River Jordan

Markal · August 16, 2011, 04:32:49 PM

Zolig - (brown shrubs) Aymenk 2003
Bush 3b - Mr_Lampost
Planit_Plants - (flowers x3) Drew Castigan
GC2 - (ground cover) by unknown
Fig Tree - by unknown
Planetary grass shader clip file - DandelO
Yeah...it takes all of these nice guys to help me make an image

Thanks!

Tangled-Universe · August 16, 2011, 04:42:22 PM

Looks great Mark! Fresh work, like it

I wonder if you tried to add displacement as well to the image mapped textures? Especially on the left part that might look great!?

dandelO · August 16, 2011, 05:27:39 PM

Beautiful fore-to-mid ground! Lovely render!

Not keen on the image mapped mountains, I'd say to stick some fractals up there in place of them.
I believe there's a time and place for image maps but on huge features like mountains, that isn't the place.

That's my only crit' about this pic, looks great otherwise.

Henry Blewer · August 16, 2011, 05:30:47 PM

The image maps would be nice to blend in with the procedural textures, to enhance the color. This would also breakup to image maps for more realism.
The scene itself, plants, light, and the landscape are really beautiful.

Dune · August 17, 2011, 02:46:51 AM

I like the richness of this render, but I have some crits as well, if you don't mind. If you do, I'll shut up in future. The white flowers in the foreground are nice, but it seems like they extend to higher ground and distance as well; these tiny white dots distract. The sky isn't my favorite sky for a rich picture like this, too 'busy'. The guys are right about the rocks, better use procedurals. And one more thing about the water; I would decrease the waves, they are too evenly spread for a small pond. I think it would benefit from totally calm water (especially near the shores), with a few streaks of waves in the open water, like the wind is just gliding through a gap in the shrub and ruffling the water.

EoinArmstrong · August 17, 2011, 03:14:46 AM

I like the object placement and water, but agree the img surfaces are only partly effective

Henry Blewer · August 17, 2011, 12:17:14 PM

You can get nice waves by using the wind patch effect. You'll need to know how large the horizontal coverage is. Use the measure tool at the top of the preview window. Use this value doubled or even tripled for the wind patch size. Increase the coverage until this looks right to you.
I use this to break up the smooth water surface in places.

Oshyan · August 17, 2011, 03:35:18 PM

I really love the initial impression of this image. It's a bit different than your usual Markal, but still has your signature style. There is a real impression of spring time, yet with the planet and clouds it's "otherworldly" as well. However I do agree with Dune that the clouds are a bit "busy" and distracting. The ground work is very striking and beautiful and I think it needs a simple sky to emphasize it and keep the eye from jumping around too much. Overall a great scene.

- Oshyan

Markal · August 17, 2011, 06:38:53 PM

I can't remember if I ever re-worked an image after posting...but, I'm going to give this one a try. You guys gave some great feedback and I agree with all of it...my only problem is, I'm still learning TG2 and many times I make adjustments with little knowledge of what I'm changing. Its almost like luck....sometimes I get lucky and other times I start over. Like I said above....it takes a lot of nice guys to help me make an image. Hopefully with all this expertise I'll make this a real good one. Just don't ask for any collaberative credit

Thanks so much!!

Henry Blewer · August 17, 2011, 09:42:54 PM

Luck is a skill. Anyway, before you go making a change. just save the tgd file. Not everything I try out works either. Actually most things I try out do not work. Save is wonderful.

Dune · August 18, 2011, 03:32:17 AM

QuoteI can't remember if I ever re-worked an image after posting

That's why I often post initial stages (sometimes the most ugly iterations), just to get some feedback. A fresh outside look from people lurking here may bring unexpected ideas.

inkydigit · August 18, 2011, 06:19:10 AM

I echo the above, Mark, and look forward to seeing the next one!

TheBadger · August 19, 2011, 03:19:08 AM

The foreground is so rich! But I agree with whats been said about using the image map. Is it possible to replace the map with a power frac and get the same look, or would that change the whole image?

Markal · August 26, 2011, 12:34:03 AM

River Jordan 2,
Removed the image map on the cliffs.
Re-did the busy clouds.
Lowered the vegetation so the white flowers would not distract.
Reworked the water a bit.
Thanks for all the suggestions and yes, you guys were right, I think it looks better.

:) · August 26, 2011, 01:17:16 AM

You show many stratified mountains but one in middle is uplifted. How could just one be uplifted (at sloping angle) when all rest are flat? This not follow normal geology.