Dracorn!  You have a great eye for detail.  Good comments and suggestions all around.

    I was concentrating on the face and expression and overall layout.  One thing I know I need to work on, but am really hesitant to tackle is the Fit Control. The gown really got distorted when I made adjustments to the bustline. That's next.

    I did make a few changes. Color scheme still needs work, I know. Maybe a gold background...

    Oh, and I stand corrected.  McGillicuddy it is!

    smiley

     

    edit to add: yes, I did use an aging morph for V4;  and yes, I tweaked the settings for the face, and the expression  .

    I like, I just realized I am using that same dress for my WIP entry. Oh the embarrassment. Something is telling me she needs to be in front of a chalkboard and grasping a ruler in a classroom environment.

  • I thought I would try and get a second one in before the end of the month.

    Lost In Time

     

    Nice work on this one. I like the aged look that you have going.

  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,118

    Here's what I'm working on for No. 2 ...

     

    I like this one too but it is red on red. Go for a blue-grey building facade in the background. The expression and lady though is really good.

  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,118

    I thought I would try and get a second one in before the end of the month.

    Lost In Time

     

    Cat needs to be smaller but otherwise I don't see anything to dislike.

  • dHandledHandle Posts: 617
    edited July 2016
    dHandle said:

    Thanks Dracorn!  You have a great eye for detail.  Good comments and suggestions all around.

    I was concentrating on the face and expression and overall layout.  One thing I know I need to work on, but am really hesitant to tackle is the Fit Control. The gown really got distorted when I made adjustments to the bustline. That's next.

    I did make a few changes. Color scheme still needs work, I know. Maybe a gold background...

    Oh, and I stand corrected.  McGillicuddy it is!

    smiley

     

    edit to add: yes, I did use an aging morph for V4;  and yes, I tweaked the settings for the face, and the expression  .

    I like, I just realized I am using that same dress for my WIP entry. Oh the embarrassment. Something is telling me she needs to be in front of a chalkboard and grasping a ruler in a classroom environment.

    @ nonesuch00 HA!  Same dress!    That's ok...go for it. 

    I was going to try using Fit Control to smooth out the dress at the bustline after it got deformed during the aging process, but...guess what!  There is no Fit Control for V4!  So...now she looks kinda saggy, and her dress looks kinda saggy to match!

    I meant to do that.

    cheeky

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hNIX7V21pU

     

    Post edited by dHandle on
  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,118
    KA1 said:

    Beautiful renders coming along this month, I haven't visited much as I've been working on animation which as it turns out takes a LOT of time! Who knew....

    Anyway, I was inspired to have an attempt at a portrait seeing the great work from everyone for this month (and going forward I'm going to attempt portraits for all character concepts I have for future animatiosn!), so thanks to you all I rendered 

     "Kamiko"

     

    It's good but I'd prefer to replace her hair with the same color hair but styled in a french braid. And I would have her cradling in her arms a small (shortened from normal size) shock of wheat, bundle of lavender, or a mess of indian corn.

  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 18,118
    edited July 2016

    Here is my WIP.

    It's supposed to be a portrait with a bit of a comedic take on what nudity was during Victorian times compared to modern times. The man has bare arms. Heavens. It is called 'Victoriana Nostalgia - Caught Nekkid'

    Improvements:

    1. Maybe this is not enough of a portrait for the contest rules? Advise please. That is why I put the fellow in the window the make a mix between a portrait & a scene but I'm not sure.

    2. I need to improve upon Girl 7's facial expression and pose I see already.

    3. The fellow needs a small bit of work around the shoulders because I'm actually using the Snowflake texture for both of them. Textures for those far northern climes are hard to come by.

    4. I think I will also buy the Victorian Shoppes expansion texture set to improve the look of the Victorian Street (both PC+).

    5. I need to maybe edit the iRay settings of the Morphing Fantasy Dress and make it look like silk.

    6. I need to do the same for the Victorian Shoppes and make the various pieces look like wood, metal, glass, and so on.

    7. As I entered to receive tips to learn because I'd like to slightly fog up or crystalize in ice the windows of the shop to make the scene more interesting but I've not a clue.

    8. I am open for more improvement suggestions on the elements of the render.

    The surfaces are all native iRay (the Snowflake textures and the iconic clothing and I think the Morphing Fantasy Dress) or converted to iRay with iRay Uebershader (Victorian Shoppes).

    Thanks for tips.

    Victoriana Nostaligia - Caught Nekkid!.png
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    Post edited by nonesuch00 on
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