From the heavens

[Vikki]

Well, I guess this is about as abstract as I can get right now but I thought I'd give it a go since it seems to be abstract day. I was working on learning KenB's fog and smoke technique but, well...I got distracted thinking of Mentats fog, so I added that to the KenB stuff and then I saw a lighting tutorial somewhere that stuck with me and added that and I guess I went a little off track. :D

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1027131194wja.jpg

[DeeVee]

Interesting effects Vikki. I like it! Some one to look over us :tu: :tu: :tu: :D :D :D

[Belleski]

Very Pretty. :)

[wenna]

If the wind had a face, I would think it looked like this! Really great!

[RC]

Beutiful image Vikki!

[Vikki]

Thanks for the comments! :D

[Stonecutter]

It almost has a Japanese feel to it... :cool:
I've been looking at this for two days now, and it's really starting to grow on me!!
There's just something about it that fascinates me...Maybe the pallette, maybe the foreground softening, whatever...I know I like it!

:tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu: :tu:

[Vikki]

Hey Stonecutter! Thanks!

The palette is what is so cool about Mentats fog technique. The ONLY colors I used manually were a very light pinkish tone on the lips, a very light fleshy towards the red side on the cheek and an almost unseeable blue on the eyelids. The head has a fill of 255,223,198 with basicmaterial 1 and some ambient, specularity and diffuse changes. And I lowered the opacity of the head tool. All of the effects of the *palette* are created by the fog and lights. It is really cool. The softness is achieved by Mentats fog alone.

I am hooked on his technique. It reduces that *dirty shading* look my heads sometimes have. You know where my heads looks like the face is dirty instead of shaded. :D I dorked with the 3d shading intensity in the render palette for awhile on other heads until I started trying Mentats fog. It really gets rid of that look.

Anyway, below is an image of the settings for lights and fog that I used.

http://www2.zbrushcentral.com/zbc_uploads/user_image-1027193129usy.jpg

I had started out with KenB's fog/smoke techinque in The Taken but then changed to the stock sky texture that either I created an alpha from or it was already there, can't remember now. That is the point where I switched from KenB to Mentat. Instead of altering the alpha(which can be done in Z as apposed to exporting it) I left them both alone.

I have been trying this technique on landscapes and a large project I am working on and it really does make quite a difference in how the whole image comes out.

As a side effect of all this I was able to learn how to do light as it comes through a window into a room and fog that lays on the ground and smoke and a whole lot more. :D

This piece could have been improved, had I known how it was going to come out by *swirling* more the clouds coming off the head. Perhaps, it occurred to me too late again, that it should be styled more as flowing hair instead of streaks. :D Sometimes I get so wrapped up in the technical details of learning that I lose sight of other things. Hopefully that will stop happening as I gain more experience.

I spent many, many hours just creating fog and lighting alphas in Z yesterday and it was a very enlightening day. 'cuse the pun. :D

[Cricket]

Lovely, Vikki! Has real presence too!

[Tag]

Nice image Vikki!
I like the soft glow and colors. Reminds me of a guardian angel looking from above :tu:

[ramon22]

great work vikki its so DOWN 2 HEAVEN.. :D :tu: :tu: