Non-photorealistic Renders (NPR)
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Thank you. I haven't even begun unlocking the potential of the The Google Nix Collection. I still a noob at this. However, the Color Efex Pro plug-in is great for giving a NPR that little extra umph.
https://www.google.com/nikcollection/
Another winner! I like your inking style on this. I also like the more "golden" look for his outfit -- I would suggest matching the yellow of the chest emblem to the same shade used on his boots and wrist bands, though. Otherwise, SUPER SOLID WORK. Very impressive.
Here's a straight raw turnaround of a simple Poser helmet, done in Poser 11's Comic Book preview render. This is so that readers can get a better feel for what the basic effect does.
Flat lighting, each render to 3000 pixels then reduced. Original 3d grunge texture was replaced by a toon skin shader (of the sort which produces no edge-lines by itself) and then made pink. The edge lines are all coming from the inking done by the Comic Book preview renderer. If you look at the full-size version you'll see how different and artistic the inking is from the old Toon Outline.
Because they're Preview renders, they're like 3 seconds each, even at 3000 pixels. If you look at the full version of the picture, there are some odd gaps in the lines, some stray ink hairlines, and the lines are generally having difficult gripping on to the front edge of the helmet. They also can't seem to get any grip on the inner ear-ring or the top mini-dome - presumably because the 3d geometry is too smoothed in there. One could get geometry added, if one intended this helmet for regular use on a hero in a comic-book production. And Poser 11 can also blend multiple texture layers, so one can presumably add in-texture ink lines in the same way one would add a tattoo layer.
Really simple: also render your toon lines scene out to a full Sketch render (I have a custom Sketch preset I call 'Moebius', see below) then just 'Paste in Place' in Photoshop so that it sits directly over the top of your lines layer and colour layer. Pick a blend mode and opacity that looks right, and take a soft eraser to the Sketch layer to remove most of the sketchy grunge.
Thanks for the feedback. Maybe I'll post the characters I've done for my graphic novel that may never ever come into esistence, LOL. I haven't shared those with anyone yet. I can use all the feedback I can get on how to make my NPR's look better.
Heh, actually the lines are faint on purpose; the developer wants this 'faded illustration' look to them, so the washed out look is quite intentional.
Great images, everyone.
I have applied Topaz Clean filter to my previous image and I like it better.
What do you think about it?
I thought so. That's not the sort of thing you would overlook. Nevertheless, if this goes to print, I want to see it. As I said, that old pre-press voice in my head is expressing concerns.
Thanks for the run through. I used the same technique with this illustration. I was in a rush (had to prep something for a work email, which I have finished) and didn't have time to mention that I find the sketch effects -- generall -- are actually too fine for print. If there is any chance the image will be reduced, the details tend to blur togetgher. So when I create the sketch layer, I actually render it at 25%-50% the size of the final illustration. This makes for bigger strokes. I then scale it up in Photoshop (and adjusted the contrast to make them more defined) and then layered them in Manga Studio. For this illustration, I changed their color to give it an element of interest.
Yes, I'd also like Poser's Sketch filter to make larger chunkier, sparser and generally ink-ier lines.
I should have added, above, that one needs to knock out all the white from the render and just leave the lines of the Sketch layer.
Thanks for the run through. I used the same technique with this illustration. I was in a rush (had to prep something for a work email, which I have finished) and didn't have time to mention that I find the sketch effects -- generall -- are actually too fine for print. If there is any chance the image will be reduced, the details tend to blur togetgher. So when I create the sketch layer, I actually render it at 25%-50% the size of the final illustration. This makes for bigger strokes. I then scale it up in Photoshop (and adjusted the contrast to make them more defined) and then layered them in Manga Studio. For this illustration, I changed the color of the outline to give it an element of interest. The original render was 4000 px wide. I shrank it to 1200 px (for the full-size image: here I shrank it to 600 px) and the strokes held up very nicely.
I threw this together in the past few minutes, btw, which is why it so rough.
I definitely like this better. The one area that still looks photgraphic is the water -- too many reflections when compared to the detail of the rest of the image. It still looks like a toy model set to me. VERY nice.
Very nice! How did you get the original look in Iray? It was pretty near NPR, imo. Love the look with Clean added.
This is a character concept for a Sci-Fi graphic novel I've been toying with from time to time. First time I'm sharing this with the public.
Solid character design. Reminds me of GI Joe (and that's not a bad thing). Obvious tweaks needed on the hair (tips need to be pointy, not boxy), and there is some texture scatter on her boob that's too close to where her nipples would be, but those are minor refinements. In all, this is a solid looking character design and she would work well in any SF/Spy story.
Thanks, mmitchell_houston and firewarden.
This has got to be the best thread on this forum
well, apart from the ones in the Carrara Board
but
these are so good to look at...
The original set is from Unity store: POLYGON - Vikings Pack by Synty Studios
exported from Unity as a Collada file and imported to Daz Studio.
For exporting from Unity, I have used COLLADA Exporter for Unity 5 by R&R.
Both, Viking set and Collada exporter, I have bought from Unity store yesterday, during their latest sale.
What I like about Synty Studios is that their assets are low poly, so they will easily fit in graphics memory
in my Nvidia card during iray rendering.
She does look like Scarlett doesn't she? G.I. Joe was the 1st comic book series that I collected on a serious monthly basis. I had a mail in sub to it back in the 80's.
I can fix the breast issue. I have issues with how Visual Style Shaders does hair textures for hair not designed for toons. I'm toying around with alternatives. I could manually fix the hair in Photoshop. I may just buy some toon hair from the Daz store or try other toon shaders. I don't know yet.
Thanks for the info! I downloaded Unity and have used a few of their free assets as OBJ files, but have not made the leap to using COLLADA, yet. I have heard there are some great environment geometry files (in fact, I need a large dragon's cave, so maybe I'll go see what they've got available). I may pick your brain on this, later.
I've got to be more careful about the double posts... I'm afraid to delete the attached files, though, in case it affects the embedded pictures below. Sorry about that.
Oh well, I guess I'll also add that this is one of my favorite threads here at Daz. Another one being the Book Covers thread. There's lots of good advice to be had in both groups.
Here's my noir comic technique with (and without) a pop of color (done VERY fast, so it's far from perfect). This is from a panel of the comic that I'm probably not going to use, so I haven't added any tailpipe exhaust or finished cleaning it up. There's nothing "wrong" with this panel, but it doesn't fit the storytelling requirements for this page. I need to use a long shot to establish the look of the city, and there's a close up of him on the cycle on the next page, so having this panel would just make the next page repetitive. Nevertheless, this might make it into another story, sometime, so I'm not tossing it out. And it makes a neat spot illustration.
POLYGON - Vikings Pack demo scene is pretty large and the pack itself is a construction kit, so one could create many different environments.
Below is another Daz Studio iray render of it, treated with Topaz Clean.
This is a very nice set. And I definitely prefer the water at this distance. It has an illustrated look. Obviously, the background needs some work, but those mountains and the rest of it are pretty cool looking.
Fast or not, Mike, these are looking good. I like the inked look of the hatched lines, and the duotoning is perfect for the genre. Another 'bravo' to you, sir!
It's a beautiful set. And your render is nicely done and filtered. Very cool effect. :)
Thanks, mmitchell_houston and firewarden.
Below is another set from Unity store: Cave System exported as a Collada file and rendered in Daz Studio iray
with Genesis 3 male equipped with https://www.daz3d.com/knight-of-valor-for-genesis-3-males
with texture add-on https://www.daz3d.com/rodrigo
Render was again treated with Topaz Clean filter.
Very nice. I like the cave system and your treatment of it. This does have an NPR quality to it, but in this case the lights to our left just look odd. I'm glad we have the man to provide a sense of scale -- that definitely increases the effectiveness of this scene.
Thank you. Coming from you, that is high praise! I think i've finally got that system down so that I can create a consistent look. Now all I need is the time and inspiration to move on with the story. I've hit a snag laying out the first few pages. Maybe it's been long enough that I can look through my thumbnails again and make a decision about the layout so I can move forward.
Thanks again!
Thanks for the comments, mmitchell_houston. I have to find a better light setup for the scene.
You're very welcome. Lighting is definitely the thing I struggle with most.