Show Us Your Dawn Renders!

[glennf]

Not trying to be a prude but why don't the rule of thirds apply to these renders?

 

[Lorraine]

The Rule of Thirds is one part of composition but there is more to it than that. Also a portrait format has less need of it as the subject is the focus of the picture. There are also parts of the body where cutting through it is not recommended.

My biggest bugbear (if it could be called that) is the use of landscape format when portrait would be better. For one thing you end up with less subject and more background and your subject loses focus as the dominant thing in the render. I am going to do a tutorial as I think it could be useful.

 

[Miss B]

I learned about Rule of Thirds and other goodies as a member of the Dreamlight Club. We haven't had a monthly render challenge the past few months because of a server move, but there's usually a video to watch after each challenge, where things like this are discussed. I've learned a lot about composition from those videos.

Of course, I've been doing more portrait/people renders the past few years than actual scenes.

 

[glennf]

Thank you Lorraine and Miss B.
Just trying to figure this render thing out.

 

[Miss B]

It takes time. You learn as you go.

 

[Lorraine]

You sure do, Miss B. Time and practice and the help of others was invaluable.

 

[Rae134]

the last one Hornet did weather meant to or not does follow the rule of thirds (her lower eye is on the top horizontal line)

And Jon's Monica does in a way as well, as her ummm front and back body parts are on both the vertical thirds

And the "rule of thirds" is only one composition rule, there are many more (this one is just the easiest) and once you know more of them you can disregard some in favor of others when you know what your doing. and hell, I'm a rebel, rules were meant to be broken

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

Lorraine, I think something like that would be great.

GlennF, we all started somewhere. I find that if we think about our still images (renders) as a sort of digital photography, that a lot of the composition "rules and guidelines" for photography apply, and work well for our art.

And just like anything else, like Rae has said... There are times when breaking the rules is desirable, and helpful. It's a matter of knowing when to break the rules.

Keep at it, and keep experimenting and rendering. We can only learn by doing in this hobby.

 

[Lorraine]

GlennF, we all started somewhere. I find that if we think about our still images (renders) as a sort of digital photography, that a lot of the composition "rules and guidelines" for photography apply, and work well for our art.

That's what I think and coming from a photography background it's kind of ingrained in me. Of course the 'rules and guidelines' of photography originated in the fine arts of painting and drawing and those guidelines are as relevant now as to the first who used them. What Rae said is also true, you can disregard rules and guidelines once you know what they are.

But keep rendering and rendering. Don't let anything I or anyone else says, stop you from rendering.We learn by doing, by observing, and by more doing.

 

[Hornet3d]

Not trying to be a prude but why don't the rule of thirds apply to these renders?

I don't think it is a question of being a prude and it is a very interesting question. As many have said the rule of the thirds is a good rule and certainly a starting point but there is more to take into consideration. My last render, the one in the grave yard, does not ignore the rule entirely for although the figure is central the eyes are about a third from the top. I would have done the same positioning in portrait style but I felt the background was important to the atmosphere. To have applied the rule of the thirds correctly I would have had to lose either some of the crossbow or the background. More important to me is that the eyes are drawn into the picture rather than away and, for me at least, this composition draws the viewer into the eyes. Doesn't make it right of course but it works for me.

Another factor to take into account is where you are intending to use the render. If it is a book illustration I would imagine the portrait format would be the most applicable but many of my renders have different goals. Every year I have a photobook printed of my renders for that year and since I have purchased Vue I have moved to A3 flat photobooks so that means I can have a render stretch across two A3 pages. This really gives an impact to a landscape render. Most of my other renders are therefore aimed at A3 so that they will go into the book on a single page at least. Hence the reason most of my renders are in a sort of 'widescreen' format.

I have to be more creative on pure portraits for them to work in A3. I have posted this render before and, although it was not created with a photobook in mind, this is the sort of thing I have in mind if it was aimed to be printed in A3.

Like many others, my view is influenced by my photography background but I would love to know other artist view on the matter, there certainly is no right or wrong way in my book, whatever presents the image in the manner you want it to is the way to go.

As I said, interesting question.

 

[glennf]

Thank you everyone for the help.
I have owned some sort of camera most of my life but I was never a photographer, just took pictures.

 

[Hornet3d]

Thank you everyone for the help.
I have owned some sort of camera most of my life but I was never a photographer, just took pictures.

I think photography is very similar to 3D art, if you produce renders you are a 3D artist and if you have a camera and take pictures you are a photographer. Sure there are different levels of skills in both but that is all part of the rich tapestry of life.

 

[jonrea]

Excellent Hornet

 

[Rae134]

I wish I knew more about photography as that's pretty much what Iray is base on (when you go into the settings at least)

 

[Hornet3d]

I wish I knew more about photography as that's pretty much what Iray is base on (when you go into the settings at least)

I know what you mean, Luxrender is similar in that respect and I am more at home with exposure and film response than I am with Poser lights.

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

Not trying to be a prude but why don't the rule of thirds apply to these renders?

Like many others, my view is influenced by my photography background but I would love to know other artist view on the matter, there certainly is no right or wrong way in my book, whatever presents the image in the manner you want it to is the way to go.

As I said, interesting question.

For me, I generally use that rule as a guide to start with. If an image develops in such a way that it "feels" wrong under that rule, well.. then I just throw the rule out the window. LOL.

Mostly I go with the flow. Does the image feel the way I want it to? Does it draw the viewer's eye to the parts of it that I want it to? For some images, I end up implementing the rule of thirds not until well into the development/setup of the scene, as the image just "lacks" something, and that seems to give it the extra oomph it needed. Some images, I start out with that rule in place, and remove it. Sometimes, they end up falling into that rule unintentionally; meaning I did not plan it, it just kind of set itself up that way. I really just go with the flow, and what seems to suit the image artistically as I make them.

High Tide is an image that just kind of accidentally ended up with that rule in play.

Tree People is one of my images where the scene was just naturally flowing that way (with the rule of thirds in play), and so I just let it do so for the rest of the setup.

Oh, Hi, Daddy is an example of a picture that I originally had started to set it up WITH that rule, and artistically speaking, I felt that it was hurting the image, so I ended up throwing it out.

And Tree People 2 is a piece that I had originally been trying to work with in a portrait orientation, and it was coming out totally lack-luster. I made a conscious decision in this case to shift it to a landscape setup, with the rule in play, and this was the final outcome of that change.

And then sometimes, like with Draw the Line, I totally throw that rule into the trash can entirely, and the end result does not fit into either the portrait, OR landscape/Rule of Three type of setup.

So for me, it just really all depends on the image, and what's going on in the picture, what kind of flow it has, where I want the viewer's eye to travel to and from, and what kind of an emotional impact I want the image to have.

As far as other photographic guiding points... I do not have any kind of background in professional photograph or lighting at all. But when lighting a scene, I always kind of bear in mind the way light is casted, and how shadows react, the way they fall and in what directions from the real world around us. I try to bear in mind how dark or how light the shadows normally are in a real world environment that might apply. I spent a lot of time just kind of studying the shadows and lighting in all kinds of areas around me, offline.

The composition rules I think are a good starting point; a good guide. Sometimes, they enhance our artwork, sometimes they hurt it. Each image is different, and I basically just let the image do the talking. I flow with it; if the rule is needed and not in effect, I shift my setup to use it. If the rule is in effect but hurting the image artistically, I throw it out the window! And sometimes I end up with a render that uses the rule of thirds and I never consciously put it into effect; it just kind of happened. (Okay, that happens a lot, I admit. LOL)

There's my take on it, Hornet and Glenn.

 

[Hornet3d]

For me, I generally use that rule as a guide to start with. If an image develops in such a way that it "feels" wrong under that rule, well.. then I just throw the rule out the window. LOL.

Mostly I go with the flow. Does the image feel the way I want it to? Does it draw the viewer's eye to the parts of it that I want it to? For some images, I end up implementing the rule of thirds not until well into the development/setup of the scene, as the image just "lacks" something, and that seems to give it the extra oomph it needed. Some images, I start out with that rule in place, and remove it. Sometimes, they end up falling into that rule unintentionally; meaning I did not plan it, it just kind of set itself up that way. I really just go with the flow, and what seems to suit the image artistically as I make them.

High Tide is an image that just kind of accidentally ended up with that rule in play.

Tree People is one of my images where the scene was just naturally flowing that way (with the rule of thirds in play), and so I just let it do so for the rest of the setup.

Oh, Hi, Daddy is an example of a picture that I originally had started to set it up WITH that rule, and artistically speaking, I felt that it was hurting the image, so I ended up throwing it out.

And Tree People 2 is a piece that I had originally been trying to work with in a portrait orientation, and it was coming out totally lack-luster. I made a conscious decision in this case to shift it to a landscape setup, with the rule in play, and this was the final outcome of that change.

And then sometimes, like with Draw the Line, I totally throw that rule into the trash can entirely, and the end result does not fit into either the portrait, OR landscape/Rule of Three type of setup.

So for me, it just really all depends on the image, and what's going on in the picture, what kind of flow it has, where I want the viewer's eye to travel to and from, and what kind of an emotional impact I want the image to have.

As far as other photographic guiding points... I do not have any kind of background in professional photograph or lighting at all. But when lighting a scene, I always kind of bear in mind the way light is casted, and how shadows react, the way they fall and in what directions from the real world around us. I try to bear in mind how dark or how light the shadows normally are in a real world environment that might apply. I spent a lot of time just kind of studying the shadows and lighting in all kinds of areas around me, offline.

The composition rules I think are a good starting point; a good guide. Sometimes, they enhance our artwork, sometimes they hurt it. Each image is different, and I basically just let the image do the talking. I flow with it; if the rule is needed and not in effect, I shift my setup to use it. If the rule is in effect but hurting the image artistically, I throw it out the window! And sometimes I end up with a render that uses the rule of thirds and I never consciously put it into effect; it just kind of happened. (Okay, that happens a lot, I admit. LOL)

There's my take on it, Hornet and Glenn.

Thanks for taking the time to write that, I love seeing how others use rules, or not as the case may be.

 

[phdubrov]

Testing old skins with new shaders. Cycles new SSS.

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

Very nice!!

 

[Lorraine]

She is very nice, she looks how I would LIKE to feel when I wake up but seldom to never do