March Challenge - Environment - Some Guy
 

City of the Monoliths

Sup Dudes

My idea is an all natural environment, large stone structures and an overwhelming feeling of size.
Im thinking of also making a few Half-Life'esqe organic creatures to fit in to this tall wonderland I envsion.

Stay tuned for something i hope is awesome!

Starting one of the creatures. Think the elephants from some of Dalis paintings, really tall and spindly. These are all gonna be Low Polygon cause they wont be seen close up. Gonna work hard on the shaders for this one cause i reckon thatll make or break it.

This little guy is finished! Very low poly but i really like the way it turned out!

Peace

Dude

you have given me an idea for a creature - good man!! good start
Jay

I think I know which elephants you're referring to.

I expect something crazy from you!

Nice work! I'm normally not a violent person (really) but I want to hit those things across the legs with a baseball bat, they'd snap like toothpicks. Hahaha.

I couldnt agree more. Except i am a violent person....

Thanks for the kind words guys!

Heres my idea for a basic composition. The concept is that a child has somehow found his way to this surreal place by flying his "rocket ship". Im going to add heaps more detail to the environment and i have an idea for some monolith structures. Ill have the child poking out of the box complete with box helmet and gear! Some more creatures too, so ill get designing!

Peace Y'all

That is a fantastic concept. I'm very much looking forward to the synthesis of this piece. If I do have one crit... technically those beasts should be quadroliths??

Nice work some guy...very weird LOL...and yes I am with TD...I am a violent person too...cricket bat though stwert

reminds me of Linkin Park's video of Somewhere I Belong

New update! It was called Land of the Moniliths because i plan to have some monolithic structures in the shot in the far distance, like giant slabs of rock and granite.

More edits, Changed the ridiculous flares that the creatures had and started making buckethead! Also made the camera angle much more dynamic to give it a bigger sence of scale.

Take note that the creatures will be in much more dynamic poses and i plan on maybe having one leaning right down to inspect the kid.

Great start so far. Probably looks better now than mine will look completed.... And i like the whole "story behind the image" thing you have going on.

Very strange mate!!! Pink Floyd kinda feel to it! Im sorry but they look just like Roo ticks to me...just bigger legs..LOL sorry mate. Looks good so far...dig the concept too

cheers bullet

Please tell me they're gentle giants :x

Added the Monoliths! Also more detail on the kid, plus some atmosphere and camera tweaking.

haha they do look a little like ticks, harder to squish tho!
In my mind they are friendly, just curious about their new little buddy!

Post done in Photoshop BTW, the straight render doesnt quite have the same punch!

Peace

i like the new angle.

Im loving this - but the only thing I would change is the child - at first look you really can`t see what it is, apart from maybe a lamp - Not sure how you would fix it - maybe add a visable arm ?? Also change the pose on the creatures so they don`t all look the same.

But very strong image so far - well done

Please tell me they are not hehe

Saying that tweety...I reckon the bucket should tilt on opposite angle..giving the eye direction...angular irregularity will catch the eye. Then as the camera zooms in on the kids back...so you can see what it is...and as the tick bends over for a look...the bucket falls off...and the kid eats the tick...cool (Im joking both of you!))

I think the impact is, so fa,r something large and alien (the Dentist) is cruising in for a look.

LOL...serious mate it is a rather good pic...invokes childhood really..................

cheers bullet

huh, is it not a lamp? (:

I know but thats what it looks like :P

Anyway - just noticed the hand - looked at the image full rez - which does help sell the idea that its a kid - so sorry about that

How are you lighting this scene - its looking nice and soft

Hey! Thanks for all the input guys, its really appreciated! yeah the child has been bugging me, ive done some stuff here but im not really sure...

Lightings just 2 directional lights and a basic sphere for illumination. The softness is partly blurring in Photoshop and also a fluid container for atmosphere (edited from the Visor)

Got the creatures rigged up before class thismorning tho and im playing around with good poses. I want them to seem scary, dynamic and curious. just for reference, the 'feet' of the creatures could very easily cover the child and box...

Things im happy with!
-The box
-The creatures (minus poses)
-The basic composition
-Lighting (almost)

Going to change the kid, the landscape a little more and just doodle about. Ill have to finish THIS week to cause Uni has started again, should be fun!

Peace!

EDIT: also the camera is set to IMAX format for those interested. I really like the distorted sence of scale it gives, also looks really good rendered in HD!

A few crits from me if that's okay... I think the posing of the creatures was better before (it's too extreme now) just add a bit more variation. I'd expect that when walking, they wouldn't lift their feet very high. I don't really like the paint splotches on the bucket, especially since they run down... but it's upside-down. And it's the most colorful thing, so it's a bit distracting. Maybe have the child's face turned a bit more to the right so we see more profile, and for some reason I liked the creatures more when they were in the distance (i.e. took no notice of the child). Hope that's somewhat helpful.

changing the film back is a strange way to change the camera. I would suggest changing the focal length first.

Did someone say elephants?

I liked the bucket down on the head better

Some Guy, Just curious, but are you going to focus more on the characters instead of the environment?

@Stwert: Im not sure about the poses. I like the idea of one of the creatures taking notice and the way the two would be staring eachother off, more curious than agressive. I like the back left creatures pose, thats part of it walking. I might make the front one less agressive looking (hard cause it naturally has an agressive feel to it) and see what that does. As for the textures on the child, thats all placeholders for now untill i work out what i want :)

@Honestdom: This works for me atm! I dont really know enough about focal length and stuff to do it that way (Sad as i am a second year photography student... We are yet to cover lenses properly though)

@Elephantinc: I did it just for you ;)

@Tweety: Same, I was thinking about doing my original idea of a smaller cardboard box, or just adding a stickytaped antennae or something. Also it made the child look much younger, which fits with what i want more.

@THX: Im thinking environment more along the lines of the atmosphere and feel of an image, creating an environment of wonder and surreal imagery... (i think that string of words made sence :S )
That said i want to add heaps more detail to the foreground like rocks and stuff. Also I was thinking of having a planet or a moon really big in the background sky to make it seem more otherworldly.

Whew!

Toodle oo' all!

Its promising start. However......the child....I couldnt for the life of me figure out what it was I was looking at so I had to read the threads until I understood. I think a few adjustments for the child is needed because to me it doesnt compute as a child at a glance, there arent any features as such that stick out to say what it is.

otherwise its all neat

Jay

Focal length is the distance from the front of the lens to the sensor or film, so that corresponds to whether you have a telephoto, or a wide-angle etc. The shot you have there looks like it would quite a wide-angle shot, so a focal length of 18mm or something like that. Is that right, Dom?

For the child i am thinking make an obvious box helmet and make the hand a little more noticable (somehow)

The Focal Length is set to 35mm with a 90 Degree viewing angle. When you make a new camera i just scrolled through the options and set it to IMAX

yeah that sounds about right stwert.

you have a 35mm lens on a 70mm film back (imax). it looks completely different from a 35mm lens on a 35mm film. it looks super wide, like an 18.
what you are doing is like taking a photo and deciding you want to have a wider view. so instead of changing the lens, you keep the lens and change the camera body.
i guess there is nothing wrong with it as long as you know whats happening and why. its not a good habit to get into if you ask me.

Allo Allo!
Changed a whole buncha-muncha stuff!

Camera is now 35mm with a wide angle lens, personally i dont see much of a difference but hey, I've learnt something new! Added a planet to the background, changed the main creatures pose, added some foreground elements and re-did all of the lighting. The kid looks a little more like a kid but i still have some work to do. Thats about all for now.

Cheerio Lads/Ladies

Slightly different pose...

the front most creature looks better in the first shot i think.
In the second it looks like it's about to collapse

also in the first one, it doesn't look like the feet should be able to reach that high, it looks more like the feet would never leave a meter or two off the ground on a creature that big

would a position of suspicion be better SG...or maybe like a cat about to touch something unknown??? I agree the first shot was better, creatures 2 and 3 look better in the 2nd shot...more composed. The 1st creature..1st shot combined with creatures 2 and 3 in second shot would give it a more nomadic feel to it...where the main group is on a spring trail and 1 of them has spotted something that is unusual...just my thoughts...

I have taken both of your suggestions into account and produced this!
I might try it again but with the creature at the front low down again, shall see in the morning when im less sleepy...

That looks a lot better mate, for sure.

cheer bullet

Thanks!
Also here is a viewport shot for anybody interested. Right infront of the camera is all the foreground stuff, to get a sense of scale!