3D Rendering

[richardandtracy]

Not sure if this counts as a 'craft' or not. It certainly came as a result of my miserable failure at a craft.

I have always wanted to paint and draw figures. But there is something lacking in my drawing skills. I can draw mechanical objects quite well, but drawing or painting figures is entirely beyond me. I end up with something looking like a cubist painting. Yep, I'm that bad, and like anyone who's not content producing utter rubbish (unlike cubist's), I gave up doing it manually. I eventually came across a 3D figure animation program called 'Poser' and it's freebie equivalent 'DAZ Studio' which allow you to pose 3D computer mannequins and render them. This was the year 2000-ish. The rendering time was ridiculous, 20 to 30 hours, but it allowed me to get my 'fix' of drawing figures.
As the software became more sophisticated my PC became less & less able to cope, so I eventually gave up 3D Figure rendering. However, before I did, I created my 'Contemplation' image, which was the first image of my own that I converted and stitched up using 'Ryijy Stitch Designer', and was my second ever project here:


Anyway, all went quiet for a good few years, then earlier this year my work upgraded their PC's, and in the design office we were all given first refusal on our old PC's before they were disposed of. I jumped at the chance, especially as the thing came with an obsolete version of SolidWorks CAD software. That would let me design my pens at home. Furthermore I could use the machine and 3D printer to create little statues of figures. As it turned out, the printing of the statues was not a great success, because clothing is not modelled as solid objects in these figure animation packages, just as surfaces with no thickness. Consequently the clothes occasionally did not print, and the figures showed rather more of their anatomy than I had intended. Anyway, trying to print statues resurrected my long dormant interest in the rendering of images from 3D models.

The old work PC has enough grunt to be able to cope with the demands of the current rendering engines, and 50 minutes over the weekend was what was needed for this:

I particularly like this one as it reminds me of how Tracy looked when we met, all tight reddish permed curls, piercing blue eyes and freckles. I am simply amazed at the capabilities of the current rendering engines and also the grunt of this 'obsolete' PC. With a bit more experience, it may be possible to create photorealistic images of people who have never existed.

The packages are able to render any 3D model, not only figures, but as they are the ones I have most difficulty with, they are the ones I'm concentrating on. Just wish there were more hours in the day to do everything I want to try in the workshop, on the computer and stitching.

Has anyone else tried similar rendering packages? And have you created anything you're really pleased with?

Regards,

Richard.

[rcperryls]

Awestruck by the amazing lifelike picture. Can't imagine what it must look like in "real life". And of your diverse talents. I can't wait to see what you create next!

Carole

[Squirrel]

Awestruck by the amazing lifelike picture. Can't imagine what it must look like in "real life". And of your diverse talents. I can't wait to see what you create next!

Carole

I totally agree with Carole, you are amazing Richard.

[fccs]

Awestruck by the amazing lifelike picture. Can't imagine what it must look like in "real life". And of your diverse talents. I can't wait to see what you create next!

Carole

I totally agree with Carole, you are amazing Richard.

And I agree with both of you. Richard, you are truly an artist.

[richardandtracy]

Thanks for all your comments, but a majority of the improvement has come from the renderer's improvement, my posing skills are very rusty.

In 2006 I did a little image that replicated a silly incident that happened to me in the late 1990's. When we were in our last house there was a crash somewhere else in the house, then dear old Albert careered into the bedroom, ran up my front and hugged my face. All I could see or breath for a few moments was cat stomach. Obviously, I couldn't see what it looked like, but guessed... (oh, and I'm not a statuesque, leggy brunette, but I saw no reason not to improve on the moderately unattractive reality ). I also created a little texture for the freebie 'Poser Cat' to make it look as close to Albert as possible, posed everything and then rendered the image below.
The skin textures & lighting was close to 'State of the Art' for rendering with a PC at the time. On my PC of the time that picture (at that size!) took around 24 hours, the ray tracing for the reflections in the wardrobe mirror stressed the CPU to almost breaking point. So, comparing with the incredible detail above achieved in 50 minutes, you can see the phenomenal improvement in the quality of rendering possible now.


Regards,

Richard

[rcperryls]

I think that for where technology was in 2006, that is one very very good 3D photo. I am assuming that you didn't have the same tools that ILM or Pixar or Weta had to work with. I'd say it's pretty good for someone with a home computer. Actually, amazing. I don't see where you get the time for all that you do.

Carole

[richardandtracy]

At the time I had a 1.2GHz AMD processor, single core, 1Gb RAM running WinXP, so nothing like the render farms available to Pixar. That PC is still alive, controlling my CNC router.
The computer producing the first render is 3.2GHz Intel Xeon i5, 8 cores, 16Gb RAM running Win7, so somewhat higher specified. It went into service in 2014 and is now 'obsolete'.

Must admit, I have not noticed any significant improvement in computing power on my new work PC. I have long suspected the thing slowing the design process down is me, not the computer, so a higher spec PC won't speed things up .

Regards,

Richard.

[karen4bells]

Absolutely amazing renderings Wow, just WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mabel Figworthy]

That "portrait" is scarily lifelike - and in a way I do mean scarily, as it makes me wonder when online renderings will be good enough to make us think they are real people.

She is amazing though. Can I ask a question? I once tried to get into AutoCad and other 3D programs and the trouble I always find is what do I start with?

In other words, what do you, as the artist/person-with-the-idea put into the computer so that it can in turn render the lovely red-head?

[richardandtracy]

For 3D rendering like that, what you need is:

1. A computer, either a Mac or a reasonably high spec PC
2. A posing/rendering package. There are two reasonably affordable ones, Poser (can cost around £100) or DAZ Studio, which is free from http://www.daz3d.com. Both packages come with libraries of content that can then be dropped in. In the case of DAZ Studio the program is a 175Mb download, and the content can be up to a further 1.5Gb in three or more separate downloads. Now, the bundled content is pretty good, but a lot of people use it, so there are content vendors who sell extra content to make things different. DAZ is one of them, and they cross subsidize the program with money made from selling content, that's how they can make the program free. However, you can start rendering figures for nothing.

Poser has a bit more content available with it, but the rendering seems to be less good than from DAZ Studio, and the quality of the latest generation of figures from DAZ - the Genesis 8 figures - is much higher than anything available from Poser. I think Poser has been starved of investment over the last 10 years, and it's showing.

I will admit DAZ Studio is a difficult program to get started with. It was designed to be a cross platform package from the outset, working on Apple and PC's. In order to do this, they wrote a program that behaves in a very non-standard manner for both sets of users. At times it is terribly frustrating to use, but it is incredibly powerful. Amongst other powerful tools, it has something built in called 'dForce', which is a simplified finite element crash analysis package. This can be used to drape clothing over figures or in animations allow hair to flap in the wind. Unbelievably powerful, but rather slow with erratic results sometimes (and the old Work PC can't run it, but our newer but vastly less powerful laptop can).

Sorry, getting back to the point.
To get the image above, I spent some of my pocket money during DAZ's March sale, and bought the 'Reese' figure preset (which modifies the default 'Genesis 8' female figure supplied with the program, and is here https://www.daz3d.com/reese-hd-for-genesis-8-female ) and the Pascale Hair ( here: https://www.daz3d.com/pascale-hair-for- ... 8-female-s ). The clothing visible in my image was part of the clothing supplied with DAZ Studio. I think the two cost me in the sale $25 or so.

Options to modify the figure come in the form of different morphs to change shapes, to pose the figures (all joints work, and can be set to custom positions). So if a human can get to a pose, so can the mannequin in DAZ Studio (and quite a few it's impossible for a human to hold, but only after setting 'Obey Joint Limits' to off). Then, cameras and lights can be set to alter what the image looks like.
To customize the image further it is possible to alter the textures used. All the figures use textures, or pictures, that are mapped over the surface. If you change the texture used to a custom one, to add things like tattoos, or add birthmarks etc, change the skin tint or do your own alien green or blue skin it is possible. Then the skin specularity, glossiness and transparencey can all be altered. Finally greyscale images are used to define the bumpiness/ roughness of the surface visible in the renderer. And Displacements can also be added, where a greyscale image can be used to displace the surface by an amount you can control. So this is all user controllable stuff without having to create any new models.

You can create your own content, ie figures & models, from scratch. Many people seem to use ZBrush http://pixologic.com/. The content can be props (items that do not change their shape) or morphs (modifiers to a shape that can be dialled in strength from nothing to huge) or completely new figures. In years past I created a couple of props, as they are the simplest to do. Creating morphs & figures is phenomenally complex and I have not done it yet. Modelling anything requires a separate modelling package as it cannot be done in DAZ Studio. DAZ offer 'Hexagon' as a freebie that can do this, and I'd describe it as equally difficult to use as DAZ Studio, and possibly even more frustrating. To create figures from scratch you need to define a surface skin for the figure, then in DAZ Studio you need to go through a process called 'Rigging' where you define how groups of surfaces move relative to each other. It is slightly simplified by the concept of 'Bones' where you can define joints and rigid sections, but it is way past what I have tried so far.
Landscapes can be created in 'Bryce' (another powerful freebie package from DAZ) and Studio figures posed in Studio can be placed in a landscape in Bryce and all rendered together. Bryce makes Studio & Hexagon seem incredibly easy to use, I warn you!

So, it can be very cheap to start, but like any other (dare I say it?) craft, if you go in deep with an open purse/wallet it can get very expensive.

Regards,

Richard.

[Mabel Figworthy]

Thank you, Richard, for that very detailed reply - I understood most of it (except specularity. I had to look that up.) DH was very interested to read about the whole process too!

[richardandtracy]

Tracy & I have been feeling a bit down since yesterday evening, when we had to have our beloved Norwegian Forest Cat 'Fluffy' put to sleep. Just want a bit of a hug, so to vaguely articulate the feeling of being in a very barren and lonely place, just wanting a hug, I created this 3D rendering, as it shows how we both feel at the moment.

The figures were rendered over a background image of the Mohave Desert, and the rendering package using the background image to generate the lighting intensity & direction.

Regards,

Richard.

[rcperryls]

It's a beautiful way to express your feelings by creating such a lovely piece of art.

Carole

[Mabel Figworthy]

Sad news - and I wish you both comfort and strength in your loss - but a beautiful way of expressing the sorrow.

[wendywombat]

At a time like this a Hug is essential!!

[Garnet]

A picture says a thousand words as they say.

So moving and beautifully expressed.

[richardandtracy]

This image was inspired by an event that happened just before the lockdown, and I have written a little cameo to go with it. Names are changed to the names of the 3D Mannequins used for the image.

"Romina Almost Healed"
"The 'boyfriend' was over a year in the past. He had seemed so nice and caring when Romina had met him. Slowly, but surely he'd taken away her life. First telling her what clothes to wear, what friends to see, controlling and questioning everything she did and said, threatening and sometimes carrying out threats of violence to enforce compliance. Eventually, she never went out and cringed every time she saw him. Finally, finally she went to church. The vicar was a wonderful woman who instantly saw the injury to her soul that her family hadn't noticed. The vicar bolstered her nerve, so that when she saw his phone lying about when he was out, she picked it up intending to phone her estranged parents. Instead, she diverted into finding out what he did when out of the house, he never told her; She was curious, did he see another woman? Yee gods.. She rushed to the vicar, gave her the phone, and the Police arrived in 10 minutes. Child sex abuse gets that response, especially when he starred in some of the photos. He was arrested, swearing savage revenge, and was put away with a 20 year minimum tariff, with the probability most of that would be in solitary confinement for his own safety.

So, a year on, Romina took her first tentative step to have a life of her own. The injury to the essence of who she was, slowly healing. She had chosen the dress all by herself, and chosen the friends who were to meet her at the restaurant. The permed hair, an act of defiance that nearly didn't happen. He never let her have anything other than a tightly scraped back pony tail that made her look like a drudge. She screwed her courage to the limit, nearly shaking with fear, and had blonde tips put in. If he ever saw her like this... No, no she was past her fear of him. But just before leaving, she suddenly panicked. What if he'd escaped and was there, going to rape her and beat her to death as he had promised? He never broke those promises.. He broke almost all the other promises, but promises of violence and pain were never once unfulfilled.

Gail, Romina's calm elder sister, held her hand in reassurance and gave her the tiny scrap of comfort needed to overcome her [ir]rational fear."

The image is of that sisterly support just as 'Romina' went out.

The story behind the image, I fear, is true. The vicar is real, as is the boyfriend and his crime. We have been peripherally involved in helping both the vicar and 'Romina' get over this. The real life 'Romina' is starting her recovery, but is still very wary of men, however she's getting better. No-one beyond the Police & Court will know who the abused kids were, and I grieve for them, want to help, but how could anyone help with such trauma? I doubt if any man could do any good after events like that.



Regards,

Richard.

[Serinde]

I wish "Romina" and all those poor children the best of good wishes and courage for what lies before them. The "boyfriend" got the maximum sentence; we'll see how long he serves. Trust men? Maybe not, but she'll trust the vicar and other women and, perhaps, in time, the men in their lives. Among the many things she needs is to see what a true real-world loving relationship looks and sounds like so that she can learn to tell the difference. The "boyfriend" came out of some other something that she absorbed in her life -- and I'd bet he's not the first manipulative and controlling man/boy she's been involved with, although he most probably is the worst. It's a long road, but worth every step.

[richardandtracy]

I never met the 'boyfriend', but Tracy did, when he was picking 'Romina' up from the church a couple of months before the phone incident. Her hackles were raised enough to tell me when she got home about how uncomfortable she felt anywhere near him, to the extent we discussed whether I should accompany her to Church for the next few services just in case he was there.

Sadly, picking the wrong partner seems to be a habit for some women. No, it's not purely them. Abusers seem to have antennae that are able to detect the vulnerable, target them and groom them. Dunno what can be done by reasonable people to identify these sharks in human skin; 'normal' people are not looking for it, so tend not to see it. Unless they have a feel for such things that aren't right, and Tracy seems to.

Sometimes I feel too naive by half.

The thing that really hit home to me how awful things were, was the pride she felt in having the courage to have blonde tips to her hair. To need for courage to do something so mundane... Sorry, makes my eyes water even now, that something like that could happen in this day & age.

Regards,

Richard.

[rcperryls]

What a beautiful picture of sisterly love and support. The story is both heart breaking and uplifting. Thank God Romina had the courage to run to the vicar the instant she saw those horrific photos and I pray that the devil who committed these crimes is kept locked up for his entire sentence (at a minimum) which isn't always the case over here, unfortunately. With time and help, Romina will hopefully recover as will the children he so brutally abused.

I truly applaud the work that you and Tracy are doing. Long ago and what seems like a galaxy far far away, when I worked as a social worker, I had clients who had similar experiences. It takes a lot out of you to help and support these victims, but when you see the results turn out positively, you know that it was more than worth the effort.

Carole