Wallpaper Wips

[mali]

Hmm, if you're looking for the goth look, use a little less eyeliner, more eyeshadow. Her hair should be straight or wild, and her skin is looking a little shadowy, while that's fitting, it's not quite.... yeah. You get the idea of how it looks :lol:

If at all this should be a different project. The current one is _so_ to the point IMO. Sounds pathetic but you have to look with your heart. My work has todo with art too and it's hard to get the certain spin right. It's an unconscious process you can't force to work.

 

[Monk]

The current one is _so_ to the point IMO. Sounds pathetic but you have to look with your heart. My work has todo with art too and it's hard to get the certain spin right. It's an unconscious process you can't force to work.

I find most of my projects tend to have a direction of their own, sometimes splitting into 2,3 or more projects as different aspects come to light, and I often don't (can't?) take on board some requests/criticisms simply because they don't feel like the direction I'm trying to go in, for that project.

Here is the more-or-less as requested image (probably a bit too central but I'm sure you can move her over):

Here's another step in the general direction I'm feeling for "The Girl With The Pandora Tatt":

And this was a step too far in "humanising" the image - though it may appeal to some who prefer blood pumping around under the skin:

So..up to check on my dragon rendering progress, and then to bed

 

[WizardStan]

Don't want to be a jerk, more of a concerned community member. I'm guessing the model is free to use...licensing...blah blah?

Based on the assumption that he's using Daz (which I think is reasonable, since he's mentioned it before (unless that was someone else that mentioned it and I'm just crazy)) then no, it's not free to use. However, once you've paid for it, you can do whatever you want with the images created with the models. So as long as he actually paid for the model, it should be fine.

 

[mali]

Thank you very much

The thing with the "spin"(don't know a better word, in German it would be much easier to describe) is obvious now when comparing the renders. The indicated tear highlighted through the front lighting in the first one makes it completely different compared to the other two. In the smaller wip this is even stronger because of the picture having less details. The slightly "glossy" look puts in another tangent. It looks a bit more non-human and at the same time implies fragility. And the shadows are so important for the overall impression.

Wow, think about the tension between technology and humanity and the conflict between sadness and joy introduced by the self-determined action of opening the jar knowing in a fraction of a second afterwards that the world is doomed. Good stuff!

I should go to bed now. Staring at pictures on forums about handheld consoles, is no good(I'm kidding, it's damn good).

 

[Monk]

So as long as he actually paid for the model, it should be fine.

Or won it in a competition, or was given it by DAZ, or exchanged it in trade with another vendor (who had the rights to do so), or was given it by the (non-DAZ) originator out of friendship, or... basically had a legal license. Which I do.

I must admit that having people suspicious of one is never nice, but being questioned HERE has a faintly amusing feel to it - I don't know whether to be pleased at the attitude or outraged that on a forum where so much seems to be ignored in the cause of emulation I could be considered suspicious of copyright theft!

Overall I think it's just nice that someone cares enough to bring the topic up. I know if it were my products I'd be pleased that people were keeping an eye out for me (mine don't usually make the big torrent sites due to lack of popularity).

 

[Monk]

The thing with the "spin"(don't know a better word, in German it would be much easier to describe) is obvious now when comparing the renders.

You're welcome - and "spin" is pretty good. People tend to think that an image is an image is an image - a good photographer can take the same basic ingredients - a girl, a prop, a set of lightbulbs and an electrical outlet, and produce photographs that produce very different emotions in the viewer. A picture is worth a thousand words - it certainly would take that many to describe most of them with any accuracy!

The first image has very basic lighting and skin that's almost plastic. The second has... different, less basic lighting that produces some nice shadows in nooks and crannies, but is far from a finished set. The third changes the skin to a less plastic, more skinlike surface (and IMHO suffers from it). IMHO if you take each in turn, each looks OK until you see the next one. To me the third looks too pink/warm for my intentions this time around (unlike the other girlie images to date) but if you then look back at the second image she looks too pale, and far too flat (esp. if compared to the first image where she appears to have more depth). Lighting - forget textures, scene composition and so on - JUST lighting is an artform in itself (which is probably why you get people in the movies/TV shose job is lighting the sets and actors) and doing it well is something I strive towards constantly. As with every other aspect, of course. Onwards and upwards (my dragon render had not gone well so I came back down to check on the girlie renders... next WIP nearly finished, so I'll set the next one going and REALLY retire for the night).

 

[mali]

Thanks for explaining
The hardest part in any artwork is finding the right moment to stop and declare it finished. In non technical art, it can completly kill a project if you overwork it. The possibilities of technical art to revert or continue are both curse and blessing at the same time. You can revert changes much easier, but you can also miss the sweet spot like in traditional arts and move yourself out of the creative constitution. Listening to tips is bad most of the time, because you fluff your line as you can't identify with the suggestions.

/random thoughts that I wanted to get rid of, before sleeping

 

[WizardStan]

Or won it in a competition, or was given it by DAZ, or exchanged it in trade with another vendor (who had the rights to do so), or was given it by the (non-DAZ) originator out of friendship, or... basically had a legal license. Which I do.

I must admit that having people suspicious of one is never nice, but being questioned HERE has a faintly amusing feel to it - I don't know whether to be pleased at the attitude or outraged that on a forum where so much seems to be ignored in the cause of emulation I could be considered suspicious of copyright theft!

Overall I think it's just nice that someone cares enough to bring the topic up. I know if it were my products I'd be pleased that people were keeping an eye out for me (mine don't usually make the big torrent sites due to lack of popularity).

I never questioned you. I assumed you had the rights, which is why I tried to explain the Daz licensing.
I believe Banjeed didn't mean to be rude either. It's quite easy to find images and models on the internet and accidentally break copyright without thinking about it. Like if you had downloaded a model from a tutorial website, totally free, but the license says only for educational use. If you include it in a commercial work (which the Pandora is) without thinking (which is a very easy mistake to make) you break the license. I think it was the "standing on the shoulders of giants" comment that made him pause. It shouldn't hurt to double check the legality of something, especially when one user already had to pull his background because he didn't have the rights to the images used.
So, we cool now?

 

[Monk]

So, we cool now?

I know all that, we were cool before. It just feels odd to be on that side of the question "Is that legal?" rather than the other side, where I more usually sit. If I'd taken offence, I believe that you would know it. As I believe I've said - it's nice to see the creators being looked out for, now and then.

I hate hospitals. I'm up for surgery in a couple of days and it is likely making me more irritable, so if I am failing to get across "mild bemusement" as the main response to being asked, please forgive me on this occasion

Which reminds me - if I dissapear for a day or two, nobody be surprised. This thread isn't dead, I'm coming back. If I vanish for a few weeks - it went badly, and my widow will probably be seeking a refund for a cancelled Pandora!!

I think it was the "standing on the shoulders of giants" comment that made him pause.

Yeah, I may be guilty of overdoing the self-deprecating thing. I'm British. I want to be plauded and acclaimed and stuff, but quietly - humbly - without making a fuss It's been nice being one of the customers here, rather than one of the dev team there, and I was trying to lower, not raise, my profile with such statements

 

[Jourdy288]

And this was a step too far in "humanising" the image - though it may appeal to some who prefer blood pumping around under the skin:

So..up to check on my dragon rendering progress, and then to bed

Monk... this one wins! I love it!

So, we cool now?

I hate hospitals. I'm up for surgery in a couple of days and it is likely making me more irritable, so if I am failing to get across "mild bemusement" as the main response to being asked, please forgive me on this occasion
Which remind sme - if I dissapear for a day or two, nobody be surprised. This thread isn't dead, I'm coming back. If I vanish for a few weeks - it went badly, and my widow will probably be seeking a refund for a cancelled Pandora!!

I hate to pry, but what are you in for?
You're in my prayers Monk, I hope it goes well for you.

 

[Prometheus]

Which remind sme - if I dissapear for a day or two, nobody be surprised. This thread isn't dead, I'm coming back. If I vanish for a few weeks - it went badly, and my widow will probably be seeking a refund for a cancelled Pandora!!

Just wanted to say best of luck, Monk. And you'd better come back, because I'm really enjoying reading this thread (it's nice to see a thread with stuff going on, as opposed to people getting flustered! ). By the way, how's progress on the dragon?

 

[Monk]

I hate to pry, but what are you in for?
You're in my prayers Monk, I hope it goes well for you.

Some kind of non-elective "rhinoplasty". Non-cosmetic (indeed, it may cause unwanted shape changes to my nose) to re-enable my breathing, which has been a problem. For a while. It's taken us some time to get to this stage, and I was meant to have it last month but they kicked me out of hospital for having a cough. Cutting, straightening inside up higher than I care to imagine, and burning the inside of my nose thinner as it's all agitated and swollen and isn't going to get better without surgery, apparently (it hasn't in the last year or so).

EDIT:- CRAIG! A Pandora over the next 2-4 weeks anticipated recovery time would be nice. Give me something to distract me... No? Oh well. I'll have to do some piccies then, or watch telly!

 

[Monk]

Which remind sme - if I dissapear for a day or two, nobody be surprised. This thread isn't dead, I'm coming back. If I vanish for a few weeks - it went badly, and my widow will probably be seeking a refund for a cancelled Pandora!!

Just wanted to say best of luck, Monk. And you'd better come back, because I'm really enjoying reading this thread (it's nice to see a thread with stuff going on, as opposed to people getting flustered! ). By the way, how's progress on the dragon?

Dragon is, sadly, not going well. Oh - most of the scene is OK, but one aspect that I've done time and time again previously just won't come together - I can't get the lighting to behave exactly how I want it (another test running upstairs near my surprisingly patient wife). I'll probably nail it in the end, even if I have to take the image to another render engine to do so, or just do what has to be done with every image eventually - abandon it. I mean, "call it good" (but it always FEELS like abandonment. There's always SOMETHING more you could do... and you have to know when to cut the cord).

Back I intend to come. Swiftly too, if possible. Tomorrow's my last day before hospital, and I have much to do but hopefully including abandoning a couple of girlie images, with and without top! If I can progress the brain image and the dragon, all the better. Oh - and maybe "Tatt girl" too. Other ideas... well, unless time is remarkably kind to me, they'd best be left to start afresh whenever I get back. I should be home by the weekend, and I'm actually building up my back-from-warranty PC for 3D work, so I should have a quad core machine to use again

 

[amf66]

I hope your surgery goes well!

 

[mali]

I hate hospitals. I'm up for surgery in a couple of days and it is likely making me more irritable, so if I am failing to get across "mild bemusement" as the main response to being asked, please forgive me on this occasion

I wish you success with your surgery too
Now I know, why the latest Goth-Pandora artwork is so good

Edit:
I know now what distracts me on the second and third render. The left side of the face is originally intended to look sad and the right side is happy. The missing tear shifts that emotion to somewhat neutral or indifferent on the left and so the render loses its balance. The resulting emotion is hard to interpret and tends to look a bit arrogant but isn't really elusive.

Edit2:
Just something I want to share if it isn't know already. Recent studies revealed that humans distinguish male and female based on the colour of the teint(does this word exist in English)/skin colour. Females have a more greenish teint, while males have a more redish teint. This is very subliminal, but it's there.

 

[Monk]

I hate hospitals. I'm up for surgery in a couple of days and it is likely making me more irritable, so if I am failing to get across "mild bemusement" as the main response to being asked, please forgive me on this occasion

I wish you success with your surgery too
Now I know, why the latest Goth-Pandora artwork is so good

Oh yes - pain breeds art! Though just saying "art" tends to make me feel self-concious.

Edit:
I know now what distracts me on the second and third render. The left side of the face is originally intended to look sad and the right side is happy. The missing tear shifts that emotion to somehow neutral or indifferent on the left and so the render loses its balance. The resulting emotion is hard to interpret and tends to look a bit arrogant but isn't really elusive.

Yup - the lighting change causes much of that, but the shift to using a skin shader completes the change in light/shadow play across the features. the lighting rig needs bringing back in balance if I were to go with either, I suspect, but definately needs something doing to #3. Drop the level of the overall lighting and add a key light or rim light (possibly both), or possibly see if the existing light can be used to cast deeper shadows and add a rim light. And so on... tinker tinker tinker!

 

[Monk]

Edit2:
Just something I want to share if it isn't know already. Recent studies revealed that humans distinguish male and female based on the colour of the teint(does this word exist in English)/skin colour. Females have a more greenish teint, while males have a more redish teint. This is very subliminal, but it's there.

You edit almost as much as I do! I believe the English equivalent is "tint", and I assure you that many of us take other factors into account as well before considering sex

 

[Vlynndar]

Edit2:
Just something I want to share if it isn't know already. Recent studies revealed that humans distinguish male and female based on the colour of the teint(does this word exist in English)/skin colour. Females have a more greenish teint, while males have a more redish teint. This is very subliminal, but it's there.

You edit almost as much as I do! I believe the English equivalent is "tint", and I assure you that many of us take other factors into account as well before considering sex

Yes, the Hulk comes to mind.

 

[nikkopt]

Hmmm - there's a weird N-Gon on the back but I don't think that will trouble me unduly.

I warned you . They can be a pain in the ass in some renderers, anyway, that one is easily fixable
The WIP's are looking good
Btw, what render settings are you using?

 

[mali]

Yes, the Hulk comes to mind.

She must have taken too many of those pills

Joking aside, if anyone is interested, buy a copy of this:
http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bpl/psci/2008/00000019/00000012/art00009

Edit:
http://www.emaxhealth.com/1/66/27293/male-and-female-skins-have-different-color-tones.html