I kinda feel the other way round - I'd expect the background to be much darker, and the front of the dragon and witch to be much brighter, with the light from the fire falling off very sharply. I think that witch is in danger of getting a cold on her kidneys lol I'm trying to remember what the light is like at dusk. It can also look all bleached-out, with everything grey.

I tend to agree with pog...my first thought before I read what you'd written was that the lighting made it feel a little "flat"...creating a little more contrast between the lights and darks could help there...especially on the woman...bright front, darker back. Based on the title...the scolding...it might be interesting to pull the camera in closer so the dragon more fills the screen and we can read the woman's expression.

Maybe put the woman up on a rock or something to bring her in closer to the dragon...maybe put her on a low cliff with the fire on the floor, and give her a torch/staff for some light. Also the sky looks more like rain than evening...how about some last bit of sun or a touch of pink in the clouds. I really like this image a lot! I'm not sure it needs more light, but maybe just more contrast.

I agree about the flat look, What's happening is the focus of the scene is in all 3 levels...fore,center and background, which is confusing the focus. Little items like the mushroom are also pulling the main focal point away from the middle of the scene.(move it to about 10-O-clock of the fire). Both flowers distract too, they could be off to the side, closer to the foreground & slightly blurred.

Not sure how much post work you're planning, but if the render times are slowing you down, you could build the scene in seperate layers by rendering masks, building it in an image editor using layers. Check out the lighting I used in :"Farie Dust". Even though you can see the sides, it doesn't pull from the main focus.

Check out hobbits gallery, there are some excellent examples of composition rules for depth perception, lighting & subject matter focal point.

Great Fantasy Scene so far.
Keep us updated.
ICM

Message edited on: 11/28/2004 02:47

The problem with sky is not that it misses a pink streak, but that it's a darkened daylight sky. You know what I mean? Like you just lowered the diffusion. Then, the light from the fire is still too cold. It should be more orangey. Also, it's too uniform. Use a turbulence as the gel.

Use a turbulence as the gel. Great tip!

That sky might be one that's moonlit - you just can't see the moon. We get a lot of them around here. The moon's so bright you could read a newspaper - not that I read newspapers you understand...

Whoa, I like this. The sheild & rock behind her are a bit out of place. I'd start here....Oh yeah, you did!

Well this is one way to roast nuts on the fire...;-)

lol - we're obviously the only ones with twisted minds, Bryster

Excellent thing about all of this is...I have the Original scene all the way to three revisions...

I like the background and the colors of the trees in the second image you posted. I think if you cross the best of both you'll have a fantastic image!

And I think that composition is better in the second one. The orange clouds are not good, cause they are lit too ... damn, what's the word ... not monotonously ... but you know what I mean. I hope. :-) firelight is still too cold.

Ive seen this before havent I? lol suggestion? Put something in the foreground...anything :) and I think I like #2 better too. :)

I think that i like the POV better in the second one, but since we're not working backwards... The dragon should be bigger. Unless you intend for it to be an adolescent, which the Millenium Dragon is not really a teenager. It would create a more dramatic sense of scale... Honestly, aside from what ICM said, I think the image would be more appealing if you just flipped it. Horizontally, you know? Mirror it, and take a look... It draws your eyes along it's elements in a much smoother way.

It will be called one of Two Names... 1.The Scolding... 2.The Finger.... Hmmmmmmmmm... NO Postwork on any of the Images...I just saved as Jpg....And the Name on the top one...

Message edited on: 11/29/2004 12:51

The Dragon and Kaleasha the Witch are set as One and Grow together into a Bonding that can only be Broken by Death,And since They will Live many Generations the Dragon and Her will Grow Bigger together Of course the Dragon Will Far Out Grow the Human,The will of Kaleasha is the only thing Keeping the Dragon in Check...She is just scolding Pyro for Eating a Farmers Goat that lives by the Castle...Lazy is as Lazy Be.... Kaleasha is a Character I have been working on for awhile now and since I just got The MilGirls I can now go from a Baby to and Adult with the Story...

Message edited on: 11/29/2004 13:36

Yep, Kaleasha rules. Very cool... The latest render is a much better image, in my opinion.

Yeah!! Much more power in this rendition. Nice work!!

Thanks