Easy Environments: Snowy Mountains (Daz Studio & Poser) [Commercial]

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Comments

  • FlipmodeFlipmode Posts: 906
    edited December 1969

    Great render Dani, that contrast/sharpening you did works great with the sene imo.

  • WillowRavenWillowRaven Posts: 3,787
    edited December 1969

    A Country Autumn

    Love the new set!!!

    So lovely a scene :D

    This next scene, I used the skybox and terrain for the Road to Hell (http://www.daz3d.com/easy-environments-road-to-hell) set, but in my usual manner, altered the easy-to-modify skybox to suit the needs of my scene. Had I been working with a dome, I would have found it most frustrating. I look forward to many more EE sets :D

    Here is a cropped version of the full scene, since I don't think it meets the nudity guidelines of the forums (link to full scene http://willowraven.weebly.com/uploads/6/3/9/0/639044/8944747_orig.jpg):

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  • FlipmodeFlipmode Posts: 906
    edited December 1969

    Thanks for posting your new image Aidana, looks great.

    Did you paint the moon & clouds on the skybox, or is that added from the night builder set?

    I have one more EE set planned for later this year (actually one you asked for), but it will take some time.
    Right now I am busy with something different, and having annoying dentist appointments till november (meh).

  • WillowRavenWillowRaven Posts: 3,787
    edited December 1969

    Flipmode said:
    Thanks for posting your new image Aidana, looks great.

    Did you paint the moon & clouds on the skybox, or is that added from the night builder set?

    I have one more EE set planned for later this year (actually one you asked for), but it will take some time.
    Right now I am busy with something different, and having annoying dentist appointments till november (meh).

    All I did was open the skybox panel I wanted to edit in Photoshop, select the moon already there and played with the colors, levels and hues, then the panel as a whole, for a cohesive look, (note, the clouds have not been changed other than tone) then saved an edited file and applied it to the skybox in DS. Then I adjusted the ambient lights to compliment a reddened sky, vs a grey one.

    I think that's why I like the skyboxes so much. I can treat them like a canvas to get the results I want. Domes, to me, are so much harder to manipulate. I still haven't been able to figure out how to use the night builder set ... lol. It frustrates me too much.

  • FlipmodeFlipmode Posts: 906
    edited December 1969

    Oh, there was a moon in the skybox ? Gah, my memory ....

    Sorry to hear you don`t get along with the night builder, it`s actually quite easy, just load a preset and hide/show layers in the scene objects tab.
    It can be a bit confusing because of the transparency sorting issues in the preview window though. I usually work around it by hiding a few layers until I understand what they show.

  • WillowRavenWillowRaven Posts: 3,787
    edited October 2014

    Lol ... I think it's on the north pane (could be wrong).

    I figured the night set was simpler than I am making it, because I've seen some very nice renders. I bought it, since I am the one who pushed for a more diverse night set, but I really am more comfortable with the skyboxes. And as far as I can tell, you are the only one who has them. Sooo ... I'll wait patiently for you make more :D

    I have a new one to add to your list, btw. Moorlands.

    The greenlands set is the right color, but too mountainous, and the autumn set has the English countryside feel, but it's not green enough for what I needed. And also, too mountainous in the box. Looking for rolling hills, like desert sands, but green, like scene from Scotland/Ireland/England/Germany/Etc

    So which one of the dozens of settings I've asked for are you doing? For the project I'm currently on, I bounced back and forth between the two, trying to find an angle or look that would work, but I had to give up and use an actual photo in the background ... But what I want would be a bit more 'hilly'.

    I did, however, keep the greenland lights, lol.

    moorland-cover-art-2-web.jpg
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    Post edited by WillowRaven on
  • FlipmodeFlipmode Posts: 906
    edited December 1969

    Good job integrating the photo background, looks very good too. ;)

    The set I`d like to do is the rougher winter setting. My current stuff will likely eat up another month, so it`d be november when I get to it... seems like a good time for something snowy.

  • WillowRavenWillowRaven Posts: 3,787
    edited December 1969

    Yeah! That will be excellent for November :D

    And thanks :D Everything 'in front of' the stump, including the grass/weeds, to aid in making the shadows look more likely. Then filters help to 'wash' the 'canvas' as a whole, helping to unify the image, making the 3D look more photographic, the photo less photographic. Make sense?

  • FlipmodeFlipmode Posts: 906
    edited December 1969

    Makes sense ;)
    Imo the environmental parts blend near perfect. If anything it`s the hair that pops out a little bit, but it doesn`t hurt the image either.

  • WillowRavenWillowRaven Posts: 3,787
    edited December 1969

    Flipmode said:
    Makes sense ;)
    Imo the environmental parts blend near perfect. If anything it`s the hair that pops out a little bit, but it doesn`t hurt the image either.

    I agree. I originally had the hair shorter, which looked more natural, but the author wanted it over the shoulder, so it got 'stretched', which gave me away, lol.

    I thought about just plopping a real hair png on top, but matching the light and shadows, when not done in daz, can be a PITA. And since the client likes it, and I have other clients waiting, I let my OCD stomp off to obsess elsewhere, lol.

    I have too many projects on my schedule to obsess beyond what the client is already ecstatic with. I'm trying to learn not to hyper-obsess so much, lol.

    Do you REALLY think the hair is ok? Be honest. If it doesn't work, now is the time to tell me, lol.

  • FlipmodeFlipmode Posts: 906
    edited December 1969

    Lol, yes, I really think that ! Honestly!

    What I meant actually has little to do with your work, it`s rather a general issue I have with almost all 3D-hair.
    Sorry, for startling you! ;)

  • WillowRavenWillowRaven Posts: 3,787
    edited December 1969

    lol ... I have some of the same frustration with 3D hair. I actually find the older models easier to make look realistic.

  • SGCBearcubSGCBearcub Posts: 243
    edited December 1969

    I love the EE sets. I was playing around with Gianni 6 (just got him, lol) and needed a quick background that matched his outfit. And what do you know...

    Dragonrider_2.jpg
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  • FlipmodeFlipmode Posts: 906
    edited December 1969

    Those go together really well, good match. ;) Cool render too, I am always happy to see road to hell in use.
    Thanks for posting it & sorry for the late reply, didn`t see it earlier

  • FlipmodeFlipmode Posts: 906
    edited December 1969

    Hello there!

    Sorry it`s been such a long time since the last easy environments set.
    Better late than never, here`s the first previews for the next one, called "Snowy Mountains".

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  • WillowRavenWillowRaven Posts: 3,787
    edited December 1969

    This looks sooo fun :D

  • MelanieLMelanieL Posts: 7,384
    edited December 1969

    Looking really nice - but I'm guessing the footsteps through the snow are not included?

  • WillowRavenWillowRaven Posts: 3,787
    edited December 1969

    The other EE sets included path or footsteps ... So my guess is they are included.

    FM?

  • SpottedKittySpottedKitty Posts: 7,232
    edited December 1969

    I feel cold just looking at it — excellent. Hope I can afford it, after all the hideous and cruel things I'm doing to my bank card this month... ;-)

  • FlipmodeFlipmode Posts: 906
    edited December 1969

    Thanks for the comments, glad you like it :)


    MelanieL said:
    Looking really nice - but I'm guessing the footsteps through the snow are not included?

    Why would you think that? ;) I wouldn`t fake such a thing on previews!
    They are included, but unlike on the other easy environments this time I did them as 12 morphs you can dial in. This gives you a decent choice of possible start/end points.

    There is no postwork on the images at all btw, the windy snowdrifts are part of the set as well.

  • WillowRavenWillowRaven Posts: 3,787
    edited December 1969

    Even better than I expected (morph-prints vs the old way).

  • MelanieLMelanieL Posts: 7,384
    edited December 1969

    Flipmode said:
    Thanks for the comments, glad you like it :)


    MelanieL said:
    Looking really nice - but I'm guessing the footsteps through the snow are not included?

    Why would you think that? ;) I wouldn`t fake such a thing on previews!
    They are included, but unlike on the other easy environments this time I did them as 12 morphs you can dial in. This gives you a decent choice of possible start/end points.

    There is no postwork on the images at all btw, the windy snowdrifts are part of the set as well.
    Well colour me impressed! That means the chance of this hopping straight into my cart rises from 99% to 99.99999999...999% :-)

  • JOdelJOdel Posts: 6,286
    edited December 1969

    I've been working on a redo of one of my older projects. It posted in January 2012, and was always unsatisfactory due to the lack of a key character figure (the Sawhorse). Also... I won't go so far as to say that the illos were *bad* -- I did the best I could -- but I did them in DS3 which was always an uphill battle.

    Unfortunately, about two weeks after it posted I had an inadvertent disk wipe and lost all my scene and character files. So it's taken a while to go back and try a redo. And since I had to redesign all of the characters I now have to redo any of the illos which uses characters I wasn't able to duplicate. Which is a bit over half of them.

    And this time round the Easy Environments are being rather heavily used for just about all of the exterior scenes, and the light sets are being used pretty much regardless.

    You do *great* lights.

    Here is the new cover which *finally* has the image it needed.

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  • WillowRavenWillowRaven Posts: 3,787
    edited December 1969

    Excellent job :D And I agree about the lights. I use them a lot, too

  • FlipmodeFlipmode Posts: 906
    edited December 1969

    Thanks for posting that cool image JOdel, the frame is as wild as the actual render ;)

    Glad you guys like the lighting too. I recently noticed that changing the ambients to diffuse only (DS) doesn`t change much for the environments, but works better for characters though. Will have it like that on the next set.

  • FlipmodeFlipmode Posts: 906
    edited December 1969

    Hi there!

    While waiting for a release date I thought I`d update the Easy Environments info page about some changes.
    Which are > Switch from skybox to skysphere and the possibility to support HDR skies.

    Here`s the short version:
    Snowy Mountains comes with a skysphere instead of the box you are used to, I expect it to stay like that on future sets.
    For most of you this most likely means ... nothing. Same full scene coverage, same quality, same ease of use.
    I hope the previews show that.

    The other change ... I hope to be able to offer HDR versions of the skies on future sets.
    The main use for that would be the upcoming Iray rendering in Daz Studio 4.8 (currently in Beta), but afaik other renderers could use it as well.
    The whole thing is rather new to me, but it seems capable of producing great, 100% image based lighting.

    If you want to read up on the details take a look here:
    Link: Info Skyspheres & HDR

    06Promo_SnowyMountains.jpg
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  • TotteTotte Posts: 13,977
    edited December 1969

    I really like the look of this one!!

    Morphed footsteps is a winner and the snow really looks like snow, and not like whipped cream!

  • MelanieLMelanieL Posts: 7,384
    edited April 2015

    Flipmode said:
    Hi there!

    While waiting for a release date I thought I`d update the Easy Environments info page about some changes.
    Which are > Switch from skybox to skysphere and the possibility to support HDR skies.

    Here`s the short version:
    Snowy Mountains comes with a skysphere instead of the box you are used to, I expect it to stay like that on future sets.
    For most of you this most likely means ... nothing. Same full scene coverage, same quality, same ease of use.
    I hope the previews show that.

    The other change ... I hope to be able to offer HDR versions of the skies on future sets.
    The main use for that would be the upcoming Iray rendering in Daz Studio 4.8 (currently in Beta), but afaik other renderers could use it as well.
    The whole thing is rather new to me, but it seems capable of producing great, 100% image based lighting.

    If you want to read up on the details take a look here:
    Link: Info Skyspheres & HDR


    This is looking really good :-)
    I took a look at your website to read about the new developments and HDRI use and noticed your comment that "Those things are huge (~200mb), so it`s likely they will be offered as seperate, optional downloads" - I really really hope they can be offered as an optional extra download, because I have bought several products (other vendors) with massive download files that I have to wait for weeks before I have the dl allowance to get them. I'd really like to be able to use this one straight away!
    Post edited by MelanieL on
  • Charlie JudgeCharlie Judge Posts: 12,740
    edited December 1969

    It looks really great and an instant purchase. Looks at piggy bank with hammer in hand.

  • FlipmodeFlipmode Posts: 906
    edited December 1969

    Thanks Charlie and Totte, glad you like it. :)
    (Yes, avoiding that whipped cream look is troublesome...)

    Melanie, no worries ... the when/how/if is a bit unclear right now, but neither Daz nor me want to force a 200mb download on people who don`t need the file, it`s nearly certain we`ll keep it out of the main set files.

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