United3dArtists Archive

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 27 Aug 2009, 09:09

Damn, I fancied a trip to the isle of white (wight?) next year.

Shame about the car though.....maybe next year eh?

Good to be back....

Mad Mouse · Post by **Mad Mouse** » 27 Aug 2009, 09:20

isle of white (wight?)

Bloody teachers.. allways corectin yur wurk! 2/10 see me after class

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 31 Aug 2009, 12:59

Only slight tweaks needed for the wallpaper shot so time for a new WIP. Here is the text to help 'illustrate' the point.

He put on heavy duty boots and denim dungarees,
Safety hat and goggles and some hard pads for his knees.
Then he bought some power tools, a hammer and a plane,
He even hired a bulldozer, a digger and a crane!

Lighting is all wrong and composition need work but it is the first attempt. Oh, and the large denim structure will be a crane. Anyone know where I can get a free one? I don't particularly enjoy modelling props and I am sure one appeared in 3D World but I have over 120 issues to search through!!

Mad Mouse · Post by **Mad Mouse** » 31 Aug 2009, 14:26

Anything here any use to you Paul?

http://dmi.chez-alice.fr/modelstruck2.html

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 31 Aug 2009, 16:04

Nice JCB there but I found a crane model now...just a bit big!!

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 02 Sep 2009, 18:28

Having real trouble rendering this one...keep getting a black screen, will need to try another PC maybe.

Anyway, slight update including crane. Lighting needs work and that bit of road at the front is too bare. Comments welcome as always.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 02 Sep 2009, 19:34

If the black screen problem is related to the large model(s) or total scene size maybe you could render it in layers or pieces and post process them together.

The DOF makes everything but Harold look too blurry. Maybe a deeper in focus zone to include the front of the house or just not as strong on the DOF.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 04 Sep 2009, 11:53

Will look at that DOF problem, perhaps on another PC.
I get bored easily so I tend to set up a shot, fill the scene then tweak later. With that in mind I decided to work on the 'leaky plumbing' shot. And yes, the plumbing is meant to be that bad...so please, no 'you wouldn't put a pipe in front of the toilet' comments. Also expect to see more pipes and a lot more water. This is Harold after all....

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 07 Sep 2009, 18:00

Hmmm, not like you guys to have no comments or suggestions.....

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 07 Sep 2009, 20:32

I like the drip splashes.

Maybe add evidence that he tore up the walls to get at pipes.

The drill doesn't look like it would stand on the handle like that.

Breech Block · Post by **Breech Block** » 08 Sep 2009, 01:05

Hi Paul. First off, it's a great image. You have tons going on there and the whole lighting/texturing/DOF is really top notch. I love it.
I do have quite a few observations/list of things you could add to the image, but TBH I don't know if that would make the whole thing a bit OTT.

The toilet flush is on the left-side where as you would normally see it on the right which looks kinda odd to me. Mmm, perhaps that was a deliberate choice.
The pipework, although manic, is still to good; every connection is perfect. Why not try swapping some of the connections? So if the joint requires a simple U bend, put in a T junction. If the joint needs a T junction, put in a X roads.
In addition, despite like I said the pipes being manic, they are all well measured and line up with each other perfectly. Why not portray 1 or 2 of the pipes as if when they were cut, they over/under shot their mark and thus required a sort of S bend or Z bend to get the pipe back on track. Or perhaps some knotted hankerchiefs over some of the leaks.
Also, where the pipes come up through the floorboards/walls, Harold has cut the perfect hole, instead a splintered/cracked hole bigger than needed.
Same with the skirting board. Harold used one piece and got it perfect first-time.
I love the mishaped window by the way, brilliant touch. You could enhance that joke by letting the viewer see a tiny bit of brickwork around the window which still needs to be plastered. The brickwork could either reveal the previous location of the window, its previous shape, or just how many holes Harold put in the wall to get the window right. Or, the brickwork could be shaped to reveal initially he put the window in upside down.
A nice extension cord would go well with the drill, with numerous bits of bodge tape along its length or a really bad join somewhere.
How about the bath only having 3 legs and the fourth being a couple bricks or some other bodge job.
There is no bit in the drill. Or is that it lying on the floor beside it, sorry, a bit hard to tell at this resoloution.

How about a toilet roll holder, badly put up of course.

Or a roll dangling down from a bit of string.
Don't know if it's just the design you have chosen, but to me, it looks like his tool roll belt is cutting through the back of his body. A nice clip-on tape measure could also add a bit of intrest in this area.
And last but not least, something either on the window sill or on top of the cistern. Don't know what. Perhaps something that you would put there as a finishing touch, or perhaps something that hiw wife would have put there.
Sorry if this appears a bit nit-picky, but y'know I'm a great admirer of your work, just trying to give you a couple of ideas/options really.
Oh yeah, I haven't forgot about that previous project we discussed some time ago, just got a bit sidetracked. Should have something to show you in a few weeks if all goes well.
HTH

spacekdet · Post by **spacekdet** » 08 Sep 2009, 01:14

I second the spliced electrical cord.
All ours have one!

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 08 Sep 2009, 12:58

Breech Block wrote:Hi Paul. First off, it's a great image. You have tons going on there and the whole lighting/texturing/DOF is really top notch. I love it.
I do have quite a few observations/list of things you could add to the image, but TBH I don't know if that would make the whole thing a bit OTT.

The toilet flush is on the left-side where as you would normally see it on the right which looks kinda odd to me. Mmm, perhaps that was a deliberate choice.
The pipework, although manic, is still to good; every connection is perfect. Why not try swapping some of the connections? So if the joint requires a simple U bend, put in a T junction. If the joint needs a T junction, put in a X roads.
In addition, despite like I said the pipes being manic, they are all well measured and line up with each other perfectly. Why not portray 1 or 2 of the pipes as if when they were cut, they over/under shot their mark and thus required a sort of S bend or Z bend to get the pipe back on track. Or perhaps some knotted hankerchiefs over some of the leaks.
Also, where the pipes come up through the floorboards/walls, Harold has cut the perfect hole, instead a splintered/cracked hole bigger than needed.
Same with the skirting board. Harold used one piece and got it perfect first-time.
I love the mishaped window by the way, brilliant touch. You could enhance that joke by letting the viewer see a tiny bit of brickwork around the window which still needs to be plastered. The brickwork could either reveal the previous location of the window, its previous shape, or just how many holes Harold put in the wall to get the window right. Or, the brickwork could be shaped to reveal initially he put the window in upside down.
A nice extension cord would go well with the drill, with numerous bits of bodge tape along its length or a really bad join somewhere.
How about the bath only having 3 legs and the fourth being a couple bricks or some other bodge job.
There is no bit in the drill. Or is that it lying on the floor beside it, sorry, a bit hard to tell at this resoloution.
How about a toilet roll holder, badly put up of course. Or a roll dangling down from a bit of string.
Don't know if it's just the design you have chosen, but to me, it looks like his tool roll belt is cutting through the back of his body. A nice clip-on tape measure could also add a bit of intrest in this area.
And last but not least, something either on the window sill or on top of the cistern. Don't know what. Perhaps something that you would put there as a finishing touch, or perhaps something that hiw wife would have put there.
Sorry if this appears a bit nit-picky, but y'know I'm a great admirer of your work, just trying to give you a couple of ideas/options really.
Oh yeah, I haven't forgot about that previous project we discussed some time ago, just got a bit sidetracked. Should have something to show you in a few weeks if all goes well.
HTH

Crikey, I wish you were working for me. I should put each image by you first. Great ideas there...all of you!
Do you fancy reading the first draft of the story...let me know.

Breech Block · Post by **Breech Block** » 09 Sep 2009, 02:16

splinters wrote:Crikey, I wish you were working for me. I should put each image by you first. Great ideas there...all of you!
Do you fancy reading the first draft of the story...let me know.

Well, y'know me and my love of attention to detail.
Yeah, sure, I'd love to have a read of Harold's adventures. What kind of feedback are you looking for?

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 09 Sep 2009, 08:05

Breech Block wrote:
splinters wrote:Crikey, I wish you were working for me. I should put each image by you first. Great ideas there...all of you!
Do you fancy reading the first draft of the story...let me know.
Well, y'know me and my love of attention to detail.
Yeah, sure, I'd love to have a read of Harold's adventures. What kind of feedback are you looking for?

Not sure really, just thought you might like to have a read...

I am pretty happy with the story but it is hard to judge how well the text works without the images too.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 09 Sep 2009, 13:10

Well, I am pretty happy with this image now so I will leave it and move onto the plumbing pic...and others!

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 09 Sep 2009, 14:51

Looks good to me. Not even any picky unimportant stuff.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 09 Sep 2009, 16:48

Mmm, I lied. I dont like the smoothness of the sand/concrete, so I matted in a new render. Now I am happy...

Cheers.

Breech Block · Post by **Breech Block** » 09 Sep 2009, 19:12

Well, as I said, I'd be more than happy to look at your story and offer comments if needed. It may help me offer a better critique for any images too.

With the latest image, which again is top notch on the lighting and texturing, I'll just fire a whole load of thoughts at you and you can decide if any of them are worthy of merit.

The crane's scale doesn't really suit the image, although I understand the comment you posted area about not really wanting to model one. What also doesn't help is seeing the lampost in front of the crane, which to me, pushes it even further back into the background and thus kinda disassociates it even more from Harold.
The white picquet fence looks to evenly spaced, to straight and too even in height for something Harold would have built.
I not keen on the angle of the bucket on the digger as it is fighting for attention with the drainpipe, the window and shadows that are all in the same area.
Harold's sledge hammer shows a well worn handle but there is not a scratch on the hitting surface of the head.
The spanner Harold's is holding appears to be floating, realistically his thumb would be on it.
For someone with all the right safety gear, and obviously spares no expense on getting all the right tools, his toolbox is a remarkably low-tech, simplistic affair.
How about a stork's nest on one of those lovely chimney pots.
Harold strikes me as the kind of man who wouldn't think twice about trying to install his own, home-made TV satelite dish.
HTH

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 09 Sep 2009, 20:24

Good points...all of 'em.

First, the crane is hired in and therefore a 'prop' rather than part of Harold's world. It is part of the text so has to stay in some form.
This is Harold's first attempt at doing up the house so the fence is most likely done by a 'proper' builder. The wonky door etc. are just part of the stylistic world..not necessarily his mistakes. Plus, I need the whole thing to look progressively worse.

You are right about the spanner but the handle of the hammer is a yew texture not actually worn. Remember, he hasn't done any building yet. I envisaged the toolbox as a sort of 'under the stairs' basic tools that we all seem to have. The other stuff named in the text, particularly his clothes, are new.

As for TV dishes, one scene has him installing a new TV but he is colour blind and therefore, wiring up is a little dangerous. The frayed cord will be in that scene rather than the bathroom.

Just replying to your comments. They are all valid and, now you have pointed them out, will bug me til I fix a few...

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 12 Sep 2009, 12:31

Well I changed the sand and fixed the hand. I am happy with the result for now but I will no doubt revisit the images once the book is complete. Thanks to Wizard and Breech for helping me out with the text too.
My OCD and the fact that I get bored easily means I will probably move on now and keep making new pics (I can't spend too long on one...).

Cheers, will post the pic when I am on my laptop.

More stuff later.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 12 Sep 2009, 19:16

Made progress on two images today. Need more water on the plumbing one then on to another...

LeonRegis · Post by **LeonRegis** » 12 Sep 2009, 19:21

I personally liked, the use of DOF and the texture makes it a good couple of images!

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 13 Sep 2009, 11:08

Cheers, nothing final yet so I may revisit the DOF, but many more pics to make yet.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 13 Sep 2009, 14:37

The sand and cement piles look better.

Not to flip between 2 things but, while I said before that I thought the DOF was too strong, now I think it is too weak. Looking at it now, if I was doing it I'd try for a clear fence but just a touch of DOF visible on the house and more beyond of course.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 13 Sep 2009, 19:50

That's OK, I just tweaked the blur on the house as I re-rendered the digger so the 'bucket' part was a different colour to the drainpipes it was clashing with.

Nearly there now....

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 14 Sep 2009, 12:16

Too many splashes? Not enough water? Whadya think?

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 14 Sep 2009, 14:38

Splashes: Yes too many in my opinion. Some appear to be in midair or it is not clear what is happening with them. For example, near the window, over Harold's hat, coming from the right edge of the picture, and a fountain from a hole in the floor but no puddle is under it.

The splashes and squirts/fountains often look like glass.

I think there should be mostly drips and just one or two squirts that clearly come from broken or uncapped pipes. Drip splashes in puddles except if hitting an object like Harold's hat. Overflowing toilet of course.

Maybe the drill could be in a puddle with electrical sparks.

A puddle in the sunlight could add sparkles or highlights.

Harold's clothes should have wet areas.

The drill is almost a silhouette.

Use a pipe wrench instead of the crescent wrench.

Show a lose piece(s) of pipe.

The tub, toilet, and baseboard are too clean.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 14 Sep 2009, 16:05

Good points but I would like to address a few.

The text (I think, will need to check) mentions spurts of water. They do actually originate from the pipe joints, not in thin air.
Yup, some puddles need placing under fountains etc.

Glass texture is nearest I can get to fresh water.

I have made the drill green and called it BODGE(in the style of BOSCH but the whole scene is taking ages to render. Will post update later.

Yup, Harold need wetting...Photoshop is my friend there.

I do think the toilet would be pretty clean as it is straight out of the wrapper so to speak.

Toilet is overflowing but the 'glassy' texture may be complicating things.

I do need to 'break' a few pipes there.

I find your comments invaluable and always act on them but it is also worth bearing in mind that I have a style of my own (that sometimes belies physics etc. in favour of something kids would spot easily).

But I still appreciate the comments. That is why i post WIP's so keep em coming guys, without your help these jaded eyes miss quite a few things...

Cheers again Finis, you are helping to shape this nicely.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 14 Sep 2009, 19:17

I have a style of my own

... and that is what makes your stuff great! I just throw whatever I see out there. If it is helpful then good, if not no problem!

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 14 Sep 2009, 20:08

Tis all helpful Mr Finis...I am liking where it is going now. Just a few more details, textures etc. By the way, Harold tried gluing the plumbing..hence the tube on the floor....

v3rd3 · Post by **v3rd3** » 14 Sep 2009, 22:59

Just a thought Splinters but the only thing dry in the room is Harold... perhaps a splash rolling off the sole of his boot?

Awesome as always.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 15 Sep 2009, 08:13

Ta muchly. After a dry patch my creativity seems to be bearing fruit again...and this is becoming enjoyable (like the old days) rather than a chore...

There really is a point where the lighting and textures, composition etc. just come together to make something that sort of clicks.

This is so nearly at that point for me....thanks to the comments from you guys...

Breech Block · Post by **Breech Block** » 15 Sep 2009, 23:05

Wow! Harold's been a busy bee the last few days. Great work Paul, this is coming on in leaps and bounds. The water effects are pretty terrific. Would love to know what shader settings you used to get that effect, the porcelein bath too. Mmm, shiny.

As for any more suggestions, the only 2 things I can think of at the moment are repositiong/switching sides of the toilet flush handle as it has now become slightly lost with all the new additions. And adjusting the water on the floor in the bottom right-hand corner so as you see it pouring down the hole you have there.

HTH.

Steinie · Post by **Steinie** » 15 Sep 2009, 23:20

Looking at his shoes I would swear the soles are backwards.
The handle on the toilet is blocked as mentioned.
I love the DOF and the scene.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 16 Sep 2009, 11:03

Good spot Steinie..they were wrong way round. This rendered for 6 hours last night then crashed and did the same today so I am going to move to a better PC to render tonight.

This is what I have so far but need to move the wrench, change a few textures and re-render adding more damage and cracks etc. in PS. Quite happy though...now onto electrocution!!

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 17 Sep 2009, 10:45

All done here...time to move on...

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 19 Sep 2009, 16:44

Time to work on the house now....

LeonRegis · Post by **LeonRegis** » 19 Sep 2009, 17:07

Very cool house, shows that is from the book world and the texture quality are amazing, GREAT work

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 20 Sep 2009, 00:15

I keep dabbling with new shots rather than finishing the last one....

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 20 Sep 2009, 22:44

Just for you Breech...

LeonRegis · Post by **LeonRegis** » 20 Sep 2009, 23:05

Thanks for sharing with us the settings, Paul.

Cya

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 21 Sep 2009, 08:20

leonregis wrote:Thanks for sharing with us the settings, Paul.

Cya

No problem. No secrets in my work; just tweaked standard shaders...

Breech Block · Post by **Breech Block** » 21 Sep 2009, 14:30

Cheers Paul, much appreciated. You are a gentleman and a scholar.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 21 Sep 2009, 21:19

Bit of a roll tonight; three new images but all WIP's.

Here is page 1. Harold struggles to sleep most nights due to a leaky drain. I need to 'age' the room a bit, a few cracks in the wall and peeling paper etc.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 21 Sep 2009, 22:05

And another...still a way to go.

marcel · Post by **marcel** » 21 Sep 2009, 22:10

I love your world. slinters! When a project grows it becomes obsessive, passionate. sometimes we are discouraged but we are finally satisfied. One way to push its limits.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 21 Sep 2009, 23:16

Cheers Marcel, I know what you mean.

And finally, an updated underground pic. Lots more detail needed of course.

P.S Got my first corporate subscriber today; a primary school in the area.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 21 Sep 2009, 23:21

Congratulations on the subscriber.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 21 Sep 2009, 23:24

Cheer mate. One of many I hope. There is also a link in the email to the corporation (when they subscribe) allowing parents of children in the centre to take a personal membership for home at a reduced rate. Hopefully, a few kids will want this at home as well and persuade their parents...

I am now working on worksheets/activities for parents/teachers and that is slowing my progress down.
However, I had a great idea to make the new book a download but without illustrations. The idea being that the teacher lets a child take a page each to illustrate using the narrative as a basis for the images.

Of course, I will publish the full book when complete (hopefully pretty soon) but this is a chance to get kids involved and encourage them to be creative; perhaps using a writing frame to make their own stories up.

LeonRegis · Post by **LeonRegis** » 21 Sep 2009, 23:27

Great Paul!!! Looks that you will take off

Keep like that!

marcel · Post by **marcel** » 21 Sep 2009, 23:42

The underground makes me think of some photos i made last month in Normandie.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 22 Sep 2009, 07:50

Wow, wish I had that texture before I started. I had to make mine from several images.

marcel · Post by **marcel** » 22 Sep 2009, 08:26

I think it is too late but if you want photos like this, i can give you other view of this cliff in hd.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 22 Sep 2009, 12:27

No problem Marcel, I have to work on the detailing of the underground now. I can tweak the textures later.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 23 Sep 2009, 21:37

Well, I finished the night time picture....

LeonRegis · Post by **LeonRegis** » 23 Sep 2009, 21:57

I liked a lot the last scene!!! The window is amazing, alarm clock with that green light ^^, all the tissues, very realistic, dirty appearance of the walls and light going through the window, perfect! The only thing that I cannot understand is that table lamp, just a little confuse but don't spoils the whole scene!

PERFECT WORK

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 24 Sep 2009, 19:11

Not sure about the view on this scene but when I go for a more 'front' view, it loses most of the detail. Oh, and it is missing Harold at the moment. It is pretty rough right now so comments and crits very welcome.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 24 Sep 2009, 19:41

Maybe include the remains of things from the other pictures. Like the wall paper and the pipes and some of Harold's tools.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 24 Sep 2009, 19:55

Good call Finis. I do need to get the viewpoint right first then I tweak details and lighitng etc. Whadya think of this view?

Another question. I had intended to 'theme' each page with a subtle background; pipes or water on the leaking page. Blueprint type background on the building page etc. My worry is that this might get too busy and in the way of the text. But, I dislike plain pages and wanted to do something special on this book. Maybe I just put a technical (graph style) paper on each page.
Any advice on that one?

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 24 Sep 2009, 23:18

Off work early so I have more forum time. Need all the work hours I can get though.

I think the view is ok. Idea: have two scenes of the aftermath. The first one from a first person viewpoint then the next page would have this view. That reveals the depth of the destruction. The current view gives an opportunity for a great perspective view into the lower levels but the dust, which seems necessary, would obscure that.

If the background is subtle, simple, and faded or desaturated then I don't see a problem with pipes etc. Idea: use the graph paper with Harold's sketches of the project shown on that page. Still make it simple and faded or desaturated.

marcel · Post by **marcel** » 25 Sep 2009, 07:03

About the book:
The illustrations should not be defined in a perfect rectangle. Edges be assumed to be rights and oblique as doors and windows. This would make an interesting composition for the page and no need background with that. When the scene is destroy, the page is destroy. Maybe use a background color to define action, feeling,...

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 25 Sep 2009, 08:01

Cheers guys, all helpful tips there. As for the view, I realise now that it is not so bad. In the previous image Harold will be nailing up a 'Home Sweet Home' sign (it is this small detail that brings it all down). In the next scene we get a view from (through) the car window as his wife turns up, shakes her head in dismay and drives off.
So, if you can picture that we would have a closeup of the front door, swinging up to this overhead view than pulling back and dropping down to an eye level view. I think that will work...just the detailing now I guess.

As for the page layout, I really like the idea of 'non-square' pictures....never thought of that before....

Of course, some of these are meant to be photographs (polaroids) that will be stuck and pinned to certain pages. Not sure if they should all be like that though...

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 25 Sep 2009, 23:11

Tada...too much else to do to dwell too long on this.

Breech Block · Post by **Breech Block** » 27 Sep 2009, 02:37

I really like this view and think it helps to show a far greater degree of damage than you would see in a conventional POV. Love all the attention to detail such as the hat stand and fishbowl. Hope this is a WIP as I think the image is still going to require quite a bit of work in the texture department to bring it up to the standard of the other pics in the series. As for any more additions, some broken glass in the window panes and some sparks fizzing from a broken cable would do it for me. HTH.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 27 Sep 2009, 12:03

As I look at it now it is a WIP but more of a placeholder before I 'publish' it. Just finished working on the porch from the main build which is not anywhere in the 'collapsed' image so I really need to do that as well.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 27 Sep 2009, 21:03

Just for you Breech...is this better?

Not sure I want to add any more detail. It is getting busy and the Harold illustrations are generally pretty simple.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 28 Sep 2009, 09:04

Here is an (almost) finished final shot of the house. Not sure if it need more building materials and machinery in it, or whether this will clutter up this 'money shot' of Harold's creation.

That contraption in front of the garage door is Harold's way of coping with a flood from a previous page; he pipes it out of the window and into a water feature in the garden!!

Breech Block · Post by **Breech Block** » 28 Sep 2009, 18:27

Great work Paul. I think both images are pretty well spot-on. The subtle changes to the exterior of the house like the drainpipes and porch really work well. I also like the more prominent street light. Your ability to get the final composition just right never ceases to amaze me.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 28 Sep 2009, 21:19

Ta Breech, means a lot to hear that from ya...

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 01 Oct 2009, 14:24

How does the water look in this one? It is not the same texture I used before but it renders much faster.

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 01 Oct 2009, 15:13

Hmm, I think the water texture looks more like mercury than water. However, if the transparency was made more evident then it would probably a good texture. Maybe put more stuff under the water to show the transparency. Also, the water in the hole might be muddy.

Although you and everyone can always find some detail to fix, I'd like to point out that your pictures look good, tell a story, and are well composed before and after the details.

marcel · Post by **marcel** » 01 Oct 2009, 16:21

some time a picture is better than a comment. The water is not the reality but it have more importance in the picture with more contrast. Also it depend of the color of the sky. For a still image you can do that in photoshop.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 01 Oct 2009, 17:05

Cheers guys, I would simply stick with the original texture but my laptop is absolutely dying under the strain of rendering these images at 3200x2400. And it is a dual core Pentium with 2Gb Ram!!
I can usually render one image then need to close and restart tS or I simply get a black screen when I render...

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 01 Oct 2009, 18:09

To be honest guys, I am struggling a bit with this project. I can never seem to settle on a finished image and, so far, I only have one or two that I would put into the finished book. It is taking days to get an image looking right and then I think it needs relighting or texturing etc. The fact that it will all be condensed down to a 1024x768 double page spread and seen by a limited group of Buddy World members in not helping...

...but I am ranting now. I will just persevere. Maybe a break is needed but I fear that I will move on and not come back to it.

Say after me OCD, say with me. OCD etc. etc.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 01 Oct 2009, 18:13

And just to contradict my previous post, here are todays WIP images. I realised that Harold live in a village where 'it always seems to rain' but my pics so far are quite sunny.

So, as impending doom approaches, it is getting cloudier and will finish with a rainy night shot of Harold....well. you'll just have to wait and see.

Not sure if these need more building materials in them or if that will 'clutter' them up. Much more work needed on the underground image.

marcel · Post by **marcel** » 01 Oct 2009, 18:45

I think you're doing better than Harold!
plus project are bigger and sometimes it depresses. But when we have the courage to follow through, the reward is great.
I did a project that lasted 5 years with nearly 700 different scenes and 300 gigs of data. I sometimes stop for several month then I started again with pleasure. Even when we leave, we have experience acquired. It's nice to see major projects in a world where all tired so quickly.

LeonRegis · Post by **LeonRegis** » 01 Oct 2009, 18:48

I never started huge projects, but will soon...
I know that it don't do the difference but you're like a hero for me... And this WIP is your sword

Cya

Finis · Post by **Finis** » 01 Oct 2009, 19:25

A short break, just a day; or two can do wonders.

"I can never seem to settle on a finished image" Maybe we can help with that by noting in suggestions if the image looks finished. Sure there's always another detail to make it better but is this high quality work as is? The perception of completeness and quality is different to an observer than to you. Of course there is the factor that you know your audience and the story.

splinters · Post by **splinters** » 01 Oct 2009, 19:42

Your comments always help guys...

Do you think the last two images need building materials/tools or diggers etc? Consider that they both have an accompanying text that sort of concludes that the building part is finished....

Next a new extension and a garage for his car,
Loft conversion, games room and a lovely cocktail bar.
A nice new porch, conservatory all put up with pride,
He just kept on building ‘til he reached the fence each side.

Soon the house had taken all the garden space around
So Harold made some extra space by digging underground.
He put five extra floors in and a lift that looked quite cool,
He even got a dance floor and a heated swimming pool!

Harold's House

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