I figure I should throw my hat in the ring and start up my own WIP thread.
Hello!! I really like it, one of the most stable form I've seen.. It's without artifacts and realistic, good blending of noise and strata.. Very good start my friend!! ;) ;D
Those strata layers are really nice!
Indeed! Keep it going.
Very nice, I am sure this will progress nicely
I think I'm leaning towards a Cliffs of Moher style cliff.
This one is a quick version from up above the cliff tops looking off towards the horizon. I added a granite shader as well as a single population of grass to give the top some basic texture and color. I've spent some time working on general shapes for my cliff wall, a lot of pressing the random seed button, since I want to improve the variation that I have in the cliff structures. I also need to do more work on the coloring and texturing for the cliff wall to get more realistic variety.
How know, since there's a lot of time left I might go in a completely different direction.
Interesting. Cliffs of Moher was something I stumbled upon a few days ago, and would be an interesting challenge. Good luck to you too.
I've been working on the shapes of my cliff so that my scene deserves to be in the same competition as the awesome working being done by my competitors. I've made some progress on making more well defined features that look as if they have seen years by the sea, but there's a long way to go.
And doing quite well!
Distance is getting smaller ;)
:)
A great sense of scale. The cliffs are a bit soft to my taste though.
This is coming on apace. I look forward to seeing where it goes.
Hi, I really like the fact that you take on the challenge of these rather unspectacular rock formations.
At least in comparison to the "Rockgarden Wonders of the World", so to speak. I hope you get what I mean ???
I think as an artist you have to be very precise and thoughtful to make this kind of scene appealing.
Very curious where this leads to.
For now I would lighten up the shadow areas with a second sunlight (Shadows Off and Atmosphere Off).
A lot of details gets lost (on my computer screen at least).
CHeers, Klaus
I bet that increasing the environment light's strength looks way better than using a second sun.
Sorry, Klaus, I had to write this, since this has been discussed quite often.
Maybe it's a matter of taste, but using a second sun might be good for a scene with... well, two suns. To me the lighting looks quite flat, when a second sun is used to lighten up the scene.
So why not using the (more or less!!!!) real thing?
I never tried that. But I will the next time.
When I use a second sun I use very small values. Thought it worked most of the time.
The two pics I posted (you said - ice-like structures) have a second sunlight in them.
But thanks for pointing that out.
CHeers, Klaus
Thanks, all.
For the time being I'm trying to develop a robust surfacing for the vertical cliff surfaces than can be used as a base to build a more complex scene in lighting, coloring, objects etc. For these next two I did some fine tuning of the vertical surfacing, and hit the random seed buttons a few times, and played a bit with the scene lighting to give a bit more light in the shadows. So far the surfacing seems reasonably adaptable although, occasionally, the displacement from the main redirect shader gives extreme overhangs such as the one in the upper left in WIP - 8.
Quote from: Hannes on February 01, 2018, 08:17:12 PM
I bet that increasing the environment light's strength looks way better than using a second sun.
Sorry, Klaus, I had to write this, since this has been discussed quite often.
Maybe it's a matter of taste, but using a second sun might be good for a scene with... well, two suns. To me the lighting looks quite flat, when a second sun is used to lighten up the scene.
So why not using the (more or less!!!!) real thing?
also upping the exposure really really helped my last image. You have to remember that the final image is virtually being shot by a camera and camera settings can really help an image along.
I haven't had too much time to work on this project the last week. I've worked a bit on adding more variety to the cliff displacement and I've also made some progress with the lighting to improve the detail in the shadows. I like the detail and depth that the pock-mark texture provides in the shaded areas, but more variety is necessary. I also should add variety with the large voronoi cracks, break them up and perhaps merge in a different seed so they're not all connected.
To give a better sense of scale for the cliff wall I added a basic beach. I hit random seed on the cliff shape to change up the scene and to test how the rock surfacing looks on differently shaped terrain. I kind of like the sandy beach at the foot of the cliffs so I might look at going towards a Twelve Apostles (Australia) style cliff.
That is looking great!
For this next iteration I tried a little bit of a completely different perspective with the camera sitting at the shoreline looking down the beach/cliff instead of directly at it. I like this perspective more than the head on version, although I'll have to go ham on the random seed button to find a cliff setup I'm satisfied with. Currently, the beach is actually a separate planet so I'll have to do some masking or population editing once I have the cliff finalized to avoid trees sitting where they shouldn't. I also think I need to add a sea-stack or two since they are just cool.
This is coming along nicely
Looks really nice.
Looking good.
Nice work ! :)
Love everything about this one so far! Very nice beach!
Each render is better than the previous so you're heading in the right direction; Keep On Tweaking
Thanks, everyone!
For this next on I tweaked pretty much everything. I'm not sold on the 5:2 aspect ratio for this one, which was done to give some room in the scene for an eventual seastack, and might revert back to 2:1. I really like how having even a basic water surface enhances the tropical feel vs the old blue default shader.
Unfortunately, one of the tree poulations I'm working with doesn't have a very detailed trunk, it is low poly with a noticably repeating pattern for the image shader. The palm fronds on the model look so good, but I might have to relegate the population to the background.
A spiffy powerfractal shader might help that trunk, bypass default and make one? Nice work!
Even with (free) Poseray you could double the poly count on that trunk. Even if you need to split the trunk and leaves first to 2 objects (then double the trunk), then recombine again (just open both at the same time and give a new name). Lots you can do with PR.
Quote from: Dune on February 20, 2018, 02:19:07 AM
Even with (free) Poseray you could double the poly count on that trunk. Even if you need to split the trunk and leaves first to 2 objects (then double the trunk), then recombine again (just open both at the same time and give a new name). Lots you can do with PR.
Additionally or instead you can displace the split off trunk which also adds polys, with it's bump map. I've had some success doing that to make beach logs.
I was busy at work this week so I decided to render the next iteration a bit bigger.
Fortunately, I managed to solve my tree trunk issue so the troublesome tree population can stay. I've done a little work on the undergrowth to add some more variation. I've spent most of the time this past week tweaking the water surface: adding foam on the shore, tweaking the color, and some setup for a reef.
Nice update!
Are these rocks are blue nodes? Just asking as never managed to do anything similar like this.
Nice and Crisp
Archonforest, the rocks face is pretty much a the entire terragen kitchen sink. The main displacements are from a trio redirect shaders, at different scales for different levels of detail, buried under three layers of voronoi for the cracked surfaces. On top of that I have a few more, small scale, redirect shaders and image maps to provide small scale detail.
It's going to be a very nice cliff render. Maybe you should have another look at the colors of the cliff face, maybe greyer with patches of algae, not as uniform as it's now.
Thanks, Ulco! Recoloring the cliff face is certainly on the list for updates.
I haven't had too much time to make updates the past couple days so I just decided to render another bigger version with minimal updates. I've added trees on top of the cliff, so it's not quite so empty up there, and I also did some work on the cliff surface adding in some grey and green to break up the brown surface. I think the green may be a bit too prominent but I want to have a good appearance of moss and algae.
Cliff face is much better now. For me a bit more grey can be added, but if it's really wet atmo this works very well. I also like your gentle surf (procedural?) and the sand ripples. Great work so far!
An image that encourages us to take our holidays for the south.
Wow, beautiful!! I agree with Ulco, the cliffs could be a bit more grey. And maybe a tad brighter?
Thanks, folks! I'll experiment with adding more grey to the cliff surface. The surf is a white surface layer masked by a warped, stretched power fractal as well as a number of warped simple shape shaders to keep the waves exactly where I want them along the shore.
Thanks for explaining. That's the way I'd do it too.
This is coming along nicely
Here's an attempt at increasing coverage of the grey surfaceing on the cliff while slightly reducing the lichens. Personally, I miss the brown a little bit but I need to see if greater light/dark variation in the grey (since it's pretty mono-colored) changes my mind.
Like it!
I want to go here.
Good surfacing on the cliffs and great sand texture.
I've been working on the beach a bit to get some more variation in the sand texturing as well as the general shape on the slight sand dunes. I've also made the water slightly less green. I'm starting to run out of things I want to tweak so I might have to work on the sky a bit.
Stunning! The rocks are still quite dark. Makes it look mysterious.
What about soft shadows? There are very sharp shadows inside the palm trees, which look a bit strange.
Thanks!
I'm kind of trying to create the natural look of a beach on a bright sunny day where your eyes have trouble seeing a lot of detail in the shadows due to being adjusted for the bright sunlight. However, the dark shadows cover over half of my cliffs so I probably want to make sure they're visible!
The soft shadows are activated with the default diameter of 0.5 degrees. I've been trying to find the cause of those sharp shadows and I think I've narrowed it down to the displacement map on that section of the tree model. I'm going to do some crop renders to test my theory this evening after work.
Beach is definitely looking better (very good now). The shadows don't look too dark to me, and I like the idea of a high contrast, bright sunlight scene... but I'd say the actual lighting is not bright enough for that. ;) In fact I think it lacks dynamic range overall, aside from that narrow strip of bright sky. Unless that sand is intentionally very dark, then I think there's some underexposure going on. I've attached a quick reprocessing just from the JPG that seems more like the range of brightnesses I'd expect in a scene like that (even with a few scattered tropical clouds). Of course the results could be much better from an original EXR or render elements, this is just to give you an idea of what the scene suggests in my mind's eye. It may not be what you actually intend. :D
- Oshyan
Agree with Oshyan.
Oshyan, that is the sort of image I was picturing in my head and I like the adjustments you've made. I've been putting off playing with any EXR settings but I should probably get around to it sooner rather than later!
I could imagine, that increasing the environment light a bit would help.
I think increasing enviro light would just make the shadows look too bright. Maybe just a matter of preference. I'd go for increasing the sunlight or overall exposure, honestly (along with contrast, either in render or post, ideally in post). Anyway, a lot of this can be done in post in the EXR. :D
- Oshyan
Cliff face is well done indeed.
I've done some tests with increasing the exposure as well as EXR tweaks with the results posted in the image below. What are your thoughts?
On my home computer screen I like the middle one, only an exposure increase, the best. The bottom one, with the EXR tweaks, has more light in the shadows than I intend and is starting to blow out the sand on the beach. More testing of the EXR settings can probably improve the results, but I haven't gotten that far yet.
100% agree, the 2-tick exposure increase looks best to me. It better maintains the dynamics of the scene. What you get in the "sight EXR tweaks" version looks very much like Photoshop's default HDR processing, which frankly sucks (their fault, not yours). What I'd do if you really want to fine tune it yourself (even after you do the 2-tick exposure increase) is open it in Photoshop, save as a 32bit/channel TIFF, then do "Open As" (File Menu) and change the file type selector lower-right to Camera Raw, and then open your .tif. This will give you all the control that Camera Raw has, but on your Terragen image. Way more powerful and integrated and non-destructive than any of Photoshop's other functions in regular edit mode. Alternatively you can try adjustment layers.
- Oshyan
The middle one. 8)
Definitely.
I agree. Though I still think, you could increase the env light just a bit to brighten up the very dark areas on the left.
Cool tip, Oshyan. I put it into my "Good to know"-folder.
I'm toying with ways to make the background more interesting. So far, my leading idea is the current pair of islands at different distances to give more depth to the scene. I'm also starting to work on the clouds to make the sky more lively.
The rendering is better and the addition of cloud and other shorelines make it a more vivid than any other in this series. It seems to me therefore more realistic.
I'd say the clouds look a bit overexposed.
I really like the added islands, definitely adds that sense of depth! Of course it also changes the feeling of the scene, it is less "lonely" and "alone" now. But that is not necessarily a bad thing.
The clouds do look a bit "overexposed" or just not very thick, and in the tropics I tend to see fluffier, "wetter" clouds with a bit more gray. I'd be curious if you have adjusted the colors at all and if so whether the "Max albedo" shown in the cloud Colour tab is above 100. If so you generally want to avoid that for a realistically exposed scene.
That being said since you are exposing for the ground here, and it is a decent brightness, it's possible the sky is overexposed as a result. This is common in photography. If there is extra detail to be had in the EXR then post processing will bring that out. If not, then I'd say the clouds lack some detail.
- Oshyan
I fully agree that the clouds are over-exposed, fortunately they're far from final. I just like sharing updates!
The cloud coloring and lighting is default with the max albedo sitting at 100%. The light from the sun will be a little tricky to balance since the sun is just 3 degrees above the upper right-hand corner of the image, so the clouds are getting absolutely blasted with light.
Guessing you're still tweaking the clouds, but the rest of the scene is stellar by my eye..keep on tweaking.
I like the islands too, very good addition. I hope you can get a decent sky in.
I've finally gotten a render together with some improved, but not yet final, clouds. Unfortunately, the combination of the clouds and all the populations is pushing my computer to the limit so I might have to resort to Pixel Plow for my final render. I'm experiencing a funky shadow on the young palm population on the left hand side of the image so I'll have to track down what is causing that. I also want to add more variety to the terrain on the near island.
That is a pretty image Jeff. You have a good shot at another notch in your belt with this one. Good luck
Thanks, Danny!
Beautifull picture! The shadow in part left are excellent for me, Nice detail and variation on the cliff!
Beautiful scene! Good luck!
cant see any problem with the shadow. looks top notch.
Quote from: Gannaingh on March 27, 2018, 07:55:10 PM
I've finally gotten a render together with some improved, but not yet final, clouds. Unfortunately, the combination of the clouds and all the populations is pushing my computer to the limit so I might have to resort to Pixel Plow for my final render. I'm experiencing a funky shadow on the young palm population on the left hand side of the image so I'll have to track down what is causing that. I also want to add more variety to the terrain on the near island.
Ok I think to see what you mean about some leaf of the young population of palm. It sounds subtle for me, but I have no idea if the judges could diminish the score of your image.
Here is an update with the shadow issue fixed and some minor tweaks to the near island.
heh heh, you and Hannes with your lovely beach renders are making this. unending it seems winter. intolerable...well done
I'm also greatly looking forward to more summer-like weather!
For this update I've been working on the vegetation on the cliff walls to give a bit more texture. Overall I'm running out of things I want to improve so I might be nearing a final version.
I like that subtle touch, and overall it's a very pleasant image. Good luck.
There seems to be something odd in the trunk texture of the foremost palm.
Upper half, that horizontal 'thing'. Can't figure out what that is.
Other than that, nicely done image.
Well crafted and beautifully rendered, peaceful yet vibrant. Very well done!
A very worthy entry :) Nice vegetation addition, subtle foam looks good. Good luck!
Thanks, everybody!
The work on the left picture with the shadows was impressive but I prefer the right part of your image in this format.
I agree! When I make a 16x9 desktop wallpaper of the final image I think I'll pick pretty much the section you've shown, maybe shifted the the left a bit, but pretty much the center section of the image.
Here is my final entry. I didn't end up changing much of anything besides the final render size and the addition of a little photoshop sharpening and softening. Thanks for watching, good luck everybody!
That really is very good.
Great composition and realistic weathered cliffs.
Best of luck.
Great. It'll indeed be a tough nut to crack this year.
Looks great!!
Looks good.
Amazing. So crisp. There are so many great entries!
Mission accomplished here really! My oh my where did you get those clouds? Nice finished entry! Good Luck!
Yow! The subtle detail in those cliffs (and the plants on them) is just fantastic.
P.S. Found an old Polaroid of a beach I used to visit... ;D (I hope you don't mind Jeff!)
[attach=1]
- Oshyan
;D
Excellent piece of work.Well done.
Thanks everybody!
Oshyan, looks great! I should visit for a vacation!