chessboard and pieces wip

[ThirdEye]

nice modelign, lighting and shading could be far better

[thesaint]

i presume you meant 'know your s**t' as opposed to the abbreviation 'know you are s**t"

:)

The black is way to black in the pieces, it makes them look flat. Try pulling the black back into something like RGB 41,36,36 (which is an ivory black) and then hit it with a rim light to define the edges. You might also try to bring that rear light around to the side/ front a little more so that the dark area in the middle is narrower.

The background could use the warm colors, but they are a little hard and busy right now, at least for me. Try making a simpler background tha incorporates the warmth.

Edges are too hard, try the slightest amount of bevel, and maybe even the very slightest trace of fractal displacement, but i do mean the very smallest amount.

Your shadows are competing visually with your reflections. Tune down the reflections and blur them a little and the shadows should taper and soften as they move away, which will give some depth.

Honestly i would switch the black and white pieces around, Black is always so heavy and the picture feels a little unbalanced with the black so far up the image.

Next, don't be so eager to hit that GI switch. Try lighting it manually. You might learn something and get better results. We rarley, if ever use Ray Tracing here.

Lastly, good work. I like it. Now i have finished tearing it down i want you to know that i think you are on the right track and wish you the best of luck.

[gills]

wow, thanx, thats all excellent advice. but is it true that GI isnt as commonly used as i orginally thought? i have been able to get some beautiful renders without GI, but GI gives a nice soft touch to the colors - which makes em seem more realistic in my opinion.

but i'll make the changes you stated, or most of them at least thank you.....

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