ofer Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 This is an image I worked on recently. I don't really have a name for it. I wish to add some atmospheric effects, to give the image some depth. But don't know what exactly. Maybe some of you can give me a few ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 I seem to think the there are a couple of things which are making this image hard to understand. Firstly, I think that there is a compositional issue. I can't extract a visual theme, or a strong story. There is no focal point in the composition, bright and dark elements are scattered around in the image without any structure, so your eye jumps around like crazy. You should compose the image in such a way that draws the eye around. You're getting no sense of depth because your objects all take about the same screen space: you're not playing with perspective at all. Your lighting direction is also head on, making it look flat. So, I'd try something like this: arrange your objects in a long spiral, perhaps - something which I see the beginnings of in your current composition. Have the nearest one be so near it's out of focus. Have the objects spiral into the distance in a dynamic way. Change your lighting direction to be a from the side, so it rim-lights some objects and highlights your focal object (which probably should be in the mid-to-foreground). On the technical side, desaturate your image a bit - it looks a little cartoony in its colour. For a still image, try rendering with a high super-sampling with a sharpening pixel-filter. Perhaps a Catmull-Rom filter or another that doesn't blur detail too much. In COPs, maybe add some light blooming to the lit surfaces. Hope this helps a bit - looking forward to seeing how it develops, Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofer Posted November 24, 2007 Author Share Posted November 24, 2007 Whew, OK. I need to read it slowly Thank you for your comments, I'll do my best to follow them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofer Posted December 2, 2007 Author Share Posted December 2, 2007 Hi, is it better now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photex Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 Hi, is it better now? Personally, this image appears to me a bit flat still. Normally when you want something to have a lot of depth you'll want to cue this with warmer colors in the front and cooler colors towards the back (of course there are exceptions to this rule). In your image the objects closest to us are cooler colors and pretty dark in contrast to the objects which are farthest from us. In addition to this, the colors are still a bit too saturated I think. The planet at least needs to be toned down a bit so as not to steal the show. The big thing is that you want your intended focal point to be what stands out the most; so have your other elements support it. For your spiral I'd suggest using fewer objects and increase the difference in size (your farthest objects should be a lot smaller, especially in relationship in size and distance to the planet). Also the values of the the objects in the distance should be lower so that they appear to become a part of the background. All-in-all it's coming along quite nice! Keep it up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofer Posted December 3, 2007 Author Share Posted December 3, 2007 Ok, thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
symek Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 (edited) yep, somehow all objects are too big. You miss a impression of cosmic space that way. Think also (if it's possible with resolution limit) about changing the frame format. 4:3 is not always the best idea. It's just a cinema standard (not even that at the time). If you make a still, you can build on other composition. cheers, sy. Edited December 3, 2007 by SYmek Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafal123 Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 hey ofer, watch more movies, watch more movies, watch.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofer Posted December 3, 2007 Author Share Posted December 3, 2007 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafal123 Posted December 3, 2007 Share Posted December 3, 2007 (edited) ? it's simple, it's entertainment(movie) but... you can also learn so much how compositing should look like when you watch it and how you can light it, what camera use it to give it more cinematic look, etc. ... and then you can find your own way to show your stuff in right way p.s also IMO pic like this one should show some 'story', look man - when you watch painting you ain't see just a painting, you see some story, the painter talk to you by colors by everything he can imagine thru his art, right? many houdniks here show tech stuff(advanced stuff) but IMO when we show final pic, composited, lighted, etc we wanna see what author wanted tell to us Edited December 3, 2007 by Rafal123 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofer Posted December 4, 2007 Author Share Posted December 4, 2007 Ok, I see your point. But I think that is more or less what I'm doing. I mean, Im not trying to show a technical thing here. Im trying to create a more artistic picture. But because I do not have much experience in this field, I post my progress here to hear some advices. After all, a few words from the guys here helps like hours of playing around with no definable goal. And I think I am making progress, even if it is not top quality yet. Anyway, thanks for the advice(s) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdg Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 I mean, Im not trying to show a technical thing here. Im trying to create a more artistic picture. I don't know who originally said it, but it goes something like this: "Something is complete, if nothing else can be removed." And as the image *still* doesn't seem to be complete, I guess you can safely start removing stuff. Georg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
photex Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 Ok, I see your point. But I think that is more or less what I'm doing. I mean, Im not trying to show a technical thing here. Im trying to create a more artistic picture. But because I do not have much experience in this field, I post my progress here to hear some advices. After all, a few words from the guys here helps like hours of playing around with no definable goal. Posting here helps me a lot too. There is a wide range of experience levels and everyone is helpful. Having said this, I apologize for hastily posting a critique without also stating anything whatI liked about a piece (which is just as important!). It may just be my personal preference for kitchy sci-fi-ish (haha) types of images and animation, but overall this is a cool idea for a picture. I really dig the old Twilight Zone shows and of course the opening credits. To me this piece is related in spirit, and you can have a lot of fun with this idea. And even though you aren't trying to show a technical thing here doesn't mean you can't explore the techy aspects of Houdini while you're making it. To create the variations in color and size in the spiral, I've attached an example which shows how point attributes can be applied to objects copied along a curve. It's done automatically with the sweep sop which is nice. And I think I am making progress, even if it is not top quality yet. You're making great progress! Art is iterative, just keep at it (and version your files). attribute_copy_example.hipnc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andz Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 Hi, Few things I can point out about the composition: - depth of field is not working here. The stars in the background are millions of light-years away, if they are in focus, the doors that are in the back of the spiral should also be in focus. Usually space photography or landscapes have close to infinit focus. So maybe the out-of-focus doors in the front might work. - i don't think you should let the spiral to leave the screen area and then come back in, that makes the viewer's eyes to get lost. In general, a successful composition on screen should direct the users eye to a point of interest, so try to avoid things that points out of the frame. - the spiral might help to direct the viewers eye, but you should also try to play with lights and darks values, so try to change the light direction, right now it looks like is a front direct light you are using... almost like a camera flash light. - where are the doors coming from? Where does the spiral start? If it's coming from verrrrry far away, you should make the it's origin really really small... or maybe of screen. You'd have to try and see what looks better. Cheers, Andz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofer Posted December 4, 2007 Author Share Posted December 4, 2007 Thanks everyone. Actually, I did create a nice OTL which lets me create the dna strands based on a nurbs curve, with controls on the spacing of points and curliness of the strand. Simple, but effective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofer Posted December 9, 2007 Author Share Posted December 9, 2007 OK, I'm quiet happy with the progress. I think it is better now. I guess I can still use better colors and lighting. I tried to use lights from the side, but it just ends up very dark. So, is better now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 I have to be honest with you - I've looked at your progress a few times and I can't offer you any suggestions because I can't tell what the image is trying to be. What are you going for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andz Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 OK, I'm quiet happy with the progress. I think it is better now. I guess I can still use better colors and lighting. I tried to use lights from the side, but it just ends up very dark.So, is better now? Hi ofer, I'm still not sure about the compositing, but i think the spiral looks better now. I hope you don't mind but I tried a small paint over on you image, so you can have an idea about the lighting I was talking about. Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofer Posted December 10, 2007 Author Share Posted December 10, 2007 OK, Ill work on it. stu, I have to admit I don't really know. I just had this image in my head a few weeks ago, and Im just trying to 'materialize' it. Maybe the lack of a specific goal prevents me from succeeding, but its good practice anyway. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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