Works in Progress

#161

Originally posted by JoeW
Warning: Biased Stylistic Suggestions: I don’t mind the thighs being heavier, but you might think about giving her bigger boobs - or thinning down her thighs. Her hips are great, but from the size of her arms, and the toned nature of her upper half, you expect sleeker thighs.

JoeW [/B]

I can’t resit, even though the artist has replied. thankfully, with a no to this. What Bias is this you mention you have that wants bigger breasts or thinner thighs. Her thighs are damn sleek as they are- clearly not athletic at any rate- I’ve seen HUGE thighs on black women who run, or are athletic, with smaller breasts,

Since when is breast size linked to thigh size?

In looking over the image again, her thighs any thinner would be a distraction to me.

But really, I’m curious: what “bias” is this you mention? Just a Playboy taste for boobs? :shrug:

#162

((Hi John,

Thanks for your comments and suggestions.))

Your welcome.

((Thanks. I’m not sure what you mean by top lip. Do you mean just the space between his nose and the mouth opening? I modeled him with this area pulled up to show his teeth for his “heroic glamour smile”. :)))

To be honest, I am not quite sure what I meant by that. Seemed to mean something at the time. Maybe it is something to do with that fill light that you might tone-down. Dunno.

((I struggled with that decision and felt that no specular was more pleasing to me. The highlights I was getting were distracting to me. Also I was basing this off of a 2D image where there weren’t any highlights, even on the eyes. I guess I fell prey to trying to match the reference and not what looked best.))

Maybe try the glossy toon-nation shader. You can have it crisp without being too bright.

((((Ask Hash to sort out the jagged light distribution around terminator. (particularly noticeable on the cloak). In a high contrast image that would look really bad and isn’t the sort of thing that we want non-hashers to see.))))

((I’ll try what pequod suggested about this. (Thanks, Stephen!)))

Yes, it would solve the problem. However I find that with higher bias settings you get light strips at the base of shadows. Sometimes I can’t find a good middle ground. It seems reasonable to expect a fix as I can’t remember this problem being so prominent in earlier versions.

((Actually all the reference images I found had only one ear showing. His head was at a 3/4 angle in those images, a little more turned away than my view.))

Fair doos.

((I wanted to create a cartoony feel to the image but without the toon lines (I personally don’t like toon renders with the computer generated lines very much). I wanted the colors to be bright and clean, without too many dark shadowed areas. I probably went to bright on the warm light coming up from under him. I’ll see about tweaking that.))

Mabe just a subtle use of toon shading without the lines would be the method of choice. (allthough I am not sure if shadows work with this - not an expert here).

((I was considering giving him some blush color to areas of his face but never tried it. I’ll give it a shot and see.))

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Cheers,
John

#163

Originally posted by Dearmad
[B]I can’t resit, even though the artist has replied. thankfully, with a no to this. What Bias is this you mention you have that wants bigger breasts or thinner thighs. Her thighs are damn sleek as they are- clearly not athletic at any rate- I’ve seen HUGE thighs on black women who run, or are athletic, with smaller breasts,

Since when is breast size linked to thigh size?

In looking over the image again, her thighs any thinner would be a distraction to me.

But really, I’m curious: what “bias” is this you mention? Just a Playboy taste for boobs? :shrug: [/B]

My “bias” is for “aesthetic balance”. If you’re creating a portrait of a real person, then reality in proportion is the call of the day - but if you’re creating a character from scratch, then, it depends on what your purpose for that character is.

My suggestions were simply that - my suggestions (as stated repeatedly in the comments). Jim can disregard them if they don’t fit his “vision” of this character - simple as that.

I’m a bit insulted by your “Playboy boobs” statement. Most of the time, however, derogatory comments like yours come from women who are dealing with “body image” issues. To answer your question, yes, I like women who are more “proportionate”, and I won’t appologize for that preference (much as the femnazi’s of the world would like to make me feel “guilty” for feeling that way).

Note that I said proportioned - I don’t care for huge boobs on a thin frame any more than the opposite.

We are all entitled to our opinions. In the future, if you disagree, I’d hope you find a more neutral way to express it.

JoeW

#164

And what would a more neutral way be? To not post my curiosity at all? To begin discussing feminazi’s?

I specified where I thought I was unclear in your opinion and asked for clarification. You said you had a “bias,” then didn’t specify the bias- I was curious where it was coming from. I also reference real-klie experiences in models I’ve used for various photo shoots: black women in particular, athletic ones (runners/sprinters/jumpers). I never noticed any rlation between the proportions of their thighs to their breasts. In fact most of the ones with really sleek thighs (like the image in question) had breasts even smaller than our man’s image.

To racap: I was just wondering where your bias was coming from, as I knew where mine was coming from.

You’re insulted by an attempt to communicate? Well, I’m truly sorry for your sensitivity.

BTW: Since you’re pretty sensitive, why do you think references to “feminazi’s” would garner any further intelligent conversation? I didn’t know there were any nazi’s of the feminine persuasion posting to this group.

BTW: I LOVE big boobs, man, I really do. :love: :wavey: I’d have to say I have a playboy taste for boobs.

#165

Originally posted by JoeW
To answer your question, yes, I like women who are more “proportionate”, and I won’t appologize for that preference (much as the femnazi’s of the world would like to make me feel “guilty” for feeling that way).

:applause: :thumbsup: I TOTALLY agree with you on this one. I grow tired of being made to feel guilty for being a man. I’m sick of being told what to think, value, and appreciate. I appreciate attractive women. :shrug:

#166

How’s this for changing the subject:

So many people mentioned the theme song when they saw my version of Mighty Mouse that I had to do this:

http://homepage.mac.com/talbotj/iMovieTheater13.html

Enjoy!

Jim

#167

Bwahaha, that’s great Jim!

#168

Originally posted by JTalbotski
[B]How’s this for changing the subject:

So many people mentioned the theme song when they saw my version of Mighty Mouse that I had to do this:

http://homepage.mac.com/talbotj/iMovieTheater13.html

Enjoy!

Jim [/B]

:applause: Ahhh… They just don’t make 'em like they used to.

#169

I like big boobs too! :beer:

hmmm, I like those little perky ones also… I guess I like 'em all–as long as they’re NEKKID!:drool:

I must have been damaged by sneaking a look at my dads Playboys when I was a kid :rolleyes:

#170

heheh brings to mind Ray Stevens. “Are you Nekkid??”

#171

Hey Jim, that was great. You will know thta i like it when i say that I watched it all the way through – and watched it again :slight_smile:

#172

Here’s a new render of my African Queen character which incorporates many of the suggestions I received from you guys. I softened the shadows and worked on the thighs and calves by removing the straight edges and thinning and adding more muscle tone. I also added a small fill light to show the neck better against the ponytail hair. I shortened her calves as they were way too long. If the render seems softer, it’s because I rendered it much smaller than the earlier version (which I shrunk down quite a bit). Those multi ray casting lights take a toll!

Jim

#173

Hey all, working on my Foggy Morning piece, incorporated some feedback I had on it, latest version at:

Foggy Morning

Comments appreciated…

BTW, Jim, love that Mighty Mouse and African Queen…

#174

Looking really sweet, Jim - just beautiful.

The only thing that catches my eye is that her left breast looks a little “squarish” at the bottom inside corner - not sure if this is lighting or the mesh itself.

The new hilight helps with her neck a lot, and the shoulders look much better. I especially like the curves you added - and the bulge of the head of the quadricep on the inside of the left knee is really nice.

Once again, criticism aside, it’s a beautiful image :slight_smile:

JoeW

#175

Originally posted by JoeW
[B]Looking really sweet, Jim - just beautiful.

The only thing that catches my eye is that her left breast looks a little “squarish” at the bottom inside corner - not sure if this is lighting or the mesh itself.
[/B]

Thanks, Joe!

You’re right, I knew the squarish area was there, but I didn’t want to see it, so I didn’t acknowledge it’s existence. Thanks for holding me accountable. :slight_smile:

Jim

#176

Originally posted by JTalbotski
[B]Here’s a new render of my African Queen character which incorporates many of the suggestions I received from you guys. I softened the shadows and worked on the thighs and calves by removing the straight edges and thinning and adding more muscle tone. I also added a small fill light to show the neck better against the ponytail hair. I shortened her calves as they were way too long. If the render seems softer, it’s because I rendered it much smaller than the earlier version (which I shrunk down quite a bit). Those multi ray casting lights take a toll!

Awesome work Jim! From the waist down she’s practically perfect… the shadow on the left shin might still be a bit too harsh though.

I do have a few crits for you though :smiley:

The first thing I noticed is the super-even skin tone. Add some more subtle variation… like lightening the areas that wouldn’t be exposed to the sun so much.

Next… is it just the lighting, or is her collar bone missing?

And finally… Take the shine off of the taller pot. It’s the brightest part of the image and my eye keeps drifting towards it instead of looking at the figure.

Keep it up!

J

#177

makings: Thanks, Mike!

SouthernLaw: Thanks, J ! Good suggestions, especially about the collarbone. Have to get better at rigging, I guess. They were there but seemed to dissappear when I moved the arms down in the pose.

Her skin tone is just a group with a surface color right now and a slight bump map (hence the distant view). :slight_smile: If I find some free time I’ll try to work up better textures.

Thanks guys,
Jim

#178

I am starting to add some maps to this character-

http://home.alltel.net/rccollins/forestberserker25.jpg

I tried layering 3 different bump maps on the same area of skin but it did not seem to work. I finally combined all three in photo shop and re-applied them as one. My question is, is there a way to layer bump maps on a model? I had one with large area bumps, one with large area dents and one with the little snake like creases. I wanted to be able to control each of the maps independently, but I don’t know how to do it. Oh yes, I’m using 8.5.

Thanks for any suggestions…

#179

Originally posted by rcory
[B]I am starting to add some maps to this character-

http://home.alltel.net/rccollins/forestberserker25.jpg

I tried layering 3 different bump maps on the same area of skin but it did not seem to work. I finally combined all three in photo shop and re-applied them as one. My question is, is there a way to layer bump maps on a model? I had one with large area bumps, one with large area dents and one with the little snake like creases. I wanted to be able to control each of the maps independently, but I don’t know how to do it. Oh yes, I’m using 8.5.

Thanks for any suggestions… [/B]

Hmmm - you should be able to just layer the maps over each other, then control the bump intensity under the Decal>Image properties. If you’re trying to control where the bumps go on the model, you can use alpha channels to control where the individual maps are applied… maybe I’m not understanding the problem?

Also, you might play with using materials to generate a “base” bump and then add maps over the top of those in the areas where you need more specific detail. (remember to check the “bump” box under the shortcut to the material that’s under the group on the model).

One thing to keep in mind is that setting the bump value to 100% is rarely enough. I usually end up with settings in the 250-500 range, and sometimes much higher.

JoeW

#180

It just seemed the last one I applied seem to negate the ones under it. Maybe I should try som higher values like you say…