Steampunk Valkyrie by theSea

DAZ|Studio • Illustration • posted on Jul 06, 2010

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Description

"Steampunk Valkyrie" is a commissioned piece created to support the release of "Apteromata Flight" at DAZ. Also featured are "Warrior Maiden Eth" and elements from the "Apteromata Finery" set. The props in the background include Ant Farm's "Never Was," "Never More," "Never Clear" and "Never Time" as well as the Steampunk Dragon from DAZ. This was rendered in multiple lighting passes, one each for the sun, skydome and an ambient environment light. There was also a fog pass using MoodMaster2 and separate passes for the glow of the dragon's eyes and the sky and associated reflections. These were all composited in Photoshop with the lighting passes layered in screen mode and the fog pass added over the top. These layers were flattened and then a 'bloom' layer was created by copying that flattened layer and increasing the contrast, decreasing the saturation and brightness until only the highlights remained and then blurring that layer and applying it in screen mode. I think I'm really going to have to post a tutorial image to show how all of this fits together... it's one thing to describe it but it makes a lot more sense when you *see* it. I created the frame in Photoshop using some of Ron's Sci-Fi brushes to give that overall steampunk effect. I used some colors I sampled from the image and just plopped down some pipes etc on a new layer. Finally I rendered out a Mask of the main figure and used that to isolate her from the frame. I'd like to thank BadKittehCo for giving me the opportunity to work with this set and all of you for taking the time to look and maybe offer some comment or constructive critique. There are three more illustrations from the series that I'll be posting and then I think I'll create some tutorial imagery to explain how the layers etc all fit together.

Comments (17)

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alessimarco

8:33PM | Tue, 06 July 2010

Amazing work!

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Timesurfer

8:34PM | Tue, 06 July 2010

WOW!! stunning.... can't wait for the tutorials :) thank you for posting!!!

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arbee999

8:36PM | Tue, 06 July 2010

Wow!

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geirla

9:03PM | Tue, 06 July 2010

Excellent composition! She definitely comes right out of the picture at you. No 3D glasses required. Be great to see a tutorial.

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BadKittehCo

10:32PM | Tue, 06 July 2010

Even though I've seen it, this is soooo good, I can't stop looking at it. Beautiful detailing, exquisite lighting.... just amazing!

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arcas

10:33PM | Tue, 06 July 2010

Great sales piece as the detail throughout is breathtaking! And that AntFarm stuff makes a perfect backdrop!

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anitalee

2:01AM | Wed, 07 July 2010

nice work

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Hubert

6:11AM | Wed, 07 July 2010

Fantastic scene/image!!

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thecytron

8:36AM | Wed, 07 July 2010

Xcellent render!

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kobaltkween

9:01AM | Wed, 07 July 2010

ironically, what makes me prefer some of your other works is also what makes this a good steampunk piece. to me, everything feels washed out and low contrast. as far as i can tell, that's due to smoke and grit in the air and on everything. the composition is good and dynamic, without seeming overly contrived. i like how the sun looks on the buildings. the skin seems a little grey and flat, even for the scene. it looks to me like it might be a better image with linear workflow, because the shadows seem overly dark for the lighting. i understand what you were doing with the matting, but i find it just distracting rather than enhancing. especially with the drop shadow. i love the way she breaks out of the frame though, and i think if the matting were a different hue and value, something cool and dark that receded into the background instead of something warm and bright (which generally cues foreground), it would work a lot better. the outfit is cool, but you did a really good job of making an image that isn't just about one model. imho, that's what's key to the strength of our work. i don't think we can talk about how our work is still creative when we make images that don't go beyond simply displaying someone else's work. this is a great example of how you can show off someone else's creation very well while sharing a style and vision uniquely your own.

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