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# 46 31-07-2006 , 05:54 PM

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yeah, this is looking excellent. I kind of like the ball and I think maybe a rusty old tricycle would look cool too and definitely help put across your ideas.

At the moment the only thing that isn't really doing it for me is the skeleton hand. It just seems a bit obvious and the way that the fingers are reaching upward (what's holding the bones up?) doesn't seem to work with the realism of the rest of the scene.

Good work mat! user added image

arran3D

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# 47 31-07-2006 , 06:33 PM

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I know what you mean arran, the hand's been bothering me for a while. I'm not really too sure what to do about that at the moment, I've tried putting it in various places and poses but I've never been happy with the result which is why is is still in that original position. I'll definately try a few more ideas before I ditch it completely though.

Cheers,

Mat.

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# 48 31-07-2006 , 07:16 PM

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Well perhaps you can have the bones sticking out of the ground, more like out of the dirt. You know slightly covered by dirt, and the winds blowing away parts of it, revealing the remains, something like you would find on an archeology dig. But overall, even without the hand, you have created a very powerfull and atmospheric piece, and it can definately stand on its own. user added image

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# 49 01-08-2006 , 03:20 PM

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Thanks vizion.

With all this talk of moving the hand I finally got round to it for this render, there is no guarantee that it will stay there though!! I've done a bunch of small tweaky stuff and a few bigger bits today, probably the most noticable of which are that the paving slabs are textured and I've made a tricycle.

Cheers,

Mat.

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# 50 01-08-2006 , 03:21 PM

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The low quality of the render doesn't really show the trike very well so here's a close up of it.

Mat.

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# 51 02-08-2006 , 12:27 PM

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Hello,

I think that I'm reaching the end of the scene, I'll probably tinker around with the textures a bit more but I'm going to start to focus on the lighting and rendering side of things. There was a bunch more stuff that I wanted to put in the scene but I think that if I add much more to it things could start to look a little crowded, I may still decide to add more though.

Ground fog or no ground fog, that is the question.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Mat.

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# 52 02-08-2006 , 02:08 PM

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hey Mat,

maybe it is just me but I like the affect of what you was going with early without all the grass ..but just me ....I liked the dreary effect ... brought out your combination of words and more powerful ....

maybe it is just me ...but as a whole you have done an excellant job

also maybe just me ....the antenna on the roof ..well it looks like no one has been there awhile and thought to add to affect broken or leaning down ...

or cobwebs on the water spout ...just me thinking but it is amazing to be that good

Last edited by mmoore5553; 02-08-2006 at 02:10 PM.

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# 53 02-08-2006 , 02:52 PM

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Thanks mmoore,

I've not put any more grass on the scene, the new look is particle based ground fog. I was wondering wether to keep it or not, I'll probably try to thin it out a little, maybe that'll help.

If you look at the earlier posts, you'll see that the aerial was good as new but I have broken it a little. More damage needed, gotcha!!

There are a few final touches like cobwebs and a drip of something or other coming from the spout that I have planned. They can wait until the end, the icing on the cake if you like.

Thanks for your ideas,

Mat.

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# 54 02-08-2006 , 02:57 PM

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oh okay GREAt work

hope i dont sound too harsh or just harping over stuff ...i really have liked the overall progress and far better than anything i can do at the moment ... user added image

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# 55 02-08-2006 , 03:25 PM

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I always appreciate any feedback or crit that's given about my work, it's sometimes difficult to make any progress without an outside opinion.

So thanks for your words they've made me think about the picture a bit more.

Cheers,

Mat.

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# 56 02-08-2006 , 03:49 PM

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My only crit is that there are no shadows.

Shadows would greatly increase your intended affect, with or without fog. user added image

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# 57 02-08-2006 , 04:51 PM

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only a few things i think i would like to see (or changed)...

the tricycle looks good and was a great recommendation/add, but i think it would sell better if one of the back wheels had fallen off (from being rusty) and so it was tilted back...

the only other thing that bugs me is the texture of the ground... if think if it were repeated more the smaller iterations might look better, or maybe if (and this one would be a bit of work) it were dry, cracked ground instead. the fog works well to add a bit of atmosphere, and (i think it's because of the texture on the ground) the shadows are a bit understated... but i do see them. user added image

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# 58 02-08-2006 , 05:28 PM

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Excellent comments, thanks.

As NeoStrider pointed out, there are shadows in the picture but they could do with a little/lot more definition. I'll sort this out when I set up the lighting for the final render (which I'm going to have a crack at next).

You could be onto something with the rear wheels on the tricycle, I think that if I remove one of them it could be more effective. You also mention the ground, this has been causing me a headache from the start. I eventually found a shader (DENFO EARTH ) which I adjusted and added a fractal bump map to but it does look a little cartoony close up. I may well try again to get that 'parched earth' look, if anyone has any ideas on how I would go about it (short of painting the entire ground texture in phtoshop) I'd really appreciate it. I've checked on the net for high res cracked earth photos but found nothing suitable, I've also had a go at making a seamless tile in Genetica but wasn't happy with the end result, too repetetive.

Cheers again,

Mat.

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# 59 02-08-2006 , 06:29 PM

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well i found some decent reference images here...

https://www.accustudio.com/exchange/t....php?dir=earth

most are 512X512, but some are bigger. they also have a nice tile preview so you can get a better idea of a tiled texture (although they're not seamless shots)

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# 60 02-08-2006 , 06:45 PM

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Much appreciated NeoStrider,

that tile preview is really helpful. I'll see what I can do with them tomorrow, for now I have 'A History of Violence' to watch, I read the graphic novel a long time ago it'll be interesting to see if the film is anything like how I remember it.

Take it easy,

Mat.

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