Still: Humpback whales

[sinthetic]

I remember seeing this at the Wings site, very nice models betelgeuse. I was noticing that the bump texture seems a little prominent in some areas, and there is no sheen to the skin. I would add some more specular and gloss values, they just don't seem "wet" enough. That may also help lessen the bump look around the underneathe of the fluke. Love the water caustics!

sin

Oh Oh, and you know what else may be cool?!!? well maybe, add a school of small fish in the background and then add some DOF, that may bring them out even more from one another...?

[betelgeuse]

Thanks for the comments, Leif. No school of fish (yet), but here's a version with darker, shinier whales.
http://homepage.mac.com/mgleason/humpbackdof.jpg

[phoenix2k]

hey... nice pics!!... :)
i think you made the specular a little too high in the last render, something inbetween the 2 renderings woul, in my opinion, look nice...

nice modelling job!! :thumbsup:

[sinthetic]

WOW SOOO much better Mike!!!! That really is an improvement, I think it looks much more "underwatery" ;)

I think the school of fish could really help to, and they don't have to be detailed at all, if you decide to add them. I really, really like this update!!!! :applause:

[HoodZ]

lookin good though the ocean is not that clear...is there a way to render noise effect? if you know what i mean....:beer:

[betelgeuse]

Thanks. Well let's try one more variation:
http://homepage.mac.com/mgleason/humpbackdof2.jpg

[nervous_twitch]

I really like that betel, and liked it at the wings site too. That last one is really cool.

This is your age-old friend Scott :D

Quick question now that I think about it:

How are you getting those cool caustic ripples? I've never really thought too much about it, but now I'm just kind of wondering.

[betelgeuse]

Hey Scott, thanks for responding even though you saw the first one already. Heh, a lot of the comments I get are from fellow Wingers. I'd like to see some more stuff from you here!

As far as the caustics go, I used 2 different but similar ways. The one at the top uses a material texture that has a caustic map channel. It just has a ripple texture map in it.
The other way used in the bottom image is to use the same texture map as a light gel.
The entire scene is contained within a sphere that has a volumetric fog applied. This is for the hazy look.

Regards,
Mike

[betelgeuse]

I forgot to mention that the material texture that uses the caustic map is applied to a plane above the whales so that light shining through it casts the caustic ripples.

[betelgeuse]

Which is preferable, #2 or #3? and why?

[m_luscombe]

I like the last render, but it looks like it could use some texture definition on the eyes, and possibly a bit more AA, especially around the mouth.

The render just looks more realistic. More contrast than the first, less than the second. The shading is much more natural across the side of the top whale.

I might tweak the falloff on the light with the gel (or light shining through the plane, whichever), so that the caustics on the lower whales aren't as strong as the top.

I could always be completely wrong. That's a firm possibility =)

[betelgeuse]

Well if it isn't our fearless StrataCafe leader! I thought you hung out here, but I wasn't sure. Thanks for the suggestions - I'll give them a try. I was starting to wonder about my thread - it's gotten quite a few page views, but few responses. I'm also working on a fish model (http://pub33.ezboard.com/fnendowingsmiraifrm17.showMessage?topicID=422.topic) to go with the whales; just something a little more brightly colored to break up all the blue.

[m_luscombe]

Shh. Don't out me =) I was hoping to go incognito. Oh, wait, how did my name get into my sig?

Personally, I haven't managed to muster the balls to post something in the WIP/Gallery sections here. Some day.

Great image, BTW. It feels a bit like they're in a tank, though, with light bouncing off the bottom. A bit of falloff on the top light and a gradation to a much darker blue/black would help. As well as some floating bits in the water; plankton and such. I'm not sure about tropical fish, as whales wouldn't be swimming around coral or shallow water where others tend to hang out. Maybe some type of symbiont fish?

[draconix]

The third pic is great. Just need to add the secondary focus - maybe a dark cloud reminicent of fish?

It's great tthough.

[eMysfit]

Those whales are totally radical dude....seriously!

You've captured the 'under the sea' theme really well with the water reflection things off the whales, I liked that alot.

[Franz Aber]

The third picture just looks fantastic !
I wonder if I can ask for a hi rez version of it... :p

[betelgeuse]

Whoa! It's been a while since anyone commented on my whales.

Thanks, Franz. I may have a higher res one I can dig up. I'll see what I can do.

[betelgeuse]

Bigger version:
http://homepage.mac.com/mgleason/bigWhale.jpg

[Carlocki]

some links for underwater effects?

your works is really fine and full of poetry

[Franz Aber]

Thanks a lot Betelgeuse !!!
I just can't take my eyes off those magnificent whales !:)

[betelgeuse]

Thanks again, Franz and Carlocki.

Carlocki: Do you mean links on how to achieve underwater effects? This will, in part, depend on what software you're using to try to do this. You'll probably get the most help on software specific forums. The ripple caustic effect can be achieved with light gels or a caustic map texture assigned to a plane through which a light shines. Also a colored fog effect can contribute to the underwater feeling. And although the particle effect can be produced with a 3d renderer, in my case, it was done through post-processing in Photoshop.
Good luck! :)

[Carlocki]

thanks betelgeuse

[PaxtonGerrish]

Watch the first movie on this page


http://movies.yahoo.com/movies/feature/findingnemo.html

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