Howdy everyone!
I know this isn’t the photographing boards but wanted to share my first real pic!
Hmm… I hope at least one person was fooled for even one second.
Now seriously. I’m making this short-short and it has a chess-playing machine. Being the cheap smuck that I am and the CG addict that I most undoubtingly admit myself to be I choose to model and composite.
I need some crits as to make it more real.
Or maybe a few pats on the back to make me feel all buttered up and happy? 
Looks good - Fooled me for a sec till I had a closer look!
I’m not sure your horizons match. ie: the perspective of the base of the robot doesn’t quite match the perspective of the rest of the picture.
Try modeling the table (With a shadow only texture) and using it to match the picture composition. (You won’t have to match the bevelled edge or anything, just make a cylinder the same proportions as the table and use the pic as a background to match!)
Make sense?
Nice try. 
The edges are too sharp, the specularity on the model doesn’t match the background, the material seems too perfectly clean, shadows are nonexistent, and lack of details on the model give it away.
>_> Well, I’m just picky.
Getting close, I think! Keep going.
Here’s a simple way to make the shadow, as long as the base of your robot stays in one place: build a physical model of the base shape out of cardboard, paint it black, and put it in the actual scene when you photograph it. Not only will it cast appropliate shadows, but it will be a visual reference over which you can later composite the cg robot.
Your lighting needs serious work. Try adding another source above and behind the viewer/camera. You should want to emphasize the center of the image: the robot and the chess game. Not the plant/window/empty chair.
I would go take another picture with the proper lighting first, then try to give the robot an appropriate match in 3D.
Ditto on the inclination.
The only other crit is the “elbow” joint. I’ve seen cheap robots like that but yours should be better. Give it some power to manipulate that joint. As it is, any servo in there would break quite readily just from the torsion weight of the hand.
If you look through Google images you’ll see a variety of robots: some cheap and some super, but you’ll get an idea of the proportion you should see between the hand and the size of the back arm/elbow.
Hope this helps.
Ok, I must have been totally out of it, or it’s not as bas as everyone is making out to be, I looked and relooked at this and didn’t see the robot player until others posted saying they could see it. I was completely fooled.
Now that I can see it, it could use a little work, like the shadow, but it’s a great start!!
Great storyline already, and great image, for a nice short film.
I’d say the robot arm needs more detail, more wear and tear, unless you intend it to display a fresh out of the box robot. Right now it seems too smooth, like maybe some appliance texture would help, (the vinyl on refrigerators etc… )
Wow oh boy. School is so tiring. Never work at a donot shop on the long weekend.
But I did do some work on this. I may need to refilm conflicted because of some lighting issues but yeah…
Here you go!
edit: Oh man! Just noticed the little going through the table error. Plus shadows are still in heavy WIP.
As far as a still goes, the object is not recognizable… you should rotate the “wrist” at least 25 degrees, to show the “claw”
Finished the effect!
Enjoy!
3.81 MB:
http://www.savefile.com/files/2501787
edit:
Here is a little screenshot:
looks good. maybe a little more shadow coming towards the camera.
do you plan to animate the arm as the camera moves? how about making the camera rotate around the arm to showcase the other sides?
Yeah the shadow is one tricky bugger 
This movie is kinda done. I can render out some 360s of the robot if you want but I’m starting production on something bigger.
So yeah.
Well thanks for the shadow crit. The more the merrier and the more the better I become.
Which I shall.
Yes.
%|
wait…did you model it all or…what is a photo and what is a model?
I doubt is ILM could model an entire room so realistically.
Who am I kidding! Of course they could!
The only modeled object in the video is the robot. I really wanted to practice my compositing.