DarkHer-The losing abysmal of consciousness

[Notez]

hey all,this is my first post and being that it is my first i thought i would introduce myself witha piece i did just yesterday. . . .i used poser7 and photoshop cs3 to paint this piece,i call it DarkHer(as in Darker)-the losing abysmal consciousness. . . i was going to do more to add to the setting and moods of the piece i just wanted to see how everybody liked it first. any suggestions or critiquing would be greatly appreciated. . . .I've only been into 3D for about a year now,been into 2D for almost my whole life!



~Notez~

[Piem]

Hi there

Sounds really nice

..but it's also REALLY too dark , even for my laptop.

can't you try to turn on the light a little ?

[Notez]

Originally Posted by Piem

Hi there

Sounds really nice

..but it's also REALLY too dark , even for my laptop.

can't you try to turn on the light a little ?

thank you! and yea im still messing with the lighting i guess i forgot to point that one out. . . im trying to maintain the dark and dirty feel to it,still in the process of mastering the adjustment modes in Photoshop. any suggestions?

[Notez]

i added more layers to it and rendered a new light,also,i added a fire reflection to the eyes to help tell the story. then i duplicated the main image and filtered it . . . still not done though im still thinking on what to add to it,but i do like it as it is,i guess it is as they say,"it's not what you have int he image,its what's not there"
thanks in advance to all who like it and to all who can provide some tips as i am still a budding rose in the industry

[-ash-]

It's getting better, but I think it still needs more life, especially in the eyes. Remember the eyes are the windows to the soul.

Try adding some brighter reflections in both eyes.

[Notez]

Thanks Ash! for the suggestion and reminder. . . . i will definitely give it a go.
i think the more i learn on doing this project the simpler it will get down the road on future projects. my goal is to get to the level of advent children so i begin making my movies,i heard painting and working in 2d really helps in 3d with lighting,telling a story,points of interest etc. etc.

i appreciate the help and am always open to new suggestions

[Notez]

i made some more adjustment layers and added more lights and lit it up some more...... i never realized how hard it was to take a heavily shadowed 3D render and paint it in Photoshop,. remember im still a beginner so don't be too harsh!
thanks in advance for any tips or help!

[rickei]

It still looks very "Poserly"
it looks like you used the dodge and burn tool... don't do that... the burn tool adds saturation as it darkens. in real life colors are desaturated as they fade from a light source.
the other problem is that when you tried to lighten the picture, you didn't take note of the light source, you just lightened different areas.
oh, and the skin is way too pink... I can see the fire reflection in it's eye, so the light would be a little more in the orange/yellow range.

here is what I would do.
I hope you don't mind me drawing over your art. it is such a good start that I would like to see you get it right... and you did ask for C&C

here is what I did...about 5 mins
I added a "Rembrandt light" to the cheek closest to the camera(select area, then feather selection, then use levels or curves to bring out the highlight). added a catch light to the eyes. desaturated everything but the fire in the eye, and then ran a gradient map over the image to warm it back up. then I added a slight blur and some film grain(lens blur).
I did it really quick, and it still needs a good bit of finishing but you get the idea.

For lighting faces and people, Google "Chiaroscuro" and "Rembrandt Lighting" that may help you in your setups.

[Notez]

Originally Posted by rickei

It still looks very "Poserly"
it looks like you used the dodge and burn tool... don't do that... the burn tool adds saturation as it darkens. in real life colors are desaturated as they fade from a light source.
the other problem is that when you tried to lighten the picture, you didn't take note of the light source, you just lightened different areas.
oh, and the skin is way too pink... I can see the fire reflection in it's eye, so the light would be a little more in the orange/yellow range.

here is what I would do.
I hope you don't mind me drawing over your art. it is such a good start that I would like to see you get it right... and you did ask for C&C

here is what I did...about 5 mins
I added a "Rembrandt light" to the cheek closest to the camera(select area, then feather selection, then use levels or curves to bring out the highlight). added a catch light to the eyes. desaturated everything but the fire in the eye, and then ran a gradient map over the image to warm it back up. then I added a slight blur and some film grain(lens blur).
I did it really quick, and it still needs a good bit of finishing but you get the idea.

For lighting faces and people, Google "Chiaroscuro" and "Rembrandt Lighting" that may help you in your setups.

WHOAH!!!!!!
OK THANKS VERY VERY VERY MUCH!!!
and i will be googling those like right now!
im still fairly new to PhotoShopping 3D work,it feels different than what im used to but thanks MUCH! you have pointed me into a new direction . . . are those plugins? and are they free? after buying all this stuff im kinda not rearing to spend anything else for a while,i just bought VUE 6 xstream! so my pockets are mad at me!

[Notez]

just googled them sorry about the plug in question,even though that does bring to mind an idea for a plug in! i would call it "Renaissance" haha,i should find a programmer and build it! and have rickei supply lighting techniques!

[rickei]

hehe a Renaissance plugin would be awesome.

[Notez]

Originally Posted by rickei

hehe a Renaissance plugin would be awesome.

then i say lets find a programmer and make it a reality!!