Message edited on: 12/02/2004 03:16

The lighting is not a bad idea at all, but i think its way too much contrast between the red and the grey. Have you tried adding a slightly blueish atmosphere to the rest? I think that would even things upp a little. :) Btw, what happened to the balcony?

Do you have a plan for the sky already? The reason I ask is, depending on the color sky you use, you can change the stark contrast that Rochr mentioned. Once that is done accenting with some very subtle haze, mist, or cloudy material would pull the scene together. This looks Fantastic so far. Nice work Drac.

yeah, i know the contrast is too stark. that's really the problem, i'm having a really hard time figuring out the lighting. the blue might be a good idea, but the moment I add some atmosphere in bryce (for testing purposes since i'm not allowed that in the challenge) it starts looking fake. and i still have to make some decent clouds =/ mihnea

How much postwork are you allowed?

Drac, if you added some variation to the grey, the contrast might not be so great. Add bits of brown, dark blue, whatever... Or simply a grey noise, possibly. Or you can turn a necessity into a virtue: make everything black and white/ greyscale except the plasma and the planet, if you still want to use a planet. :-)

But you can always use some colored radial lights. Why not try placing a few of them below the buildings, or even one behind the cam? A faint lightsource behind the camera could be enough. Or do some color corrections. Thats allowed. :)

That is some very cool lightning, but what strikes me as kind of odd and would probably help the contrast is having it cast some light on the nearby buildings. While you are making adjustments be sure the glow is behind the front-left building. That is a really cool image.

OK great stuff and all that, but what is the story behind the spectacular lighting thingy in the middle?

Excellent work Drac... The Buildings all have the same texture and that in itself would be wrong,Add some dirt and Grime to the Buildings...Go with whaqt Rochr said about the Lights.. What do you mean YOUR NOT allowed to have Atmosphere...? Max,Maya,Lightwave has atmospheric Plugins and I bet they are being used...And before anyone says...BUT THATS NOT ALLOWED...Yeah I know But I would say at least a dozen or so Entries are going to cheat in one way or another... Are they THAT MENTAL over there.. Can you use Photographs for the clouds...? Are Other folks useing their Damn Plugins to make their Crap in Max,Maya,Lightwave...Bryce doesnt have Plugins so right there you are at a disadvantage and if one of them uses any Plugin in the CONTEST They need to be Booted and then the Contest should be thought over more... I see that you can Import Objects to use ....? If that is the case then Import a Photograph thru the Picture Editor... What they are afraid of is the simple Explanation That they Know that deep down we Brycers are turning out Better ARTWORK faster then they can,And yes I use alot of other Models from folks But I see the same thing in the max Gallery,And since We are Learning their Programs they Know we can Beat them at their Own Game because useing Bryce gives us the lEARNERS EDGE......Anyone remember AVI...He was one fine Modeler and all done in Bryce....

It's the future of modern art! I want a miniature one on my desk! Really, what is it?

No plugin created atmosphere, trees, rocks, whatever... in no program. Yes, you can use photos as textures. As to "Better ARTWORK faster then they can", speak for yourself. :-) I'm slow as molasses.

drac i want them buildings. Give me them or i'll get Robby(your bot) and turn hin into some can openers or worse the cans ;)

Since Bryce comes with Tree's and Sky Presets and Rock Generator and They are NOT PLUGINS it should be allowed....RIGHT....?

Coming along quite nicely. I agree with Rochr, and ICM and TobinLam and Erlik. The buildings on the right are a lot brighter lit than those on the left, but with out knowing what if any atmosphere exists, that might be right.

Well, no, it's not allowed. You cannot explain to them that not all the parametric programs are not created equal.

But you need to let them KNOW that THe Tree's and Skies and Rocks are a Part of Bryce and in turn Means they are Part of the WHOLE Program...And Bryce Can NOT use Plugins NOW...So that Means YOU ARE NOT USING PLUGINS but the Program... Ahhhh a Poll needs to be run me thinks.... OK....?

Then that means then that they CANNOT use The Greeble effect or Painting or Morphing or anything like that...They should not be able to use Particle system or Warps...Since Bryce can Not use HDRI or Global ILLumination or Radiosity then they should not be allowed Either...FROM MY stand point it looks like a VERY LOPSIDED Contest.....

yeah it is, but as long as you come with something half-decent and state that you didn't use bryce's 'plugins' and can prove that you didn't, you're fine. drac

I think that you might want to try using a few more texture variations as suggested, but also, you need to start deciding on the look and feel you want your final image to have I think... First I thought you were going for an almost black and white approach, then your starfield had a little more color again, and this new red effect you created is very highly saturated. I think you need to find more balance between that.
Grey textures can really come to life with mathing lighting, but usually the lighting will add some coloration in that case. For starters you could use a cold fill-light color and a warm point light, or at least some red light comming from the red flary thing in the center maybe?

To reduce the contrast you can use TA, or as a faster rendering alternative, Blurred reflections. that's my 2 cents anyways :)

Message edited on: 12/03/2004 09:56

Render Wars of 2005..... Headlines from World News Papers... Brycers get tired of BS and finally take a stand to show the world that Bryce can Render Pics just as Good if not better then the Higher end software...Faster,More Realistic... Now I know they can do modeling in their program but soon we will be able to too...Maybe Bryce7 or 8 but....We will get it one day...Then what are they going to do...JUMP ship and come over to a Program that cost less then 90% of the HIGHER END software and is easier to learn...