"It's just a job!"

[ratfugel]

When posting, I thought, 'I bet I get some stick for this'  However, in my own defence, what this type of image merely says to me is   'Is Terragen for making pictures or just satisfying an urge to see if some technical aspect of the program can be performed or not?'  When I look at some of the images here I wonder what the author was actually trying to achieve. Is he going to carry on and use what he's found out and then incorporate that into a memorable picture? Mostly, I guess not. Here I merely used TG3 as a base and then added some life to the image by a bit of work on CS6.  I have no doubt my thoughts will probably upset some of the TG pundits, but that's surely what image sharing is all about? In the end everybody does his own thing and with luck, enjoys the result.

rat  (With tongue firmly in cheek)

[yossam]

I like it..............

[Kadri]

I like it too

Just curious about the postwork involved.
Any chance for posting the original Terragen render?

[cyphyr]

I agree completely.
Terragen is a tool and like any other artists tool needs to be used appropriately.
Mix it up with other software as much as it takes to get the image you want.  No single piece of software will ever be the "goto" solution for all our image creation needs.
Great image by the way.
Two crits (hope you don't mind), the ship looks to be taking on a LOT of water, looks like the water plane is cutting through the hull maybe and the "drop shadow" on the border ... either loose it or make it much smaller, it seriously detracts from an otherwise great picture (imnvho)

Richard

[archonforest]

Fully agree with above and I really like the picture

[ratfugel]

Thanks for response. Hope I haven't upset too many folks.  I'm assuming little ships like this do actually take on a lot of water.  (That's why they have holes in the thwarts to let it out again). Got your point about the surround. Worries me sometimes about posting bare images.  Maybe I should recant before I get burnt at the stake.

rat.

[Oshyan]

I think you're getting overall good feedback and I wouldn't worry to much about the "purist" element. The image looks nice to me, the post work is in this case very effective and adds to the image. Sometimes that's not the case with post work and it may be criticized, but sometimes added 3D models (figures, say) also don't improve the composition and will be likewise criticized. I think in the end if an image looks good, people will enjoy and compliment it, no matter how it was achieved. The only other "rule" would be that to stay "on topic" for a TG forum, the image should naturally have a good bit of TG in it.

- Oshyan

[TheBadger]

I dig this a lot!

And I too would like to see the raw render. Not because of any purist bent, but because I would like to see how much distance there is between the render and the finished work.

"Tongue in cheek"
Not sure which part of your post is meant to be un-serious, or maybe you meant the work. But I think its a seriously emotive image. I mean the image packs some punch for sure!

As a crit, and though its "just a job", I think if you got rid of those blue skys (which don't make much sense *to me*). And used some beams to light the important parts more dramatically, as well as fixed up some of the details, then this image would really be art, and not just a "job".

Very cool anyway. 

[Dune]

I love it, and indeed it shows that you may get better results with some (or a lot of) postwork. So I totally agree, and second Michael's second line; do show the raw render, as it's good to understand the extra work involved. Especially for stills, post is an 'easy' (watch the hyphens) way to make things better, but for animation, one would strive for the most internal effectiveness.

[ratfugel]

Right. (Plan A).  This is the original render.  As you can see the boat is dead in the water and Terragen's sea gets nowhere as rough as I want it to be. Sky's crap too.  So, start over.  Tilt the whole thing to begin with, re-angle the boat to a more acceptable position and put a new set of clouds in, modifying the lighting as I go along, to highlight the boat.  I tried creating a very lowering sky, but that obscured the sun. No good, so back to square one. This time it let the light through and gave the boat some substance.  The boat itself then required an overhaul, which it duly got.  No point in going further with the water until the boat looked a bit better. Now came the clever bit.  The stormy sea.  If you cannot get on with the Wacom pen and tablet you'll never get to the drawing stage in Photoshop. Mice are for cats, not drawing.  Water, to say the least is a tedious thing to draw.  I used to know one of the very best seapiece artists, Montague Dawson, no less and he told me the only way to draw and paint water is to look at it for a long time and get the foamy effect quite clear in your head. Ergo, I got stuck in and you can see the result. Patience is not only a virtue, 'tis a necessity.
rat.

[j meyer]

Now that we can see the original render this became very interesting.
Thanks for showing both! In case you have some inbetween stages
don't hesitate to post those ,too.

[Kadri]

Thanks for sharing this stage too.
It is not only about the final stage ,it is how you got there too.
At least for me. Nice work

[choronr]

Thanks for your detailed descriptions and eloquent comments. Love what you've done here.

[TheBadger]

I like the raw render too. The OP has all the drama and impact. But the raw image is quite nice on its own. Actually based on what you wrote I thought there would be almost nothing to the render, I thought maybe the boat was added in post. So its pretty cool to see the before and after. Always fun!

[zaxxon]

Nicely done! The painting in post is colorful and romantic.