Still Life: Sword Reliquary

[eAvatar]

Well, lots of views but no posts... Anyone? Likes? Dislikes? Would it look better with a background rather than plain black?

Steve.

[Gatling]

The lighting is fairly poor (no strong shadows :scream: ) and the (i guess they're coronas) around the candles are really distracting and too big...

Looks very amateurish... ONLY because of the lighting ;)

Try to fix it up a bit :beer:

[eAvatar]

Fair enough with the coronas, they're actually on a sepparate photoshop layer, so getting rid is no problem. Not sure about strong shadows point though, too much light? Shadows not dark enough? I'm definitely a newbie when it comes to lighting ( in max especially ) so any advice is welcome.

Anyway, cheers for the reply, I'm off to experiment...


Steve.

[DaneStogner]

Originally posted by Gatling
Looks very amateurish... ONLY because of the lighting ;)


Do some research into Lighting (lighting for photograhpy books) to see where to place lights.
Vary the lights' intensities and other attributes.
Soften the shadows.
Add color to the lights.
I would use the candles as the primary light sources, especially if you want them to have such an impact (the coronas)
Make a diffuse map to go along with your color and bump.
It looks like this is supposed to be an artifact, or an important weapon.. dirty up the textures so it doesnt look brand new.

But the biggest suggestion I have...
The sword needs to be balanced on its center of gravity. The first thing I noticed was that it should fall over.

I hope this mini-critique gives you some ideas of where to go next with this.

Did I say i like the model? 'cause i do.
:thumbsup:

[eAvatar]

Right, well here's a new version with different lighting, a bit more contrast, and far smaller coronas.

http://members.lycos.co.uk/eavatar3000/Imperial%20Sword%20Small%20Final2.jpg

I like the lighting of the sword, but perhaps it's a bit too dark elsewhere?

Cheers, Steve.

[eAvatar]

Thanks for the feedback, yep, I've done a lot more modelling than lighting, and it probably shows! Actually, the candles are the main light sources, but if it's not clear then it needs changing.

As for balance, do you mean horizontally, or vertically? The blade is very thick ( by design ) and would weigh a ton, so the handle & hilt wouldn't tip it over horizontally... there are grooves in the stand to keep it upright, but they are small...

You know, this was originally meant to be a first quck sword modelling project with my new copy of max! Funny how things get out of hand...

Cheers, Steve.

[Ex Tessera]

Here's the problem: Your flame is darker than the light around it.

That's totally wrong. If you want the candles to be the main light source, the flame has to be white-yellow, not orange, then add a little bit of glow around it, and maybe a very slight (very very slight) lens flare

Also, if you want that to be the only source of light, try putting a point light inside the flame, and make it a spherical area light (if max has that) to soften the shaddows a little. Make this the main ligth in the scene.

Next, find the brightest areas (or areas that you think need lightening), and use soft dim spot lights to simluate bounce light from those areas.

Hope this helps.

Also- maybe make the candlelight slightly yellow-orangish (but mostly white).

[dbach]

Also I find the reflective (stone?) table to give everything a floating look, you might want to add an environment map to add reflection from the environment around it and reflection map to subltily change the intensity of the reflection acroos the tables surface.

Out,
Don

[Iysun]

great job at modeling and texturing, i think what looks a bit odd though is the fact that these are quite obviously very old artifacts, but everything is far to clean and in perfect shape. i think give it some dirt and grime stains ect, and some scratches or tears or whatever and it will bring it to life, along with some more work on the lights, i find that whats missing is a rim light

heres some info on 3 point lighting system, which i think would also do alot to bring it out.

http://3drender.com/light/3point.html
http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~candace/design1.htm




great job all togather though :beer:

[sad]

not bad:thumbsup:
the blade is too rough.
try a brown/grey background with sandstone tex, bumpmap 'n' displacement texture!:wip:

i'd remove the glow on the candles or even the candles itself.
the book-holder might look better with wood texture.

keep working!:wavey:

[eAvatar]

Thanks for all the feedback people, it helps me a lot. Annoyingly, I am using a basic 3-point lighting system ( it's the blue rim-light thats being picked up by the sword-handle ) but it's not working, yet anyway.

I'm happy with most of the texturing, apart from the table and stand, so I'll try out a few of your ideas. and post the results.

BTW I'm glad people like the model itself, didn't take that long to do... unlike the lighting.

Cheers,
Steve.

[Dusk108]

Yet another comment on the lighting. The light being cast seems too white for candle light. I would add more yellow to create that flame cast look. that should help things in terms of realism and mood.

Good modeling though.

[Be_Be]

Hi eAvatar

Good start, but there are a few kinks to work out still.

I like the gem (emarald?). The fact its so close to the candle means that it would pick up more reflectivity and become more of a focal point. More sparkles please - us girlies like shiny things!

The piece is generally well modelled - I like the chain but especially like the area around the handle of the sword. I agree with others who have mentionned that these objects look too perfect, and the lighting is maybe a tad on the dark side now. I imagine that the candles would give off more of an orange tint to nearby objects.

Great start!:)

[-=SunDoWneR=-]

Hi, ...

yes the sword is far too rough, ... and if you look at a sword, ... everyone has a bloodline. your's hasn't. it would be to heavy to carry. just fix lightning and texturing then it'll look great. eaven though , ... i like the book !!!

[eAvatar]

Right, lighting attempt number three! Thanks for the comments everyone, it all helps. Ahh, the book, I'm pleased with how it turned out, especially since I spent three days creating the texture-map from scratch in photoshop! The looks based on the Lindisfarn Gospels, that were in the UK news recently...

Anyway, tried out a few improvements: evened out/toned down the lighting, increased the rim lighting, adjusted some of the textures, added a background, gave the tabletop a new texture, toned down the coronas and changed the flame colour!



http://members.lycos.co.uk/eavatar3000/Test28.jpg

Things curretly bugging me are the current table texture (not sure what look to go for ) and the candle shadows on the table ( too sharply defined ).

Anyway, as before, fire away!

Cheers,
Steve.

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