Hey guys,

I am not that fairly new to Daz but I would still consider myself a beginner. I had an idea of a story in the setting that 3 female warriors take on 2 minotaurs and get defeated and then the minotaurs present them to the cyclops king. I have made a scene from this story but it may not necessarily be the first and rendered it. Also plan on looking ways to add text and improving it in post renderwork.

I know nothing about photography, or lights etc in real life.

I also dont know how postwork works, I got photoshop but I may look up tutorials on how to do stuff etc.

Please check this render of mine.

Rendered in 3840x2160 , size 14.something MB, pixel filter Mitchell with radius value 1, max samples 30,000, render quality 1.2, convergence of 99% not achieved I think it did somewhere between 97-98% before max samples was reached, render time roughly +- 7 hours

Give your valuable input on various aspects of the render and tell me if I am going the right direction. Also tell me if I am going in the right direction or if I may have to Redo this specific scene/render

I had to lower exposure to 9.9, is it correct?

Also I set the Post Denoiser at iteration 29500, was that correct?

Thanks in advance guys I look forward to your feedback, also tell me what you think I can do to it in Photoshop not how but what, I can look up how on youtube.

Wow that is quit a piece. What I wod do is some color correction. Change the atmosphere. Make it a bit darker so there is more dimension. This ensures that the image pops and feels more dynamic.

Regarding the settings, I never used them myself. But you could have a play with those settings on a smaller draft render and see if you like the result. If not change it a bit and rerender. That's the way you learn lol.

Liquid_Ice posted at 6:46PM Wed, 16 September 2020 - #4399634

Wow that is quit a piece. What I wod do is some color correction. Change the atmosphere. Make it a bit darker so there is more dimension. This ensures that the image pops and feels more dynamic.

Regarding the settings, I never used them myself. But you could have a play with those settings on a smaller draft render and see if you like the result. If not change it a bit and rerender. That's the way you learn lol.

Thanks man really. Yes the exposure is too low, I will do something about the atmosphere make it a bit grimy or something remove the wet floor and stuff. Will upload a rerender soon and then you must tell me how I did so I know I am going in the right direction. cheerz.

In your original post, you mention various things and ask "is this correct"? Personally, I wouldn't look at it that way. There's no "right" or "wrong" way to use all these tools and settings – it's all about establishing your own style and figuring out what looks good to you.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with asking for feedback. Just keep in mind that it's okay to do things your way, even if that differs from someone else's.

From what I see, you're making a really good start. That render is fantastic!

Liquid_Ice posted at 7:02AM Fri, 18 September 2020 - #4399634

Wow that is quit a piece. What I wod do is some color correction. Change the atmosphere. Make it a bit darker so there is more dimension. This ensures that the image pops and feels more dynamic.

Regarding the settings, I never used them myself. But you could have a play with those settings on a smaller draft render and see if you like the result. If not change it a bit and rerender. That's the way you learn lol.

how did I do this time??? increased exposure to 12.25, lowered set gloss values but didnt add grime (will add it into story that one of the minotaurs has OCD and cleans fairly regularly :P)

I used Dzfires Torch contruction kit and replace each and every torch in the existing merlins labyrinth set, that completely redid the lighting, added DOF and tilted camera while adjusting poses according to new camera angle.

Tried to do post work in Photoshop but failed misearably also whatever auto tune I did messed up big time ( increased brightness effed up color etc) so I just resized it by half from 2160p to 1080p using that resample sharpen setting.

The original 2160p image is here

https://ibb.co/47VYWJt

Heatherlly posted at 7:06AM Fri, 18 September 2020 - #4399672

In your original post, you mention various things and ask "is this correct"? Personally, I wouldn't look at it that way. There's no "right" or "wrong" way to use all these tools and settings – it's all about establishing your own style and figuring out what looks good to you.

Of course, there's nothing wrong with asking for feedback. Just keep in mind that it's okay to do things your way, even if that differs from someone else's.

From what I see, you're making a really good start. That render is fantastic!

Thankyou appreciate it :)

So how did I do this time??? increased exposure to 12.25, lowered set gloss values but didnt add grime (will add it into story that one of the minotaurs has OCD and cleans fairly regularly :P)

I used Dzfires Torch contruction kit and replace each and every torch in the existing merlins labyrinth set, that completely redid the lighting, added DOF and tilted camera while adjusting poses according to new camera angle.

Tried to do post work in Photoshop but failed misearably also whatever auto tune I did messed up big time ( increased brightness effed up color etc) so I just resized it by half from 2160p to 1080p using that resample sharpen setting.

The original 2160p image is here

https://ibb.co/47VYWJt

Honestly, I prefer the first version. While I do think it should be a bit darker, the second is too saturated with orange. The quality is also not as good.

Beyond that, I wouldn't even use DOF in this particular render. The background detailing is just too nice and really helps set the mood.

If you're struggling with postwork in Photoshop and don't have them already, I'd highly recommend downloading the Nik Tools plugins. These have been tremendously helpful/time-saving for me, and I know a lot of our other artists use them, too. Just Google "nik tools free" and it should pop right up.