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Well, both entries are entered. I did a search for Rim Lights / Rim lighting and all I could find was merchants offering to sell me them.
So, that isn't going to happen I guess. Since my images are only "basic" lit, I'll just pull my entries.
thanks anyway. This is really not a contest for new users, should have remembered that from the other I participated in. Oh Well, bad memory
Good luck everyone.
A Rim Light is basically a light which only lights up the very edges of the lighted object. It gives a sense of depth and definition. To add a Rim Light, just add a Spot Light rom the side. Then, turn off all other lights. Then, you can move your Spot Light around, checking through the main camera which parts it's lighting up. When you have it positioned to only illuminate the edges. you can lower the intensity a bit, and maybe adjust the color, depending on your scene. It's really nothing I'd be tempted to spend money on - the setup is rather basic, it just takes some fiddling around with the position and angle of the light.
You can still modify your entry as long as the contest is open.
afaict, this really is a beginner contest - if you're a pro, you shouldn't enter (at least not enter and expect to win). :)
I like my images. I don't need to be in a contest. If that is what a "rim" light is, there are a couple in both scenes. But w/e. Stings to work for hours and be told your results are basic. To my eye, they may not be perfect, but are far from "basic". I'll go with my opinion of them, my first was posted forever and got 0 comments, leaving me to go with my own gut hunches anyway. So, nothing personal, I'll bow out now.
Standfast, I'm so sorry to come here and read that you want to pull your images due to reactions (or lack of) in the thread.
I was guilty of a post-and-run earlier, and admit I haven't followed this thread through or commented on any other entries (yet). So I'm posting from a place of ignorance here. However, although I haven't had time to work further on my concept, I did just read your very helpful hints and tutorial link.
I appreciate such a helpful response with useful information not just on getting the lamp light but on keeping this true to the historical era. I can also see with just a glance that you've been giving encouragement and advice to others too.
With this in mind, I'm even more sorry the contest has left a sour taste in your mouth. Just wanted to know your help has been valued even if I haven't yet had time to take it further.
I like this very much, especially how you have used the lighting to lead the viewer's eye to her face.
A Rim Light is basically a light which only lights up the very edges of the lighted object. It gives a sense of depth and definition. To add a Rim Light, just add a Spot Light rom the side. Then, turn off all other lights. Then, you can move your Spot Light around, checking through the main camera which parts it's lighting up. When you have it positioned to only illuminate the edges. you can lower the intensity a bit, and maybe adjust the color, depending on your scene. It's really nothing I'd be tempted to spend money on - the setup is rather basic, it just takes some fiddling around with the position and angle of the light.
You can still modify your entry as long as the contest is open.
afaict, this really is a beginner contest - if you're a pro, you shouldn't enter (at least not enter and expect to win). :)
I like my images. I don't need to be in a contest. If that is what a "rim" light is, there are a couple in both scenes. But w/e. Stings to work for hours and be told your results are basic. To my eye, they may not be perfect, but are far from "basic". I'll go with my opinion of them, my first was posted forever and got 0 comments, leaving me to go with my own gut hunches anyway. So, nothing personal, I'll bow out now.
I'm very sorry, there might be a misunderstanding here: I wasn't calling your renders "basic", I was just trying to explain that setting up a Rim Light is relatively easy, hence "basic." No criticism of your work was intended. I'm sorry if you took it that way, I should have been clearer.
Well, both entries are entered. I did a search for Rim Lights / Rim lighting and all I could find was merchants offering to sell me them.
So, that isn't going to happen I guess. Since my images are only "basic" lit, I'll just pull my entries.
thanks anyway. This is really not a contest for new users, should have remembered that from the other I participated in. Oh Well, bad memory
Good luck everyone.By Basic I meant you now have the image Done. And as this is a lighting contest the little touch comment was meant to read if you want a bigger Pop in a image try some more things with more lights. I never said Any image was not good or that any was not finished and ready for the contest. We still have time to try more things in lighting was all I meant. And I always check the WIP thread first so I had no Idea the LAST image was sent as finished. My post was never meant as anything but encouragement. That stands for any comment to any user in the contest. They all look great to me. I just want you all to have fun and learn new things as you try new things. If I have came across as harsh or un-helpful to any user I am very sorry. That was never my intent, getting you to push yourself beyond your comfort zone and try new things with lights? That was my goal from the start, I also hoped you would learn new things and learn that some times the books the tutorials and information on lighting is only a place to start. Some times breaking all the rules is what we need to do just to see what happens and then we have learned that the rules are not carved in stone.
I just wanted to comment about the 'rim lights' suggestions that apparently have also caused some turmoil here above.
It's true that the use of rim lights, or backlighting spots, helps isolating elements in a scene and making them stand out against the background, but in my opinion that is also a cheap trick to make bad lighted scenes more appealing (and it's being constantly used in TV productions... i'd say over-used, up to the point that i started to hate them ^^) - it's like when the sharpen filter made its appearance in photoprocessing software and soon after almost all the digital images started to have extremely defined edges. Even now most self-called 'modders' offer reworked packages of "hi def textures" for a lot of games, those being just blown up versions of the original ones, batched through some sharpening filter.
So, what i want to say is: before going for artificial ways of visually improving a mediocrely set up scene, it'd be better to take a step back and re-think the scene itself! Nobody goes around with a spotlight hidden behind them to make their hair stand out or looking like they have a sort of halo outlining their figure. That happens only in (discutible) tv series and movies; in any case only in staged scenes. So if you aim at a "natural look", rim lights are something to just avoid. Better add some ambient only omni light, to simulate radiance (i.e. the illumination that is produced by light bouncing on the scene objects). Most of the times, a simple ambient light is enough to create a separation between the background and the main subjects. Depth of field can definitely help to enhance that separation as a final touch.
@ standfast
I understand your frustration when posting an image and waiting for feedback that never seems to come.
I am guilty of seeing others work and not commenting. I sometimes see a piece and something about it bothers me but because I do not know what it is exactly I hesitate to say anything.
How helpful is it to say “I really like this piece but something is out of place but I have no idea what it is”? I have done that and felt really stupid. In that instance I can only hope the artist has an idea of what is out of place and was looking for confirmation. But if I cannot give specific advice I simply do not say anything.
You, on the other hand, have given out great advice and I, for one, am very grateful.
I hope you decide to continue to participate in the contest. The best way for a less experienced person to improve is to see, and be in a friendly competition against, the work of more experienced users.
We all learn at different rates. I can learn a great deal by seeing others work and the struggles they are going through and the way they have improved their work. I may not use the techniques they are using at this time but might in the future.
Thank you for the help and advice you have offered. It is greatly appreciated.
I love the pose and expression. The lighting is certainly very dramatic. I think I'd keep the purple rim light as is, but take some of the color out of the other one(s)...the saturation is a little intense for me.
I am a newbie so please take that into consideration. I like the lighting in this much better. Looks very dramatic to me.
I agree...I like it much better. Only one suggestion: the eyes are so hard to see because of the shadows. Would be nice if they were illuminated a bit more. You could even put a point light or linear point light in front of each one (and set the intensity to an appropriate level). Maybe that's cheating as far as physical accuracy is concerned, but hey...Hollywood does that kind of thing all the time. ;-)
Looks great to me! I think I agree with you--it might be better with less ambient light--but to me it's fine as is. Still some time left though, so why not keep playing with it and see how it comes out?
I think this one looks really good
A Rim Light is basically a light which only lights up the very edges of the lighted object. It gives a sense of depth and definition. To add a Rim Light, just add a Spot Light rom the side. Then, turn off all other lights. Then, you can move your Spot Light around, checking through the main camera which parts it's lighting up. When you have it positioned to only illuminate the edges. you can lower the intensity a bit, and maybe adjust the color, depending on your scene. It's really nothing I'd be tempted to spend money on - the setup is rather basic, it just takes some fiddling around with the position and angle of the light.
You can still modify your entry as long as the contest is open.
afaict, this really is a beginner contest - if you're a pro, you shouldn't enter (at least not enter and expect to win). :)
I like my images. I don't need to be in a contest. If that is what a "rim" light is, there are a couple in both scenes. But w/e. Stings to work for hours and be told your results are basic. To my eye, they may not be perfect, but are far from "basic". I'll go with my opinion of them, my first was posted forever and got 0 comments, leaving me to go with my own gut hunches anyway. So, nothing personal, I'll bow out now.
standfast, sorry to see you've pulled your images and I hope you'll decide to re-enter them. I do try to comment on everyone's WIPs but sometimes they get posted to the contest thread before I am able to really analyze the image and make some feedback that's (hopefully) both fair and helpful, and the result of some consideration rather than just an immediate gut reaction.
Sometimes it's easier to give feedback on Image A than on Image B, but that shouldn't imply that I like one better than the other.
I think the hard thing for me with your images--and the reason I hadn't commented on them yet--is that the things that I would suggest to improve the aesthetic appeal of your images might negatively affect the realism (which I think you've done a great job with so far). For instance, the woman in the lower left corner of what was your first entry--she really fades into the shadows which makes a lot of sense (in her position, I'd try to do exactly that!) but the image might have a better visual impact if she was more clearly illuminated with a strong rim light as others were suggesting.
Two good resources for rim lighting, by the way (both are free videos, and both cover some other topics too):
Gia tutorial by DAZ_Jared
Dreamlight's tutorial on the basics of lighting
Anyway, take our advice for what it's worth but ultimately the most important opinion is your own...if you like how the images turned out, I'd say that's more important than whether or not you take anyone else's advice. And as far as feedback from the judges is concerned--speaking for myself at least (but probably this is true of all of us), I'll be evaluating the entries on their own merits, not on how closely you followed our suggestions. So keep working at it if you'd like to, or call them done if you feel they are done...either way I hope you will reconsider your decision to pull them.
Both of yours are showing some nice improvement I think. I'd still like to see a bit more lighting on the man's face (in the Anniversary Dance).
Coming along well overall, I'd say. :)
If you lower the point light, make sure that nothing is blocking it from being able to shine on the things that it should be shining on. You could also try two point lights with the intensity cranked down, one at a higher position than the other.
Welcome, archangel432! I'd say you are off to a good start with this, especially considering that you just got into this hobby a couple of weeks ago. I really like the concept of contrasting the warm light from below with the cool light from above. However, the moonlight is too strong and too blue for me...I'd make it dimmer and more of a white with a subtle bluish cast. The other thing is that the background image (the diarama) doesn't seem consistent with a nighttime scene. I'd try to find another backdrop that's more fitting with the time of day.
I like the composition of the first image the best...for the contest, you can enter up to two times, but each entry should consist of a single image.
Looking forward to watching this develop--still a few days left to work at it! :)
For your lamps, maybe try area lighting instead of (or maybe in addition to) the spotlights? Szark has put together some great information on UberArea lights here.
Waaay down in this thread, props section, there is a small selection of Victrola phonographs and a few antique radios that you may want to consider.
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/629/
@Standfast, I apologize if I gave you the impression that I was knocking your renders. I wasn't, in fact, both of your entries had me wishing I thought of them first to be honest, I can't tell you how many test renders I made of someone holding a ball of flame only to not even bother saving them, yours blew anything I came up with out of the water. I was only making a suggestion that may have helped from my point of view, but on the other hand if it didn't feel true to what you were envisioning then it doesn't belong there as you already know. I really do wish you would reconsider pulling them from the contest, but it's your decision. I especially applaud your willingness to help others and wish I had your confidence to offer more help to others
wouldnt you be a bit cocky if you had a dragon as a pet ;)
i dropped most of the scenery and went with a standard cave look, with only one column post. i lighted the moon light and brought it down a bit, but then instead of three over head spot lights, i dropped all that for one point light that is supposed to be coming from some kind of globe in Levi (the boys) hand.i think it added some interesting up lighting. what do you think
@archangel, this is pretty cool, kinda makes me want to pull out my 3d glasses, and the light coming up from the globe is working for me.
First, I would like to apologize to all for my petulant reaction. I'm having a bad time with my RA right now, but no excuse.
Second, I realized I was doing exactly what my horse students would do at times, firmly planting myself in my comfort zone and refusing to budge. That is no way to learn.
So, my attempt at rim light. I mostly worked on the mage, with subtle on the war. I noticed it did bring out the facial crease on her, giving her more of a "what is that" expression as was on the unlit pose model.
Also, I will add that artistic taste wise, I am firmly planted in the realism school. I had the good fortune years ago to do some gilt leaf framing for some of the first Socialist Realism art to hit this country, when Ray Johnson started bringing it in. I fell in love even more with the style. Granted, this is by nature photorealism, but I guess I'm saying I really don't go far from what I perceive nature and natural light would do.
@archangel432 - I like your second render much better. My eye does not travel all over looking for a focus.
@standfast - You have made your characters visible without losing the dramatic lighting.
just so you know for your own experiments, the added lights intensity is like 6 and 14. Not much.
At that low intensity I did use white light, I don't often use that.
does help to turn every other light off while posing the added lights, but still, after the raw set up its like render/adjust a jillion times.
One thing I do is when I set my camera is to never use it except to adjust view and render. First thing I do when changing panes is check that I am not in camera, so it never gets moved accidently if I pan or such to adjust other things.
@standfast
Wow, thanks so much, you're a star! I'll see if I can work one of these into the scene, they give a nice historical touch.
@Scott
I'll give that a go (and visit a link). Thanks for the helpful advice. Just hope I can get this done before the month is out.
Not sure I can add much 'advice', but your renders are looking good Arcangel432 and Standfast.
Arcangel432: I agree with Kismet2012, I like the new dragon render with the dramatic red light and the red glow in the dragon's eyes. Nice work on bringing your creative vision to life.
Standfast: It's a tricky scene to light but you've pulled it off. I wasn't around on the thread when you first posted and need to go back through the thread to see what's new/improved here, but I love the warm glow you've achieved and small details like that subtle highlight on the ground and the way the light catches the strap on her leg. Also that I get just a hint of the background to give it context without distracting. By the way I'm glad you're back in this contest, you've contributed a great deal both as entrant and on the community side.
Wow, thanks so much, you're a star! I'll see if I can work one of these into the scene, they give a nice historical touch.
@Scott
I'll give that a go (and visit a link). Thanks for the helpful advice. Just hope I can get this done before the month is out.
Well, your render will outlast the contest, and I kinda thought a victrola or such would both set the period and the dancing :) Your render will always be there to reflect your skill growth. You can see the evolution below of the first render I ever posted and what it is now. Went off on a tangent of "what if Elves progressed tech wise"
just so you know for your own experiments, the added lights intensity is like 6 and 14. Not much.
At that low intensity I did use white light, I don't often use that.
does help to turn every other light off while posing the added lights, but still, after the raw set up its like render/adjust a jillion times.
One thing I do is when I set my camera is to never use it except to adjust view and render. First thing I do when changing panes is check that I am not in camera, so it never gets moved accidently if I pan or such to adjust other things.
I am working on a new version trying to add some subtle lighting. I am also using a very low intensity. Around 5 I think. Glad to know I am on the right track.
As for the camera, been there, done that. :red: Thank goodness for the undo button. So many times I have panned around to look from a different angle only to realize I forgot to change to Perspective from whatever camera I was using.
Moving a camera after setting a nice DOF is enough to make you cry.
I wish to explain my failure to comment on all renders or on all days. The first comes down to the image. If I see nothing that to me I can not help with I just move on. The second comes down to my health, I'm disabled and some days I just do not get online at all. I also sometimes limit what time I am online, that also limits my time to comment. I'm proud of each of you here in this thread, you have taken time to do the work or you have came and offered help to others. To me you are all Winners.
*give hugs to Jade* You are doing a great thing for all of us I think, sometimes there is missunderstandings but hey, that is life right? You (and the other volunteers) are great and helpful, but you all do have your won life to life to live as well. And I think that sometimes me (and perhaps the others in the contests) forget that, for that I am sorry *sheepish smile*
Either way, you hang in there Jade, still have many more hugs to offer you ;P