August 08:Church

[metryx]

Ok, so I decided after some thought to create a church from the view of the camera. This is my first render test of the basic layout. I want to add some stain glass and a light coming down from an upper window down to the floor. So I have some good ideas, some are a little beyond my skill but a challenge is a challenge.

Church (http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f24/bigtyme01/Church.jpg)

[DjVoyager]

Very creative take on the theme. I really like how you've applied a sense of spaciousness to the otherwise limited area, can't wait to see the process :)

[metryx]

Thanks Dj, At first I thought of doing a space scene with a lookout from a window, since I have been doing planets and night skies. But the idea for the church was more challenging and something I wanted to do.

Here is a revision of the pillars, I felt the first ones took up a lot of room and after looking at several images of archways in catholic churches I decided to change the arch. I still have to refine it, but I think it keeps with having a large area.

Revised archway (http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f24/bigtyme01/Church1.jpg)

[metryx]

Ok, I am trying to go for scale, but I think the pews are a little to big, so I am going to redo this shot with a scaled down of the pews. I have the pillar in the corner which is where I want the focus to go to. What I need to do is texture the corner pillar, then add a piece of decoration that will draw attention to the corner. Just don't know what to use for focus.

Pews (http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f24/bigtyme01/Church_pews.jpg)

[metryx]

Here is a final gather test I did, before I texture and light the scene I am trying to get an idea of what type of light to use. This was basic FG set to 300 all the images are Blinn, except the ceiling was lambert with a pale blue and ambient to pure white. I tried to use warm colors for the objects. I am trying to do my first realistic lighting combining FG and GI, so I am doing a lot of practice to get the right light.

Final Gather test (http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f24/bigtyme01/Church_FG_rendertest.jpg)

[fubar1124@hotmail.com]

looks pretty good just might have to tweak your blinn proporties a bit it looks a bit too glossy and shiny

[DjVoyager]

Looks great! what are you going to put on the wall behind the columns?

It's always a plus to understand different rendering techniques in Maya but also keep in mind that you are not limited to 3D :)

[metryx]

Render in 2D never even crossed my mind.

Here is my almost final image, I still have the pews and two other pieces to add, plus textures and lighting. The scene will have very low light so that the corner piece can stand out more

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f24/bigtyme01/Church_Final_pieces.jpg

[metryx]

Ok, here is where I am now, I have done most of the texturing and a little of the lighting. There are two more pieces to texture and then just working on the lighting, but so far I like it. There is at least 4 more lights, and then the light linking adjustment to keep the scene some what dark, but I have a stain glass window where sun light will come in from and a few spot lights. Then once I finish off the lighting, working on the rendering.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f24/bigtyme01/Church_texturing1.jpg

[metryx]

Ok, so I want to do some depth of field to focus on my corner spot. But the times that I have tried to use DOF, it didn't turn out right or everything was blurry and hazy, that and still perfecting my lighting is where I am at. I know there are some areas that the reflection can and will be turned down, but right now I would like some critique and feedback.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f24/bigtyme01/Church_lighting.jpg

[metryx]

This is what I got so far as working with DOF, it took me about 2hrs to figure it out, but here is a sample of what I did. I don't think the close cylinder is supposed to be that splattered, I was hoping for more of a blurred effect.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f24/bigtyme01/DOF.jpg

[metryx]

Is there a way to adjust the blur of the DOF, I really would like just a small blur, but the more I focus it on the corner the great the distortion near the camera.

[DjVoyager]

Dayum! That looks fantastic.

I'm at work so don't have Maya, but are you applying a mental ray lens shader to your camera, the physical lens DOF? You would have to adjust the anti-aliasing as well to get the graininess out, playing with min and max sampling according to the DOF distance.

[brandeil]

Looking very good :)

[supernegrojr]

thats is looking just beautiful man. good work

hey!! what does that lens do for the render anyway?

[Ignasius]

Whats that big red line running through the tower. It looks like a scar..It's cool. Your scene looks great by the way.

[metryx]

I am in the final phase of finishing, have been swamped with work and trying to find a new job. I have to finish off the lighting and render, which I hope I can do this weekend. Just got a Radeon X1600xt card for free and need to install.

I know the deadline is the 30, but just in the off chance, I can't make it is there a grace period? I really need to spend about another 5 to 8 hours fine tuning, but I don't know if I have the time, I really don't want to turn in something that's crap. I am pushing the limits of my skills and I am aiming for perfection on this one. So is there a possible grace period?


Whats that big red line running through the tower. It looks like a scar..It's cool. Your scene looks great by the way.

I found a marble tile that had that red line in it, thought it would be something different to use.

[DjVoyager]

Understandable, I've also been swamped with work for the past couple of days so couldn't reply sooner.

About your Radeon, make sure to install and test Maya on the machine first, as a matter of fact check it on another computer just to be safe than sorry. ATI has never sat well with Maya but some of the cards have proven exceptional, I hope yours is one of them. Good luck!

The grace period would be the ten days of the poll, in which case it will be a late entry and most people might have already voted. I would suggest to enter whatever you have because some people might like it as is. If you finish and want to enter the fine-tuned render during this time I can simply replace the old one with that, mind it would still be a late entry.
Sounds good? :)

[Blankchild@hotmail.com]

Awesome work dude

[metryx]

Thanks Blankchild,

Ok, here is some lighting I have been messing around with. I think I will make the scene a little more darker to emphasis the back corner.

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f24/bigtyme01/Church-1.jpg

[DjVoyager]

Nice mysterious aura.

I cannot figure out where that spot light source is. It seems like it's coming down a hole in the roof but because of those light colored shapes around it's hard to tell.

[Kyle_Studios]

very nice ! Great work. I like the spotlight coming down! Reminds me of cartoons where the spot comes down then lifts someone up haha.

Good work nice idea to add the huge hanging cross.

[metryx]

My last image is going to have to be it, until I can re do my system. Windows sucks, explorer keeps crashing and some how screwed up Maya. When I render now I get, Mental Ray has had a critical failure.
So use my image for voting and I will try to reinstall eveything today and hopefully re-render.

[DjVoyager]

Did your OS have a recent update? That sometimes conflicts with Maya.

I'll link the above image into the poll, don't remove it until September 10th. Good luck with your machine.

[DjVoyager]

metryx, how come your render is showing up as 640x480?