[non-competing] [Finished] Frost Flower

Thank you for the kind words.

Good idea, I’ve been thinking about this as well. The original artwork works because it’s only viewed from one angle. How would I translate this to a sketchfab-friendly structure? I can’t exactly use a bunch of alpha planes, because the scene would fall apart if you view it from another angle.

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If you do not want to compete anyway. I would say take it easy. No one would mind a render only version.

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You’re right, I may be overthinking this. I’ll do a super simple sketchfab version, just to get the feel for it, and I’ll create a more complex blender scene that has an actual composition.

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Setting up the initial camera and composition:

I may need to work on a center for the flower, so there’s a better connection between the stamens and petals, but for now I’ll leave it as is and work on the background.

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If you’re still looking for ideas, I think there’s some fun to be had with the background and the snow crystal spreading.
Also, what about sprinkling some geometry with nodes around the edges of the flowers?

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Thanks for the suggestions.

So far, every time I’ve attempted to create some sort of background, it overcrowds the scene:


This is mostly because of the transparent nature of the petals. I’m not exactly sure how to maintain a balance between the background and the flower. I’ve tried all sorts of things (like mimicking the smoke with frost) but to no avail. Do you have any suggestions?

I really like the sprinkling idea. I could add some magical snowflakes or simple sparkles in place of the sparks in the original image.

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It looks great!
Maybe it could use it’s own area of smoky darkness behind/around it - like some background-colored one-sided alpha planes?

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You can easily focus the composition with lighting. Just make sure you light only the main subject and the rest of the light fades nicely away for the details surrounding the flowers.
You could also give some more body to the petals and make sure that the particles are behind it, so they will show a lot less and not pollute the scene.
Finally, I advise you randomize your particle parameters such as size and distribution. Maybe a particle in the form of a more complex snowflake would be more sexy.
You could imagine to distribute them on “flow lines” coming out of the petals for example, like frost is propagating.

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That’s an interesting idea. Something subtle, that won’t ruin the focus, but keeps it interesting to look at.

The problem is that I’m dealing with a flat emission-based material, so I can’t really light it.

Here’s my current scene:

Now it’s emitting some sort of snow/pollen stuff. I like the addition to the scene, but I wish it would blend in more.

Me: Creates a complex snowflake particle texture with a bunch of SDFs:


Decides a simple blurred dot works better in the scene:


The moral of the story is I’m not used to doing this type of scene, and it’s not a bad thing to practice. Even if I don’t end up finishing this, it was worth it. I’ve already learned a lot from the 30+ failures I’ve had along the way.

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I found that using the background works just as well. By introducing gradients and shades in the background, you can fake lighting and drive the eye where you want it.
You also have vignetting as an option.

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I took your advice, and I’m actually starting to like the way it looks:

Adding texture to the background helps a lot.

EDIT:
With a few tweaks and compositing, it’s even better:

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That’s awesome, it looks much better IMHO :heart:
I found this video helpful when I was unsure how to take some pieces further.

And finally, I advise you get yourself the trial version of Topaz Studio for post processing, you’ll love it. It’s a little hard to find, but pssssht here’s a secret:
https://topazlabs.com/downloads/

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Thanks a lot for the tutorial and resources. :+1:

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Okay, I added a leaf to the stem, using part of the petal texture, but adding thickness to the outer edge, and removing the frost. It’s going to be baked, along with the snow-pollen, to be used in the sketchfab scene.

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Hey! As we’re entering the final days of the challenge, I’d like to give you some helpful tips to make sure you can successfully complete your entry. Please see my new post on the FAQ topic.

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Here’s what I hope is the final version of my image:


I’ve made quite a few changes, the most obvious being the image flip. It’s nothing deep, but it subtly highlights the symbolic contrast between fire and ice. It almost adds sort of a rivalry, between conflicting forces of chaotic nature. Nature is difficult to control, and often challenges humans, but sometimes it conflicts with itself. In the end, they are mutually exclusive. The world can’t end in both fire and ice.

Thus, flipping the image contrasts the two ideas.

It may not be what Lugovoy had in mind when he created the original image, but that’s the joy of remixing artwork. You get to recontextualize the story under your own interpretation.

Do you think perhaps I may be overthinking the whole thing…? :sweat_smile:

As for the sketchfab upload, I’m not gonna stress about it. Because of the way the scene is set up, it would be difficult to to translate the entire thing. But I’d like the experience of using sketchfab for the future. So I’m just going to do a really simple version for sketchfab.

Here’s where I am so far:

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Alright, here’s what I call the finished project:


I’ll upload the sketchfab file in a moment.

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It’s a beauty! Make sure to get it on Sketchfab by Thursday, September 15, and tag it #bcon22challenge

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Hey! Just a quick reminder that there’s now less than 12 hours remaining to wrap up your challenge entry - submissions close at 2022-09-15T21:59:00Z, GMT+1 (click on the link for some international times).

If you haven’t done so already, please review this post which contains some essential information for preparing your submission.

At the very least, upload your work to Sketchfab as soon as possible and add the #bcon22challenge tag.

It’s also a good idea to add a link to your WIP topic in the description of your Sketchfab model so we can easily find it.

I’ll also keep a close eye on the FAQ topic today, so if you have any issues or questions please post it there as soon as possible.

Good luck!

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Thanks for the reminder Bart! It was a fun challenge, and I’m exited to see how the competing entries play out!

Thanks, I got it up there! It’s a simplified version, as I didn’t have much time to set up the whole thing for sketchfab, but it’s something at least.

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