So, I've been at this for a couple of months now...rendered quite a few images (lots of crap, the occaisional nice piece). But the one thing that just seems to escape me is the realism that is captured by so many of the artists I see here. Now, I am not expecting to be able to buy a few textures, but a few lights and have my renders be instant masterpieces -- but I have tried many, many different approaches and I always seem to get the same "toonish" result. Is it postwork (which I am attempting, but I need lots more practice)? Is it bump maps (most of my human figures have them-- i've checked)? Is it the lights? Is it something in the rendering settings (not that there are a lot in P4, which is what I am using btw)? Or, shudder, is it a combination of all of the above and I have just not given it enough time yet? Just can't get away from that feeling that there is a simple answer (but, I'm probably wrong). best, e.d.

I think it is a combination of a good texture map and good lighting....you get yourself one really good texture map and you will see the difference. Sharen

Lighting can also be a big factor in the realism, I found that changing the color of the lights ie from white to a tan or skin tone lighting give a more real effect

Also posing and composition really add to the pic. I cringe when I see a great texture on a good model and the model is just standing in some stock pose with their hands out and fingers spread or the pic is shot like someone shoot a picture for a family photo album. Take a look at a family photo album sometime. Even those look fake and those ARE real people. Its fake looking because the people are always centered in the frame, nothing interesting is in the background or if there is the setup looks contrived ie they are standing in front of the Grand Canyon for example. Also the camera is never tilted, the lighting is boring etc. I have a rule that no hand goes unposed, no eye is unaimed and no body part is parallel. No parallel means the lower arm is never parallel with the upper arm, the hips, chest and abdomen are never linear, legs are never parallel with each other or their sub parts and the neck is never straight up and down. Also avoiding unrealistic poses and poses that show off bad knee and elbow joints helps. I bet most of these "real" pics you see don't show Vicky with sharply bent elbows or kneeling unless its Vicky 3. Also you have to realize here that some of these texture are freakin' enormous. We're talking like 8192x8192 and up with same sized bump maps. Way different than a 1024x1024 map.

My system ; not a law, just my system. 1. Start with a good texture say 3000x3000 minimum. 2. Use the same texture and put it in the bump map at 0.2000 (+/-) (Try-error-retry) 3. Use the same texture as a reflection map and play with the setting until it suits your needs. Most of the time it does work out OK. (Try - error-retry and you will find an aceptable solution.) The plastic you can get somethimes is by not using a bump map on very even surfaces.(Or too bright and even reflection map) The advantage of this system is that Poser has only one texture to load freeing memory for ohter things. As sead, not The Law, but it works. Greets, Tony

Just a smaal update : I only use white lights and never change those. I have a one light setup for front vieuws. And a three white lamps setup for random vieuws. After reading some possible problems with some light sets, I stayed with this solution and I only change the white between 0 and 100%. I do change the base color of the models to avoid light set problems. Tony

You might want to check out a book on composition. Your individual elements might be fine. It could be how they're put together that is causing the problem. I know some of the really good Poser pictures here use postwork - some blending of burning and dodging - though I don't know what their secret is. (Boy, I wish I did!) Here's what I can suggest: Kill the default Poser lights but don't use pure white lights, either. Put just a hint of blue or yellow in them so it's more like natural light. RGB 255 255 245, as an example, would give a touch of a sky-blue tinge. Keep your poses from being completely symmetrical. Almost no one sits with both shoulders perfectly squared nor stands with their center of gravity perfectly centered between their feet. Pay attention to where the character's center of gravity and make sure that it is properly supported. (I see a lot of pictures where the model must be straining her legs because her body weight isn't properly supported.) Don't use perfectly symmetrical faces, either. Some models can raise or lower an eye. Use that dial! Also, when smiling, make sure to raise the lower eyelids slightly as the cheeks will move upward and push the lower eyelids up. Have you heard the expression - her smile didn't reach her eyes? That's why. Similarly, if you raise or lower the eyebrows, it will affect the upper eyelids. In action sequences, show the action at the beginning or end of the motion sequence. E.g. if you're showing a baseball pitcher, show him at the beginning of the wind-up or as he releases the ball. Everything in the middle will be much weaker and may look awkward. (Obviously if you're doing an animation, ignore this!) If you're not sure if a pose looks real, try it out yourself. If it's not comfortable, it's probably not realistic. (Obviously if you're showing someone running, you can't hold the pose, but you can still tell whether or not it feels natural as you step through the pose.) Pet peeves: Don't put the breast dials to obscene values. Don't show the female arching her back and jutting out her breasts, especially if she's in high heels. (For giggles, I've tried a few of those poses, and boy does it hurt the back!) I have some tips in the tutorials section on my site for posing and facial expressions, if you're interested - www.fallencity.net. Hope this helps!

One thing tot ry for practice on realism... scan in photos and try to duplicate them in Poser. Don't just use magazine photos, but also use snapshots taken at home. You can't get more real than that. If you can make a convincing snapshot of Vicki or a believable pic of Mike on a Webcam (that would take some postwork to make it look webcammish -- take a webcam pic with a blank piece of paper filling the view and use it to work in the effect) then you are well on your way to realism. The camera focal lengths also need to be played with. The default Poser camera settings aren't quite right for real pictures. Studio shots -- like you see in magazines -- can be simulated with a much longer focal, while human vision usesa slightly longer focal and you can get cool fish-eye effects from a lower one.

Oh, yeah, and make sure cast shadows are on and your shadow maps are big enough!

Cut down the size of what you're doing. Try for a simple face portrait, with a single spot. Don't pose the face at all, leave it at the default. You can work on expression later. Shadows are more emphisized this way. Remember that a low res texture will need a bump to give the face some texture. Also add a light sheen to the skin, otherwise the texture can look like it's been powdered. Here's a low-res free face with a problem on the lip mapping (Superman) for Mike 2. I used a single spotlight (white) pointed at the face to the upper left. Large highlight size, with a light grey color on the sheen. I mapped the bump back to the texture, but used a low level. No face posing, just a twist and bend in the neck.

Oops, I meant a dark grey color on the sheen. Light grey would have given a wet or greasy look.