Now that my planets project is complete, I’m wanting to get into rendering some spacescapes. This is my first true spacescape (though I’ve uploaded an official spacescape-style render of my Earth model, I don’t consider it a true spacescape). “The Outpost” revolves around a simple idea - a galaxy backdrop, with a planet silhouette. I thought I might as well start out simple.
I really have no experience in this area, so I need some serious critique. I want these works to be of excellent quality, so point out any problems you see, even if they’re obvious (to you).
EDIT: The completed work may be found at this page.
I’ve received comments on the darkness of my images before. All I know is, on my iMac monitor, the image is exactly how I want it - dark, but not really dark. Is it actually too dark to see on other monitors?
Someone commented that nothing really stands out in the image - and I agree. Are there any suggestions on how to make a more definite subject for the shot? What makes this difficult is that I don’t want anything too bright or chaotic in the scene.
I don’t see it too dark, it’s ok here. I think if you are going to add those rings and lines to your stars, they need to be brighter. It seems to me that the planet needs some detail on its surface, whether it does or doesn’t have any land on it. Check some pictures of Neptune for instance. The space and its colours look awesome.
I’ve brightened the foreground stars, edited the planet textures, and added a star to give the shot more feeling. (The original link has been updated.) I think I’m liking it better now.
Why is the star behind the planet shining through the planet? You should fix that
And you should get a Colorspyder… then others can tell you whatever they want, then surely their screens show wrong colors.
I don’t think it is a matter of simple brightness I think it just needs a little more contrast. IE: the dark parts darker and the light parts lighter.
Although the Space scene has many stars none of them seem to be very bright almost as if you are looking at them through an atmosphere.
Try simply adjusting the curves in the nodes or photoshop.
I think the star behind the planet is rendered as it should be - the camera would either pick up all four beams of the star, or none at all (similar to a lens flare effect).
I will look at adjusting the contrast. I’m actually wanting a soft, dark look for this shot, but some significant contrast might help.
@everyone: thanks for your advice on this project!
I’ve uploaded what I think is the final version of the image. This has been a lot of fun, and I’m looking forward to my next spacescape project! This time, I’ll be trying an entirely different approach.
