Wow I remember when you started this one, Looks great!

Wow! This is looking great. Personally I don't feel it needs any more people. About the lighting, I can't help, I have no idea how to light scenes myself. :-D this is so much fun to look at all the details, its wonderful.

You actually have lot of good foundation to work with it further more in 2D program ! So, more contrast and brightening it up might give you more real look, also, consider doing it in Black&White and see do you like it better (or even sepia), nice frame could be a good finishing touch too ! :) I think you have a winner, excellent render !!!!!! :)

I think you did the lighting pretty well. Your image has a lot of detail and has a great feeling to it. Does it take a long time to render with all those lights?

Wow is the correct word! This is an enchanting picture Chohole. I like the lighting. It is dimmer than it would be in a modern setting and seems accurate. Wonderful characters and details!

Yeah, I think you've got about the right number of folk in there - its got a crowd, but without it being crowded or cluttered. This is looking very good :)

It feels to me like there should be something in the foreground left of the picture (but I have no idea what or even if it needs something there). Maybe a more trained (any training) eye than mine could say if that is something to consider or not.

Message edited on: 11/03/2004 17:16

General lighting looks pretty good, but shadows! Where are the shadows? Not even on the clothes... Either the ambience is too high or you've put too many lights, but the picture looks flat. There's no contrast. I'd pull the camera closer to the pair, so you have them in the so called American View, down to the knees. Or better yet, pull them closer to the camera, so you don't lose the details behind them. (The details are very good.) That way you'd solve what Flak says, about the empty left side, cause it wouldn't matter anymore, and isolate the two of them in a private moment amidst all that noise and crowd. That way, you'd have a clear focus, and not just a general picture of a Confederate dance. I think you intended that, right? Finally, the chandeliers should have some kind of visible light in them, shouldn't they? But you can add that in PW.

This looks absolutely fabulous to me just the way it is! Bravo!!

I apologize for taking liberties with your image I know how hard you worked on it....

This looks fantastic Chohole. It is a lovely image and I personally don't think it needs anything else. Although, Zhann has a good idea. Nice work.

Message edited on: 11/03/2004 21:53

Attached Link: http://www.opendoorbooks.com/music/civil_war_dance.htm

I don't like it Chohole. You have to many people in it, the flags aren't hanging right, lighting is all wrong chaderliers should be lit up, floor boards have to much shine/reflection on them.

Now i have said all that i'll tell you the truth.
It looks great Chohole, eveything i said in the above was nothing but a joke so don't pay attention to it at all.
Don't go adding anything to it just set the render off now and wait for the finished product :)

Message edited on: 11/04/2004 01:04

@tjohn, I disagree, they did have ballrooms in some masions, however the image gives the impression of a gymnasium, rather than the intimate surroundings of a Southern home. The dances listed at the link are well and good but don't give you any idea of how much room is required, they aren't 'barn dances', although some may have started there. These masions belonged to the wealthy of the day, and so proper equiette was maintained. And people of the day were smaller than we are today, what was then a ballroom, today would be a fair sized greatroom in a home today.

What I like about the time difference across the pond is that I can get up in the morning and pull into rend, as one does first thing of course, find all these great comments which weren't there when I went to bed. Thanks for all the comments and pointers. Erlik..the chandaliers, I think the problem there is the tex I have used on the glass shades. It is obscuring the candles. I used a cut crystal mat, but think maybe I should go for just a slightly bumped glass. Shadows were bugging me. All lights have shadows enabled, but of course they are not very powerful. maybe some pw. Zhann I have to admit I am not familiar with Southern mansions, but here in GB there are some very large mansions with large ballrooms attached, particularly the Georgian ones. The house I based my georgian house on used to have one, which was attached along one complete side of the house and two stories tall, and it is a large house. THe front room is big enough to have a good party in, and there is another large room behind it plus cupboard space between. The house has now been turned into offices and around 20 people work there with the large room being used for meetings....gives you some idea how big it is. The last guy who actually lived there unfortunately had the ballroon removed...said it was a big empty barn which was hell to heat in winter. Phillistine! Anyway back to the drawing board to have another play, see you in about a week. I will save this one though.

I have never seen so many fancy dresses in one work. Great job.

Very nice but I think the candles should be a bit brighter. Try adding more than 100 Diffusion + ambience and maybe even a little white ambience to the glass. The teen board used to hold dances in the old Bonniman house here and you could still see the musketballs in the outside wall. It was wide like this and not even quite two stories tall, just one floor about 15 feet high. It also had a lot of tall paned windows and french doors leading outside. Lot's of people dancing gets very hot so you open the doors. Longstreet's HQ is the next house up the street, And Confederate Hall is across the street. These are taller but not set up for dancing. The Dulin has a big center ballroom with a huge curved marble staircase about 10 feet wide. The ballroom has big Georgan columns about 4 ft around holding up the center of the room and the balcony above the stair. Not every house in the south looks like Gone With The Wind. This is as good a design as any other and accurate as far as it goes.