I've been experimenting with texturing characters in Bryce, tyring to find a combination that gives a good degree of realism. Any advice on methods you use or any tips you've found along the way (for those of you that use import Poser characters to Bryce) would be great. I have searched through the forum and found most of the links to tutorials talking about this. Now, I'd like some ideas as to what could be improved.

To keep things simple, I'm only using V3/M3 with their standard textures and a very basic "pose". The image is rendered with default AA. There is a 143 light dome as well as a HDRI sphere (mainly to give some reflection/depth to the eyes).

Feedback would be appreciated!

It's already very good, I have little suggestions to make. Maybe add some bump to the hair texture of the woman for some extra realism. Also the skin on the guy's neck seems a bit strange, maybe the texture should be rotated slightly more towards his left side. If you turn your head 60 deg towards your right shoulder the skin won't rotate the full 60 degrees, it slides a bit and is actually still a bit more to the left then the head. It's just like with your hand, if you keep your fingers stretched and then bend them down and you look at the skin at the top of your hand you can see the skin slides a bit over the knuckles, I think the neck's skin texture should make a similar effect. But as I said it's just minor detail nit-picking. You've already done like 100 times better then my best try so far :)

I'm not sure how they would respond to your light array, but the first step I'd recommend to advance from where you are now is to play with specular highlights. Human skin looks fairly flat straight on to a light source, but is quite shiney when the angle is oblique. Examining photographs, and, say, the skin of your own arm held up toward a light, should provide a reasonable guide to the size and level of specular highlight to aim for. When combined with a good bump map, this can be a great aid to realism.

My first impression is that these figures have been airbrushed in places...and that their eyes are a bit too perfect and light. The guy however looks like he has skin cancer and definately needs more hair! Just my 0.02p

Bryster, The image has no postwork or airbrushing. As for the guy and needing hair, I'm just experimenting so, to keep render times down, he's going bald for the time being :) I do appreciate the feedback about the eyes though. Thanks.

lol I dont' know about skin cancer, bu tthose are very realistic looking freckles everywhere...both my dad and my hubby have shoulders that look like that, but on slightly tanner skin.. ummm eyes....perhaps more of a line on the eye lids where they fold.... lol and can't ya give the girl like at least one pimple? LOL

I agree, her skin is too perfect! I'll be modifying the tex... Great idea about the eyelid folds. Hadn't thought of that. Thanks Jen.

hahaah anytime.... I can't make em, but I can always ummm supervise? LMAO j/k!

Well, I broke down and bought M3 too. and have naturally been playing with him. And I think that the eyes are what "gives the 3D figures" away the most. They say that eyes are the "mirrors of the soul", but most of us have some little imperfections in our eyes... they might be. The textures "right out of the pack" are a little bit too perfect, in most regards. Here are some of my "facets of Mike" (they shoulda given him a new name.... Mike 3 just doesn't "sit right" :)

Everything about them looks nearly real but the eyes just seem too artificial to add to the realism. I've only just started playing with these figures too and I'm still trying to get the eyes into a realistic look. What you've done so far looks very good though and only needs a few small fixes to make it perfect. Catlin

I think that the figures look great, the eyes are perhaps merely too ambient? The female's eyes seem to almost glow. Perhaps turn the ambience all the way off... Or try skipping out on Poser mats for the eyes, and use procedurals... But what really strikes me is the lack of eyelashes. Nobody has such short, thin eyelashes, except burn victims and weirdo goth kids. I was looking at my lover the other day, she has long, thick eyelashes and she doesn't even wear makeup! They really stand out, I love it. Just an idea!

I think you are doing awsome.But wouldn't you get better input having this in a Poser forum,haven't checked,but this is my thought.As for the first image, on the guys neck, I have seen many guys with the duck bumps right after a bad shave.Totally realistic to me.His skin is photolike while hers is kind of ,well like it was created in a CG program.

mloates, A suggestion on the lighting. shift it slightly to yellow. not too much(I always tend to overdo it but a very slightly yellow color in the lighting could add a bit of contrast that a pure white light seems to bleach out.) your texturing looks very good to me. Impressive, - TJ

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I'll give em' a go!

Now Britt's characters are a bit too yellow, they look jaundiced....the guy on the right's eyes are too white...but even so, all this stuff is way beyond my capablilities and very good........perfection is had to achieve but you guys are very nearly there....

oh the perfection of imperfection..... wonders why it is, in real life we strive to be perfect, or as close to it as we can get.....yet in CG, we strive for perfection through imperfection? lol just the thoughts of a very sleepy needin more caffiene and a nap mind..

Eyes need a good helping of specularity and some reflection. Remembner they are continuously wet objects in the human body.