This beautiful, colorful image would look great framed on a wall, and it won
Honorable Mention for Artistic Merit. The image also shows a lot of hard
work, by an experienced POV-er who knows his stuff, and I think it would
have rated higher overall but for its subject; there were several mills
this round.

Though it looks washed out to me, I see this type of lighting in a lot of cg
images, and it may be an esthetic choice. It's interesting how people use
the same tool and get such different results, though I see in the text file
that it was created in the style of Dutch painter Vermeer, so that may
explain the look and lighting.

The sky is beautiful and dramatic, and the ruins and hills in the distance
also look great. The stone and rooftiles show a lot of layered textures
that give the surfaces some age, though the main tower could use some more
variation where it cuts into the mill's roof.

The entire image has a speckeled, pixely look that's difficult to pin down
(or even find actual words for). I'm not sure if this is due to the
anti-aliasing or some other technique. For me, it makes the image a bit
"noisy" to look at, as if it has a high jitter setting.

Post a reply to this message

Pastoral in spirit if not specific content (no cows), this picture shows 
a harmony between man and nature.  The technology depicted, a fortified 
mill, is shown as an extension of a village, the village is set serenely 
in a landscape.  A magnificent tree grows among the village structures, 
their materials seem to derive from the surrounding hills.

The image also flirts with the picturesque.  There are the trappings of 
romantic painting with the inclusion of distant ruins, the water wheel 
has a rustic air, the fortifications are a technological curiosity.

But the artist in his text, points to an earlier tradition, 17th Century 
Flemish painting and more specifically, Vermeer.  This period was a time 
of technical innovation in the Netherlands, where extensive dykes and 
waterways were built.  These canals were often depicted in the 
landscapes from the period.   As much as the mill extends the village it 
also is a part of the man-made features of the river.  The picture seems 

shore, water with stonework and arches along the far shore, a town 

expansive view then sustained by the depth of detail.  Both have an 
naturalistic, optical approach.

The architecture is handled with the skill and attention to detail we 
have come to associate with this artist, and he demonstrates his 
facility with elements of water, sky, and terrain in addition.

There is a dynamic tension between the effect of light and atmosphere 
and the effect of texture and saturated color. However the juicy greens 
in the picture push the main harmony toward the register of secondary 
colors: orange, purple, and green, rather than the primaries: red, blue, 
and yellow, which would be more characteristic of Vermeer.

Post a reply to this message

Jim Charter wrote:
 The picture seems


This was one of my main sources for the composition and colours for the
image

> However the juicy greens
>in the picture push the main harmony toward the register of secondary
>colors: orange, purple, and green, rather than the primaries: red, blue,
>and yellow, which would be more characteristic of Vermeer.
>

I agree. I realy needed to spend more time on the foliage colours and
textures. Unfortunately time ran away from me. I intend to revisit the
image and rework those textures.

Post a reply to this message

>
>Though it looks washed out to me, I see this type of lighting in a lot of cg
>images, and it may be an esthetic choice. It's interesting how people use
>the same tool and get such different results, though I see in the text file
>that it was created in the style of Dutch painter Vermeer, so that may
>explain the look and lighting.
>

Yes. I had, and I'm still having, a lot of trouble coming up with a lighting
system for outdoor scenes. This is a problem in all my POV work at the
moment. I've never been satisfied with using a simple lighting schemes.
Much of the effect you've mentioned is the result of the interaction of the
various light sources and the radiosity settings.

I made several experiments with atmospheric media, multiple fog layers,
lightsources, sky_spheres and radiosity without any satisfactory results.
I'm still experimenting and hope to have an improved lighting system for
the next round of the IRTC.

Post a reply to this message

no13 <pov### [at] no13net> wrote in message
news:web.3e981f59148c56da698d6dc60@news.povray.org...
>
> >
> >Though it looks washed out to me, I see this type of lighting in a lot of
cg
> >images, and it may be an esthetic choice. It's interesting how people use
> >the same tool and get such different results, though I see in the text
file
> >that it was created in the style of Dutch painter Vermeer, so that may
> >explain the look and lighting.
> >
>
> Yes. I had, and I'm still having, a lot of trouble coming up with a
lighting
> system for outdoor scenes. This is a problem in all my POV work at the
> moment. I've never been satisfied with using a simple lighting schemes.
> Much of the effect you've mentioned is the result of the interaction of
the
> various light sources and the radiosity settings.

A very nice image. I was particularly impressed with the rocks & waterplants
in the foreground.

What did you use for your primary light source (sun)?

I  think what most outdoor scenes seem to lack  is contrast. The sun is
BRIGHT.  It makes DARK shadows.  In photography, this is a problem to
correct with fill lighting.  For raytracers, its the opposite problem;  how
to get that kind of brightness without overpowering the scene.

>I made several experiments with atmospheric media, multiple fog layers,
>lightsources, sky_spheres and radiosity without any satisfactory results.
>I'm still experimenting and hope to have an improved lighting system for
>the next round of the IRTC.

I've been playing with different ways to do sunlight. I'll be interested in
whatever you come up with!

RG

Post a reply to this message