I have taken the approach of incrementally refining different aspects of 
  the scene rather than trying to perfect one thing, say the model, 
before proceeding to the next.  I am still tempted to use just a black 
bg for the scene though.

Post a reply to this message

Attachments:
Download 'img.00089.jpg' (39 KB)

Preview of image 'img.00089.jpg'

Jim Charter <jrc### [at] msncom> wrote:
  I am still tempted to use just a black
> bg for the scene though.

Oh, please don't! I really like this setting. The hunks of stuff are maybe a
little big, but the water makes it look so much more natural. The shark is
still a little stiff, but a solid background will only make that worse, I
think.

-s
5TF!

Post a reply to this message

Looking very good to me Jim.

 ~Steve~

Post a reply to this message

The shark certainly looks a lot better, looks like you have added some
damage to the body. Sharks always seem to look fairly battered but I think
the fins could be a bit more damage, they look a bit too smooth to me.

I like the background but think it needs to look a bit more like it is
underwater, I have never done an underwater scene so I can't really give
any advice (I wouldn't know where to start except I expect very long trace
times..)

A scene with underwater caustics would be good, maybe have the shark nearer
the surface being lit from above with some caustics on the body. Excellent
modelling though, can't remember what you said you used in the last post,
was it wings or blender?

Post a reply to this message

s.day wrote:
> The shark certainly looks a lot better, looks like you have added some
> damage to the body. Sharks always seem to look fairly battered but I think
> the fins could be a bit more damage, they look a bit too smooth to me.
> 
> I like the background but think it needs to look a bit more like it is
> underwater, I have never done an underwater scene so I can't really give
> any advice (I wouldn't know where to start except I expect very long trace
> times..)
> 
> A scene with underwater caustics would be good, maybe have the shark nearer
> the surface being lit from above with some caustics on the body. Excellent
> modelling though, can't remember what you said you used in the last post,
> was it wings or blender?
> 
> 
Wings.

Yes the whole shark thing may lead to some different underwater type 
scenes to examine the associated lighting/media/refraction issues.  This 
really started out as a modelling/texturing study, lol.  I thought the 
shark shape would be relatively easy.  But like any simple looking 
smooth form, the subtlties become more important.  The setting is still 
not all that convincing but it is better than the last 35 or so tests 
that I have run. As I meantioned the clearer, darker, totally camera-lit 
renders ( and reference photos ) tend to look prettier, more colorful, 
more contrasty. But the more turgid looking, filtered light seems much 
more of a challenge.

Post a reply to this message

St. wrote:
> 
> Looking very good to me Jim.
> 
Thanks Steve.

Post a reply to this message

stm31415 wrote:
> Jim Charter <jrc### [at] msncom> wrote:
>   I am still tempted to use just a black
> 
>>bg for the scene though.
> 
> 
> Oh, please don't! I really like this setting. The hunks of stuff are maybe a
> little big, but the water makes it look so much more natural. The shark is
> still a little stiff, but a solid background will only make that worse, I
> think.
> 
Thanks. It will be relatively easy to put some movement into the shark 
but only after the model is set.  Redoing changes across a number of 
posed models would be a pain.  So I have resisted doing that so far.

Post a reply to this message

s.day wrote:
> I like the background but think it needs to look a bit more like it is
> underwater, I have never done an underwater scene so I can't really give
> any advice (I wouldn't know where to start except I expect very long trace
> times..)

As a certified scuba diver, I can say that the background *and* the 
flotsam are both quite convincing. It's simply a deep evening dive.

-- 
   Darren New / San Diego, CA, USA (PST)
     The samba was clearly inspired
     by the margarita.

Post a reply to this message

Jim, this is almost like an underwater flash pic if this is possible. It 
seems to have been captured by a camera flash light to me. I think this is 
why I like it, apart from the modeling, which is close to excellent.

    It does need some movement at some stage though, which I know you're 
considering. Attached is an overhead shot of my crap shark, but I think I 
captured the movement ok. I did this some time ago now. Hope it helps in 
some way.

   Hmm... you do drive me onwards with your modeling and ideas.

     ~Steve~

Post a reply to this message

Attachments:
Download 'shark2.jpg' (16 KB)

Preview of image 'shark2.jpg'

Jim Charter wrote:
> 
> I have taken the approach of incrementally refining different aspects of
>   the scene rather than trying to perfect one thing, say the model,
> before proceeding to the next.  I am still tempted to use just a black
> bg for the scene though.
> 
>   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  [Image]

Nice modeling, I like it.

Post a reply to this message