Overall, shadows are quite light using this mod. 

I am using the Countervibe profile for ENB ( http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/21912 ). I tried many and this one has a nice balance of color and light.

Darker shadows tend to happen in very dense areas only with this one, as it should be.

Overall, it turned the game into an entirely new beast. I feel like I am playing Skyrim as it should have been.

Here is another one with lighter shadows in the distance on the edge of the woods.

I took hundreds of shots like these so far (still looking for a good way to share them online).

Skyrim .. or I should say Modded Skyrim (like Modded Oblivion and Modded Morrowind) are rare games where I regularly stop, look around, admire the view, and move on.

Edit: Actually, you DID say that mods took care of the grayish problem :)

Thanks to the amazing work around the ENB graphic layer, you can turn Skyrim into a living, breathing Vue gallery  :)

To reply Infinity10, it only means that sites blocked by SOPA would be in the US for now. 

Once this kind of law is passed, it is only a matter of time before the US strongly suggests other countries to do the same.

Just look at what happened with DMCA.

Anyone looking for a crash course about the intent of this type of legislation and how fundamentally flawed they are should either read :

Lockdown - the coming war on general purpose computing

or watch the keynote speech video.

Cory Doctorrow's keynote speech at 28c3

Seriously - take the time to read or watch this and get a better understanding of what we are getting into with these laws.

Fighting piracy is a good goal. The way we are going about it through current and proposed laws is deeply flawed and cannot work. We have to find other ways.

I really believe that there is little substitute for the feedback of a teacher if you want to get to the next level.

Whether it is from an online workshop or a real life class, try lookig for something that includes that part of feedback. 

It will save you hours of wandering around aimlessly and help you focus on the areas you need to really work on.

I you are going for tutorials as gifts, I could not recommend more 'Becoming a better artist' - a CG Talk Workshop with Robert Chang.

His critiques are very frank and they can sting (a lot) but they are always followed by explanations about what you are doing wrong and how you can improve. 

He covers the fundamentals - composition, light, colors, representation, textures... 

http://beta.workshops.cgsociety.org/courseinfo.php?id=177 

I am rebuilding a PC just for this game.... I already have lost countless hours between Morrowind, Oblivion and Fallout3. 

The opening scenes of the game are very impressive. Very fluid even on older hardware.

Once again, it makes me wish for a hybrid 3D software with game quality previz for setting up scenes followed by a deeper raytracer engine for the final shot.

Maybe one day...

In the meatime, here ar some real-time landscape rendering :)  

http://www.youtube.com/user/BethesdaSoftworks#p/c/7139983F41BCED20/1/fn0N294NFy0 

As was said above, you can improve your artwork tremendously by improving composition and lighting alone.

If you can afford it, I cannot recommend enough these two workshops :

- Becoming a better artist with Robert Chang

http://beta.workshops.cgsociety.org/courseinfo.php?id=40

A crash course in all aspects of visual creation, from how to set up your tablet to composition, lighting, color and texture. If you can stand the heat and the difficult quetions this course will bring, the payoff will be priceless.

- Face and Figue Painting with Don Seegmiller

http://beta.workshops.cgsociety.org/instructor.php?userid=589

A great, practical introduction to digital painting. I noticed you have portraits in your gallery - this is a great course to get started with a good method with huge improvements if you can put in the time and practice. Don is not giving this workshop at the moment, so keep an eye out for it.

In both workshops, the techniques are surprisingly simple. I learned that most roadblocks come from not practicing enough and lacking general instructions on your own to work more efficiently. The workshops take care of the instructions - the time and practice are up to you.

Another helpful resource - the USCIS website - Working in the US.

The best way is to be sponsored by a US employer or a college, but there are other options depending on your situation and the type of job you are doing.

I have two comments at first glance :

• Variations are too monochromatic. This could be on purpose, but just looking at the thumbnails, there isn't much to look at to decide which image looks better. At this stage, it just looks like the same picture with different color filters.

• Speaking of thumbnails. The monster should be visible to some extend even in a thumbnail of that size. As it stands now, the picture looks just like a picture of a ship at seas. I would not see it as a picture of a monster if I happened across it in a gallery.

Attached Link: http://www.luxrender.net/v/features

LuxRender is an external rendering program and relies on exporter scripts that export a scene from a 3d modeling program.

The primary exporter is LuxBlend, which tightly integrates LuxRender with Blender. It supports all the features of LuxRender. It also features interactive material preview inside Blender, significantly reducing the time it takes to create complex, realistic materials.

Exporters for major 3D packages like Maya, Cinema4D, XSI and 3D Studio are under development. Because LuxRender's file format is openly documented, any skilled programmer could start writing an exporter for any 3d modeling program.

So... unless someone (e-on probably) writes an exporter for Vue, the answer is probably : not anytime soon.

On the other hand, you may try to export a Vue scene to a 3D studio format (assuming the models are not locked for exporting) and then use their 3D studio exporter to use that rendering engine.

1- As far as I know, NASA is a public organization. I would expect this kind of resource to be given away if they are made available, not the other way around.

2- I don't see what this kind of political comment has anything to do in this forum... but then again, I am no longer running it, so maybe things have changed :)

Thanks... I'm fine.  very busy at work and working on hand painting skills at the moment, so I had to put Vue on the back burner.

I'm still keeping an eye on the forum when I get a chance :)

I understand the principle of the rule, but I am sorry to say this is taking it to absurd proportions.

A 'nudity' flag has only meaning in a sexual context - meaning, to alert people that their sensibility may be hurt if they walk in on a picture with a nude character, where their sexual organs can be displayed directly or implicitly.

These gummy bear looking aliens are cartoon characters with no sexual organs displayed (not in any humanoid sense). They have no business being flagged with Nudity.

I could find many examples where a Nudity flag would be just as absurd :

• stick figures : humanoid, no clothing
• Donald Duck : humanoid, no pants
• An Ent (living tree) from Middle Earth: humanoid, no clothing
• any photo of apes or monkeys: humanoid, no clothing (as long as they sexual organs are not in full display, apes can hardly be considered 'nudes').

How would translucent gummy a-sexual aliens be any different ?