Samurai - below standards

[pixeltek]

I had entered this image

http://www.cosmic-pearl.com/3dLW49.htm

into the LW gallery. However, it was found lacking. How can it be improved? Where is it failing? A huge amount of research and detail work went into it. From that standpoint I know I am good. It is all about presentation, I understand. Lighting maybe?

I'm open to suggestions.

Karl

[no fate]

Though I don't know what the grounds for rejection for the gallery are, I can offer this:

Although the modeling is excellent, the picture is lacking in realism. It is TOO obviously CG. I would say that you should work more on the lighting to add an air of realism to the pic. Lighting can make or break any model no matter how good it is. I have seen pics of insanely simple objects rendered with nice light rigs that blow away most rendered with complext models and weak lighting. You should also consider a different floor. Your's isn't really working because the bump mapping is shown too close to work. Maybe scale the map down some. These are just my thoughts, hope they help a little.

[mattclary]

You should try breaking up your diffuse levels a little and I would even say lower them some. Observe the difference between the photo and your model regarding the brass piece on the helmet. Yours is a little to "bright" (not to be confused with "shiny"). If you don't have it, I would recommend getting a copy of F-Prime. I have found my ability to surface and light has gone up exponentially since getting immediate feedback from F-Prime.

Plus, you can render with radiosity very quickly with F-Prime.

[pixeltek]

I am making some changes. First of all, Matt, I had been dissatisfied with the floor as well. A procedural, however nice it may be, will break down in this situation, since, after all, we are at floor level. I am substituting "real" boards. The idea was to recreate the polished Japanese floor, usually darker wood anyway, and not hickory colored. I'll see how that renders.

One step at a time.

F-Prime, Sasquatch, all desirables and to be added someday in the future. They are great, but for an amateur and hobbyist, quite expensive. Worley's stuff is so popular, that unlike many SW shops, he never seems to offer specials, such as Siggraph show specials, for example.

I'll render with the different floor later. I still have some issues with Darktree to solve, since I used their simbiont for a couple of items, but I also had just updated to their newest version. Now I find that everything that uses the older versions simbiont won't work.

Karl

[mattclary]

Yeah, I know it's expensive, I'm a hobbyist also. I bought it early when it was on sale, but I'd still pay his asking price today, it is sooooo worth it.

[pixeltek]

I know, and someday I will too. Until then, saslite will have to do and F-prime, oh well.

Meanwhile I have changed the floor of the image, and it is making a huge difference. What I have now is just about the floor I had envisioned all along. Thanks for the assistance.

http://www.cosmic-pearl.com/3dLW49.htm

I still have to resolve a problem with Modeler (i.e. LW8) and the DarkTree2.5 simbiont. Even after upgrading, I got to do the renders, but once I had it all saved (scene and .lwo), the Modeler crashes everytime I try to reaccess that file. Layout, on the other hand, opens and downloads the object file just fine.

Karl

[jamesl]

Take down your ambient lighting... that's the first CG giveaway. In fact turn it to 0. Then, you'll notice that certain areas don't get enough light. Add lights accordingly. A simple key-rim-fill lighting setup will usually do wonders. Add a bounce for the floor if you need it. Ambient lighting is baaaaad always. Unless it's tempered with ambient occlusion, which takes ambient light out of places it doesn't belong. Which is why fprime is SOOOO worth the money, because you can interactively play with multibounce radiosity, add one light then 2 lights then three... and instantly see what looks good. A bit pricey if you think it will only help this project, but when you realize how quickly you're going to start understanding basic lighting concepts when you can see what you're doing instantly, a very justifiable expense.

cheers,

j