Tag Archives: blue

We Are the Dreamers of the Dream (sky grid update)

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After my first experience making a puzzle I decided to update the artwork before printing another test puzzle.  I always thought the sky was a little plain in this piece especially since the sky reflected in the chrome sphere has a planet and clouds.  The plain blue at the top was also more difficult to piece together as a puzzle.  To give it some detail I decided to put a grid across the entire sky.  I think thematically this new grid shows that the image reflected in the sphere is actually a future dream.  The actual metaverse environment isn’t built yet.

I actually went all the way back into DAZ Studio to place the grid in 3D space and re-render the entire scene from the beginning.  I also took the chance to re-adjust the camera slightly to give more room around the edge of the frame for print bleed.  Final color correction is also slightly different.  If you’re re-doing it anyway, why not fix the things that bug you?

I also took the opportunity to fix another problem that I previously didn’t know how to fix and which has driven me insane since I first rendered the image.  In the original you’ll notice that the left armpit of her “space samurai” outfit is screwed up.

That’s because the clothing mesh is getting confused between the arm and the torso which are colliding.  I was able to grab the clothing mesh with a DAZ Studio plugin and pull it back toward the torso.  I actually had to stretch it quite a ways into the center of the character like a rubber band to get this small area to look better.

These changes were relatively small but I think they make a big difference.  Can’t wait to see this new version printed out.

Created in DAZ Studio 4.22
Rendered with Iray
Color Correction in Capture One

Is Electronic Love to Blame? (16×9)

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I’ve worked on this CGI scene longer than any other.  I’ve spent years obsessing about every detail.  I’m sure I’ve sucked the life out of it many times.  I hope there’s still something good left in it but I can’t tell anymore.  The only thing I can do is to let it go and put it out there hoping there’s still some life in it.

This is the second iteration of this piece.  The first one, which you can read all about here, was square, with a grey background, and a different dress.  I also added a pierced heart necklace to this new wide version.  Those are the big differences.  There are tons of other small changes.

So, why a new version?  Because I wasn’t satisfied with the old one.  (Actually I grew to hate it.)  For some reason this piece is an ongoing obsession.  Even now I’m looking at the image above and wondering if the background is too dark, contemplating changing it again before posting this blog post.  But I’m not going to.  I have to let this one go and be done with it.  Next step is to print it on metal like I’ve done with several of my other pieces and see how it comes out.  If it needs tweaking after that, then I will, but for now, it’s done!

Color correction this time is in Capture One.  I abandoned Lightroom a few years ago.  I’m not interested in paying a subscription for my professional software.  Buying a perpetual license for Capture One is actually more money but it’s worth it.  If at some point I decide I can’t afford to upgrade anymore I won’t lose access to all my images and all the work I’ve done on them.  Don’t ever let a company and their tools act as gatekeeper to your work.  — I’m also liking the color correction controls a bit better in Capture One, thought Lightroom wasn’t bad.

Created in DAZ Studio 4.22
Rendered with Iray
Color Correction in Capture One

Light Speed

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I’m very pleased with this one.  It reminds me of a whip pan.  I’m wondering if there is a way to synthesize a whip pan video with AI?  I’ll have to look into this.  I bet you could make all kinds of cool stuff.  We need to get back to whip pans as transitions…

Originally this image was vertical.

It looked great that way but just as I was finishing color correcting I tried it horizontal and liked it even better!  Now I guess I have two versions.  I’m probably going to print this one and, well, I guess I could hang it on the wall any which way I wanted!

#Art I made with #Midjourney #AI