Starship Mars Sunset

Started by cyphyr, August 30, 2019, 04:04:50 PM

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cyphyr

I'm posting this now because I can't figure out how to take it any further :(
It should be an exciting image but it seems a bit dull to me ... maybe I'll come back to it later.
Incidentally the sunset is pretty much correct which pleases me :)

C & C and suggestions are always welcome :)

Starship Mars Sunset.jpg
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Matt

Looks great!

Since you mentioned the sunset being correct, I assume you are talking about the blueness. Do you mind if I get technical? Actually there is a common misconception that the Martian atmosphere turns sunlight blue at sunrise/sunset. It doesn't really. It only strongly scatters blue light towards the viewer, making the sky look blue near the sun, but the rays which reach the view directly are still white (or slightly yellow due to the small amount of Rayleigh scattering that occurs). So the sun itself shoudn't appear blue, and neither should the lens flare. They should be white or very slightly yellow, surrounded by a blue halo of light scattered by the dust. In Terragen terms this means that the atmosphere should have a blue glow, but not the sun.
Just because milk is white doesn't mean that clouds are made of milk.

Matt

Quote from: cyphyr on August 30, 2019, 04:04:50 PMC & C and suggestions are always welcome :)

You could avoid perspective distortion and keep Starship looking vertical by making the camera point at the horizon (X rotation = 0) and using a crop region to achieve the desired framing. In other words, using tilt shift. Alternatively, centre the ship in the frame horizontally and crop the right. That will keep some perspective narrowing towards the top of the ship.
Just because milk is white doesn't mean that clouds are made of milk.

bobbystahr

something borrowed,
something Blue.
Ring out the Old.
Bring in the New
Bobby Stahr, Paracosmologist

torebernhoft

Looks great @cyphyr :) Maybe land a bit further away from that cliff edge and add some streaks from the blast of the engines?
Terragen 4 pro

Dune

I love the atmosphere, despite it being not entirely correct. The angled rocket also struck me, but I would probably just tilt it a bit, you wouldn't see that really at its feet. More importantly, I would shift the camera a bit to the left, so you see more of the valley, rather than the 'dull' heights on the right, and lift it a bit so the second (dark) height isn't inline with other horizon lines, if you get my point.

cyphyr

Meh :/
Well in my defence I was only referencing the NASA imagery (which I know they have an annoying habit of "colour correcting").
https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/images/117989main_image_feature_347_ys_full.jpg

Yes the tilting of the ship is annoying so I will try a cropped wider FOV.

And yes Bobby, you're right ... needs humans. I think I have some poor suckers in a space suit somewhere.

I'll update with improvements soon :)
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N-drju

Not sure what you mean by the atmo not being right Ulco, but I'm inclined to side with the autor on this one. ;)

Mars atmosphere is indeed close to what cyphyr has created. It is not as "rusty" as sci fi and NASA's (Yes, color-corrected) images made us believe. Well, in any case, it is not fiery red.

And an interesting fact, though you might be familliar with it. While Terran sunsets and sunrises have yellowish, orange and reddish hues, the Martian ones are... pale-blue. This is due to the atmospheric composition and some other minor factors.
"This year - a factory of semiconductors. Next year - a factory of whole conductors!"

digitalguru

#8
Quote from: cyphyr on August 31, 2019, 03:54:58 AMWell in my defence I was only referencing the NASA imagery (which I know they have an annoying habit of "colour correcting").
I love that picture too, and I think you nailed it, even if it might only be a recreation of Nasa's view of reality :)

For the rocket I would try to bump the surface with a slightly crinkly texture to suggest some warping in the panels:

rocket_tetxure.jpg

A supervisor on a project I worked on mantra was always "break up the specular"!

torebernhoft

Quote from: digitalguru on August 31, 2019, 08:11:48 AM
Quote from: cyphyr on August 31, 2019, 03:54:58 AMWell in my defence I was only referencing the NASA imagery (which I know they have an annoying habit of "colour correcting").
I love that picture too, and I think you nailed it, even if it might only be a recreation of Nasa's view of reality :)

For the rocket I would try to bump the surface with a slightly crinkly texture to suggest some warping in the panels:

rocket_tetxure.jpg

A supervisor on a project I worked on mantra was always "break up the specular"!

The exterior shell here is just a "mock-up" for the hopper test. The actual BFR will not look wrinkled like that ;)
Terragen 4 pro

digitalguru

Quote from: torebernhoft on August 31, 2019, 08:38:48 AMThe exterior shell here is just a "mock-up" for the hopper test. The actual BFR will not look wrinkled like that
Admittely, but a little of that goes a long way. I worked on a project where we added some to a Pendolino train - it was very subtle but just petrubed the reflections enough to make it look realistic.

torebernhoft

Quote from: digitalguru on August 31, 2019, 08:50:18 AM
Quote from: torebernhoft on August 31, 2019, 08:38:48 AMThe exterior shell here is just a "mock-up" for the hopper test. The actual BFR will not look wrinkled like that
Admittely, but a little of that goes a long way. I worked on a project where we added some to a Pendolino train - it was very subtle but just petrubed the reflections enough to make it look realistic.
Agree :) a little touch of it would be good
Terragen 4 pro

cyphyr

Updated with suggestions, thanks guys.
I'm not generally a fan of placing objects centre screen but in this case it seems to work.
Bobby's suggestion of needing humanoids I think has had the greatest impact so thank you for that. At least we don't have to look at their faces!
Spot lights done in Lightwave.

Starship Mars Sunset 03.jpg
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torebernhoft

Terragen 4 pro

Dune

@N-drju: I was merely refering to Matt's remarks. I don't have a clue myself.

I like this new version much better, but there's something about the starship that makes it look 'pasted' on. Perhaps the seemingly glowing edges around its feet.