WIP: bonsai tree

[derwolpertinger]

i only see the tripod logo when i click on the link. :(

[say-g]

dont click it, open a new IE and paste it into the addy bar

[derwolpertinger]

that does not work, too! :(

[say-g]

it should work, been tested by 5 ppl and no probs. tho they double clicked it from irc.

try saving target as. but ill keep searching for a place to host it

[Grey]

<---would like to see Kiwi's sand technique used for the soil :D

[derwolpertinger]

wohoo, i can see it now. :)
nice so far. but also try to avoid making it too soft. just divide it abit more and model some harder edges. as for the sand, if you want i can send you a sla sand shader if you want. but i am leavin home now and i'll be back in 2 days.

[say-g]

yes please derwolpertinger, id love the sla shader

ill try an rough it up abit tomorow

[flingster]

say-g i like the idea...but its a damn hard target bud. This subject would make a good photoreal/hyper-real subject matter. And you look like youre on the right lines. I think you gotta start thinking about the subject...eg what type of tree, include something to provide scale ie. by their nature bonsai are small show how small/big yours is. Yup you're probably thinking gimme chance bud...i was getting there. Also get the image into context in some way...i like the tile floor and the brick background...but you can do better bud...get those creative juices flowing. Thats not to say it has to be in an obviously Japanese setting but that would provide context.

Now I can't just sit here and give you a crit without being positive I still love the work...
So here's some reference material that might help.
http://www.bonsaisite.com/gallery1.html
http://www.ninjabonsai.com/

Now kick bud and gimme ninja bonsai. Good luck grasshopper.

[say-g]

haha thanks for the comments and the urls flingster
i love ninjabonsai interface, sew secksi

i spose i should pick what species it will be, i hadnt thought of that i was just gonna throw some leaves on it hah

the tile and brick dont fit but i figured it was better than standard grey floor plane, i think wen its done it will be in a nice white clean japanese home or even outside in a garden.

:beer:

[kiwi]

Try raked gravel,like they do in Japanese gardens :)


My only tips apart from materials would be watch your saturation levels and find a good bump for the tree...and lots of reference material,I would try national geographic for Japanese gardens :) ....oh and keep us updated :thumbsup:



Stu.

[derwolpertinger]

have a look at your private messages say-g! :D

[PureFire]

great work for your first attempt at bonsai...set the scene to a more traditional atmospere and keep tweaking it...its gonna look hella pertty when your done :beer:

[say-g]

got it derwolpertinger! thanks

heres an update, i decided to start on a new trunk after researching around abit, just messing around with channel shaders and ditools to try and make bark

http://www.realmoftaraka.com/pub/say-g/bonsai3.jpg

and heres the old trunk

http://www.realmoftaraka.com/pub/say-g/bonsai4.jpg

tell me if images are too big and ill make them smaller

[derwolpertinger]

the new one already looks much better!!:thumbsup: i think this is going to be a very cool tree. can't wait for the tiny little leaves to be covering the tree. :bounce:

[say-g]

heres another update, i had leaves looking good, but just one branch was atleast a million polys, so i am still experimenting on ways to get nice leaves (if anyone has any suggestions there welcome)

im sorta working from bottom up :rolleyes:

http://www.realmoftaraka.com/pub/say-g/bonsai6.jpg

ps thanks to derwolpertinger for the sand

[say-g]

here are some leaves, only a small patch of them, very very high in poly, so i dont like them that much, any way crits please

http://www.realmoftaraka.com/pub/say-g/bonsai7.jpg

[visualboo]

Lookin good say-g. I like the sand.
How many poly's for just one leaf (on that last render)?

[say-g]

2880

i really got no idea how it got so high, wen i look at it it dosnt look like its that many...

[Per-Anders]

use instancing rather than cloning to keep the geometry count a little lower, also how close are you likely to be to the tree? most common methods are to eitehr use spheres covered in leafy texture (bryce style) or single poly's with individual leaf textures on them. for most purposes using a leaf with about 12 polys will do provided you have a good texture (use the alpha and up the ray depth).

For getting lots of leaves on the tree... well for free you could select the bits of the tree that you want leaves on, then duplicate that part, and use TDEM (from the people who make DiTools) to emit leaves from the verteces of your duplicated object, moving up a level you could use Surface Paint, or up a level again you could use Shave & Haircut.

[derwolpertinger]

the pic with the leaves looks great. but plz lower the poly count down to 4 or 5. i think that is sufficient for one leave. :D

[visualboo]

well, if you want a close up shot... go ahead and use some polys, because they look good :thumbsup:

But yeah, for a farther away shot.... there's really no need for that kind of poly count.

[flingster]

hiya again, I like the leaves they look goodie...but some seem a bit to transparent. "Even me of little knowledge" knows that poly count is way to high! sort it bud . :eek:

If you want an excellent example of what mdme_sadie talks about with spheres there is one on
http://www.rustboy.com/rustweb.htm
under [Making of] section then number 5 at the bottom of page.
good luck

[kiwi]

2880...woah :)


Nice leaves say-g :thumbsup:



You could also maybe try a cylinder and use an FFD to shape it more along the lines of the main trunk,then use the magnet tool to expand the shape etc and then make an alpha :)



Stu.

[That Adrian Guy]

These are really good renders! I like the way the tree bends...very dynamic. The leaves are also pretty nice however, I always thought bonzai trees had different looking leaves for some reason... ::pops Karate kid into VCR::

[say-g]

mdme: i have tdem but have nfi how to use it D:

flingster: thanks, found that the other nigiht, going to try it out today.

kiwi: thanks :)

adrian: i know what u mean its not really bonsai-ish, but if it looks good then i like it

today ill be doing a major revamp of it today, trying out the rustboy method of leaves, adding some detail to the trunk, and some grass an rocks to the sand, thanks all for the motivation i shall keep you updated :wavey:

[say-g]

after a case of creativity block, i started from scratch the 4th time, the leaves still need some work, but im satified with the method now and will work on it some more.

sorry bout small res

http://www.realmoftaraka.com/pub/say-g/bonsai8.jpg

[derwolpertinger]

plz post a higher res pic. i can hardly see anything! :shrug:

[say-g]

higher res...

im thinking of putting this project on ice for a fortnight or 2, ive spent too much time on it and feel a need to work on something else


http://www.realmoftaraka.com/pub/say-g/bonsai10.jpg

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