At Peace (Possible NDWA Entry) (Fourth Render)

[Zylot]

An image of a grassy field, a few sparse trees, and a soft painted sky.

Ok, so I'm looking at that lousy square in the sky above he trees on the right and shaking my fix.  I like the rest of the formations and don't want a new seed, but I saw this spot and now it sticks out like a sore thumb :/

This new grass sure is good stuff.

[RArcher]

You could use a transform shader and just move the entire formation a little to the side so it is out of view.

[Zylot]

...

and that's why they pay you the big bucks!

[rcallicotte]

More translucency in the grass, due to the sun's angle.  The grass stems look plastic, so it's either more translucency or less reflectivity.  Nice angle and I like the setting.

[tumasch]

This new grass sure is good stuff.

Yeah, right.
I like your picture! Two things struck my eye, nonetheless. The clouds have a slight lilac touch, but perhaps that's just my screen. And I'd actually like to see more of the view so a slightly different angle would probably show more of the far sight.

[Mohawk20]

Such realism in the grass!

[Phylloxera]

I think that it is good low to improve without any doubt!

[Zylot]

Taking the solid advice above, here's your:

New sky, less purple, less squares
Improved surfaces, though it's hard to see through the..
..less shiny grass, and more distant grass for consistency.

Now with a windmill, and new lighting.

[rcallicotte]

What is the grey on the ground in the foreground? 

You know what this reminds of?  That painting by Wyeth, where the girl is in the field.  You know the one?

[Zylot]

Stones, making them look better is the next step. 

Also: Yessir I do recall the painting, at least, if it's the one I am thinking of.

[domdib]

The grass is looking v good. To my eye the windmill is too central - gives it too much weight in the composition. And the distant hills seem a bit too small - I'd push them up just a little. Also, a few meadow flowers here and there wouldn't go amiss.

[rcallicotte]

@Zylot - Not to take away from your work, but I didn't know he had passed away this past January. 

This was the painting I was thinking of - http://hodgeblodge.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/christinas_world.jpg 

[Zylot]

Yeah that's the one!  Wow, I did not know this either..

[Zylot]

So where are we:

I original was debating flowers back and forth.. and here's why.  This grass... is gold, it's quality is unmatched.  I was very worried that any flowers would not be able to stand their ground against the grass and would end up looking cheesy.  I was..  very right, as 3 test renders showed.  So, the best bet was to throw them in patches in the distance where they are not seen in detail, more hinted at.  I'm still unsure if I like the effect...

Other changes are obvious, surfacing, addition of a cottage, so forth.

[FrankB]

This has definitly impoved a lot. The flowers are looking good mixed into the distance.
However, there's something not optimal with the lighting overall, especially with the foreground. I think you need more shadow, to give the area with the grasses more depth.
Do you happen to use any ambient occlusion in this render? Lastly, I'm wondering if the image coud be improved a tad by elevating the camera another meter or so... Just a thought.

Cheers,
Frank