So, what can I do to make this better?

Definitely lift up the Dinosaurs head. Perhaps twist the neck so the head points back towards the center of the picture, although that may not be as important as just getting his head off the ground and out of the corner. As it is now your eye travels down to the right bottom corner. If you decide against repositioning the dino head than perhaps lighten up the image so we can see the Dino's head better. It's getting lost in the dark bottom corner. Also a thought about "Job?", I'm assuming it is Job and not God. Direct his eyes upwards as if he's listening to God speak the quote. Hope this helps...nice wip and idea.

Nicely done! Need a little more light around the Dinosaurs or maybe lighten the ground a little so the Dino lower section (Head, neck, legs, and feet ) and the deer can be easily seen. I agree with the comment above about the eye, might bring a deep suggestion to the picture.

Excellant, thanks. I'm aware of the dino head and might lighten it. The first wip had the dino up in the trees but that didn't fit with the verse. So down on the grass is better for that, but definitely needs more accent. You're dead right about the composition issues with the head. Thanks. I hadn't thought of the eyes on the guy. That's a great idea. I'm surprised you thought it was Job. I hadn't decided who it was but was thinking Job would be more appropriate than God so the eye thing would make that work. Great feedback, any other ideas anyone?

By the way, I'm just beginning to think that Poser lighting is kinda ok (sorry, I'm a big fan of the Bryce 4 and Bryce 5 lighting capabilities). So... I tried to lighten up the head of the dino in Photoshop and gave up, all the filters sucked... The lighting on the buck heads (and the doe was simply a buck scaled down and the antlers removed postwork) was merely accidental with the light set that I used. I guess putting a spotlight on the dino head would be the key but again, I've not been able to do that without lotsa effort. I did try to match the light to the backdrop, which was made in bryce. Wanted some highlight on the tree leaves from behind like moonlight but unable to figure that out. To me, lighting the image is crucial.

I found my eyes travelling to the right bottom corner. Would love a little more light there to see the dino's head. Not so sure about the ideal lighting in Poser. I spend alot of time doing light setups for renders and even if there are custom lights out there, for darker scenes, i still find myself tweaking the settings. I have found myself increasingly adding to the lighting in Postwork using autofx.com Mystical Lighting. It gives me the ability to add highlights in postwork that saves me alot of time really. I would then proceed to highlight parts of the scales (the spine with some hint of a different hue to add interest (just me) If that is job. Then the eyes toward heaven would further emphasise that. Also, if you are up to the idea, try a different font, coupled with having the background fade in the the background behind the words - like feathering/ decreasing its opacity. The rest of the pic will stand out. One last suggestion (hope you don't mind). I would, for the verse reference put say Job Chapter 40 (NIV) for example. It would be clearer that it is a quotation for the Bible. Overall, I think this is a very original idea. Most Biblical Renders show an Easter scene or the token eagle soaring in the sky so it is refreshing to see other ideas instead. Thanks for sharing.

The background is beautiful and wonderfully done! I could see where this could be Job or God. But since is the book of Job him looking up as listening is a wonderful idea. Chapter and verses used is an excellent suggestion. I am curious as to why you chose the dinosaur to represent Behemoth? Was it because it was the only animal you have or are you showing your idea of what this biblical animal might have been. Not criticizing or debating just curious. :-) Very nice work. :-)

Good work, but I would have assumed that the creature refered to as Behemoth would have been more likely to have been an elephant ? But then again, I'm not Biblically minded

I love this picture. (I'm a big fan of religious art) >> I would have assumed that the creature refered to as Behemoth would have been more likely to have been an elephant << An elephant's tail isn't "like a cedar". (I'm not a creationist by any stretch of the imagination, but I don't think the biblical behemoth was an elephant because the description just doesn't fit. Don't think it was a dino either, but a dinosaur does fit the description better...

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Jeff

Renderosity Senior Moderator

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Why is God always a white guy with a beard? If Adam & Eve were white, where did all the black people come from? I should state for the record that I'm a white (slightly lapsed Neo Pagan) bloke myself, and I ask these questions because I would like an answer from a "believer" (though I realise I will also get abuse :) Anyone read "Job" by Heinlein? Very funny! :) As for making it better, you could make him smile a bit. later jb

Not sure this is really advice, but the best I have seen here is Rohi. He's a master of this kind of technique. Take a look at some of his work and see if you get some ideas for improvements. Otherwise, nice thoughtful piece.

Well, a few things: The filters in Photoshop won't give you what you want there. You have to go into the channels, create an area, blur it, then use levels to increase the white point around the head. Then it just depends on how much information Photoshop has to work with. (This just raises a side note: the channels have been incredibly ignored with all the revisions in layers taking place, but the channels can be yer best friend in situations like this.) I'd take the head, enlarge it to fill almost half the space, blur it some, then make it more transparent, so we get the feeling of a mysterious Supreme Being. It might mean repositioning the tail, but it could lead to a more interesting composition.

I would try bending the neck so it brought the head around and back twords the body but twisted so it faced the camera more. Or you might try puting a few of them in the scene another big one and a few smaller ones. I think i would also try adding a bit of a smile to the God Character and have his eyes looking more twords them.

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I really like this picture also. I did a bit of checking into the verse cited. Seems like there are two different quotes. *chuckle* One, like Eric has says "Look at *the* behemoth..." and seems to refer to a massive animal of indeterminate species. The foot note lists elephants and hippos. *chuckle* The other verse states "Look *at* Behemoth..." which seems to personify the beast (not sure personify is the correct word)or give the creatures NAME (not species) as Behemoth...hrmmmmm....perhaps a poorly translated mis identification of a Babo/Assryian devil? (Just wondering, not stating a fact and defintely not looking for a fight on Scripture. LOL) Anywho, I love the image. For my suggestions: 1. In order to make the tail a bit more cedar like try changing it so only the last third of the tail is bending. The dino looks rather diplodican so from what Ive seen it seems the tail was held rigid except for that last third of the tip. Thatd be much more cedar like, IMHO. 2. Like some others suggested play with the lighting. I suggest one Infinite light (for the sun?) and then a couple of spotlights. Ive inculded a link to Dr. Geeps lighting tutorials in case you arent familiar with them. I hope the link doesnt cut off. (the whole thread is graphic intensive but worth the wait. 3. The overall pic seems dreary, as if it was stormy or late in the evening. Lighten it up some. Make it bright. Youre highlighting one of the best quotes from the Bible. Enough from me I suppose. Awesome pic Eric. Hope to see more from you.

I like this! There are SOME people who use the behomoth passage to point to a recent extiction of SOME surviving dinosaurs. Again (as everyone seems required to do) not looking for an arguement but volunteering information. This may be more of a criticism of Poser figures, rather than the artwork itself, but dosent the guys eyes look awful young? I mean the first thing I thought when I saw him was some young movie actor made up to look old. Older peoples eyes are rarely that large and clear.

Hey, "he" is God! God can look like anything that a believer wants. ;0) Sorry, I gave up God for Lent... BYS

How's this?

Sorry, I gave up God for Lent...<< I thought i was the only one who ever said things like that...

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Jeff

Renderosity Senior Moderator

Hablo español

Ich spreche Deutsch

Je parle français

Mi parolas Esperanton. Ĉu vi?

excellent! btw, actually, when I mentioned the fading part on the wordds, it is actually for the background behind the words to be faded, and not the words themselves. But overall this is very nicely done especially the turned neck which adds interest... that is where the eyes go then travels down the spine bringing the viewer around the image :-) well done!