Southeast Side of the Western Slopes

[Thelby]

Do my eyes decieve me? It looks like yu have 2 lights in this! Totally acceptable as I use 3 and more most of the time, but turn off the shadows of all your lights except your main sunlight. I really do like the second one. You have nice variation and very good depth!!!

[Linda McCarthy]

@Kadri and Martin:  I've done it both ways and reallyl ike the soft almost painterly look that is acheived with the Cubic B-Spline, but I will use the narrow cubic filter or mitchell-netravalli on the version I'm almost ready to render.  By the way, what's the difference between the two (NCF & MN)?  Thanks for your feedback and recommendation.

@Mark:  Hey Mark, thanks for chiming in and for your kind words.  No, your eyes are working fine- I have 2 sunlights in this one..and am thinking of bringing in a 3rd.  Have been playing with the light (per Martin's suggestion) for an hour or so; sure makes a difference!

Thanks again,
Linda

[Tangled-Universe]

Totally acceptable as I use 3 and more most of the time, but turn off the shadows of all your lights except your main sunlight.

Please don't forget this Linda when using more than 1 light. Keep the main light at his original strength and use fill lights up to a strength of 0.4, not more in general. Generally around 0.25 will suffice.
Really looking forward to see your next iteration. I remember a post from Oshyan which deals with the different AA-filters. Will digg it up for you, a moment.

edit: here it is http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=5142.0

[TheBlackHole]

I agree: the image is too blurry. Try a sharper AA filter.

Perhaps you could stick to the narrow cubic filter or mitchell-netravalli, since the cubic b-spline is very soft.
You can always blur or soften in post, but good sharpening is a lot harder.

[Linda McCarthy]

Thank you, Martin and TheBlackHole.  I tried a test render with the mitchell-netravalli, and I liked the results..so, it's the filter I'm going with this time.
@Martin: I just decreased the strength of my fill light (decided not to add a 3rd) before I started my large render.  Thanks for that and for all your help.
Linda

[choronr]

Hi Linda, I'm just spending some time going through and trying to catch up in the forum. You are doing very well; and, glad to see that Martin has jumped in and giving some great help. I've learned a lot from this young fellow; and, really appreciate the time he spends with us newbies.

[Linda McCarthy]

Hi Bob,
Thanks for your words of encouragement. 
I'm grateful for the help I've gotten from Martin and a few other and also very appreciative of the help you and John have given me.  I think I'm finally hooked.  Haven't fashioned a fractal for days now.  Trouble is I could spend every waking moment on this.
Linda

Hi Linda, I'm just spending some time going through and trying to catch up in the forum. You are doing very well; and, glad to see that Martin has jumped in and giving some great help. I've learned a lot from this young fellow; and, really appreciate the time he spends with us newbies.

[choronr]

Hi Bob,
Thanks for your words of encouragement. 
I'm grateful for the help I've gotten from Martin and a few other and also very appreciative of the help you and John have given me.  I think I'm finally hooked.  Haven't fashioned a fractal for days now.  Trouble is I could spend every waking moment on this.
Linda

Hi Linda, I'm just spending some time going through and trying to catch up in the forum. You are doing very well; and, glad to see that Martin has jumped in and giving some great help. I've learned a lot from this young fellow; and, really appreciate the time he spends with us newbies.

Both you and Markal are well on your way ...its fun to see your progress.

[Malcolm79]

Well, here's the latest version of a few more efforts at improvement.
@ Martin:  Changed the light heading and elevation, added a 2nd sun- directionally opposite from the 1st.  Also worked more on the terrain.  No fake stone shader for this render; still need to implement your suggestion for varied sizes.
@ Malcolm:  Is the lake more a focal point now? 
Thanks again!
Linda

Linda! Your artwork is much better! Very well done!
Attaching a picture that I use to create compositions. Perhaps it is useful to you?

[Linda McCarthy]

Thank you, Malcolm- for your kind words and for the "Golden Rule."
I know it will serve me well in my TG2 exploration.  I appreciate this useful tool.  Linda

[/quote]

Linda! Your artwork is much better! Very well done!
Attaching a picture that I use to create compositions. Perhaps it is useful to you?
[/quote]

[Linda McCarthy]

Well, here is my latest result.  I know the clouds need work.
Changed the lighting, made the plants & trees smaller and changed the terrain & rock texture some.
Thank you for the suggestions for improvement you've offered thus far.  I really appreciate the help.
I wish all of you a Happy New Year!
Linda

[EoinArmstrong]

Loving this thread and your progression, Linda - I am in the habit of only 1 'light', but also have GI and a weaker AO on.  Mabe my foliage wouldn't be so damn dark with additional lighting - lol.

You latest is your best, and the lighting on the foliage is exquisite - the clouds look like they've been hit with a strong(ish) unsharp mask in post-pro.  Do you do any post-pro?

[choronr]

Well, here is my latest result.  I know the clouds need work.
Changed the lighting, made the plants & trees smaller and changed the terrain & rock texture some.
Thank you for the suggestions for improvement you've offered thus far.  I really appreciate the help.
I wish all of you a Happy New Year!
Linda

Now this is looking real sweet! Tweaking can become a wonderful thing. Just finished downloading Win 7 and the latest version of TG2. But now, I'm temporarily confused - hope to be back soon.

Bob

[Linda McCarthy]

Thanks muy mucho, Eoin and Bob!  I appreciate the encouragement.
@Eoin:  I do sharpen post-render in PS.  Yes, too much, I think..on the clouds.  I also need to adjust the lighting (too harsh for the clouds) and still manage to keep the light and shadow on the terrain and vegetation..as is.  Suggestions anyone?
@Bob:  I hope your confusion is short-lived..and that you'll be back with us soon.  Win 7, eh?  Let me know how it goes.
Thanks again,
Linda

[Tangled-Universe]

Much much better now I really like the way you've progressed this image, well done Linda!
The strata really adds interest to the terrain I think. Especially in the foreground it looks really nice.
Next time you could try to break the strata-pattern a bit up by blending it with a powerfractal (with negative color-offset).

I'm not as good in clouds as Frank for example, but my suggestion would be to either:

1) reduce cloud color and scatter color (I'd go for scatter first).
2) reduce the glow amount to 0.25 and power to ~0.5 for example.
glow amount = how the glow is distributed over the atmosphere/clouds. The lower the value the more evenly distributed. The higher the value the more glow closer to the lightsource.
The glow power then regulates how strong that glow is.
3) you could try to reduce the enviro light strength in the cloud-node. Although I think the first 2 options should be explored first because I "believe" more in those solutions.

Good luck and keep it up!

Martin