Above Dystopia by AnAardvark
Close
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
Description
I was aiming at a "Heavy Metal" (at least of the 80s vintage) style of comics art, so I used a very simple light setup, and some canned Photoshop actions. (One of these days I'll know enough to be able to do my own photoshop actions.)
As a side note, you can get a pretty good basis for cartoons/comics (though not classic anime) by using an IBL for most of your lighting. This gives a really flat look. For actual anime-style, you either need toon shaders, or to pull off some other tricks light flattening everything using the "z-toon" method (somewhere or other in the tutorials).
The background is made up of the free dystopia sets from DAZ -- I also faded it out before doing the toon actions. The forground is actually a blend of two layers of toon actions.
This is really a quick study -- if I were to do a more serious render I would probably have the figure turning the bike. The bike does turn, but it makes it a pain to repose, and I didn't want to take the time. I wish there was a way to "glue" parts of the character in place and let Poser figure out (using limits) the way the joints should move. I could have glued her to the pedals, the seat, and the handlebars. I used the pose which came with the Skybike, which unfortunately exceeds limits, and then tweaked her head and neck.
[Added] Thanks for the comments. I probably won't work more on this image, but I appreciate the suggestions. I think that one reason that the bike isn't as well integrated into the scene as it could be is that the postwork actions I used are really best set for dealing with animated-style comics (distinct forground and background), and perhaps I could have used the same styles to tweak both forground and background. Now it is off to my next project ...
[Yet more added comments.] I think I would like, at some point, to integrate the bike better. The reason why I didn't either blur the background or give the bike a motion blur was that I was deliberately aiming at a particular style of comic art which tends to have detailed backgrounds and fine line strokes. I sort of associate this with the issues of Heavy Metal I read back in the 70s.
Comments (22)
pixeltek
What a fun image!
SoCalRoberta
I like how bright and light the entire scene is, and the huge smile on her face. It all works really well with the entire happy feel of this piece :) My critque is that you should consider doing more in this theme because you are very good at it :)
JOELGLAINE
To glue the figure hands to the handlebars, use Inverse Kinematics on both hands, then parent the hands to the handlebars. It's that simple. It's reminiscent of Heavy Metal. I might add a speed blur to the bike. The amount is up to you. I hope you found the comments useful. I really like the set-up for this, and can't wait to see the finished picture!
kalon
Zooom! This style is a new approach for you and it really works. A lot of fun is captured in the pose, colors and facial expression.
DarkPascual
Cooooool!!!! Great action and expression, great BG also!!!
Rutra
I like this. It reminds me of one of my pictures ("Speeding"), it also has a red bike over Dystopia. I like the toon style. It's not exagerated, just right amount. The only thing, and that's probably because it's a quick study, is that the streets and air is empty of vehicles, city is "deserted".
pjz99
Up up and away!!! As you were going for a Heavy Metal comics style, I don't have any negative comments at except to echo Rutra that a bit of air and ground clutter would liven things up. I think you hit the mark perfectly. Personally I would have tried for a little shadow around her fanny but that's just me, this is entirely lovely just as it is. Very nicely done.
vincebagna
Very coooool! Really cartoonish! To emphasis, i would perhaps add a little cloudy stuff besides the silencer.
Jochen38
You say quick study! I say great job! Especially the lighting youve used to create the background scene looks very good.
Zhack
Critique ring - I think that some blur on the background (not much, seeing as you already have a good distance effect) and maybe some clouds would make it look better. Also try to get the bike and the background to blend more, not necessarily less color but i think that some simple post work could easily make them feel more of the same.
Greywolf Starkiller
A suggestion. When I pose a figure on a bike and want to turn the handlebar, I turn on IK for the hands. It works quite well in keeping her hands on the bar. Did you see my image of USS Volga with Shade in the pilot seat? She's turned towards the camera a bit, as if surprised by the photographer. I used IK on her hands to keep them on the console. :)
witchiebunny
This does look very fun! Something about the edges where the bike and figure meet the background seems a bit crisp. Perhaps blurring it a bit at the edges would soften it and make it seem a bit more realistic? I like it.
Ourias3D
Superbe rlisation, les modes sont vraiment extraordinaires and i love the POV
Anniebel
Cool image.
RandC
As you mentioned about the forground and background not meshing..would of looked great as a toon render or even using one of the scetch presets...overall cool image...well done
Tiari
The only thing missing for me, personally is some kind of engine output from the vehicle. Either a heat waver from the exhaust or smoke, from propulsion.
drifterlee
Oh my! A real sense of height. I would like some motion blur, though.
johnfields
As a huge fan of the pre-Eastman Heavymetal I would say you were dead on! I realize that others are looking for more integration with the scene but based on your notes it looks real close to the work of the period with the saturated foreground and the detailed desaturated backgrounds - I think it was an off shoot of the animation that was popular like Rock and Rule /Heavy Metal /American Pop not to mention Bakshi's Wizards. They used to use detaile art for the background plate and the foreground image was brighter but less detailed for animation purposes! I like this stuff! - It might be fun to do another render with motion blur and some clouds and atmospheric effects as well as some form of exhaust to tie it al together
dphoadley
This is indeed very good, but I do think that the colors of the cycle are a bit too bright in caparison to the background. I could be wrong, and what I say is a suggestion, not a crit. DPH
DapperMan
My only crit is that the bike seems so saturated that it appeas to lose depth, though that may have been your intent while aiming for a certain style. Lack of motion blur doesn't bother me, since i just finished looking at a nice Jaguar brochure with cars in motion, where only the wheels and very close objects were blurred. Great job, overall.
Anasta
I love the color of that (kinda looks like) air jet ski :P I agree with Tiari about some sort of ripple distortion for exhaust behind the machine. And maybe some really slight clouds to have her bursting through to give it more of a 'motion' feel. Very impressive work! :D cheers!
KatesFriend
I like it. Really captures the spirit of those '80's comics.