Spectacular 3D Entry: James Kaufeldt

[DimitrisLiatsos]

I say ..lol :scream:

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1127848920_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1127848920_large.jpg)

Hi all,

this is a message from Edward Finkelbottom, the executive art director for James' challenge entry, currently residing in left hemisphere of what's left of his sad excuse for a brain.

A couple of days ago, we lost all contact with the artist in question, as of the moment he sat down in front of the PC sunday night, carrying two 1.5 liters coca cola bottles, determined to quote-unquote "finish that other damn car".

He has been in the zone ever since, and while we are no longer able to communicate with him, we have at least managed to snatch this render and wire from his workstation while he was away for a minute, taking a leak.

The future developments of this car-induced modeling psychosis are unclear, but we hope to be able to bring an updated report very soon.



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[lilCara]

Haha waiting for that report Mr. Finkelbottom.

And this is a message for James, I hope he gets it: Don't worry, hang in there, soon the third car is going to be finished! And the fourth, of course.

Seriously now you're doing great. Nice cars :)

And I actually like modeling cars *ducks, water baloon thrown at him misses*.

[ihamid]

hahah man!!! great car!! JamesMk you really must hate modeling cars!! hope he survives with the coca cola! hehehe
great work man! watching out for more news!!
cheers!

[se7enthcin]

nice modeling my friend. I'm enjoying it!

[JamesMK]

Just a quick BIG thanks to all who have posted comments over the last couple of pages... I'm currently a bit pressed for time due to other, infinitely more boring tasks at the moment (but they do pay some bills).

That aside, at car number two I actually started enjoying it quite a bit. That's why the BMW ended up a fair bit more detailed that it really needs to be... but what the hey, one never knows when a good car model might come in handy on other projects, so I'm sure I'll end up having some use for it aside from this challenge anyways.

'til later :wavey:




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[DimitrisLiatsos]

Car looks great..i know it will be getting severe damage from crash, but ..i need to say this..love this plate more than last one.."OMG OMFG"... :scream: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: .


U ROCK MAN. :bounce:

[imbusion]

That BMW looks absolutely phenomenal :P. So you've seriously never modeled a car before that van? Incredible work James, I'm further astounded with every update!

Good luck with whatever mundane work lies ahead of you outside of this challenge.

[shakes]

cars are a @#**!! to make, I agree-funny how you do em really well! the work you're putting in for this is ..spectacular!

[DaddyMack]

Toodeloo Mr F, Artists are a fickle lot, believe me I know... why not offer your artist a small incentive by promising that if he behaves during 'walkies' he can break some of the cars during free time... Maybe squeeze in some autos between the plane and bridge?... He appears to have a right proper knack for destroying perfectly innocent vehicles... By the by... Most impressive meshwork you've got there...
Cheerio old chap:wavey:

[nemirc]

you are doing a great job for a car-modeling hater :D

[Gunilla]

It looks like you actually start to enjoy this. It's almost sad that you're going to break and damage that smashing looking vehicle. OMG OMFG - is a good plate for it :thumbsup: :D

[azazel]

Upper corners of the windshield IMO should be angular, not round - detail it is, but kind of distracting, and easy to fix. Well done.

[SONIC-X]

Very nice car model for some one who hates modelling them-

just curiuos, why you hate car modelling and lots of other people two?

[Lemog]

Another beautiful car James... and finally quickly done... :thumbsup: next ?

[icedeyes]

really impressive speed and modelling man... everything so far looks great... i was away for a week and come back to see some great progress...:thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

lilCara - lol... I've got an endless supply of waterbaloons... there's no way you'll be able to dodge them all

yunisirees - As long as there's caffeine in some form available, there is hope

se7enthcin, nemirc - Thanx

Dimi - At least one of them will be fairly undamaged actually. I thought that I might use the beamer twice, just with different colours :D

imbusion - I actually seem to remember having made a fantasy styled F1 once upon a time.... might have been around 2001... but aside from that, nope, only ever modeled the van and the BMW above. If you take a peek at my homepage, you'll see I usually prefer entirely different things than trains, planes and automobiles.

shakes - Thanks :D

DaddyMack - A few ones horribly squashed under the airplane sounds like a great incentive

Gunilla - Yeah I though the license plates could sort of make comments on the situation in question.... not that you'll actually be able to read them unless you have the full resolution copy available :shrug:

azazel - True dat, and easy enough to fix, thanks for the pointer :thumbsup:

SONIC-X - I guess it's because (a) you're not really allowed to "design" anything yourself, just copy stuff, and (b) the strict requirements on the geometry, as opposed to organic modeling for instance, where there's more room for "funny flowing shapes"... cars are so very mathematical in nature IMHO

Lemog - Yes..... next.... :banghead: It will be a SAAB 9-5...

icedeyes - Thanks - I guess I just want to get all models done as soon as possible in order to have lots of time left for textures, lights and compositing.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Arrrrgh!



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[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1127901635_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1127901635_large.jpg)

Just a quick test to see how the new cars fit the picture.

[AndyH]

Foly huck! That looks real!

The lighting, and the shaders of the cars are superb already!

:bowdown:

[JHarford]

ooooo... thats fabulous!, I'm watching eagerly for the next update.

Crit wise :


apart from lighting and dirty texturing the shiny metal poles, Keep up the great work

[flyingP]

have to admit, pretty damn impressive wabbit :thumbsup:

[sergioKomic]

Im soooooooooooooo jealus right now,


I could maul a wabbit!

You hate modelling cars and you produce these?????

What do you love? (besides me that is:eek: ) , and how fast do you model something you love anyway?


Thats all....

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAArghhh

[JamesMK]

have to admit, pretty damn impressive wabbit :thumbsup:

http://lemog.club.fr/icogif/falling.gif



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[makaron]

can I say this last update really looks good? :bounce:
i know it is not friday...

[Lemog]

Real cars or not ? :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:



:thumbsup: just continue in your way... and take care to the bridges...

[Jaba153]

james : perfect.

[Goul]

damn...i'm agree, that's fantastic :applause:

Exellent lighting/shading job!

[SONIC-X]

That last render looks brilliant-breath taking. Were not worthy!

[gu]

Perfect!!! spectacular! waiting for more!

[Squibbit]

Real cars or not ? :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:


ditto that looks like a photo dude

u good


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[Larsen]

That looks so real :eek:

Totally impressed by your work Rabbit, you're the first really creative rabbit i seen you know... incredible :scream:

Just keep it in the same way and your image will be amazing :bounce:

[aliasali]

hey James this is fabuluos! i want to just see the final!

[JamesMK]

Andy, flyingP, Jaba, Goul, SONIC, Gus, Madlight - Thanxx0rs guys

stripe - M'yep, lots of texture work left to be done, and I'm not yet sure what lighting situation to go for...

sergioKomic - Nah, aside from you, there's nothing I really love :D

makaron - I guess... it's almost thursday at least... close enough I guess

Lemog - Oh nooooo, you have revealed my secret, they're photos :scream:

squibbit - u squib

cipher - Most rabbits I know focus exclusively on eating grass or pellets... I'm not sure at which point I lost track of those bits :shrug:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Updates - Naah... I'm taking a break today... will probably start on the third car tomorrow.



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[AndyH]

"Thanxxors" eheheh!

Why the heck do people you know call you wabbit or something along those lines?

[sergioKomic]

sergioKomic - Nah, aside from you, there's nothing I really love :D
.

I bet you say that to all sergiokomics out there?

Youl never change, you..... Wabbit you......

[sergioKomic]

"Thanxxors" eheheh!

Why the heck do people you know call you wabbit or something along those lines?

Ever seen his avatar, or the one before that, or perhaps the WABBIT BADGE of aprooval?
or have you ever seen a JamesMK trapped in your headlights?:wise:

If you answered yes in any of the above, you know why, and knowing is half the battle :D

[AndyH]

Hmm - all i ever remember noticing on his avatar is a bizzare meaty thing being sliced by a lightsaber. I guess its one of those things ill never know....

[JamesMK]

or have you ever seen a JamesMK trapped in your headlights?:wise:

lol - that's a much better explanation than I would have come up with :D



.

[sergioKomic]

lol - that's a much better explanation than I would have come up with :D



.

And I dont even drive, I ve only heard the tales of fishermen(<<scratch that) drivers that have.....

[JamesMK]

Hmm - all i ever remember noticing on his avatar is a bizzare meaty thing being sliced by a lightsaber. I guess its one of those things ill never know....
If I remember correctly, the whole wabbit thing started during the Machineflesh challenge.... and my avatar was much more obviously a rabbit at that point. When turned upside down and sliced with a saber, it looks more like a turnip, which makes the reference vague at best.





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[Agamemnwn]

So you dont like making cars but you can modell them amazinly . you are not an enginer yet u can produce fantastic engineering. DUDE !! WTF . where in sweden are you. Do u give lessons . give us a break :D

[YasushAzush]

beravo .... fantastic...... exellent........ welldone........ cool.......clap clap clap :bounce:

[mr_carl]

"OMG OMFG" hahahaha that was funny.

Really exelent work :scream:

Carl.

[shakes]

that warping bridge looks just brilliant! I've always found warping bridge footage amazing
to watch, and you've really got it.

[vampeta]

Hi James.

Waahhhnsinn ... i never dit someone see to build 2 cars this fast...:eek:

WE HAVE MUCH TO LEARN! ;) Hahaha

Great progress Friend!

P.s I love you work... i visited your homepage... these images are very cool! i love the one with the local weather:thumbsup:

Cheers:

[Gunilla]

I think you should add at least ...hmmm...10 cars - to give the rest of us a chance to catch up ... yeah, that's likely to happen.
You're doing disturbingly well :)

[Zapan]

I think you should add at least ...hmmm...10 cars - to give the rest of us a chance to catch up

Considering the fact he need like what ? 2 days to bring a photorealistic car? I guess it won't be enough to catch him up :eek: :argh: :scream: (at least for me who need 2 days to make a boot :banghead: )

Amazing oh yeah ! Disturbing that's for sure !
I will just stay here watch out , cry and support you :bounce: :bounce:

[unwrap]

The cars perfectly fit in, and they look photoreal. But can the bridge survive that kind of crash? :cry:

[rattlesnake]

compo is looking simply perfect, well done sir:thumbsup:

[DimitrisLiatsos]

Foly huck! That looks real!

The lighting, and the shaders of the cars are superb already!

:bowdown:


Ohhh..this is so fluffy flucking true ..u Jedi killed WABBIT ...are u sure u didn't still that from a real pic ...:scream: ...Darn i ...i...i... bliah u so much! :scream:


Dudie ..this is so good.

[nemirc]

we should ask for 100 cars then :)

[rankstein]

do you guys have an usb brain/to/cpu cable,cheeee,great everything,cant wait more...
have a nice day!:applause:

[Gunilla]

Such beautiful work deserves an award - congrats! :thumbsup:

http://www.bitspin.net/tmp/sotrs.jpg

[JamesMK]

NOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo







.

[formoso]

few crits althought i liek where this started out from and its only getting better. probably already know these things but the road texture and its bump seems off scale and too intense i would make a finer bump with a little less colour variation. the cars are looking nice no crits there. also a bit of cracking and breaking up in the road might make things more "spectacular". (even tho bridges can bend lik that). reflective poles.

[ODoul]

Better late than never ... I'm on board.

[JamesMK]

Agamemnwn - lol... Kalmar it is, lessons I give not :D

visualact.com - Thank'ya'vermuch

mr_carl - Hiya mister... glad you likey

shakes - Yeah, it's fun when things warp actually.... Not plankwarps though, they're a bit dull, but bridges are just fine

vampeta - Thank you, thank you - the local weather was a lot of fun to make too

Gunilla - 10 cars? OK, just gimme a sec... :D Nah... thanks for the award btw

Zapan - Yeah, but boots are incredibly difficult to get right to be honest... I think the last time I actually modeled a pair of boots, it took almost a full day

sergage - Was a bit surprised myself to see them integrated... and the bridge doesn't survive, but I hope I can make the final render before it collapses and falls in the water

rattlesnake - Thanks, sssssssssnake :thumbsup:

Dimi - Muwaahaahahaaha [that's your average evil laughter]

nemirc - 100 cars? Now, this is getting out of hand...

rankstein - Hm... no such cable available, but let me know if you find a dealer - I'm sure they could be useful in all sorts of situations :lightbulb

formoso - Good observations - as suspected, they're all already on my ever-growing list of things that need to be fixed... the more things you add, the more things end up needing slight tweaks :scream:

3D Explorer - Ah, welcome all the same!

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Update status - Still just slacking here, though I started breaking up some tarmac yesterday night... kinda fun, but results in loads of messy polygons, yet all in all the work involved has an interesting meditative quality. Seem to remember building a few lampposts too...



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[makaron]

Such beautiful work deserves an award - congrats! :thumbsup:

http://www.bitspin.net/tmp/sotrs.jpg

congrats to your award... :bounce: welldeserved... *ROFL*

[Lemog]

Such beautiful work deserves an award - congrats! :thumbsup:

http://www.bitspin.net/tmp/sotrs.jpg

The sweet suit... for sure :scream: hahaha

[marcom]

kick ass thread!!!
the aehmm award is well deserved.

cheers
marcom

[CryingHorn]

Oh yeah now this is really spectacular, the lighting on the last wip looks oustanding, the cars looks like real and nothing else ;) I can a bit imagine how the final will look, good luck!

[Pooyag]

damn,i'm really impressed:eek:....Keep going James

[jddog]

very very wow :thumbsup:
jdd

[anilduran]

really so realistic scene.congratulations.
goodluck...

[ihamid]

hi James .. the last test looks great with the cars! i like what u have done to that bridge :thumbsup:!
cheers man!

[Maytridy]

Incredible...I had to read through the whole thread to make sure those cars were actually 3d! Awesome!

[JamesMK]

BIG thanks for all your comments!

I don't have much time for talk at the moment, but hopefully in a few days.

Updates below:

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128209936_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128209936_large.jpg)

Made a bunch of low-to-mid res cars, rather sloppily put together, but they're going to be pretty much wrecked anyway, so I didn't spend any time tweaking or detailing.

In the meanwhile I've made a few dynamics simulations with an airplane fuselage proxy on a simplified copy of the bridge together with a bunch of really simple car proxies - the plan is to refine that simulation, bake the animation tracks and finally replace the car proxies with the "real" models. This will result in the necessary amount of chaos and also ensure that the motion blur will make sense according to the trajectory of the cars.

Oh, and it's a lot of fun doing those simulations... that was probably the main plan, the rest is just sideeffects :)

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128210856_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128210856_large.jpg)

.... also started a little bit on trying to make some nice cracks in the asphalt, and I've added the previously missing streetlights (or technically 'bridgelights' I guess...).

[TheFirstAngel]

brilliant symphony of destruction, scary good! keep it up mate, imprrressive progress!:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Maytridy]

Excellent. Those cracks look great!

[YasushAzush]

james ...nice cracks:scream: !!! ..... maybe increasing the amount of cracks in order to the smaller

pices will show the bridg biger and more natural with a nice randomise on smaller pices(my apinon)


rock on :buttrock:

[Gunilla]

If you keep this up you might just get yourself another award. :)
Looking great - and the simulation sounds really fun!

[JamesMK]

Angel, Maytridy - Thanks dudes

Visualact - True dat. Lots more left to do in terms of cracks etcetera.

Gunilla - Hope it's not another rubbersuit :scream: And, yeap, simulations are fun, but the best thing is that I get the necessary animation data... would be a nightmare to keyframe something like that manually.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That aside - In terms of modeling, I'm sort of more than half-way done with the geometry needed for the full scene. Soon enough it's time to start adding bitmaps and/or procedural shaders where needed, and then move on to particle effects and debris etcetera etcetera.

I've got the logistics of the final render passes more or less worked out in theory, and it's going to be fairly tricky in some areas, but there are no unsolved problems as far as I can see at this point.

The only thing that's bugging me now, is the fact that I've worked on this like as if it was a VFX shot of some sort (and I'm pretty happy about how things are turning out in terms of realism since I've never really tried to achieve that in the past, being more interested in stylised things and rather non-mainstream concepts... but now it's more like a Jerry Bruckheimer production in progress) and this makes me feel that the shot as such lacks style.

It's just like a set of replicas instead of something arty... so my main struggle will not be that of models/textures/renders, but rather the issue of getting some STYLE into this, without breaking the realism. I've got a few different ideas on how to solve it, either by incoorporating some more sketchy model details, and/or by doing some creative colourwork in post (along the lines of, say, selective desaturation for instance), and/or by adding a slightly graphic-designish framing to the final elements.... time will tell.

My original goal was just plain realism, but now it feels like that's not really enough.



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[blasphemy3_d]

It is gonna be very impressive. Good job with the cars. They look great.

[Fahrija]

The only thing that's bugging me now, is the fact that I've worked on this like as if it was a VFX shot of some sort (and I'm pretty happy about how things are turning out in terms of realism since I've never really tried to achieve that in the past, being more interested in stylised things and rather non-mainstream concepts... but now it's more like a Jerry Bruckheimer production in progress) and this makes me feel that the shot as such lacks style.

That´s a difficult problem, dude. I have no hint to give but in case you solve this probelm jerry bruckheimer should take a look on this artwork to get inspired.
with or without the special note - the spectacular impression is nailed perfectly.




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[Gunilla]

It's just like a set of replicas instead of something arty... so my main struggle will not be that of models/textures/renders, but rather the issue of getting some STYLE into this, without breaking the realism. I've got a few different ideas on how to solve it, either by incoorporating some more sketchy model details, and/or by doing some creative colourwork in post (along the lines of, say, selective desaturation for instance), and/or by adding a slightly graphic-designish framing to the final elements.... time will tell.

Interesting thoughts regarding style vs realism... I understand what you mean. I think this might work well since the scene itself is rather unreal, but if you need some subtle style things... how about arranging the explosion fragments in patterns? Some psycedelic swirls could be very cool here.
I'm pretty confident you're going to sort it out :)

[nemirc]

procedural animation :beer:

keep it up

[tlggungor]

whats going on here this is really good piece :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

[Atwooki]

Looking Goddam amazing James! great work and attention to detail - the dynamics of the event 'feel' just as I'd expect had I been there, tho' I've not been in such a predicament of late ;)

Chris

[crimsoneye]

James Mk this really amazing mean how you got the damage of that plane hitting into the golden gate bridge. The amount detail you put into the wreckage of your plane I'm just amazed by that.

[vampeta]

Hi James,

I knew it must be booring to read your 582th reply ;) :scream:hahaha

I just want to say...

:eek:INCREDIBLE:eek:

Cheers!

[shakes]

you crazy boy! love all the detail you're putting into this. love the 'cannon fodder' and cracks! http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/6103/alien131vx.gif

[JamesMK]

blasphemy_3d - Thanks a lot!

Fahrija - Tricky it is.... I'll be sure to mail a link to Jerry :D

Gunilla - Maybe some patterns could be one way... I'm not a big fan of patterns and ornamental stuff and so forth, but it surely sounds like an interesting way to add some subtle marks of individualism somehow

nemirc - Exactly, something along those lines :thumbsup:

-tolga- - Gee, I don't know... everytime I look at your latest "sketch" I'm so blown away I don't even know what to post... THAT is what I would call good pieces

Atwooki - I'm happy to hear that, surely it's something one would want to avoid at any cost :argh:

crimsoneye - Thank you, I will however need to detail that wreck even more... as things stand now, the cars and bridge "outdetail" the plane making the whole thing slightly unbalanced. It's on the list....

vampeta - LOL, thanks anyway :cool:

shakes - Thanks, nice "bouncy" there btw!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Current status - Have a real bitch of a web job to finish up today, hopefully it will be done before nightfall... and tomorrow (tuesday) there's a nasty motion graphics gig incoming, which shouldn't take more than a couple of days... so I guess friday would be a possible time for updates here.

Cya!



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[Lemog]

I just follow the council of a CgTalk girl... and I award you too James... more SPAM for you :scream: hahahahahaha


http://lemog.free.fr/lemog_v5/albums/lemog/wallpapers/spectacular_walls/spec_wall_rubbersuit_800.jpg (http://lemog.free.fr/lemog_v5/albums/lemog/wallpapers/spectacular_walls/spec_wall_rubbersuit_1600.jpg)

[Agamemnwn]

Hahahahahahah great away lemog,

Current status - Have a real bitch of a web job to finish up today, hopefully it will be done before nightfall... and tomorrow (tuesday) there's a nasty motion graphics gig incoming, which shouldn't take more than a couple of days... so I guess friday would be a possible time for updates here.

Cant wait for the updates James. Lycka till med jobbet.

[nemirc]

Hahahahahahhaha, good one :applause:

[JamesMK]

lol, thanks for the award - most honoured, I'm sure :D

Had some time late yesterday night to play around a bit with the composition in 2D, mainly just doing some paintovers and such, so it's not exactly anything show-worthy. But the point in case is that I already have the main image coverage already modeled, and the things missing are merely details, and I can't recall having seen any case where details have had a significant impact on the composition - so, some experiments where called for.

What I've found is that while the lack of style is still a bit disturbing, I think I'll manage to solve it with some more "noisy" geometry... The weird graphic framing I was meaning to try out, didn't really work, so I guess I can scratch that bit. Still haven't tried any non-standard postprocessing, and I still haven't made my mind up about the final lighting.

It's quite possible that I might want to try making a dusk setting, some weak sunlight still present, but a lot of darkness too. This has the added advantage of using small pointilistic light effects, such as streetlights, headlights on the cars, red beacon lights on the airplane and so forth. It may very well increase the sense of scale and also make the overall impression a little bit more scary.




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[Gunilla]

It's quite possible that I might want to try making a dusk setting, some weak sunlight still present, but a lot of darkness too. This has the added advantage of using small pointilistic light effects, such as streetlights, headlights on the cars, red beacon lights on the airplane and so forth. It may very well increase the sense of scale and also make the overall impression a little bit more scary.

Sounds like a splendid idea - go for it! You could perhaps have some fog mixing with the smoke and dust effects to make some areas almost opaque, could be cool...
Looking forward to see what you come up with :thumbsup:

[Lemog]

You're totally right... lights, shadows, meetcakes, smokes and all these others effects enriching incredibly a scene... and you're good in this domain... I'm sure you can obtain a super result while working in this way :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[funkyboss]

It is really promising mate!
Am on my ***!!!
I have nothing to crits right now it is just very clean now, i am waiting for more updates:buttrock:
Don't forget foreground objects/materials falling/flying over the cam. Could be interresting, maybe too much....:shrug:
Have fun dude!:thumbsup:
PS: It is bad that we can't put sounds on these pictures huh?:scream:
Cya

[JamesMK]

Gunilla et Lemog - I have made a preliminary test....

funkyboss - Thanks for your comments, dude! I plan to have some stuff flying around and towards the camera, but it will be among the last things I add (probably as separate layers composited in afterwards, so it will be quite a while before we see any of it I'm afraid).

------------------------------

Made a little test with a rather dark set... update below.




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[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128459471_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128459471_large.jpg)

Just a quick test... obviously things would need to be changed a bit, and heaps of backlit smoke would make a big difference - but I'm still not really sure about this. Feels like it could give the impression I'm trying to hide something, which really shouldn't be necessary...

Cast your votes! What has more potential - daylight or darkness?


Er....



.

[AndyH]

:cry: Sob sob!

There is no god! Oh wait - there is - and thy name is james MK!

Looks excellent. The night image would definately be more atmospheric and explosive but its a bit easier to make stuff look good at night and stuff can be hidden. If you could pull this off in daylight, i think it would look much more realistic and awe inspiring - like it could happen to us. It would certainly be more impressive, technically as well because all the awesome details are visible. I guess im not too keen on the dark one because we are so used to seeing things exploding / crashing at night in big-budget action films.

[makaron]

the darkness got my vote :wip:

[shakes]

it looks great, but personally I prefer the daylight version-I'd hate to see all that lovely detail lost. and in a way, a terrifying incident like this is often more scary in daylight..you can see clearly what's about to eat you!! http://img347.imageshack.us/img347/5996/smileyeye26vj0az.gif

[WesleyTack]

i would go for daylight

[JamesMK]

I guess im not too keen on the dark one because we are so used to seeing things exploding / crashing at night in big-budget action films.
Nah, I think that pretty much sums it up for me too... it's sort of a cowardly last resort somehow :shrug: Even doggie poop can look nice at night ya know :argh:

[funkyboss]

Well excellent ambiance, but i am pretty sure that day will be more appropriate.
With this night render it seems to be passed... i dont know if i am clear..it is too soft.
You lost all sharped details, etc etc...
In daylight, that will be more intense i think.:D (misc.php?do=getsmilies&wysiwyg=1&forumid=0#):D
Can t be more precise sorry:banghead: (misc.php?do=getsmilies&wysiwyg=1&forumid=0#)
Keep the good work man! It is promising!
Cya good luck

[ihamid]

hmm honestly speaking cannot decide which!them both has the potential to look great! maybe u could put in a bit of the weather ..no? like raining or a cold day! but i prefer daylight!:)
cheers ! and good luck on deciding man!

[AndyH]

How about having it crashing in a storm with forked lightning arcing across the sky, with torrential rain?
Im joking by the way - that is the ultimate cliche!

Doing it a daytime with the sun out will be quite unusual and make it more realistic looking.
Maybe even make it during a bit of morning mist - yknow, like the low level mist you get around the San Francisco bay area?

Cant wait for the next pic :bounce:

[JamesMK]

Lightning and heavy rain! And Bruce Willis! :D

Anyways... thanks a lot for your input guys :thumbsup: - I feel confident to keep walking on the daylight path here.

Should start working on the human character soonish, so next update will be something involving that guy.

.

[Pgraphics]

Fire and explosions would look real good at night on this but the modeling and all would definetly be lost. I say day light or if you must an overcast sky but don't hide the Awesome work you've done..

[rattlesnake]

a bit late..but daylight to me is better...and yeah a bit rainy .sound cool to me..it allow the cars and the plane to slide more impressive .

[Gunilla]

Oh, I'm late for this! However, the night scene would indeed be easier made to an interesting compo/scene but as you say ... making this one work in full daylight would make the whole thing more real... as if it could happen. Good thing you tried though, now you know for sure this is what you want.
Character? Would that be a pedestrian? the pilot? ... running towards the camera?

looking forward to find out :thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

It will be a guy who just recently managed to crawl out from his flipped-over car and is running towards the camera with a frightened look on his face.






.

[flaeticia]

A real sense of the approach, the overview !
Im really fan of your work james ;)
Bravo !

:applause:

[AndyH]

It will be a guy who just recently managed to crawl out from his flipped-over car and is running towards the camera with a frightened look on his face.
.

Really? He must be damn quick :D
The plane crashed, flipped his car and he managed to get out and run while the plane is still skidding along the bridge? This seems a bit odd. Maybe have him as a bystander walking on the footbridge part, or a guy in the extreme foreground who has stopped his car and is just opening the door to escape. No one in a car is quick enough to respond and actually run away from an oncoming, crashing plane.

That is, unless your image portrays the plane at rest - an 'aftermath' image?

[Versiden]

I'd prefer a daylight version also ;p

[shakes]

It will be a guy who just recently managed to crawl out from his flipped-over car and is running towards the camera with a frightened look on his face.

.
does it need a guy running I wonder? there'll be so much action..and you could save yourself days of work!!

[JamesMK]

This seems a bit odd.
There's an old swedish saying which applies to action movies and scenes:

Never ruin an otherwise good script by introducing logic.

:D

But seriously, he could be anyone coming from anywhere really... we'll only see a guy running towards the camera, that's it.



.

[JamesMK]

does it need a guy running I wonder? there'll be so much action..and you could save yourself days of work!!
Yeah, I thinks it's crucial to introduce a human element as well here. And it's not that much work really, he'll occupy a very small portion of the image, so there's no need for über-detailing there... just a good silhouette will do the job.




.

[Lemog]

Me too, I finally prefer the daylight version...


... but I continue to think anyway that a night scene is possible, and certainly very interesting...

You "add" all the lights sources :
- car lights
- bridge lights
- far town light (always light a lot the sky and environment...)
- moon light
- light reflection of the water behing the bridge
- light of cockpit
- light of reactors
- fire or reactors
- showers of sparks of the trail of the plane
- explosion at the plane level
- explosion of cars
- light and explosion reflections of all the metal objects in the scene
- and I certainly forgotten some other light sources...

But as you see, you can have a really rich number of various light sources... in fact, with or without Bruce... that can be a day in the night... and very spectacular.

The first thing I think when I see your latest test, it's that scene is really poor in lights, even for a night scene... I know you mate, if you want, you can do a very better night scene... usually, you're very good for lighting, but only if you want to explore this more difficult way, but very interesting way.

Courage James for the continuation :thumbsup:



And I'm okay for the human presence... it's crucial for sensitive spectacular action :bounce:

[gpepper]

Daylight was better, for the moment, but when I think of a dark scene with explosion, fragments, highlight and other stuff, it should be great too !
I vote both !

[YasushAzush]

a lot of work ..... but i prefer the day light and also a biger airplane ...... it is a bit small in the

scene(my opinion) cuse it is hidden bihinde the cracks.....!!:thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

Lemog - Good points, and those are just about the things that would be needed to get it in a good final shape. I'm pretty sure however that I've settled for a daylight shot anyways.

gpepper - C'mon, I can't bloody well do both :scream:

visualact - Good point, the airplane might actually benefit from a slight increase in size... will use the scale tool before the next testrender :thumbsup:



-------------------------------------------------------------

Started on the running man. And in the meanwhile I got briefed for the job I was supposed to get yesterday... so, no more 3D until friday (or possibly thursday night with a bit of luck) :cry:

Cya!

Update below:::...





.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128503380_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128503380_large.jpg)

Just a starting point.

I'll probably sculpt this guy in-pose from the start.




.

[madshooter]

Good start on characters pose dude:)
Waiting to see your next update:bounce:

[marcom]

the running man absolutely needs the face of bruce willies mapped on his head!!!

cheers
marcom

[JamesMK]

http://web.telia.com/~u48040664/bruce.jpg

[APOLLO_00_00]

lol!!! and b.t.w... i think daylight is better.

[gu]

yeeees, good test of running movement!!

p.s: the nightshoot is amazing!

gus

[marcom]

lol.... and yeah: daylight!!!

cheers
marcom

[MacAndre]

i think it is like lemog said: i prefer the nightshot. the lighting can be more dramatic and you can play with the colors. althought fire, with a black backround has more contrast then on a daylight background.

[Gunilla]

haha! Yes, you definitely need Bruce in there somewhere :scream:
... and what about Angelina Jolie?

[madshooter]

Me too, I prefer a night shot, also with dynamic lighting your scene will look more cinematic dude:)

[Zapan]

Hi James , in fact both night and day shots are really impressive to me , incredible, well a lot of words like this.
I guess the night shot is a little more dramatic and give a different atmosphere of the scene, but you loose a little bit details I think. Maybe if you add some extra lights like a moonlight, or lot spot things of the city beyond the bridge , the light reflected in the water..etc. it would highlight the scene... just some thoughts, if that helps.

Anyway , your work is fantastic and I'm sure you'll go for the right choice...

[shakes]

Just a starting point.

I'll probably sculpt this guy in-pose from the start.
.


that's a really neat way of modelling a figure up-I've never thought of doing it like that before. makes alot of sense for some jobs.ta!http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/9609/crazysmiley3rh.gif

[nemirc]

i think it is like lemog said: i prefer the nightshot. the lighting can be more dramatic and you can play with the colors. althought fire, with a black backround has more contrast then on a daylight background.

But we would barely see the plane :shrug: We would only see a big thing crashing :D

[suk-grigorij]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128459471_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128459471_large.jpg)

Just a quick test... obviously things would need to be changed a bit, and heaps of backlit smoke would make a big difference - but I'm still not really sure about this. Feels like it could give the impression I'm trying to hide something, which really shouldn't be necessary...

Cast your votes! What has more potential - daylight or darkness?


Er....



.

Respect, mate. I just can't stop admiring your skills. But just one little crit. If such a big plane crushes on to brige it just goes through it. So on your place it would be better to make your plane in water and add a realy huge hole in the brige. But, I guess it's too late to make such serious changes.

[Agamemnwn]

I go for the dawn layout.I think what lemog suggests is great. U can use the lights in your advantage so u dont get the feeling that u are trying to hide something Jammes. Think everyone going to work in the morning and suddenly a plane crashes in the bridge and everyone runs away. spectacular :D

[JamesMK]

Thanks for all your thoughts, peeps!

I really REALLY can't make my mind up. Looking at the dark shot again now after a few days, I kinda like it (or I would with the necessary additions of missing sources of light)...

SO, there's only one possible solution: I'll have to render out a crapload of different lighting passes, and then spend the rest of the available time compositing until the ultimate version appears.... if I render everything to 32-bit layers, and split it up so that I have sunlight in one pass, daytime skylight in the next, then moonlight, streetlights, car headlights (and taillights) etcetera etcetera.... phew.

Anyway, the time for rendering has not come yet anyway.

Done some more work (not much) on the running dude though. Minor update below:

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128616824_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128616824_large.jpg)

Have now connected the posed primitives from the previous update into something resembling a running guy.

Head, hands and shoes still to be done, and I've not made up my mind about what type of jacket to give him.

[jfelrod1960]

There is going to be someone on the bridge??? :eek: Oh he is not going to survive at all!

[mihkeltt]

nooo, dont change to a dark scene - the daylight so much better - brings out all the detail you've put into it and gives a better view to admire it all. seeing a serious planecrash in the night is so clishe (seen hundreds of times done in movies), but seeing such a spectacular crash head on in bright daylight - plain awsome. and add a lot of flames and tiny explosions here and there.

[LAURO_MX]

He will need to run a lot if he wants to survive! :sad:
Keep it up man:thumbsup:

[melkao]

amazin escene man:scream:

[AndyH]

Looking good - he looks a bit like hes dancing at that camera angle! I think he looks very composed and calm like that - a mad, panicky persons run would be more erratic and dynamic rather than balanced and athletic. The inclusion of a panicky face would probably clear this up though. Its only a minor thing though - im just tryna say summat useful :)

[gardogg]

The only problem I have with a running guy is why would he be on a bridge and not in his car? And if, as you suggested, he is running from his car wreck, that makes no sense because his car would have been smashed by the plane going 80 miles and hour and he would not have been able to jump out and outrun the plane. So the only way a running man would work is if he is wearing a jogging suit and was already out for a little jog when this happened. But even that wouldn't make too much sense because who would jog across a busy bridge full of speeding traffic? So I say either go with the idea I gave about a motorcylist or just eliminate any human presence entirely. This running man just doesn't make any sense to me!

[nemirc]

are you going to make a "ran-over guy" :D

[DaddyMack]

Hahaah... poor dude... meat for the grinder! Somehow he fits your scene style already mate... Rock on:buttrock:

BTW, I'm a bit of a fan of the night shot too... I can picture all the cockpit/ cabin lights and sparks and flames... Maybe consider meeting halfway with a sunset shot?

[JamesMK]

jfelrod - M'yeah, he's pretty much doomed I'm afraid

mihkeltt - Guess the problem is that there are good and bad things about both the dark and the bright scenarios... tricky it will be to make a decision...

LAURO, melkao - Cheers!

Andy H - Good point, the pose does seem a bit too calm.... guess I'll tweak that around a bit :thumbsup:

nemirc - It's tempting, but I thought I'd stay away from any sort of gore actually...

DaddyMack - Sunset or sunrise seems highly probable right now. I would sort of manage to cover both scenarios that way.

gardogg - I get your points, and they are good points too.

However, the way I see it, spectacular events shouldn't fully make sense in the first place - i.e. an important feature of something spectacular is that it cannot be fully comprehended.

So if I would have applied a strictly vulcan logic to this concept, there wouldn't be much to look at - no bridge (because what are the odds that the plane would end up exactly like that?) And even if it did manage to hit the bridge, it would collapse (like pointed out previously), which would mean no cars and no planewreck, because it would all be on the oceanfloor with the fishes... so I'd end up with a render of the Golden Gate with a hole in it, and that's about it.

The bottom line is that I only use realism if it serves my purpose. Whenever realism would instead ruin the concept, I'm going to ignore it and do something unrealistic instead, because the only thing the elements of the image are supposed to do, is to help communicate the impression of a spectacular moment. They are not there to make sense on their own.

The running guy will be there, not because it necessarily makes any sense, but because he will be the iconic human component needed to convey the idea that this event is really happening, there are people there, and they are in deep shit... he provides a point of identification, something to relate to.

Please don't take this the wrong way now :beer: I'm not being defensive or anything, and as you all know I'm always open and grateful for all suggestions and crits all you guys come up with - but sometimes I have to make a stand and explain why I'm doing whatever it is I'm doing.

I have added two photos below to make a couple of points. The top one is a typical photo from the pedestrian side of the golden gate. Plenty of people available if needed. Nuff said :D

The second photo is perhaps the most well-known war photo of all times. Lets pretend for a second that it was CG. So we've got some really good modeling, excellent pyro effects with particle stuff filling the whole backdrop, very accurately modeled gear on the soldiers and so forth. But why does that photo have such an impact? Does it make sense?

http://web.telia.com/~u48040664/pedestriansandwar.jpg



.

[gu]

Hi James, I saw the running dude, and I was thinking...he seems too calm for an accident like that with the plane crashing the gate, I don´t know what you´ll do about his facial expression, so let´s wait for the next update, anyway the work is going very fine!
gus

[makaron]

about the fact that the plane is still on the bridge, that´s what I think is the the spectacular in this image... :thumbsup:

[Pgraphics]

As for a person on the bridge with no car , totally believable. Also if the plane was in trouble and trying to came in at an angle to the bridge it might not collapse at all but at least there would be a few moments where the bridge buckles and cracks before it collapses and this simply looks as if you captured the moment. The piece in my opinion is spot on and looks great.



As for the guy I think maybe have him off balance maybe even bent over with knees bent and one hand on the ground like he is catching himself from falling do to the shaking of the bridge.....Just Suggestion...:thumbsup:

[gardogg]

That photo with the pedestrians on the bridge does show that people do go on the bridge without cars. I was unaware of that. So this running man is going to be someone who was having a walk on the sidewalk when this tragedy occured? I'm ready to accept that! I just wasn't buying the whole "a plane just hit my car and I managed to bust my way out through the windshield, leap onto the hood of my car, and then run 90 miles per hour so that I can avoid getting killed by this plane that just rear-ended me" thing. Lol. I disagree about the making sense thing not being important - at least for a realistic scene like yours. I think the scene can be something unlikely, sure, but make sense it must in order for me to fully appreciate it. And now, I officially have decided that your scene makes sense again! Rock on!

Btw, a plane hitting a bridge and the bridge not collapsing DOES make sense to me. Of course, if the plane nose dived onto the bridge the bridge would collapse, however, depending on the angle of approach and the velocity, the scene you have depicted is very believable. Those bridges are built tough! If you've seen the movie CONAIR, you would know that a plane can crash land pretty softly if it has a good pilot. I would also bet that the pilot would aim for the bridge on purpose, hoping to save his own life. The bridge landing may have been his best bet for survival.

[Lemog]

When I saw your update with this guy yesterday, immediately, I found the idea very good, with something more dynamic and more human.

Then, I read the other comments, and I'm returned account that indeed, it was a little odd which it's in the middle of the road, without his car, or not on the side.

Sometimes of course, the fear make make strange things. But this man is supposed adult being.

Then, who would be able to be found in the middle of the roadway, if not a young child, lost in front of this spectacle, not knowing if he runs really a risk.

A young child of one or two years old, holding in his hand his pretty teddy bear...

Maybe that kinf of story can increase the sensitive impact of your spectacular way. :)

[gardogg]

Sweet idea Lemog! Maybe this guy can be grabbing the little girl and rushing her to the sidewalk and hopefully out of harms way. You can have a car to the left with an open car door to indicate that possibly this well dressed man was coming home from work and saw the plane in his rearview mirror, saw the little girl, and at first instinct, got out of his car to get the little girl who had foolishly wandered into the street... say perhaps running after a ball or a balloon that had blown out of her hands? You could have her looking up at the balloon as this guy is running to rescue her and she could be completely oblivious to what is going on! I bet a scenario like that, combined with James' incredible modeling skills would bring a tear to everyone's eyes, as well as the obvious adrenaline rush of such a spectacular plane crash and cars flying everywhere!

[Lemog]

For sure Gary... another mission for Bruce :thumbsup:

and James... :scream:

[makaron]

or a misson for the pink superherorabbit :scream:

one thing comes to my mind when I see all this.. have or not to have ppl running etc. in this scene... IMO it depends a bit on, when the "snapshot" is taken... 3 sec after the accident or 30 sec or 3 minuts?...
so James, my big Q is, what time is it? :bounce:

[JamesMK]

Gus Clifton - Yep, I need to turn up the panic knob to 11 for the running guy. The facial expression will do quite a bit to convey his state of mind of course, but the body-language has to match as well... so I'll have to move his arms and legs around a bit

PGraphics - Making him off balance is a great idea, sort of falling and/or in the process of getting back up after having fallen... something like that

gardogg - Yeah, I certainly agree that such a leap-onto-the-hood-of-the-car-and-away scenario would indeed have seemed a bit off :D But yes, 50% crash and 50% emergency landing is perhaps what I've been thinking, so most of the motion energy would still be having a forward rather than downward directional vector... sorta

immediately
That immediate impression is what matter the most to me here, so I'm very happy to hear that. Interesting idea about adding a child, and it certainly has a lot of potential. I'm not sure however it's something I would want to do.... something like my anti-Bruckheimer alarm sounding when I think about it... but I will no doubt keep the idea on the stack, and maybe I'll try something along those lines later on.

gardogg again - My only problem with the idea is that while it has a lot of potential to work really well, it also has an inherent danger of being very cheesy too... a difficult choice to make... we'll see...

makaron - The exact moment and seqence of events is: The plane first hits the bridge tower, falls downwards/forwards while the wings are partially torn off from the impact on the big primary support cables on the bridge, it continues to slide along the bridge for a few seconds while squashing a lot of cars and pushing some of them forwards, like a big bulldozer... in the meantime, the secondary wires start to snap, the bridge segments are being dislocated and distorted by the force of the impact and the weight of the plane fuselage, and the ripple effect breaks the asphalt. And THIS is the point where the render is made (or the photo taken by our unfortunate, imaginary photographer)... so lets say it's been about 7 seconds since the plane hit the bridge tower, and about 3-4 seconds since it started sliding on the surface.... and only about 5-10 seconds before the whole shebang just falls down in the water.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Next update: Pending...






.

[AndyH]

.... something like my anti-Bruckheimer alarm sounding when I think about it... .

LOL - I like, i like!
How about modeling a dog jumping from the plane to absolute safety. The dog must always survive a catastrophe according pearl harbour, independance day etc....

Maximum respect for avoiding the bruckheimer cliches!

[DimitrisLiatsos]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128616824_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128616824_large.jpg)




Looks like a Calvin Klein adv...:scream: :scream:

:bounce: .....Keep going dudie.....Oh...and put a wabbit in the front windows of the Plane ..Pleeeeeeeasaaa:bounce:

[JamesMK]

Andy - lol, yep, a dog would certainly spice it up :D But it's true - one must always strive to avoid the lure of the Bruckheimeresque cheese

Dimi - Calvin Klein ad? I'm going to take that as a compliment :D The only thing I had in mind was my eternal love for negative space

------------------------------------------------------

That aside, had some time set aside to make the head for Mr Run-around-on-the-bridge-until-death-strikes... Update below:


.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128699661_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128699661_large.jpg)

The first steps...

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128699801_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128699801_large.jpg)

Missing ears... among other things... eyelids would be nice too... all in due time.

[melkao]

nice modeling process. i want to do thing like that:eek:

[nemirc]

Interesting modeling technique. I'll have to try that some day :beer:

Thanks for the walk through :)

[Gunilla]

I totally agree with you on the running man, wether it's logic or not never crossed my mind. He adds so much of presence that it's a very good addition.
Nice modeling - really cool way of blocking him out.

Head, hands and shoes still to be done, and I've not made up my mind about what type of jacket to give him .

May I suggest something red in rubber?

[lukep]

A young child of one or two years old, holding in his hand his pretty teddy bear...


make that a Wabbitt ?

[JamesMK]

melkao - Thanks, and like they say in the Nike commercials - just do it!

nemirc - You're most welcome

Gunilla - :scream:

lukep - lol, nope, no wabbit either. No fluffy animals at all. Maybe golf balls, but I'm starting to second guess myself concerning that idea.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The running dude's head is now done. Update below:


.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128719852_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128719852_large.jpg)

Still a few glitches that I should fix, but considering how small this guy will be in the final render, it really wouldn't make any difference.

Next: moving on to hands and shoes eventually....

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128726236_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128726236_large.jpg)

Just checking out how the head works. Will need to give him the proper facial expression, and some hair certainly wouldn't hurt.

Currently thinking it might work well if he is somewhat looking back over his shoulder like this while running.

[Agamemnwn]

if its a running man u should put arnold in there. He made a movie about it . he deserves it :D

in a more serious manner. Grear modelling in the dudes head James

[benstommus]

MAN! you must be really dedicated, i mean making the dudes underwear and all :thumbsup:

great concept anyway, absolutly spectacular

[gardogg]

I noticed several mentions of a need to give this man's running pose more of a sense of urgency. Well... I happened to stumble onto this picture and I thought of your thread immediately. So, I figured this could be helpful to you!

http://www.nationalcynical.com/images/explosion.jpg

[AndyH]

http://www.marcovalerio.it/wtc/images/12.workers.flee.ap.jpg
http://www.palestinetoday.org/gallery/albums/RAFAH-TRAGEDY/May_19_04_Palestinians_flee_from_Israeli_missiles_struck_a_demonstration_Photo_by_Mohammed_Saber.jpg

RUUUUN!

[JamesMK]

Agamenmwn - Yep, Arnold baby! But I guess he'll have to pass on this one, probably being busy with politics and all that.

benstommus - Underwear is a crucial garment for most models... although this guy will probably need to change his as soon as possible

gardogg and Andy - Thanks a bunch for those great RUUUUUUNner! references :thumbsup:



.

[pigwater]

wabbit abso-freakin-lutely cool stuff :thumbsup: .. that going away to find yourself paid off big

a couple more thumbs for ya :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[vampeta]

Dam this is looking great!

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Run run run baby.... ;)

Cheers :beer: Alex

[shakes]

it's Tom Cruise!!http://img317.imageshack.us/img317/7671/tom2qa.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

fantastic work james-it's a great display of your multi talents, this thread.
shakes

[JamesMK]

pigwater - Hiya dude, nice to see you here :thumbsup: And yeah, feel pretty confident about this one so far

vampeta - He's running from a huge pack of Charles Bronsons :scream: :scream:

shakes - Hehe, and you score 10 points out of 10, I did indeed use ol' Tom as a basic reference.... unfortunately he's only recognisable in the sideview :D

---------------------------------------------

Minor pose-tests below:



.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128849282_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128849282_large.jpg)

Changed the basic pose to something more extreme. It looks really insane in sideview, but my only objective here is to get the right look in frontview.

At this point I haven't finetuned anything, so there are some slightly off proportions and mesh intersections etcetera, all to be ironed out once I have settled for a final pose.

Added hands and shoes.

I'm currently leaning towards #2 for further tweaking, but it would be helpful to hear your comments on the pose.

[Gunilla]

Jupp - number 2 or three I say will be terrific.
Perhaps bend him a little more towards right? A bit like >, if you get my point - maybe just the elbow will be sufficient.
Nice shoes BTW - very clean :)

[Zapan]

I would say , Runny number two, because third and four are a little bit weird to me considering they are raising arm and leg from the same side. But of course if I would be in that kind of situation , I 'm pretty much picturing myself both arms raised, gesturing and screaming like a crazyguy...so , hard to say.

Second one is good to me.
Keep up the great work man.

[dyren]

imo its hard to get a really extreme look from head on.. is the guy going to be head on in the final scene? if not then you should just pose him based on the angle he will be at.

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/5791/guy0ed.jpg

here's my interpretation of an extreme stance... hope it helps.

good luck!


edit: ooo an afterthought - it would be really neat if you could make him stumbling all over the place in his state of fear and confusion.. that might add to the realism / interest of the character

[makaron]

nr 2, it was sec after the crash... has the most expression of what happend?... I have to run :eek: and still look over his shoulder... he is not sure why he is running but instinct make him do it...

[dyren]

ok i have to add this, sry if its TOO much feedback but im bored and its late... (early) so deal with it ^_^

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/4383/guy23bm.jpg

this is my attempted stumbling pose... just throwing it out there in case you're interested

peace

[lukep]

#2 is my prefered, but if you want to make him look more frantic (which he should i think), raise the right arm

[AndyH]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128849282_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128849282_large.jpg)

Changed the basic pose to something more extreme. It looks really insane in sideview, but my only objective here is to get the right look in frontview.

At this point I haven't finetuned anything, so there are some slightly off proportions and mesh intersections etcetera, all to be ironed out once I have settled for a final pose.

Added hands and shoes.

I'm currently leaning towards #2 for further tweaking, but it would be helpful to hear your comments on the pose.

Looking better, but he still looks 'bored'
Try doing something with his shoulders - rase them or something. The arm positioning on number 4 is my fave. Maybe make his hands more of a fist too.

[JamesMK]

Gunilla - See what you mean about the >-shape... good point. And the shoes, yes, he was just on his way back home after having visited his favourite streetcorner shoe-shiner guy downtown :D

Zapan - Waving arms and screaming is probably the most expected reaction, I just want him to be a little bit more composed, but still in a state of mild panic.

dyren - Hey thanks, that's like extra neat feedback with sugar on top :thumbsup: In fact, the current pose is already somewhere inbetween the two ones you've posted, but as you point out, it's hard to see that in a head-on shot. Unfortunately (a sign of my accelerated masochism probably) I really, really want a head-on shot - the whole concept is based on it more or less, with the airplane approaching the same way and so forth. Thanks a lot for your efforts!

makaron - Yep, something like that. Looking over the shoulder to check if it's really happening sorta...

lukep - Yes, reposing the right arm is a good idea

Andy - Indeed he does lack some sort of frantic energy, doesn't he? Fists will probably be made too.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is really tricky stuff! Your feedback is muchly appreciated :thumbsup: I think I'm at least one small step closer to the solution, but there's a bit left to go. The facial expression will make a big difference too, so I'll need to work a bit more on that as well. The thing that makes it complicated is how all the "small signals" so to speak work together and affect how the other parts are perceived - for instance, the arms and legs are exactly the same in #3 and #4, only the position of the head is different - yet it seems like the limbs are slightly different between those two images, while in fact they are not... all because of the head :shrug:

Will make another batch of tests soon to see what happens.




.

[madshooter]

The running pose looks good, but it seems that he has somekind of knee pain:) maybe moving
the hand towards right side or left side might look good just a suggestion:)

[DaddyMack]

Heya James:wavey: this guy kinda irked me from when his head came out and I couldn't figure why...(possibly simply due to my Tom cruise issues...) Is it just me or is he a little lacking in the mandible dept? I think that tweeking the rear of his jaw would really bring his head out of his neck further...

BTW #2 shot he looks kinda uncomfortable in his skin for some reason... Awkward and a little uncontrolled...I say run with it! I think the pose has major potential... Keep Rokkin mate:buttrock:

[ihamid]

hi JamesMK ... the dude looks cool!:) the pose is pretty spot on there! although he lacks a bit of that panic mode! that if he is in panic! hey check out these poses which i did for the gso! hope its helpfull!

pose1 (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/grandspaceopera/image.php?entry_id=26431), pose2 (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/grandspaceopera/image.php?entry_id=26498)

great progress here anyways ! watching the fun along! cheers!

[JamesMK]

madshooter - Yep, after all, since we're throwing a cargo jet at him, we really can't be so endlessly evil that we give him a knee pain too, can we? :D The hand has been moved to a much better position.

DaddyMack - Good points about his weak mandibular features... it has been fixed, thanks a lot for pointing that out!

yunisirees - Great poses there! Perhaps more wildly panic-struck than I'm going for here, but great references no less :thumbsup:

--------------------------------------

Made more tweaks, update below:

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128866577_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128866577_large.jpg)

Moved things around a bit. Left hand up and out, palm showing, as if he is on his way to fall forwards and wants to protect himself.

Also given the whole upper body more of a twist or torque (whatever) after a discussion with my ex SO this morning.

Anyways, I get a feeling I'm pretty close now, so I'll move on to detail the clothes and so forth (they are very low poly right now).

[lilCara]

That looks like panic on his face to me :D

[Pjanssen]

A yes that's much much better already! If you'd ask me you may push it even more towards the extreme. Imagine that this guys is running away faster than his legs can carry him from the most shocking thing he has ever seen (and will see most likely :D ).

Great work overall, keep it up!

[Gunilla]

Ah yeah - much better! I think you could make the > angle even more dramatic, as if he's avoiding to fall within the step. Panicky face is coming on strong. :thumbsup:

[dyren]

that looks much better, but i think if you raised the eyebrows a bit he might look a little more horrified.

just my other 2 cents.


great work!

[suk-grigorij]

I am surprised, James. You got too much bold guys in bleck suits and white shearts. As I remebmer you modelled a similar character during previous challenge (or it was someone else?). Why do you like'em so much?

[JamesMK]

lilCara - Then I guess I'm getting pretty close...

Pjanssen - Yep, making some further tweaks now...

Gunilla - Exaggerations in progress...

dyren - Eyebrows are now raised....

Grigorij - LOL, yep, you're right :D I made a black-suit-white-shirt guy for the Master & Servant (which I never finished unfortunately).... and... well... First of all I almost only wear white shirts myself (rather than any other type of upper-body garment that is), and secondly I guess it's some sort of reaction towards the usual high-tech sci-fi style that's so common in 3D, and I often have a desire to do things "the wrong way around" - and thirdly I think they are really efficient communicators with that high-contrast black and white thing going on.

Here's the guy from my aborted M&S:

http://biphome.spray.se/millfield/finally_rigged.jpg

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Updates: Pending (probably in a few hours)





.

[AndyH]

Ehehe - i like his beer belly, open shirt and fat neck! Maybe you could just have him in the foreground eating a burger - yknow, one last treat before impending death?

(Im joking by the way)

[gpepper]

I was thinking that this man reminds me something ever seen...

[shakes]

heh- love fatty!! that very last running pose looks perfect to me-having the outstreched left arm really nailed it I think!

[DaddyMack]

Aahhh now he looks great mate... BTW I love his hairstyle! ... did I mention i have hair issues too?... My first gig in the industry was actually as a hdri reflective sphere...

Now... are his hands a little small?... My only other real suggestion would be, because this will be a front shot for this guy, to maybe send him a little off balance either to the left or right to add to his sense of urgency... LYW.. Keep rokkin mate:buttrock:

[JamesMK]

Andy H - If it wasn't for the fact that I would have to model him all over again, I might as well have considered adding him and a couple of burgers :D

gpepper - Yep... er.... 'Reservoir dogs'!

shakes - The hand did make a big difference.

DaddyMack - Well, I'm afraid I've given him some hair now.... Good point about the hands btw - I scaled them up quite a bit, and it looked a lot better :thumbsup:


-----------------------

Minor update below in a few seconds:

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128892408_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128892408_large.jpg)

Made additional small pose tweaks, scaled his hands up a bit, added some hair and a tie flapping about in the wind.

The hair is just clip-mapped lofts... not entirely positive about the look of it yet, but lets say it's a WIP feature.

[WesleyTack]

excelent expressing/pose, you really captured him running for his life (which he wont survive) . You should have one jumping over the edge of the bridge aswell, with his one hand on the railing, legs going over the railing (you know, in mid jump) would be cool :)

[gardogg]

Fantastic work so far. I think his hands and shoes are a bit too big and he has a receding hairline that looks out of place for his age (he looks 27 or 28).

[imbusion]

Personally, I think the slightly exagerrated hands add to the character of the... character :). And to me, the feet don't even look oversized, just big (they look like mine :x ).

Also, I agree with Dyren about maybe raising the eyebrows even a bit more. Right now he's definitely got the sense of fear in his eyes, but he might need a little more of a sense of awe over the whole situation. Just a suggestion :)

Once again I'm amazed by your work... allow me to offer any encouragement I can give ya... this is outstanding!

[Agamemnwn]

He looks great and the expression really adds a lot to the terror of the crash :D Maybe if you tear his cloths a bit and make them and him a little dirty ? looking good there james . keep up the good work

[shakes]

heh- still looks like tom cruise.. slightly alien like-but he is anyway, isn't he?!

[nemirc]

Woah, that one looks like my neighbor XD

[gpepper]

gpepper - Yep... er.... 'Reservoir dogs'!

Quentin ! :argh:

[Lemog]

Your guy comes really good... just a idea to increase the "action"... no foot on the ground... :D

[JamesMK]

simon.wt - I have considered having some guys jumping over the railing, but I'm not sure if I'll actually add that... we'll see

gardogg - Thanks, and yep, he's one of those unfortunates with bad hairgenes... In fact, his hair is based on an ex co-worker of mine, who had red hair and started to get that receding hairline already in his mid 20's... Poor sod... :D

imbusion - Thanks, and as far as the geometry goes, the eyebrows are already very raised, but it's hard to see at this point. Once I've painted the texture for his face it will probably be more readable.

Agamemnwn - 'Aight, some teared clothes might be just what he needs :thumbsup:

shakes - It's the extra-terrestial version of Mr Cruise :D

nemirc - lol, damn, you live next door to the guy who survived the horrible plane-to-bridge crash!?

gpepper - Yeah, Tarantino baby!

Lemog - Yes, I've thought about having him dangling a few inches above the ground! I might try that for the next rendertest in a few days or so.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Made a 2K render overnight just to see if my poor PC could handle it, and there were no problems whatsoever... which is a good thing... so I'm guessing the final 4K will run smoothly too.

Minor rendertest/composite coming up below:




.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128930341_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1128930341_large.jpg)

Rendertest and some embryonic postprocessing with the running guy included.

I ran this test at 2K resolution, multilayered with separate passes for GI, sunlight, fake ground bounce, ambient occlusion, reflections and a bunch of different alpha channels for the various elements such as cars, bridgeparts and so on - mainly in order to be able to do a sort of preflight on the final compositing work.

Now I've spent a couple of hours making a list of things that need to be changed or added - and it's a LOOOOONG list. There's almost no area that is not wrong in some aspect :D

So, in spite of what one might have expected - this work has only begun.

EDIT - Oh, and I forgot to add, there's no motionblur applied here, so the cars look really silly.... like they have parked there to enjoy the view or something :D


.

[Squibbit]

u da best, man :thumbsup:

hey how bout putting your own face on that running dude,
then put a cell phone in his hand , and he would be saying
to it like "yea i'm gonna be a bit late for work this morning"
?

.

[AndyH]

WOW! That kicks at least 26 different kinds of arse!

The whole thing is looking stunning so far. A little too much fog for my liking (seems like a cheap way to avoid modeling the BG) and it would be nice to have one of the cars in the FG with one side slightly off the ground. Because those 2 cars are flat on the ground, they look a bit like theyre casually driving away. How about having the van door open so it looks like he has come from there. He kinda looks a bit placed at the moment like he just appeared in the middle of the road. Actually, have the black car abandoned, and have him running away from that - a guy in a suit & tie wouldnt drive a generic white delivery van!

Dying to see more updates now! I think we may have a winner on our hands!

:applause:

[flyingP]

OMG wabbit, this one is actually good :eek::D

still needs some broken glass though :D

[Zapan]

Oh man you are killing me :cry: too perfect.

One tiny suggestion, why not enable the brake lights of the van ?

[makaron]

the running man does all the diffrence :thumbsup: and agree with Andy H, with the cars coments, but I can´t all the fancy 3Dwords... I just write, *shake* the bridge a bit... let the cars move...

[vampeta]

Cool running dude:thumbsup:

Great style, cool textures, and,and,and... GREAT AS ALWAYS!!
:bounce::bounce::bounce:

Cheers :beer: Alex

[Lemog]

Why you don't display this list James ? are you really afraid by the mountain of work... I thinh that just an addition of minor details, not ? it remains you still much of days until the end, and for each day suffices its sorrow, step by step, I know that you will arrive there.

No suggestions now... just okay with Andy comments... :thumbsup:

[authentic]

Great work James.
A little opinion : I think that the character and the car at foreground make the crash less impressive. Because the perspective make them big, so the plane doesn't seem as huge as I thought before. I also think the car are too clean and reflective (need some dust ??). And some friend of me ask why there is a guy running alone on the center of the bridge. MAybe it would be good to "link" him to a car with an open door or something like that.

Anyway huge work. Nice modelisation and rendering. Impatient to see next update.:thumbsup:

[JamesMK]

Dirk Squibbler - Interesting idea!

Andy H - Better suggest something about "26 kinds of arse" to the marketing people at Heinz as a replacement for their old '57 varieties' :D That aside, yep, the fog was just a quick fix here since I'm still working on the background matte, which is far from done, but there will be a decent BG in the final version. Very good points about the cars, and it's very likely that I'll do just that to the black BMW.

flyingP - :eek: :scream:

Zapan - No no no... faaaaaaaaaaar from perfect.... the brakelights are on the list!

makaron - Indeed, some a-shakin'n'a-bouncin' will spice things up

vampeta - Ditto!

Lemog - Well... it's a long list - not that I'm worried about completing it or anything, it will work out fine, but it's a lot to do.... textures and shaders need to be revised across the board for starters (basically only the asphalt is close to how I want it to look, but the rest needs to be fixed)... then there's the background matte, pyro effects (fire, smoke, dust, debris)... some animations to get the motionblur correct (like rotating the wheels on the moving cars, arms and legs on the running guy, etcetera)... adding squashed cars in front of and under the airplane... then a bunch of rendering technicalities like missing object buffers in some places, things that need to be excluded from certain calculations (all this getting messy as the scene has several thousand objects at this time... easy to lose track of things).... and so on and so forth....

Authentic - Thanks, and yes, there are quite a few things like that in need of adjustments. In terms of "impressiveness" of the wreck versus the foreground objects, I'm pretty sure it will change for the better once all the secondary effects are in place and the final postprocessing is on it's way... mainly the carwrecks to be added close to the airplane along with a huge amount of smoke in the background and the motionblur in the foreground will all help to sort of flip the perspective to benefit the perceived size of the wreckage.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway, to summarise: - about 90% of the modeling and scene layout is completed (what remains to build are some details on the bridge mainly, a few missing cracks in the road and some tertiary suspension details along the main bridge cables).

Remaining work involves textures and shaders, lighting tweaks, various particle effects, and eventually the post processing... All of these are the crucial things that will make or break the final image. It's a good thing there's still a lot of time left before deadline!




.

[madshooter]

Man, the scene has a nice cinematic feel, looks great already:thumbsup:

Keep going dude:thumbsup:

[dannyfalch]

Oh yeah!:thumbsup:

I have been folowing your postes, and now things are realy coming together nicely.
very dramatic scene:scream:
some more people, some debree, a bit of fire and motion blur,. and it would be spectacular.:)

[Pooyag]

that's really great man, it's just the guy in the middle of the road, what is he doing there??
Maybe he should be on the walkway or at least, Trying to Jump into the middle of the road.
and the number of ppl you are using is for now, is not that much, Just one? your modeling is fast and Great, just add more.
i'm Saying it because i'm Not Doing it:scream: :thumbsup: Keep the good Works Up

[Atris]

WOW! Man, it's COOL! You are just a monster from modelling! :) I wish you good luck!

[unwrap]

Looks awesome :thumbsup: . Why don't you add sky to your wips. There's one thing concering me: where's that running guy come from?

[Gunilla]

Indeed!! Looking very good here. I agree of perhaps reducing the fog so you can make some visible smoke and dust.
Running man looks really nice - if you place him a tad bit backwards it might look like he just jumped over the crack... or maybe he even could be jumping?

I think you made the right decision about the daylight, yes! :thumbsup:

[shakes]

wowza!! it's just looking incredible! you are truly very clever. one thought- should you have a car being half swallowed by the bridge collapse? you've got that lovely big gap there in the road..hungry for some car meat! loving this one.

[pseudonympending]

Hey man, that's really looking good.

I guess the only thing you could question is why that chap was wondering into on coming traffic in the first place - maybe he went there to top himself and got a more dramatic death than he anticipated... :)

Total repsect for a very spectaucular image - and we're not even half way...

[aliasali]

James,i totally hate u! Damn this is turning out really wel,i just have no feelings about that guy in the middle!:thumbsup:

[melkao]

this every time looking better, very nice render and perspective. keep going in that way:thumbsup:

[Atwooki]

Very fine work JamesMK; nah - brilliant! (allowing of course, for you 'long list' of corrections :D )

Minor niggle: Can't help but think that the dark car on the left of your comp would be much closer to the camera than the guy running towards the cam.... He'd have to have time to open the van door, collect himself, and then about-heel to run in the opposite direction - I'd guess he'd be about half the distance between the 'plane and the dark car which might not be as readily aware of the impending disaster as the driver's facing the other way....(can't wait to see some dust on these vehicles also ;) )

Chris

[gu]

a cool work as always.I have one question, you´ll put other desperate people running away from the plane? So, on that way the work is looking so good, the crash is perfect and spectacular, but the running dude is so calm in front of it!
cya
gus

[coCoKNIght]

i've never seen a rabbit do such cool things! :scream:

[DimitrisLiatsos]

i've never seen a rabbit do such cool things! :scream:

Busy little bastards ...aren't they? :scream:



Keep testing, testing,...testing,testing,testing,testing,testing,...wabbit . :thumbsup:


:bounce:

[dyren]

Here's my crit on your latest submission and you can ignore it if your composition sense tells you otherwise but here it is.

I think that it would be more effective to either:

1) have the mans head all the way facing the plane... or at least turned so that he's more staring at it in horror while running instead of kind of staring off to the side

2) have him facing forward like he's really bookin' it lol.

Or leave it as it is :P

[Climax]

• Waiting for you to fullfill your looooooong list before crit, but it really looks great at this stage, i see shadows have "merged" some elements, but it looks belivable so far, so go ahead James, it promises another great image! :thumbsup:

[nemirc]

Speaking of a Kodak moment.


Is it me or the plane looks a little bit small?

[eddieellis]

wow man, that is supurb..... :thumbsup:

[Nakary]

Great.!!

that is an amaizing image, definetly spectacular.. keep it up.." Good luck!

[JamesMK]

madshooter - Thanx0rs!

3d empire - Thanks, and yes, there's a lot of work remaining

3rd user - Good questions, and well, he's just there... current plan is to include a car nearby with an open door, so that's where he would have come from. And for some reason I think he looks more exposed and in peril when he's alone, so I guess adding more people would not be good.

Atris - Thanks, and right back at ya

sergage - Well, I don't have a sky yet, so there's no point including one until I've settled for how it should look and so on - about the running guy, see my reply to 3rd user above

Gunilla - The fog was just a quick fix in that particular image - it has nothing to do with the final image... and as far as the running guy goes, I've just tried an alternate camera angle... update will follow

shakes - That is indeed a good observation - with the current plan to include a car from which the runner has emerged, that will be the car half-swallowed by the evil car-eating bridge

Swamps - Thanks a lot! The next update might change things around a bit

Madlight1988, melkao, cocoknight, eddieellis, Nakary - Thanks dudes!

Atwooki - Good points Chris. Changes are in the works. (yes, including dust :D At this point there are no bitmaps anywhere except for the aspalt, so there's heaps of subtle dust and grime etcetera waiting to be made here)

Gus Clifton - I doubt I'll add more people, but I've made some rearrangements that might make the runner seam a bit more stressed

Dimitris - I only do testing testing testing.... oh and some coffee inbetween tests

dyren - Good points, looking forward to see how you feel about the new version below

Climax - Yes indeed. Shadows play an important part.... they will be scrutinized and tweaked as needed later on

nemirc - I've got plans to change the orientation and size of the cockpit, using some of my favourite forced perspective tricks... that will hopefully help.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Been testing a slightly different camera angle that changes a lot of things, currently I guess it promises to be more dynamic while still keeping the imaginary photographer at almost the same spot as before.... update below:





.

[JamesMK]

http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1129024212_medium.jpg (http://features.cgsociety.org/challenge/entries/11/7798/7798_1129024212_large.jpg)

An attempt to increase the dynamics while still constraining the "photographer" on solid ground.






.

[flyingP]

hmm sort of looks a bit bunched to me atm, I'd almost have the Tom there a bit bigger and maybe even cropped slightly (or more I actually find him a bit too distracting myself atm :shrug:). Maybe even widen the view out a bit but still keep it a bit off centre.

keep going wabbit, you may be onto a winner this time :thumbsup:

[SONIC-X]

This is mavelles work dude.It realy looks great.

[(o)ne]

just take your time and the final will be just cool :thumbsup:

[Gunilla]

Well, this new angle is for sure more dynamic, but... there was something very brave about that earlier flat front, untilted view - it would be so cool if you could make it work.
This is more action movie shot, I think. Will be stunning nevertheless.
Just keep on testing :thumbsup:

[Lemog]

More motion now... that give a lot to your composition... the guy can be more close... that will increase more the depth of action... that comes... not very easy in fact to give good councils in this case... need certainly more tests...

[APOLLO_00_00]

Try to add some debris from the plane that flys towards the camera... and add some motion blur to it....

[JamesMK]

flyingP - Good points, and it does seem a bit bunched towards the upper right...

SONIC-X, (o)ne - Cheers

Gunilla - I tend to agree about the previous angle there

Lemog - Tricky it is, but I've found the answer!

APOLLO_00_00 - Exactly what's planned, it will be among the last things added though, so it will be a while before we'll see any of that

---------------------------------------------------------------------

There will not be any updates here today. I have however come to a decision concerning the layout and camera angle.... It was really easy actually, I just asked the best art critic around here - my 8 year old daughter. She never pulls any punches and never hesitates to comment.... and since she's blissfully unaware of the technical aspects of CG, she has a refreshingly unbiased view on things.

So I showed her the three alternatives (head-on daylight, head-on nightshot and this last tilted actionshot).

The results were:

1. Head-on nightshot: "Noooooo, that's BAAAAAD!"

2. Tilted actionshot: "I don't think I should have to tilt my head just to look at an airplane"

3. Head-on daylight: "That's good!"

Case closed. The original head-on daylight shot it is. Might have some updates coming tomorrow or so, but right now there are other duties I have to attend to.




.

[cg-freak]

Hi there James,

Saw your thread a few times and for me you're definitely a serious candidate for winning the grand prize here.

I also like your latest composition, it is indeed more dynamic and gives it a cinematic touch. To break up the part on the highway, why not make it a gaping hole through wich you can see the river beneath and debris and/or cars falling hundreds of yards down onto a cruiseliner:buttrock:

Good luck and have fun,

Grtzzzzzzzzzz...

CG-Freak

[Fahrija]

hi james,

amazing progress.

I´m not sure if it is plausible to see a pedestrian running on the road-way regarding
the barriers between the road and the walk way on the sides. There wouldn´t be much time for them to jump over - it also seems to be even much safer to run down the walk way.

Maybe you should consider to show another car in the near with the door open to give the impression the running man shortly went out of his car to try his luck on feet. To increase the dramaturgy you could add a co-driver he left behind (girlfriend?) stretch the arm for help. Just some impressions.

I liked the previous camera angle more. It had a much more epic feel. But that´s a very personal impression.

Did the plane stopped or is it still in motion? I suggest this kind of details you´ll do later after nailing the composition.


great work, dude.


fahrija

.


fahrija


.

[DaddyMack]

http://www.brainchilddigital.com/misc/yoinks.jpgJust once... Sorry...

I think that Tom -why'd you ruin his perfect hairstyle- Cruise should be leaning more to his right to counter the angle of the section of road he's on... Awesome step James... Keep Rockin:buttrock:

[shakes]

looks fantastic james- I really can't pick which one I like best-they're both hot!
http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/2745/elvisbounce81cf.gif