I have mixed feelings with this, for one side it’s great you added soft shadows with AO, and fixed those issues with shadows bias, this is a big improvement. In the other hand increasing intensity of hard shadows… I don’t know. If you see both images with eyes half-closed, the previous version looks more colourful. Maybe you could still have this dark shadow but raising saturation of the image.
Colour of the pipe is kinda washed out by the high contrast of shadow inside of the box. Same thing for the ring, which is pale golden like cheap jewelry. Previous image had some lighting on the pipe that was helping to highlight and define some shape, it was interesting, now that highlight is gone (plane area near tha chain start).
If I were you I’d start playing with node editor without further hesitation. Start with someting simple like adding an RGB or Hue/Saturation curve and search threads with tips about it.
This lighting business is a real balancing act, isn’t it? I knew it looked darker with the AO, but didn’t think to bump up my fill lights to compensate. I also saw it lacked color, but my thought was to add a colorful object to the box – a military medal, or a theater ticket stub.
I’ve briefly taken a look at purple’s sticky in Compositing, Visual Effects and Rendering… I suppose I should just get at it. I know I need to, sooner or later.
malefico, you are a tremendous help to me in moving forward with this. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. :yes:
I say again, you can always download a new build with broken’s stuff, you can use to make a subtle very blurry reflection on the box and a blurry reflection on the ground. Also using that build you could place lamps with extremely soft shadows to accentuate the edges more.
Yep Orinoco, I say it’s definitely time to start enjoying the power of nodes!
One thing that has kinda bugged me about this piece is the gold hinges, I’m not sure if it’s the shader, or what. Perhaps it’s just me.
I say again, you can always download a new build with broken’s stuff,
Lol, are you sure your not being paid by broken? LOL
a subtle very blurry reflection on the box and a blurry reflection on the ground
using nodes (assuming that’s even good advice) ?
The gold hinges are supposed to look like cheap stamped brass hinges, which is what they are. Maybe the spec is too saturated a yellow? Let me tweak. I live to tweak. I love to tweak. Tweaking is my friend…
BTW, any clues on exactly where that “subtle very blurry reflection on the box” is supposed to go?
CD, I know you like to play with all the new toys, but I don’t. As you can plainly see from the improvements in this work from the first post till now, I am still mastering the old toys. I happen to believe what I need to do to express my art is to develop my vision and my artistic problem solving ability. I thought I mentioned that earlier. Do you have any suggestions relating to improving the piece using the latest 2.45 Blender Foundation release?
Well, though those are good ideas for your image, your problem would still be there. You just can’t hide a problem adding extra objects :spin:. Anyway, you have already solved the problem with the shadow.
The ring doesn’t look like metal nor gold. Maybe you could raise specularity there or increase ray mirror a little bit. I have the impression that the problem is colour being washed out by lighting. If that’s the case you can add an extra coloured light in ring layer as to increase saturation (no shadows).
Have you tried a ramp shader in your materials ? sometimes you can get extra shading using a colourband in your normals, adding a fading colouring in the edges and stuff like that.:eyebrowlift:
After watching and watching this image, lack of bumpiness in box interior is starting to bother , perhaps it’s time to try a separate bump texture ?
If you go for realism or something of that sort, it would be interesting to complete the background though I wouldn’t recommend adding lotsa stuff at random. Think carefully about it.
Of course you can also move on to another project, this is quite decent as it is.
malefico, you are a tremendous help to me in moving forward with this. Thank you very much. I really appreciate it. :yes:
My pleasure
I probably won’t get a chance to work on this again until the weekend. I’ve got most of the suggestions (extra light on ring layer, bump texture on wood, high ray mirror) in place, so it is probably a matter of making adjustments to the settings, then rendering, then adjusting again. So I’ll need a large block of quality time to get it done.
Complete the background. Hmmm. Maybe on a bookshelf? Next to a copy of Jane’s Fighting Ships? Or a beat up copy of the Bluejacket’s Manual?
Turned down the bias on the key light, got rid of the annoying light leaks at the corners. The light leaks were really obvious by the ring, it looked like it was floating. Now the shadows have it tied down. Same thing with the chain. Turned on AO for this render. It didn’t act as I expected, which was to put soft shadows in the corners. Instead, I got a general darkening all round. Looks better compared to the last render, which now seems to have a light haze on it.
Great stuff! Well done Orinoco!
The first post is looking good, then … later updates I didin’t really like much, but the latest render is better than your very first one. Keep it, it looks awesome. edit and of course 5 stars!
Looks good so far. Maybe you should change the world background color from that blue, if it even is that. I see the blue refelction on the objects in the inside. What is the focus of this picture? The objects inside the box? The box itself? The mystery behind the box and its objects? Is it telling a story about someone and what is that story. Lightning pretty much sets the mood and I’m getting a bit confused when I look at it. I feel the shadows inside the box is way to hard and distracting from the objects inside the box. I like the round shadow on the right hand side. If you could implement it on the left hand side as well, bringing the box and objects in focus then I think it would look even better.
Very nice textures and looks very realistic, but definetly a lightning issue, but look much better than the first post.
The title of the piece tells the story: these are “treasures” – things that are not in daily use, but are too significant to the owner of the box to throw away, so they are put aside in a “chest” which is the fancy cigar box.
Yes, I know that. Just thought there was deeper meaning to the treasures in the box, as there usually is when someone put something away to be reminded of its (non) sentimental value.
I know its a finished project, just think it has more potential
I’m not sure I understand what you’re trying to say. To my way of thinking, something put away because of its meaning (deep or shallow) is the very definition of sentimental value. An example might clarify. I am putting in items that are significant and connected to the owner of the box, that represent events or intervals of his life. The story is the man’s life. The mystery, if any, is how the items are connected to him, what they represent, why they are significant enough to save.
Someone thinks this looks bad, and someone else thinks it looks terrible? It would be interesting to see some written critiques to go with those evaluations so I would know how to improve the piece.
I like it. BTW what is that object beside the ring in the box? I don’t seem to recognize it.
I also think if you move the box a little off center and turn it slightly so it doesn’t align with the front edge of the shelf it would improve the composition IMHO.
And in response to blenditall’s comment, I don’t see it as strange that this is Orinoco’s first finished work. It does take practice before you can make something you’d want to present on the forums.
Just to reiterate: the big image in the first post IS the latest vertion of the treasure chest. The little attachment is the original image that was first posted. I thought to do it that way so people wouldn’t have to wait for all the images to load to see the latest version, but I guess I just wound up being confusing. Sorry about that.
Blenditall was tactfully pointing out that if I spent more time working and less time posting, I’d have had the practice I’d need to get a finished piece put together long ago. :o
That’s just one of the endearing qualities about this place
, perhaps it’s time to try a separate bump texture ?
