Contest~~Because I Said So!~~December 2015
Novica
Posts: 23,896
Please put your entries in the Entry Thread.
The Because I Said So! Contest features "everyday" statements which are then rendered with the artists' translation, with the emphasis on humor. Our artists are indeed creative- winners are selected by popular vote and you'll have difficult decisions to make. We'd like you to come join the fun!
I've provided links to the previous discussion and entry threads so you can have fun surfing through them. See the first post.
This contest starts December 1, 2015, and ends on the 15th of January, midnight DAZ time, (click to see Mountain time clock). Voting will be 7 days, January 16th-23rd. There will be a first, second, third, and fourth place winner and confidential voting determines the winners. All registered forum members can vote.
I am providing the DAZ Gift Certificate prizes. $20 first place, $10 second place, $5 third place, and $5 fourth place. Limit one prize placement per person. Example: If you win 2nd and 3rd place, you will be awarded the 2nd place and the next person will be moved into the 3rd place. I will also award one Lucky Draw Prize $5 gift certificate using a random drawing for artists who did not win in this contest. Happy Holidays!
RGcincy is chipping in with an offer for Shape Magic 2 users- He is donating a $20 DAZ Gift Certificate to be split among any of the winners who use a Shape Magic item in their render. So if the top 4 all include one, they each get $5. If three, each get $7, if two than $10 each, and if only one they get the $20 DAZ Gift Certificate. You can use the Shape Magic program to design your own object or use any of the freebies listed on the Shape Magic site. Participants need to list the Shape Magic item with the other three required products (for a total of 4 items) and identify it as "Shape Magic- (whatever.)" Give it a try- it doesn’t need to be a major focus of the scene, it just appears somewhere as part of it! Thanks so much Rich!
This Shape Magic Models In Use thread shows examples of Shape Magic, and it's also where questions about how to use it should be posted. If it relates to the contest itself, post them here.
The winner' entries will be showcased in my Art Studio thread. Anyone who wishes to be a sponsor may also contribute and participate. We need sponsors! Please PM me and I'll get it added.
Read the statement(s) provided and render one or more humorously.
You may submit up to six entries. You may render the same statement multiple times, or spread out your entries to several statements, it's totally up to you. You can use more than one of the statements for a render. For December, I've provided statements which can be related to the holidays but also give artists the opportunity to create their own themes. This should be very interesting! The statements you will have to work with are:
"But I got it dirt cheap..."
"I don't care how much you saved!"
"Give it back."
"Oh, you shouldn't have. REALLY."
"Just say NO."
"You tell him/her or I will!"
"Go for it."
"Yep, there's no place like home for the holidays."
"But he/she/it is real!"
As these can relate to the holidays, I'm adding them to this contest so they'll be timely. As people vote, I'm looking at their suggestions. Be sure and check back for additions, and I'll also post that in the thread (be sure to subscribe.)
NEW! "But I got one last year." (contributed by Totte)
NEW! "I want it NOW!" (contributed by XaatXuun)
NEW! "Is he/she happy about the holidays, or just crazy?" (Lyam)
Here are the guidelines.
1. Maximum 6 entries. You must be logged in and use your registered account for the forums. (No guest/anonymous entries.) Deadlines are strictly enforced when receiving entries- no exceptions. Entries must be in the ENTRIES thread to compete for the prizes.
2. Images must be .jpg format, new, and follow the TOS. If possible, please embed in the post. Yes, you may post the images elsewhere once they have been posted here. See the bottom of the post for how to embed images.
3. Put your title on the first line, then the Statement below your title with your entry #. (Like Entry #1) The title must be different than the statement. If a title is similar to another one, I will ask you to change it. And with so many statements available, it is REALLY important that below your title, you put in quotes the statement that you're using. Thanks!
4. You may put up to 40 lines (NOT SENTENCES) as a story or the dialogue between characters. Dialogue really catches the viewer's attention! The upper limit of 40 lines is for folks who are using multiple statements and need more leeway to get the statements into dialogue.
5. For this contest, you must use a minimum of 3 products. (You can use more.) You should try and use most of the product, not a tiny kit-bashed piece. See the bottom of the post for how to do a link.
Important: Please only list your main 3 products in the first set of links. If you want to list ALL the products you used, list the others as the very last thing on your entry post, with links following the same guidelines. (Not required.) This keeps the posts from getting too bogged down at the top of each entry. If you are using Shape Magic, add a fourth one- Shape Magic-(whatever) so you are competing for the Shape Magic DAZ Gift Certificate.
6. Postwork is allowed, but the overwhelming impression of the render should be the product on its own merit.
7. Yes, you certainly can use programs other than DAZ Studio, such as Poser.
8. NEW: For your entry to qualify, YOU MUST VOTE. Because artists cannot vote for themselves, it's not fair for them to vote for you if you do not return the favor as you would gain an advantage.
Use this thread for any questions, comments, works in progress/ask opinions or for assistance with the render or the contest. In other words, have fun. If you really found a product you like while you're using it, chat it up!
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Comments
October Discussion Thread
October Entry Thread
October Winners
November Discussion Thread
November Entry Thread
November Winners
As these can relate to the holidays, I'm adding them to this contest so they'll be timely. As people vote, I'm looking at their suggestions. Be sure and check back for additions, and I'll also post that in the thread (be sure to subscribe.) I won't be adding anymore after the 30th. The contest officially begins on the 1st.
NEW! "But I got one last year." (contributed by Totte)
NEW! "I want it NOW!" (contributed by XaatXuun)
OMG so many to choose from this round wow!!!
But now I am so pumped now to do up my holiday renders!!
Statement: "But I got one last year."
Title: I Got This Last Year
Here is my WIP I still have to work on the shadows, already done the shading on the clothes to make them more X-Mas like giggles.
LOL, looks like someone goofed bigtime! The child is hiliarious!
Here's another statement for you! (Already added it to the first post, into the list.) It's only Dec 2nd so I feel okay about adding statements for you. But wrapping that up shortly.
NEW! "Is he/she happy about the holidays, or just crazy?" (Lyam)
So far, the following people's statements are going to be used in the next contest (and no, you other folks will have to wait to find out what they were...but some really cute ones coming up. And you contributors- mums the word!)
Ivy, Barbult, Saphirewild, Isidorn.
NEW: For this contest, I will be awarding one $5 gift certificate using a random drawing (or pick a number, will figure it out) for artists who have participated and not won in last month's contest or this contest. Happy Holidays! (so if you don't win in the November one, be sure to keep trying and enter this one!)
Okies Novica I will keep it to myself till you say it ok to spill da beans!!!! Smiles big.
Is there a link to the December Contest Entry Thread somewhere on this page? (It's hard to find anything with the new forums search.)
no entry thread as of yet it is just begining!!!
Thanks for the reminder. I'll do it now. It will always be the first line of the discussion thread, then when voting comes up, that will be at the beginning too. :)
I put the Entry Thread link in the first post too. I can see Luci's creative mind has already been spinning...
Gopherus has us off to a great start- I laughed when I read he'd hardly played with it last year..wonder why, maybe the sharp TEETH?
Knittingmommy and Hoppitty just joined the ranks of folks whose suggestions will be used in the next contest. (No spilling the beans!)
I will tell you this- Hoppitty has a wonderful idea and you can be thinking ahead on it- we will, for the contest after this one (they run 1 1/2 months now, so that would be the second half of January on 16th to the end of Feb) be doing a MADLIB statement contest, so you'll need to be thinking ahead of some funny statements where artists fill in the VERB. Example: "When he ______________, I think it surprised him!" The challenge is to use only ONE word for the fill-in!
Please do NOT post your MadLib ideas, post them next month when you vote for the DECEMBER contest, not the voting currently in progress (and btw, you can suggest more than one statement) As usual, only people who vote can suggest statements. These will be in addition to the statements suggested by Sphirewild, isidorn, knittingmommy, Ivy, and Barbult.
I'm excited. I hear and obey. My lips are sealed until the big reveal next month!!
This is an idea I've had in mind pretty much since I started with DAZ (almost half a year ago now. wow, time goes fast!) but haven't got around to doing until now. I was considering entering it into this contest and made a dialogue for it based on some of the statements, but I've decided to not enter it. Thought I'd show it here anyway in case someone shares my poor taste in humour and doesn't browse the galleries that often. But maybe you'll all now go "Oh, you shouldn't have. REALLY." Or ask "Is he happy about the holidays, or just crazy?"
"I want a measuring contest. I want it NOW!"
"Sure, go for it!"
Later...
"Uhm... I don't think he knows it's not the towels you're supposed to measure."
"Well, you tell him, or I will."
Isidorn, that is too funny. Yes, I will freely admit that I, also, have poor taste in humor. It is what keeps me sane.
Actually, the African American steals the show lol! The look on his face- he's definitely dealing with "hindsight" and wishing he weren't!
Lyam, I read your dialogue a minute ago with the baby, and laughed out loud! I can see why Sister was firm with Santa!
I edited the rules and added:
8. NEW: For your entry to qualify, YOU MUST VOTE. Because artists cannot vote for themselves, it's not fair for them to vote for you if you do not return the favor as you would gain an advantage.
In the November contest, this was NOT an issue. (You can see people posting that they voted, and they did. And more people voted than stated.) However, I would feel bad if someone DID win that didn't lend support to the other competitors, while they were contributing to that person's scores. So this rule is in the spirit of fair-play and I will send a reminder PM the last day of voting if you have forgotten to vote. (one reminder.)
I also changed the random draw to reflect what we did a few minutes ago in the November contest- there will be another Lucky Draw Prize for the artists who compete in this contest (originally it was for those who hadn't won in November and this one,but since we covered November, I changed it to this one only.) This isn't guaranteed to happen every contest, it will be random.
Gotta go get some sleep!
Thanks Novica. I figure next to cute cats, adorable kids who have yet to learn where babies come from is the next most popular on the internet.
Well, he does have the biggest towel... It's just that it's wrapped around him. The towel, that is. Ok, I'll leave that topic now.
Check out this post- RGcincy will show you what props were Shape Magic in TWO of his contest renders!
And congrats to Isidorn- his bot render is also in the November Top Artist video! It's a 1:05 at the end and it has one of the longest durations in the video. Thanks to Chohole for pointing it out!
EDIT: The bots are also at 0:23, offering a flower.
I'm going to open a discussion (meaning, anyone wanting to donate ideas, hop on in!) as to what catches my attention / some suggestions for contest renders and renders in general. So here's my opinion, hope it helps anyone new who is thinking about entering the contest. I'd encourage anyone who hasn't ever entered one, to try Because I Said So! because we all appreciate the renders and consider them all to be winners because they make us laugh! Let's start with that.. I always ask...
1. Did the entry do what it is supposed to do? So the first thing I check before I vote, is to see if the statement is reflected in the entry, and in this case, if it reflects it with humor. If you're entering a contest, first meet the basic requirements and put the focus where it should be.
2. Character expressions: are you missing an opportunity to use expressions on ALL the characters in the scene that are relevant? Even bystanders usually have SOME kind of expression, even if it's only a quirked eyebrow. Is there an interaction between characters that you are missing? A subtle exchange of looks?
3. Body language: a shift in weight onto a leg that is AWAY from the person talking, indicates boredom and "I don't want to be here." Body language is called kinesics, and by simply folding the arms across the chest, you're stating that character is not going to even consider the idea, is defensive, or is done talking. Look at your tilt of the head, how much it's bent (people do tend to bend their heads forward when listening intently- think about it.) The more serious the idea and consideration, you've seen people put their heads down and nod. That works great for TV but for stills, you can do the same thing with a SLIGHT bend of the head forward, and an open chest stance (don't cross the arms in front of the chest.) ALMOST EVERY PART OF THE BODY CONTRIBUTES SOMETHING IN A STILL RENDER ABOUT HOW THE CHARACTER IS FEELING OR WHAT THEY'LL DO NEXT. (worry about the ears last lol)
When doing your posing, go under and shoot the camera up- are the hands resting on the thighs, or floating in the air? Are the feet on the ground or floating? I go below the ground plane, put the feet through it, then gradually Y Translate until I can't see the feet anymore. They are then correctly placed ON the ground and not floating. Check your poses from the side too!
TIP: Do a test render to see if your character has that deer stare in the headlights look- lower the top eyelids a bit. It's good to eliminate the zombie stare!
4. Action / Character Interaction: Are you taking advantage of interactions between characters? Ask yourself, "How could these characters interact to increase the message/purpose of the scene?" And also, do you have too much interaction, is it distracting?
Each character should serve a purpose, including your background folks, such as a crowd. (DO make different expressions, not robots walking along the street!) Note, if you have them doing something more interesting than your main folks, you have a problem.
5. Props: What you have in the scene sets the stage for the mood, so first ask yourself what mood you are trying to establish, and what actions are happening. If it's inside someone's home, what they have on their shelves, their paintings, say a lot about the person. If you're rendering for a humorous contest, you can really use that to your advantage if it supports your theme. But remember, you don't want to get too distracting from the action in your scene. A few well placed props can cut down on your render time- a cat curled up on a bale of hay, a horse head, and one wall of the barn tells you it's a barn scene. You don't need to see the window which has the sun streaming through, the beams of light obviously have to come through a door, window, (or hole lol.)
Watch out for props which are too brightly colored and pull the attention away from the main action. Props have purpose, like the characters. They add to clutter (deliberately), show the owners' personality, help add action, add to the mood, time period, and style (aka, modern deco, Victorian, Western, etc)
TIPS: For 3D art, remember to turn off parts of the set you aren't using, once you have your camera angle set, to cut down on render times. Hide people's bodies under the clothes that aren't showing.
6. Inclusion in Scene: Now consider that barn entry- why show the entire horse head? It would be really artistics to show the cat with its head raised (action) sniffing the nose of the horse, who is gently bending down to sniff it in return. I'd show the horse head all the way up to above his eyes, but not the ears. The horse's eyes are a "Awwwwwwww!" factor and you NEED those IMO. You definitely do not need the horse's neck or body to contribute to the scene, it actually distances the viewer from the intimacy of the scene. The size of the horse's head already conveys this is a huge animal interacting with a small one.
You can also use the size of the set to overwhelm the character, if you want to convey the overwhelming sense of what the character is going up against. Think of an army who sees a hoarde of enemy coming over the hill. Showing them in the distance, and including more of the panoramic set, would establish the enormity of the scene.
7. Use the Best Camera Angle/Consider First Person View: So ask yourself- do I have too much/ not enough showing in my scene? Do I need this? Could I have a more dramatic shot? It adds interest if your characters are not dead-centered, and horizons should not be dead centered at halfway up the page- lower or raise them. Get some foreground elements in there, and use Depth of Field to blur the foreground elements slightly.
First Person View: Using the army example above- imagine that scene with some back-of-the-heads in the foreground (of the army men) looking toward the oncoming enemy swarming down the hill. It would be like you are within the ranks. It's very effective when having huge sets to have first person view so the viewer still feels involved in the scene.
Once you have a scene and camera that you like, CREATE A NEW CAMERA and try it from other angles. Never settle for your first camera. You might be surprised at what you create!
Consider skewing the camera, tilting it up if you want to increase the height of the prop/character, and for portraits, set the focal lengh of the camera at 90 to 120 so the face does not distort. (I'm using 90 now in mine.) Will someone post the how-to on skewing the camera?
8. Composition: I've already mentioned to have things off centered and where to put your horizon, there's also rule of thirds as a guideline, and I want to focus on a few other things.There's the typical "don't have a telephone coming out of the head" meaning look at what is behind all your characters and move them so things don't stick out from them. (Clouds can look like steam coming out of the ears!) But also consider lines/cords shouldn't line up with the hands and look like extensions. Watch your lines in the background lining up with your hands and making it look like the hands are resting on them. If there's a line in the background, don't have a horizontal leg seemingly resting on it. TIP: simply tilting your camera can change where that background line rests.
Watch the camera angle- you might change it and not realize your person on the pool sidewalk is suddenly walking on water!
And yes, have to mention this- Be careful your pose of one character isn't doing something wrong to another character- some of us don't have our minds in the gutter, some of us do, but some renders make it hard NOT to notice and laugh at the unintended results. 'Nuff said.
9. Lighting: Oh my, we could write so many books on this! Keeping it simple, I'll address the main ones. First, light your scenes so people can see your intentions! Your screen monitor may be showing it lighter or darker than what the rest of us see. Second- The opposite is also true- too much lighting can wash out whites and grays immediately, and highlights on the face are lost as there's very little contrast. (Tip: in Iray, increase the Crush Blacks in Tone Mapping.)
Third, lighting with dramatic contrast is attention getting, and putting things in shadow with a hint of what is there, really puts the focus on the main character and action.
Using Linear Point Lights /Point Lights is fun for coloring sword blades, plants, waterfalls- anything you'd like to light without lighting the surrounding area, or if you want to control it precisely. (IMAGE, BELOW) This is from my very first render, Noggins Dragonfly-and it has NO COLOR. I did all this with SPOTlights (didn't know about point lights at the time) shooting across the wings.
Which reminds me- fourth point: you folks using 3DL,if you're lighting a character, watch for spotlight glare on the back walls. That section directly behind the character won't look natural if you have this round glowing area! Solution: You can use another spotlight, a dark one, shining on only the wall to remove the light cast by your spotlight. (Or use point lights/ linear point lights)
Other folks chime in on the lighting tips, these are the ones I feel can really mess up a render quickly- too light, too dark being the main culprits as to why a render could use some tweaking. FIxing midtones, intensity, brightness in postwork can work wonders, but base render has to have the details for it to impact those.
10. Have fun and ask for help if you need it, get others opinions, and keep an open mind to feedback.
11. Postwork:
(Gopherus) Cropping: On cropping people, never crop on a joint because it cuts off the body part and makes it look like the person is missing the appendage. Crop between joints.
(Gopherus) If you know you're doing postwork: Lessen the brightness of the highlights on the original image so you won't lose any of the detail by blowing them out, and you can adjust the shadows and highlights to fully encompass your screen range. Midtones can then be adjusted to bring out detail.
And RGcincy has some tips.
Wow! I think I just invalidated my gender and read the manual!
Just a couple of thoughts/comments
My first camera roll was so perfect until i developed it and found telephone poles and saguaro cacti growing out of people s heads. My dad on the other hand always included himself in anything he shot... he put the sun at his back and his shadow was in every photo. lol! (An idea that someone could use for including the unseen in an image.. hint! Also reminds me of the telephone scene in Rosemary's Baby... the telephone wasn t in the scene but you psychologically thought that it was)
I sometimes use a fisheye setting for the camera to purposely distort the image... and also to include more of the scene than could otherwise have been included in a "normal" lens setting.
On cropping people i ve been told never to crop on a joint because it cuts off the body part and makes it look like the person is missing the appendage. Crop between joints.
My monitor runs dark so I usually pump up the lighting/color in postwork... also i m pretty sure i m slightly colorblind in the yellows. Friends have gagged when seeing my color choices in the yellows and using blues that are actually green. If you are going to do postwork lessen the brightness in the highlights on the orignal image. that way you ll not lose any of the detail in the highlights (blowing them out) and you ll be able to adjust the shadows and highlights to encompass fully your screen range. midtones can then be adjusted to bring out detail.
In my first render for december I added a spotlight on the kid because all the facial detail had been lost in darkness. But as Novica said it also extended to the dinosaur bumping up the redness in its face, making it scarier and the redness in the ribbon making it christmas ier. which i liked. and added to the clouds/sky which i didn t mind since it drew attention to the dinosaur. the kid and the dinosaur being the most important part of the gag.
I m going to kick myself for saying this, but... what if the winner of the contest... after it was over... was invited to post a run down of what their thoughts were on creating the image and the problems they encountered... sort of a post production party/wrap up. we could all learn a good deal.
Excellent points! And we could certainly ask the winner if they'd like to comment on their production experiences, it would be optional but fun!
I've added your tips to the list.
I certainly like this suggestions and tips on how to better my renders.
I have no suggestions yet as I am still a newbie somewhat or tips.
But as I get better with it I will certainly give my suggestions n tips.
Here is my latest render I put some expressions on all their faces and hoping it is the right ones also renamed it and switched it around some poses and what the girl is holding etc..... Plz let me know what you all think of it now.
Title: SINGING "I GOT THIS LAST YEAR DADDY"
To the excellent points made by Novica and Gopherus, I would add the following two:
CENTER OF ATTENTION: Usually best to have just one (a skilled artist can get away with a secondary point if it fits the flow and is subordinate to the first but for most of us, multiple points of interest just confuse the viewer). The best location for the COA is either at a point that fits the rule of thirds or the golden ratio (ratio of 1 to 1.618). It also helps if the COA has contrast to the surrounding area (brighter and with more saturated warmer colors or darker with cooler colors.
FLOW: You want the viewer's eye to stay on the image, traveling around the image and taking it all in, being led to the COA. Lines, colors, light and shadows can all serve this purpose. For example, an upwardly curving line along the bottom that arcs up the right side and back to the left towards the COA will move your eye along that path. Lines leading off the edges of the render on the other hand take your eye away from the image. Lines pointing in miscellaneous directions can confuse the eye.