Hi,
I know that this is a veeery early wip - but as I don´t have that much time, I will post the small steps during scene creation.
For a green hill I need some grass, so here we go with the first grass object:
http://www.wallis-eck.de/wip/2009/greenhill_g3v3.jpg
a different grass object
http://www.wallis-eck.de/wip/2009/greenhill_g1v3.jpg
Hi Walli
Both are super!
ciao
Naoo
Hey they look great, both of them. I especially like the first one.
Will you be making these available or are they for your personal use?
I'm looking forward to see how you build this up.
Those are both great looking models.
Yes, fantastic grasses.
Just excellent!
This is probably a good place to say that Walli will be creating custom plants that he will sell through NWDA.
The ones you see here are candidates for a really cool grass pack - highest quality, as you would expect from us and Walli in particular.
Cheers,
Frank
Great news!
Great news and very talented artists behind them ;)
Thank you guys!
Great models! Looking forward to see more!
Martin
These look really nice Walli. Can't wait to see them put into a scene.
great grass !
Looks good.
How many polygons has one gras object?
Great models of grass ! Really !
started to throw the grasses onto a landscape. I painted the heightmap with Photoshop and then used Worldmachine to add some more details.
Next I will concentrate on the path/road
http://www.wallis-eck.de/wip/2009/greenhill05.jpg
So is that just two populations of those two model instances?
GREAT start Walli!
Looking forward to what you do with the path. Maybe - if it's more a path than a road - it would be good to make it a bit narrower, to increase the sense of scale somewhat. The hills are fantastic already with the grasses.
Cheers,
Frank
looks good so far :)
I have some more variations of those grasses. In this scene so far only four different models.
About the path - I am "twisted", as I have an idea where I need more road then path actually, but I must test a little bit..
I can imagine following that path over the rise and looking out onto a nice beach and a wide blue ocean. Very nice work :)
The grass looks great already!
Quote from: SpacemanNZ on May 14, 2009, 12:22:25 AM
I can imagine following that path over the rise and looking out onto a nice beach and a wide blue ocean. Very nice work :)
that's exactly the picture I had in mind as well :-)
beach picture will be one of the next I guess, but therefor I would need a different set of grasses. At least when thinking of the beaches in northern Germany.
No, for this one I have something "different" in mind, but I am not yet sure if it works. We will see I guess ;-)
The grasses work so well together - hope to see them soon on NWDA!
Quote from: FrankB on May 12, 2009, 06:30:24 AM
This is probably a good place to say that Walli will be creating custom plants that he will sell through NWDA.
The ones you see here are candidates for a really cool grass pack - highest quality, as you would expect from us and Walli in particular.
Are the really good files exclusively going to be sold ? :(
I know they are cheap, but it's still an evolution of the TG community that I'm not sure to like. Well, I suppose evolving into a professional software often implies such evolutions...
this almost sounds like all the files that I offer for free are not really good. Sorry to hear that.
I'm sure that's not what he meant Walli - everyone here seems very pleased with the models you did for the free plant pack. I for one have no problem paying for your work, because it's clear that a lot of time and effort and expertise goes into your models.
I didn't say that :P
...Well, I said that but didn't think it. Sorry.
The point is that I'm a bit afraid of seeing the TG community becoming like the Poser one : thousands of files to be sold, newbies just buying them and putting them together in an image instead of trying to learn by themselves.
It may be another debate...
I understand this fear. But there always will be different types of users:
-klickibuntis, they don´t have time and/or knowledge to build own content, so they get free and commercial packs, put them together and press render. More like virtual photography. If its done well, why not? If they have fun doing so, then its okay, even if the results might not be pleasing to most other people. Some do really great pictures this way. The only thing i don´t like about that is, if people claim they do it all on their own
- dedicated hobby users. They do must stuff themselves and sometimes add free and commercial content. Thats also great. Sometimes they refine those models they get - even better. Sometimes they use such packs to study and learn - perfect
-professionals, they do whatever to get the job done in time and in budget. This often means that they use presets.
I don´t think that the Terragen community will ever get a pure "klickibunti" community. It will be a mixture and I hope it will be a healthy mixture. And I always plan to distribute a mixture of objects, both free and commercial - and I hope that people like both ;-)
Sorry if my answer before was to harsh!
sharing will stay important in this community. I am sharing (hopefully useful) things myself. For example, just a few minutes ago, I have uploaded another neat little preset to the file sharing area: http://forums.planetside.co.uk/index.php?topic=6432.0
Walli is completely right with his assessment of the situation. I agree though that his thread here should not be hijacked for this sort of discussion.
Cheers,
Frank
well, I guess its up to me to show pictures of progress to bring this thread back on topic ;-)
One comment befor we get this thread back on the "grass," and that important concept that has been alluded to but no very well covered here is cost. The real cutting question here for most of us is affordability not purity of purpose or "art!". I buy presets from time to time if, and only if they are one, cheap, and two, objects appropriate to my graphics agenda. I find the need to modify almost anything I buy to suit my purpose, and so I am mostly willing to put out small amounts of money for what I would call unfinished products. I do this out of economic criteria, because I cannot afford the more polished models like Xfrog vends. I guess what I am trying to say to the small but growing group of what I call the Terragen "Carpetbaggers" is keep your prices and commercial thrusts within proper proportion for this forums educational taste/flavor and pocketbbooks, and I think we will all just get along fine.
Hi all,
I have put Walli's grass models (a beta version of the models, although I have no idea what's beta about them ;) ), in a simple scene together with Ryan's dirt surface (beta too), and made a quick render to demonstrate how these models compare. These are 10 models in total, 3/3/4 versions of 3 kinds of species. From the render, to me is apparent that a lot of love and experience went into making these. We will share individual close-up renders of the models later.
Cheers,
Frank
Grass looks great walli, and would love to see the progress.
Also, as for commercial interests vs educational, im more likely to buy decently priced objects and presets if they members also often offer free tidbits to learn from/use too... assuming i have a little spare cash at the moment ;).
But overall, often I would love to buy much of whats available, just don't have anywhere near the cash for it.
*saw the new post above*
;D ;D
And let's not forget Ryan's soil, which also looks pretty good. So Ryan is working on textures - any chance of that excellent tarmac? ;)
probably ;D
.. but I better let Ryan speak to that.
Those models look great, same with the dirt! Frank, would you mind if I asked what quality settings those were rendered at?
it had GI 2/2, supersample on, render quality 0.9, soft shadows on.
Cheers,
Frank
Thanks Frank!
oh, and AA 8
Great looking grasses! Can't wait for these to become available. :)
Btw NWDA folk, what about an appropriately priced "subscription" to all your content for x number of months, or even a year?
- Oshyan
Quote from: Oshyan on May 15, 2009, 01:30:56 AM
Btw NWDA folk, what about an appropriately priced "subscription" to all your content for x number of months, or even a year?
ohh i like that idea.
Domdib: It is very very likely that the tarmac will be making an appearance ;) There should be some teasers coming soon...
But back on track for Walli's image, I can tell you guys that you are going to absolutely love the grasses.
after a much to long pause i finally found some time last night to get a little bit further. I worked on the path/track, which is a mixture of painted bitmap and procedurals.
I also started with the sky. As starting point I used Franck´s nice Big Fat Atmo (http://nwda.webnode.com/products/big-fat-atmo-pack-by-seth/) and added some more clouds and used a distance shader to keep the bigger ones in the back. Those I will give a more blueish color I think.
Still a lot to do, especially on light balance.
(http://www.wallis-eck.de/wip/2009/greenhill11.jpg)
this is already very nice, especially the hill on the left is totally photo real.
The clouds are too grey, imho, which is probably because they are optimized for the sun not coming from behind.
The path is also pretty good now. Not sure about the tracks, but I know these are difficult to make.
Also agree about the light balance, but that's the easy part ;-)
Overall, very impressive and it's once again clear how great these plants of yours are!
Cheers,
Frank
Could the tracks be made easier by using one painted shader, duplicating it, then moving the second a short distance along an axis?
Frank's right about your plant pack. It's great. Thank you for allowing us to use these.
thanks. I want to have pretty dark, blue-grey clouds in the end. Not yet there, but on the way ;-)
(http://www.wallis-eck.de/wip/2009/greenhill20.jpg)
holy cow!
This is absolutely stunning! :o
Holy sh*t man, this looks awesome, impressive!
The different specular settings of the grasses really makes this feel alive.
I really really like the first version the most, by far. Second is way too bright and saturated.
Frank already mentioned to do some work on the clouds, I agree with that.
The tracks look good to me. Some extra grit and stones here and there would be a nice finishing touch to it.
Great work, also on the models!
Martin
Fantastic work! :) I don't want to sound negative here but for me the tower can't stand up in quality with the rest of the image, it seems a bit plastic to me.
I agree, the tower does look out of place. We humans tend to 'improve' the area around our habitations. Some visible elements in the foreground would make if look less out of place.
I think the tower will fit in better when I finally add the other objects. But for now I concentrated on the sky
(http://www.wallis-eck.de/wip/2009/greenhill25.jpg)
Mmm - v nice sky. And the other objects? Sounds mysterious...
The clouds are great! The coloring, is that done using high environment lighting?
I'm really curious now :) Great work on the clouds!
coloring - do you mean the coloring of the clouds? I made the cloud color grey/blue, so that it looks like those heavy, rain clouds.
Yea. The coloring. There is a color selection for the atmosphere's enviroment light under the Lighting Tab. I wondered if you used that.
this looks excellent!
While this pic does give a good example of your grass creations, still it is far from the best or most realistic of your graphic work that I have seen up till now. Hope this road will lead to something more exciting over that hill.
I agree with that, but I think comparing Terragen renders to Vray/Fry/Cinema4D renders is probably not fair due to the material systems those other renderers offer.
Update:
(http://www.wallis-eck.de/wip/2009/greenhill46.jpg)
Phew! Very nice indeed! A fantastic render.
The only thing that throws me off, and just a bit, at that, is the too-blue atmospheric colour in the clouds.
Great job!
Hi
this is realy outstanding!
ciao
Naoo
I agree with DandelO - while the sky looked good without the rest of the image, it's just too blue when all the green comes in.
do you know those deep blue-grey coulds that one often can see before heavy rain? Thats where I want to end. Its not so much the puffy summer cloud, I want to capture this moment whee you have sun shining from the one side and on the other side you get the dark could front.
We just had this feeling 20 minutes ago, should have taken a photograph.
This is very nice!
The image has an optical illusion whereby it looks as though the sky is moving (blowing?) from right to left. It'd be interesting to see a slight leftward lean on the vegetation to emphasise 'this wind'... or maybe it's just me that's seeing it?
Ahhh, Moose, One too many vodkas I fear (and at this time in th afternoon too... tsk tsk)
;D ;D ;D
Miles
Wow, great work. Fantastic implementation of objects and plants.
This is really incredible! It is one of the best TG images I've ever seen. I can hear the bees and I can smell the grass. A typical summer feeling. Fantastic!
An excellent render; the path and foliage/groundcover are brilliantly done. I won't critique the sky, but I will say that I'd like to see some wear and tear on the church, even if you grunge it up a bit in Photoshop, to make it look less like a pristine 3d model.
John
good job !
Wow - that's sweet - well done :)
Really nice image looks so natural.
I agree with John. Everything is fine, except the church. It's too clean. It needs some weathering.
Quote from: mr-miley on June 26, 2009, 10:48:40 AM
Ahhh, Moose, One too many vodkas I fear (and at this time in th afternoon too... tsk tsk)
;D ;D ;D
Miles
Nope, I can see it too... after just 2 Budweiser's! ;D
Very good picture! I know the mood you want to achieve with the clouds, are they really that blue? Anyway, are you restricted in size by the free version? This would really be a pity, as your picture is outstanding as of now! :)
WOW this is awesome so realistic I don't usually like realism but this is stunning!!!
Maybe you should add some ivy to the church walls and maybe edit the church textures add some cracks etc
QuoteI don't usualy like realism but this is stunning!!!
:D :D :D
Yeah, reality is boring ;D Let's join the Federation Against Nature (http://www.realstorm.com/)... ;D
Um I used to always go for realism but then I began to think what's the point? I could take a picture of some rocks rather than wait 10-15 hours for it to render :-\
but their are always some realism renders I like ;D
You have added interest to the image , but the POV and landscape are still rather limited as regards the presenting of your Church object. There is very little subtle landscape development to aid in foreground guidence that would lead one's eye to the subject. The color and textural quality of the scene elements and objects are splendid, but by my lights the church is not framed too well in a pictorial sense. I realise that I am suggesting a remake of the basic terrain, still I have to call it as I see it.
Personally I love it. Stunning! The PoV is great for me, vegetation obviously tops, lighting, atmosphere, everything. Wonderful.
- Oshyan
agree with Oshyan, and cannot disagree more with arisdemos! To me, I find it particularly interesting to not be able to see past that hill, whereas the church demonstrates that the landscape continues beyond our horizon. All in all, it's a completely believable shot.
Cheers,
Frank
like this render. ^^
it tells a story...
I like the pov too and i hope you won't change it, the church is a bit "clean" to my eyes but that is the detail point of the render, so...
good job !
Well Frank I respect your (and everyone's) reasons/opinions for boosting this particular image of Walli's, but I still think your collective input here is in this case and possible others, blowing smoke up our learning curve. What I see is part of a super clean church visible over a rather flowery well grassed but still mundane round hill, and I am only saying that Walli's work in the past has been, ...well more interesting!.
I have heard a lot of on thread gassing on this site about Renderosity and that crowd's propensity for way too much C&C fluffing of each other's artistic ego. We are mostly here to learn, and I would hope we would not want any hint of common interests in mutual promotion (of whatever?) to shuck and jive the way to what Seth so succinctly described those at Renderosity doing to each other.
I think it is great. I wouldn't say so if I didn't and I'm sure the same can be said for most active users on this forum.
This isn't Renderosity, pfffft, if it was anything near it I'd no longer be a member. I've seen some brutally honest comments here on some images and you know what, the user recieving them will usually take the correct meaning from those and progress even further with their scene. Yes, me aswell, it's this type encouragement that makes people learn, share and progress more. For the most part, eh?
I'm usually very sparse with my image comments but when I see a beauty that makes me think 'Wow!', I'll say it.
I still maintain that this last one of Walli's is a fantastic TG image.
Bravissimo!
5 *****'s,
C'est fantastique!
etc. etc. etc.
:D :D :D
*** I have no reason to 'boost this particular image of Walli's'.
It's just nice.
To all concerned: my critique here was honestly and sincerly intended to assist an already superb tg2 and Xfrog craftsman perhaps improve his current work to match what I have come to consider an expected achievent level normalized by his own creative yardstick. I know everyone has a right to state his or her opinion of my C&C, but I don't think it does this forum or anybody else any great benifit to lambast a negative reviewer/review just because the criticism is aimed at a more proficient/popular member. It is easy enough for everyone in the glad on this thread to simply deny that this is what is taking place, but the heat sure seems to pretty consistantly go up when one (I) should dare to raise even a hint of a hind leg to one of this forum's creatively "bigger dogs."
Dandel0 I am also very sparing in using the C&C "rod" here and would not be quite so candid with any obviously lesser enabled tg2 artist/tech. I have in the past (as many well know) faced some stormy threads and ignited some rather massive angry membership reaction on this forum. Holding the line on the right to a truly frank and independant C&C function is I believe worth the cost in wrathful peers calling me incredibly dirty names like "artist" or "poet." Comrades, kinsmen now have I spoken thus, tis said, and now I exert thee.
Walli paid me for my comment. :o
- Oshyan
Looks nice! Clouds are my favorite part in this.
88 Comments! Wow! Just like at Renderosity! ;)
arisdemos - I am perfectly fine with you and have no issues if you "put a needle in my flesh" ;-) I am happy about that.
I don´t think that you can create images that please everyone. It seems that this one (until now) is not your favourite. I already had some changes in mind and because of your critique I probably will even spend more time on those points. So perhaps one of the next versions will please you better.
@ arisdemos... This is what C+C is all about, so I don't think anyone would take offense to anything you have said. I like the fact that you are honest in your comments and would welcome feedback like this. It only serves to make you work harder and discover things that would not be found if everyone said.... I love it, it's great etc. Push those boundaries.... And Walli, I love this image. ;D
Walli, this is really cool. I really like the tweaks you have done.
@arisdemos; I like good critique. I like bad critique. The only thing I don't like is offensive language. Honest opinions are gold.
only a small update, an object that will show up in the scene later on.
(http://www.wallis-eck.de/wip/2009/greenhill_screen3.jpg)
Hi
Great Idea for the Image. Go on...
(Das wird sicher super!)
ciao
Naoo
WTF? A gimp on his way to church?
Walli, I'm getting worried about you! I thought you were cool! :D
:D
by the way - not yet seen in the image, but already there - a flock/swarm of goose
You can get the tgo file (7z compressed) from here:
http://www.wallis-eck.de/2009/?p=305
best,
Walli
Is there going to be a spaceship landing on a baseball field? Maybe a group of knights asking people for shrubbery? 8)
Just peeked at your site. Like all the things you've done, it's cool. I like the layout. Well done!
it must be something the like, yes
;)
NI....
oh, don´t give me credit for my site ;-) Its based on a template available from wordpress, you can see it at bottom of my page. I changed a lot, but still the "technical" part is almost fully based on that template.
I plan to do a complete new layout, but therefore I need that the standard 24 hours per day are raised to 36 hours per day or so.
We are not the Knights that say Ni, we are the knights that say iky, iky, iky..... ;D
Just develop insomnia. It works for me. :)
little update
(http://www.wallis-eck.de/wip/2009/greenhill_ritter02.jpg)
Very nice model. Now some good textures that work the magic and make the whole thing look a bit battered, if you know what I mean.
yes, I think when I apply the "paint", it won´t be that shiny anymore.
(http://www.wallis-eck.de/wip/2009/greenhill_ritter03.jpg)
Using Blender, I use material nodes to get around the problem. One node has all the wear textures, the other has the specular textures. You may be able to do the same.
The scene looks really good, and I have no idea, how you're going to put a knight into it.
It'll be interesting to see how you pull this off.
after a really long pause, I finally was able to add some more flowers to the scene (the purple ones). Now I have to fine tune the path and finally add in the last missing objects.
(http://www.wallis-eck.de/2009/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/gh82.jpg)
oh wow these purple flowers are amazing in adding realism and beauty to the scene!!
Gorgeous.
Absolutely beautiful!
How about you have the knight on one side and a Stormtrooper on the other side pointing a blaster at the knight? :D
if, then they will drink a nice cup of coffee together on a blanket and talk about the good old days of the knights - let it be jedi or "regular".
:)
You really know how to show off your plants. Very good render.
wowsers!....lush vegetation....awesome realism!
Alright, it's about time we saw this actually get finished. How about it Walli? ;D
- Oshyan
please give me 4 extra hours per day ;-)
Need to finish the armor (mainly UV ing) and then I need to finish a small "building". Actually I hoped to do that during the xmas holidays, but the plans have changed ;-)
Plans must change again! ;)
- Oshyan
well, texturing of the armor is in process and I hope it will make its way into the scene soon - then we are close to final ;-)
Feels like I'm 2 years late to a party saying this, but holy wow! Great tg scene. Will keep an eye on it.
Quote from: Walli on April 02, 2011, 07:42:19 AM
well, texturing of the armor is in process and I hope it will make its way into the scene soon - then we are close to final ;-)
Can't wait! I'm glad you've kept this one going over the years. :)
- Oshyan
just a little sign of life ;)
Is this where Lucy gets stopped by customs? ;D
Very nice teaser!
Lucy...stopped by him probably. Mr. E.Tincan.
AMAZING! 8) *Big Applause*
Superb art!