Hey all, I was just going through my submissions for the TC-RTC and looked 
at this image for the first time in ages. And I'm like: "What? I did that?"

   I'm glad I did look again because I can see that the pistol isn't right 
in the hand. There are other flaws too like the veg is too uniform, rocks 
too uniform, etc.

   But, I'm proud of this image. I remember what I went through to produce 
it, heh.  :)

   Can you spot anywhere else that I need to improve it?  (Your eyes are 
better than mine!)

     If I can, I want to update it. Just looking for other ideas atm.

      ~Steve~

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"St." <dot### [at] dotcom> wrote:
> Hey all, I was just going through my submissions for the TC-RTC and looked
> at this image for the first time in ages. And I'm like: "What? I did that?"
>
>    I'm glad I did look again because I can see that the pistol isn't right
> in the hand. There are other flaws too like the veg is too uniform, rocks
> too uniform, etc.
>
>    But, I'm proud of this image. I remember what I went through to produce
> it, heh.  :)
>
>    Can you spot anywhere else that I need to improve it?  (Your eyes are
> better than mine!)
>
>      If I can, I want to update it. Just looking for other ideas atm.
>
>       ~Steve~

Been too busy to look. Looks like the victim was hit in the eye, or some
futuristic grav/time warp weapon is about to suck him in, some black hole
developing near right arm.

What am I NOT seeing?

"too uniform" ? probably TOO critical. I dont really see that. When did they
start latheing rifling in the barrels? Before of after these guns? If after,
then someone is too good of a shot for a ballshot that doesnt spin. There are
larger body parts, easier to hit.

2 cents

I think I once said, content is everything and realism over-rated. There was
once a comedy called, How to Murder your Wife. A comic strip writer always went
out and photographed his scenes before drawing up the publication. His readers
knew it, so when they saw scenes of him murdering his wife no one was amused.


What's on your mind? The more you talk about it the less its there.
aQ

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On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:32:06 +0100, "St." <dot### [at] dotcom> wrote:

>Hey all, I was just going through my submissions for the TC-RTC and looked 
>at this image for the first time in ages. And I'm like: "What? I did that?"
>
>   I'm glad I did look again because I can see that the pistol isn't right 
>in the hand. There are other flaws too like the veg is too uniform, rocks 
>too uniform, etc.
>
>   But, I'm proud of this image. I remember what I went through to produce 
>it, heh.  :)
>
>   Can you spot anywhere else that I need to improve it?  (Your eyes are 
>better than mine!)
>
>     If I can, I want to update it. Just looking for other ideas atm.
>
>      ~Steve~
>
>
The greenish wound, assuming it is not meant to be gunsmoke, looks
very strange.

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Great job!

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"St." <dot### [at] dotcom> schreef in bericht news:488ce96f@news.povray.org...
> Hey all, I was just going through my submissions for the TC-RTC and looked 
> at this image for the first time in ages. And I'm like: "What? I did 
> that?"
>
>   I'm glad I did look again because I can see that the pistol isn't right 
> in the hand. There are other flaws too like the veg is too uniform, rocks 
> too uniform, etc.
>
>   But, I'm proud of this image. I remember what I went through to produce 
> it, heh.  :)
>
>   Can you spot anywhere else that I need to improve it?  (Your eyes are 
> better than mine!)
>
>     If I can, I want to update it. Just looking for other ideas atm.
>

Hi Steve,

This scene is incredible because of the time-freezing aspect it shows. It is 
The Matrix, and yet different in a subtle way, with the (slow) motion 
rendered here, and all that in one single stills image.

 That said, there are, of course, the issues you raise. The trigger is not 
pulled, so some repositioning of the fingers is clearly needed. The rocks 
and vegetation need some more variation. The explosion of the opponent's gun 
has a bizarre color, imo, and perhaps you should show more clearly the track 
of the flying gun by redesigning the smoke trail. I suppose that the trail 
should show up more linear and not like a bunch of spherical blobs. Its 
relation with the initial explosion should also be made more obvious.

The conforming clothes may have their own specific issues. Poser 5? The 
creases look a bit synthetic, but that is not too big an issue. I suggest 
you revisit the textures however and look at the normals you use for them. 
The end result is a bit too granular for a cloth. You could try a bump_map 
of a fine weave. I have done that and the result can be very satisfying. 
However, for the fine linen of the shirts, this will probably not do and I 
suggest to leave the normal altogether out for them.

The pose of the gunman in front, is not entirely realistic. Weight should be 
concentrated on his (stretched) left leg, while the right leg should be 
slightly bent, with the foot turned outwards. The hips therefore should be 
slightly tilted to achieve this pose. Try this out youself (in front of a 
mirror). You will see that the present pose is very unconfortable to fire a 
gun accurately  :-)

The position of the witnesses, just behind the firing gun, seems a bit 
awkward. Maybe you should move at least one of them, to the right?

Maybe you could do something about the atmosphere to make it look more like 
dawn (rosy tint?).


Sorry, Steve!! This is quite a lot of comments, not implying criticisms, but 
things that look "wrong" to me, at least. However, I made them because I 
believe that this scene is much worth the improvements, whichever ones you 
select or not. I am looking forwards indeed to the next version.

Thomas

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"St." <dot### [at] dotcom> wrote:

> Can you spot anywhere else that I need to improve it?  (Your eyes are
> better than mine!)
>

The staging is a bit odd, in that the gun is in the middle of the body of a
bystander.  One bystander, meanwhile, has a hand raised that is oddly staged,
almost as if he's hitting the gent next to him.

The pose of the victim is okay, but I don't like the effects of what is
happening around him.  His eye is flashing like the X-Men's Cyclops.  The puffs
of smoke don't exactly line up with what I might expect a bullet to do to a
person.  I'm also not sure that the released gun should be going "up" like
that.

Back to the referee of the duel.  Shouldn't he be between the parties, shouldn't
the parties be a bit further apart? Maybe all this point to how you need to give
us some more breathing room, give us some white space or empty sky.  You've cut
the gun out of the frame!

Hope this helps.  Note that you asked for ways to improve, not a list of the
things we like about it!

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"Thomas de Groot" <t.d### [at] internlDOTnet> wrote in message 
news:488ed98d$1@news.povray.org...

   Thomas! Please don't say sorry for that (not so long) answer! I 
appreciate it. That was excellent! I can now see the obvious, but sometimes 
I need help with the 'not-so-obvious'. Dude, (heh, you're a dude now), thank 
you, I can work on that.

   ~Steve~


> Thomas

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"fls13" <fls### [at] netzeronet> wrote in message 
news:web.488e55f4c37480db989e735d0@news.povray.org...

> Great job!


  I'm glad you like it, thank you. :)

     ~Steve~

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"john" <joh### [at] worldcom> wrote in message 
news:442s841lt063dpl3jqsvm5h2q104ds3gnv@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 27 Jul 2008 22:32:06 +0100, "St." <dot### [at] dotcom> wrote:


> The greenish wound, assuming it is not meant to be gunsmoke, looks
> very strange.

   Yes, I agree, I can see what you're seeing now. It's supposed to be the 
blast from the opponents gun, and then he gets hit and releases the firearm 
into the air. That definately needs working on. Thanks for that.

     ~Steve~

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"alphaQuad" <alp### [at] earthlinknet> wrote in message 
news:web.488e016ac37480dbdc0a30e20@news.povray.org...
> "St." <dot### [at] dotcom> wrote:


>>    Can you spot anywhere else that I need to improve it?  (Your eyes are
>> better than mine!)
>>
>>      If I can, I want to update it. Just looking for other ideas atm.

> Been too busy to look. Looks like the victim was hit in the eye, or some
> futuristic grav/time warp weapon is about to suck him in, some black hole
> developing near right arm.

    Heh, :) well, if you look closely, that's the shadow of his head on his 
right shoulder. The top-hat confirms the sun's position too. ;)

>
> What am I NOT seeing?
>
> "too uniform" ? probably TOO critical. I dont really see that. When did 
> they
> start latheing rifling in the barrels? Before of after these guns? If 
> after,
> then someone is too good of a shot for a ballshot that doesnt spin. There 
> are
> larger body parts, easier to hit.

   Well, true. But there is always the lucky shot, (and I think this is the 
case in the actual book. The chap in front is supposed to be a true newbie 
with firearms, but get's lucky in the fog).


>
> 2 cents
>
> I think I once said, content is everything and realism over-rated. There 
> was
> once a comedy called, How to Murder your Wife. A comic strip writer always 
> went
> out and photographed his scenes before drawing up the publication. His 
> readers
> knew it, so when they saw scenes of him murdering his wife no one was 
> amused.

     I think I watched a film just like that many years ago, but haven't 
seen it since. He took a picture (the photographer, obviously), of someone 
<girl> for a commercial shot in a public park, and then when he developed 
the image, he saw a dead body in the background behind a bush I believe. Old 
film, but good film. Can't remember what it was called though, unless it's 
the same film you're on about.


>
>
> What's on your mind? The more you talk about it the less its there.

     You mean, get on with it? Heh, I'm trying to! ;)

       ~Steve~




> aQ
>

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