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Artwork => Anim8or Challenges => Topic started by: floyd86 on April 18, 2010, 07:51:54 am

Title: [ COMPLETE ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: floyd86 on April 18, 2010, 07:51:54 am: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.

(http://www.alaska-in-pictures.com/data/media/4/eagle-reflection_6646.jpg)

Another anim8or challenge: Mirror, mirror on the wall.

This challenge is all about reflections: make a still render with some sort of reflection in it. It can be anything: someone looking in the mirror, or the reflection in the water. You can use the ART raytracer to create reflections. Here is a link on how to make them: ART raytracer (http://anim8or.com/download/preview/art_raytracer.html)

Have fun, keep in mind the challenge rules (http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php?topic=2096.0) and post your progress, c&c, and/or final renders in this topic.

Deadline: 2 weeks (May 2th)

What will be judged:
This challenge will have a public poll. Vote for the still render with the best use of reflections.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: $imon on April 18, 2010, 09:23:31 am: Nice challenge, Floyd! Some nice ideas can come from this..

Good luck to everyone! And have fun :D
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Arik_the_Red on April 18, 2010, 02:46:32 pm: Well, I am again going to pitch my name in... and see what happens. Since this theme fits in particularly with a scene in my Corporal Cosmic project, most of which I still need to create, it'll accomplish a lot!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on April 18, 2010, 05:17:24 pm: I have loads of trouble with reflections... Is there any real TUTORIAL or anim8or file with some tips on what you want for what type of reflection? I know there's a link in the first post, but I've read that over a bunch, and still have trouble.
But I'll try anyway. =]
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: cooldude234 on April 18, 2010, 05:46:48 pm: AUESOME! I have an excellent idea ready, and am aleady making it!
Below = what I have so far!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: $imon on April 18, 2010, 05:55:12 pm: Nice start, cooldude!

3Dgeek; I don't know if there are any tutorials out there on the subject.. You can always ask on here though if you want to achieve a certain effect.. basically there are a few parameters that you can mess around with:

specular value: Influences the amount of reflection. If you do this less than 1, the other values of a material have an effect, with 1 the material is fully reflective and the ambient and diffuse settings wont matter.
2 types of reflective classes: reflection or glossy
Rough value: The material exists out of the reflections, and a specular highlight on the material where a light is positioned. Changing the rough value will change the specular highlight. Smaller values will make it glossier, higher values will make it sharper. If you set it to 0 the material will be more accurate, since highlights dont exists in real life, they are reflections of objects.
For glossy reflections, this effects the glossyness of the whole reflection.

Specular maps don't influence the amount of reflection (yet).

In scene mode you can add a scene attribute called 'RayDepth' , setting an integer value for that will say how often light bounces from reflective surface to the next. Lower values will increase render time , but produce less accurate results.

I hope this gives you something to work with ;) Good luck!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on April 18, 2010, 10:55:13 pm: Thanks a lot, $imon! :) That really helped me. =]
I'll just play around with it to see what I want, and then I'll make a render for this challenge. =]
3DGeek
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on April 19, 2010, 09:22:03 am: I'm IN!!! I have a complex but fun Idea. I'll have LOT'S of mirrors, for those who love funhouses... it might bring back memories. The hard part will be the rotations of the mirrors. Good luck everyone, hope everyone has fun!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: TheBlackHole on April 19, 2010, 09:53:45 am: Does the reflection have to be that of something in the scene, or can it be sort of a window to another scene?
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on April 19, 2010, 09:56:25 am: Here's my first go at this. It's a start...
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: floyd86 on April 19, 2010, 12:15:46 pm: Good start dragonslayer. Looks interesting.

Quote from: TheBlackHole on April 19, 2010, 09:53:45 am
Does the reflection have to be that of something in the scene, or can it be sort of a window to another scene?

The challenge is to make an reflection, it doesn't have to be realistic or in the scene...it can be anything, like this:
(http://www.logosnoesis.com/system/files/cat%20reflection.jpg)
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Arik_the_Red on April 19, 2010, 01:36:06 pm: Quote from: floyd86 on April 19, 2010, 12:15:46 pm
Good start dragonslayer. Looks interesting.

Quote from: TheBlackHole on April 19, 2010, 09:53:45 am
Does the reflection have to be that of something in the scene, or can it be sort of a window to another scene?

Awww c'mon, Floyd... doesn't that defeat the "learning purpose" of the challenge?

As I see it, the challenge is to make a legitimate reflection, not a fabricated thing like that "cat/lion" bit. After all, there's no way that could be construed as a "real" reflection.

And as for what TheBlackHole states, it seems to me that a reflection is a reflection, regardless of whether its "source" is fully visible... so long as it it obvious that it IS a reflection of something and not something "fabricated"...

My particular project will be mostly showing the reflection itself, and not the source, if I follow suit with what I hope to do.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: floyd86 on April 19, 2010, 01:58:34 pm: @Arik_the_Red: the goal of this challenge is making a reflection, which can be alot of things... You can use ART or you can go a way different way. As long it's clear it's about the reflection.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Navek on April 19, 2010, 03:56:38 pm: I actually have a decent idea for this one, i just hope i can make it work
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: daniel99 on April 19, 2010, 10:27:26 pm: :)
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: ENSONIQ5 on April 20, 2010, 03:21:48 am: I should have time to do something for this, I need the practice with ART materials. Below are a couple of test renders to define things like chrome, coarse steel and stainless steel, using Specular Reflection and Glossy Reflector attributes.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on April 20, 2010, 09:12:12 am: Already things are looking good. I had nothing else to really do last night so...
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: $imon on April 20, 2010, 09:17:29 am: Nice start guys..

Daniel; i remember your car render, are you going to try to make something similar for the contest?

Ensoniq; Nice test renders! I sometimes also use very glossy reflections to make the rubber material, maybe an idea. Increases render times by a lot though! Are you planning on modeling a vehicle?

DragonSlayer; very funny! How can one find the exit? ;) It makes me really dizzy after a while! Good job. That will be quite a render time with all the reflections though!

Here is a first WIP of what I'm working on;
Glossy reflections on the scales, full reflections on the globe.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on April 20, 2010, 09:27:01 am: Actually, It's a rather decent time, only about five minutes a large frame. It originally took longer, I made a two layer mirror with a dielectric layer and a totally reflective layer (my original post is that way) but when I raised the specular on the mirror, it looked better without the dielectric (YEAH!!! Less render time!!!). I'm not quite happy with the textures of the building, but I'm not sure what it should be like. By the way, the exit is BEHIND the camera... the exit is on the bottom of the picture, the entrance is where the ball is. Kinda funny actually. The things that cross the building are support struts, but I moved them out of the building to see how it looks, and I think I like it better without them.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: floyd86 on April 20, 2010, 11:44:07 am: ok, so far it wasn't clear: You're not allowed to use an old render as an entry. You don't have to make you entry from scratch, you can ie use an old model and use it in an new scene. But you enter with something you made before this challenge.

So the render of kreator is not a valid entry...
for daniel goes the same: is that a new render or something you made before?
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: daniel99 on April 20, 2010, 02:41:58 pm: Hey, floyd, have you seen my trabant render anywhere else in my posts yet? I guess not.
Sory, I'm stepping out of this challange, before my finished render.
Maybe next one.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: floyd86 on April 20, 2010, 02:55:25 pm: Quote from: daniel99 on April 20, 2010, 02:41:58 pm
Hey, floyd, have you seen my trabant render anywhere else in my posts yet? I guess not.
Sory, I'm stepping out of this challange, before my finished render.
Maybe next one.

I'm not saying you did post an old render...I was asking. A member warned that there where users using old render as entries.
Since you didn't posted any progress and came with an awesome render in no time, I had my doubts...
Apologies.

Quote from: kreator on April 20, 2010, 01:28:04 pm
Quote
ok, so far it wasn't clear: You're not allowed to use an old render as an entry. You don't have to make you entry from scratch, you can ie use an old model and use it in an new scene. But you enter with something you made before this challenge.

That does not make sense floyd!

I think it should read you are not allowed to post an item that has already been modelled, but from your interpretation I could just move the models around and re-render .... I thought I`d just stick this in as daniel had posted an old model as well....

When you won a gold medal for being the fastest in a running contest a year ago, it doesn't mean you can enter another contest without running and just using your winning time from last year. Ofcourse you can use the same shoes you used last year, but you will have to run again before winning again ;)
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: $imon on April 20, 2010, 03:06:27 pm: Quote from: daniel99 on April 20, 2010, 02:41:58 pm
Hey, floyd, have you seen my trabant render anywhere else in my posts yet? I guess not.
Sory, I'm stepping out of this challange, before my finished render.
Maybe next one.

It's not so much about having posted it on the forum before as well as making it for this specific challenge. You've had the exact render on your website before, maybe it would be cool of you can use this car model and make a surrounding for it and make a complete different render which accents 'reflections' for this specific challenge!

Don't take it too hard guys, it's just that these challenges are about having fun and learning while making something for this challenge, and working towards a time limit, you can always showcase other models/renders in the wip/finished works section. Have fun, post updates, help others and try to come up with the best you can within the two weeks.

I could just post my Audi render, but I don't think people would think it is fair since I worked on it for months , just the render alone took two weeks.. So try to keep it in the spirit of the challenge!

With that said, have fun & I hope you guys will make an entry for the challenge, I like your work and would really like to see it :D

Good luck!
$imon
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: daniel99 on April 20, 2010, 03:11:49 pm: Yes, when I had the image updated on efectespeciale, the model wasn't finished yet. Only time this car were being made public were in a promo. As you see, is the same model, but a different render. I was gonna finish it, with environment and all.
The render posted here I made today, and yes, it took about 15 minutes to render.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: ENSONIQ5 on April 20, 2010, 04:42:18 pm: $imon: It won't be a full car, just a close-up of a wheel, reflecting a scene (screenshot of the setup so far below). I am still working on the materials, camera angles, lighting etc, below is a test render for the car duco and asphalt materials (both of which need work).
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Josmic8or on April 20, 2010, 06:47:14 pm: Okay soooo here's my entry :)
I think I'm gonna stick with this one.
I call it "swimming with the chickens"
I used mesh2mesh script for the guy's hair
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Indian8or on April 21, 2010, 12:05:55 am: (In light of the debate going on) I am planning to use a model I made for "bust morph" challenge, which I could not complete in time, for this challenge. A lot of work still needs to be done. I have a clutter of ideas. Hope to come out with something good.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on April 21, 2010, 09:33:28 am: There are a lot of good ideas here already. On an interesting note, did anyone here know that chickens are a direct decendent of the T-Rex? Kind of a funny thing to think about next time you go to KFC. I think I'm going to redo my maze in order to accomodate a better roof... I don't like how it turned out very much in some respects. Looking around the internet, I found that all the real mirror mazes are set up in a triangular pattern, and I think I could have much more control of where reflections go if I done it that way.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on April 21, 2010, 10:57:23 am: So, on the note of my above post, here is the new setup. No lighting or shadows yet...
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: baxter on April 21, 2010, 12:01:19 pm: Heres about what I'm going to go for in my entry, just need to think about what to do next.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on April 21, 2010, 03:48:13 pm: DragonSlayer: I would suggest that you make it look like a mirror, instead of a plain with reflections. You know, a border? But that may increase the render time even more than it'll be already, so whatever. ;) But I like the start anyway.

Good starts, everyone! I'm still pondering the infamous question: What to make?
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: TheBlackHole on April 21, 2010, 06:00:15 pm: Aaahh, never mind. I'm probably not going to participate in this challenge. Maybe if there's a second space scene challenge...
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3D Joe Wiltshire on April 21, 2010, 06:43:11 pm: Update, about 45 minutes in. Getting somewhere!
Still working on buoy shape and pier, lighting and sky needs a bit of work.

Attached are test renders

EDIT: Anyone know how I can make the bumpmap on the buoy more visible?
#2 Added Shape + Texture to pier
#3 More work on scene. Making it up as I go along with some refs.
#4 It's amazing what one light can do!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Navek on April 21, 2010, 08:51:07 pm: Alright, first progress render. I finished the main model, still need to add details and textures. just playing around with the lighting and camera positioning etc.

Ps. anyone know a way to make a particular object not cast a shadow in an art render?
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Arik_the_Red on April 22, 2010, 02:39:34 am: TheBlackHole: Speaking of Space challenges....

This is a very very early, preliminary slap-together of what I am putting in order... It'll have a fair amount more to it, but I was just testing a few things...

Yes, this is tied in with my big "Corporal Cosmic" project....
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: floyd86 on April 22, 2010, 03:34:21 am: I see some nice things going on here! Can't wait to see the finished works. ;D

Here is a start on my entry....yes a broken mirror ;)
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on April 22, 2010, 09:30:21 am: I love how this is challenge is coming along, it's just as much fun looking at other people's ideas as making one! 3DGeek, I was debating on that and sort of tryed it. What do you (and other people) think would look better, pillars or frames? Both are commonly used, and I'm not sure what would fit better with a celestial design. :-\ I know I need to change the grass texture to something different... I'm thinking of changing it to a black ground, then the blue ground in front of the camera would need to change to something too, i'm thinking of a lighter blue or a yellow (the blue spot is shaped like a star). This is my new setup for the mirrors, it is set up on an array of triangular n-gons for positioning.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: ENSONIQ5 on April 22, 2010, 04:15:18 pm: Single pass render, no AO, getting pretty close to the final image. Some work remains on the car body model and I plan to dirty some things up a bit, hopefully giving a bit of gritty realism. I won't be adding focal depth blur since in reality that would also affect the reflections.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3D Joe Wiltshire on April 22, 2010, 05:12:55 pm: Wow, really up against it in this challenge! awesome works from everyone, almost finished mine, can't wait to see more from everyone!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3D Joe Wiltshire on April 22, 2010, 06:12:12 pm: Ok! pretty sure this will be my final render though if I find time i'll try and fix some of the problems i've found.

EDIT: Newer render further in ----->
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on April 22, 2010, 10:45:50 pm: @DragonSlayer: I have no idea what a pillar mirror is, even google is no help. But I have a feeling a framed mirror will not look good in your scene, unless you made some changes. So I'd go with what looks best.
Good luck.

@3DJW: I love that render. But there's one thing I'd fix to make it even better. The end of those two cylinder things, are too subdivided, (if you know what I mean) I'd suggest rounding the edges with the edge properties, then it'll look even better.
But still, good job so far, everyone! :)
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on April 23, 2010, 01:46:45 pm: Basically the pillars are technicly frames, but they are shaped and look like pillars. I think that's what I plan to use.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on April 23, 2010, 08:51:48 pm: Alrighty then.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Arik_the_Red on April 24, 2010, 01:21:12 am: a bit more playing with reflections... trying to figure out chrome and reflective metal appearances... and piecing together a few things... will get a lot more done by weekend out.

Note, the "character" in the window is not modeled, just using a placer figure with the helmet I had made some time ago to get a bit of idea of things.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on April 24, 2010, 04:08:37 am: Looking good, Arik. :)
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Indian8or on April 24, 2010, 09:35:50 am: May or may not be my final. Lets see. ;D

ART Render with focal blurring.

Made it like a tourism campaign poster for my country India. You are all welcome to india.

Made some changes. Please have a look.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: ENSONIQ5 on April 24, 2010, 11:23:44 am: Looks great Indian8or, excellent modelling and dynamic composition. Rendering with a higher AA setting will reduce the graininess and tidy up the jaggy edges. One thing to be aware of when using focal (depth) blurring, in real life a reflected image will also be affected by a short depth of field, so your reflected image should also be blurry. Anim8or can't replicate this, since its depth render calculations are based purely on objects and don't make use of ART attributes such as reflections. Having said that, I actually like the effect above, from an artistic or creative point of view. While not strictly emulating real life, the eye is drawn strongly to the reflected image and this works very well from a marketing or advertising viewpoint.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Arik_the_Red on April 24, 2010, 04:44:40 pm: Question... It seems that reflections in object mode do not carry through to scene for multiple objects. Is that right? Is there any way around it? In my scene, if I wish to have the room be one object, and the character another... can I get the character to be reflected in the glass of the room object's window? As is, if the character is placed in the scene separately, it does not appear to reflect in the other object's glass.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: ENSONIQ5 on April 24, 2010, 07:38:25 pm: That's an odd problem, Arik. ART reflection in Scene mode should reflect other scene elements irrespective of whether they are separate elements or not. I haven't seen this before, could it be related to lighting (eg. clear window glass still creates solid shadows in ART, there is no 'light through transparency' option)? Otherwise, maybe post a screen shot of your scene setup.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: ENSONIQ5 on April 24, 2010, 07:47:28 pm: I am not totally happy with the paint effect on the body, if I can get it better in time I'll repost, otherwise this'll be my submission.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Arik_the_Red on April 24, 2010, 08:45:20 pm: Thanks for the offer of help, Ensoniq... Seems the problem may have been a glitch as it's n ot doing it now... but here's the screenshot in scene view, as well as the latest render.

The only items in the scene are the room object, the corporal cosmic object, the camera. Also, the space scene background is visible beyond the porthole window. No special lighting or other things have been incorporated.

Now that I have the basic set in order, am going to work on modeling room details and Corporal Cosmic himself.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3D Joe Wiltshire on April 24, 2010, 08:56:39 pm: Wow! what a turnout! seems like everybody is entering this one, can't wait to see all the final renders!

Newest render, to be considered my final unless I post a newer one :P
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on April 24, 2010, 09:25:08 pm: Nice going, everyone! I'm going to go ahead and enter this one, I have a mediocre idea. And I figured I had to since almost EVERYONE here is joining! ;)

@3DJW: That's freakin' sweet! I love it! :D
3DGeek
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on April 26, 2010, 10:48:36 am: Alright, I know I didn't get much done over the weekend, but here is a newer version. Does the picture look better with the pillars and light strips?
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on April 26, 2010, 11:22:34 am: Ok, I know I just posted, but lighting doesn't take that long for me. I also changed the light strip to a single light to save on render time for the sake of number of lights. What's the best way to dim the lights?
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: $imon on April 26, 2010, 11:41:44 am: Great stuff guys!! Really good work coming out of this competition.

DragonSlayer: Yes I like it with the light strips/pillars. Even though it's (a little bit) easier to see where one's going, at least there won't be any injuries! I feel for the person having to clean the mirrors every day...

edit: you updated while I was typing.. To tone down the lighting you can either go to Settings > Lighting and lower the Global intensity, otherwise you will have to dim every light seperately ( I can't judge how many you have in there with all the reflections haha) by giving them a darker color. Its starting to look very spacy! haha.

3D Joe; Great work! Really good! Being the perfectionist I am I have some critics you might want to look at before you make it your final ;)
- The horizon is very wavy, seeing the camera is at a pretty high angle, and the water not that rough, you could probably see pretty far over the water, That would make the horizon almost flat. Maybe making a bigger water-object would help, or incorporate the horizon in your background without having too much of a seam between object/background water.
- You might want to do some work in a 2d program on the background, adding some atmospheric effects, the stars are very clear near the horizon, this wouldn't be the case with fog/haze or clouds in the air. Look at this picture for example: http://en.akella.com/Files/News/580/pt-boats%202008-08-12%2017-11-33-84.jpg , so maybe some colors fading would be all you need near the horizon, stars are usually seen more up in the sky.
I'm very nitpicky I know haha, but I feel you have a great scene going on & adding this would improve on the scale of the objects etc. Good luck!

Arik: Great stuff you have going on! I like your space-themes. I feel like the green wall could use a bit of a texture, even with the cartoony look -- maybe a gradient or something would do the job. Can't wait to see your final render!

Ensoniq; Awesome work as usual! Theres nothing wrong with your paint job i think! Using a reflection with such a high saturation will always mess the colors of a reflective paint up, only remedy is to make the paint less reflective, I don't know if you want to re-render for that, but it would make the image look a little less cluttered maybe. I'm not a fan of your ground texture. I know it's hard to create something in Anim8or that looks good with lack of displacement maps. maybe modeled stones or something would do the image more justice, but I know the amount of work involved in that ;) Great job overall! Love the colors. Cheers!

Indian8or: Marvelous image you've created! I personally would tone down on the lens flare a tad bit though, it distracts from the full image! Besides that I love the vibrant colors you have going on. The same goes here what I told Ensoniq; the floor texture seems distracting, but there is not much choice in that matter, maybe a higher resolution texture would solve it. I think you've made the final render so I won't make too many comments ;) I love the look of your image though! Great job.

Floyd: Great to see you're participating as well. As you're about as far as I am with my image there I guess there is not much to criticize just yet! haha. Just to wish you good luck and hope you finish! ;)

Navek: Good effort so far! I'm afraid you can't let objects not cast a shadow in Art. You will have to find a way around that I'm afraid.

Baxter: Very nice texture work you've got! If you're going to make an action shot where the ball just hit the glass, make sure to add enough motion blur for an active scene! Good luck!

Josmic8or: Great scene! I love the comic effect of the characters, they all have their own personality! I hope theyre not drowning though ;) Not sure what kindof creatures they are, but they look like chickens... they can't swim right? uh-oh...
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on April 26, 2010, 11:44:28 am: I have only 16 lights (though I need more), and I plan (time allowing) to add fingerprints on some of the mirrors. I think that might be funny. Thank you $imon!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Arik_the_Red on April 27, 2010, 02:47:12 am: Thank for the feedback, Simon... I am working now on taking a more "realistic" bent to things, as I intended once done playing with the basic shapes and effects. I know I posted this in my other thread, but here is the finished "communications link" that I was developing in the earlier images here. As can be seen, it has a lot of reflection in the chrome-parts.... The design of the rest of the scene will mean adding a lot more to the imagery - pipes and conduits, etc.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: ENSONIQ5 on April 27, 2010, 03:50:55 am: Cheers $imon, appreciate the comments. The issue I have with the paint is that the reflection is too perfect, as if the bodywork was made from blue glass or something. Modern cars have a couple of clear coats over the basic coloured paint, and this under-layer is usually a bit textured, kinda like orange peel. My model already has two layers to the body, a lower coloured and specular layer and an upper clear (reflective) layer, I just can't seem to get the underlying texture right (I left it flat for the previous render) but experiments continue.

Re the ground texture, it doesn't look as good as I had hoped... I am a little underwhelmed with Anim8or's handling of bump maps in general. I will rebuild the ground texture using the texture as a displacement map and I'll see if it looks any better.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: ENSONIQ5 on April 27, 2010, 04:52:45 pm: Ok, this is the final, not finished necessarily... more like abandoned! I have reworked the cracked asphalt surface as a displacement mapped terrain (via Terranim8or) and I am much happier with the paint finish.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: $imon on April 27, 2010, 05:21:37 pm: Wow great work Ensoniq! Really good improvements.. I like the terrain now a lot! The car could use some improvements on the dirt department, but I know it's hard to do that in combination with the reflections in anim8or, since you cant mask the reflections. I wouldnt worry about that if I were you. Love the colors & stuff though! Awesome.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: hihosilver on April 27, 2010, 08:59:51 pm: Beautiful improvements. The displacement map does wonders for the scene!
The only issue I realized is the reflections in the rim show where the ground stops, but I had to look very close to find that and I can't think of any decent way to get rid of the issue.
The scene looks amazing though, well done!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: ENSONIQ5 on April 27, 2010, 11:11:29 pm: Cheers guys. I was actually a bit surprised to see how much of a difference the displacement map made to the asphalt texture, compared to the bump-mapped original, and the dual-layered bodywork idea did provide the look I was after (visible texture with clear reflections). There are a couple of faults in the reflections, not least the fact that the black background beyond the environment backdrop is visible in the rim, but I guess at some point you have to abandon a project and declare it "finished"... this project has reached that point! Thanks for the comments and inspiration and good luck to all entries.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Arik_the_Red on April 28, 2010, 01:05:57 am: All I can say is, D*MN that's sweet! Ensoniq, you've really outdone yourself on this little project! I haven't been following the competition much as I get so little time to really appreciate everyone's work lately, but yours definitely stands out. And the asphalt work is absolutely great!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: floyd86 on April 28, 2010, 09:29:23 am: Nice entries everyone! I see some really nice stuff. ;)

Here is my entry:
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on April 28, 2010, 09:37:52 am: Great finals everyone. So Floyd, who had their head smashed into the mirror? Looks like a story for Cold Case or CSI... "The mirror was the only witness, we got skin cells and blood from our vic, but we also had some unidentified fingerprints..." (I have only 6 channels [when they work] so I watch those shows a lot). I tryed rendering last night, and in the morning it was finished (with AntiAlias on). The problem? Anim8or didn't completely know it was done! I could move the picture around, but the progress bar never filled, so the save button never unlocked! :'( The thing is, that is the kind of error that is nearly impossible to find. In all probability, it's my graphics card, chipset, and overcranked anti-virus software on the computer I'm using. Regardless, I'll try again tonight.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on April 28, 2010, 05:29:17 pm: Shame, DragonSlayer. I hope you can get it to work this time. :)

Quote from: DragonSlayer on April 28, 2010, 09:37:52 am
So Floyd, who had their head smashed into the mirror?

I think it was the shovel/thing myself... :P
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3D Joe Wiltshire on April 28, 2010, 05:41:55 pm: Newest version, not much noticeable difference really, might even just be a larger render lol :P
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on April 29, 2010, 09:18:10 am: It was a one time glitch, I got it now...
39395586 rays
31163.66 render time
It's probably the last time I'll show it, so this is my final. I'm not that happy with it, I think I should have tried a simpler idea that wasn't overkill with simply mirrors. Again, great renders everyone!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on April 29, 2010, 04:49:49 pm: WOW :o A lot better than I was expecting from your test renders.

Good job. =]
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on April 29, 2010, 08:27:13 pm: I'm glad you liked it, I'm just glad Anim8or didn't die on me this time.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on April 29, 2010, 11:37:20 pm: Hmm. I think it might have looked a bit better without the roof. :)
But then, with the roof, it seems like it's a hidden forest in the middle of nowhere, but with a room built around it.. :P

I really want to do something for this challenge, but only 3 days left... We'll see.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Arik_the_Red on April 30, 2010, 09:53:47 am: Quote from: 3Dgeek11 on April 29, 2010, 11:37:20 pm
Hmm. I think it might have looked a bit better without the roof. :)
But then, with the roof, it seems like it's a hidden forest in the middle of nowhere, but with a room built around it.. :P

I really want to do something for this challenge, but only 3 days left... We'll see.

Just get a case of Mountain Dew and crack it up, boyyyyyyy!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on April 30, 2010, 03:09:01 pm: Quote from: Arik_the_Red on April 30, 2010, 09:53:47 am
Just get a case of Mountain Dew and crack it up, boyyyyyyy!

Not a bad thought! :P
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on April 30, 2010, 06:10:23 pm: You gave me inspiration. :P

P.S. I may edit this later, but the rendering takes so long I probably won't. This should be my final. Not that good, I admit, but it was thrown together to be a part of one of the biggest challenges yet. :)
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3D Joe Wiltshire on April 30, 2010, 06:56:05 pm: Nice work from everyone so far! I'm actually on the edge of my seat waiting for the voting lol.

Can't wait!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Arik_the_Red on April 30, 2010, 10:25:18 pm: Quote from: 3Dgeek11 on April 30, 2010, 06:10:23 pm
You gave me inspiration. :P

P.S. I may edit this later, but the rendering takes so long I probably won't. This should be my final. Not that good, I admit, but it was thrown together to be a part of one of the biggest challenges yet. :)
Quote from: 3Dgeek11 on April 30, 2010, 06:10:23 pm
You gave me inspiration. :P

P.S. I may edit this later, but the rendering takes so long I probably won't. This should be my final. Not that good, I admit, but it was thrown together to be a part of one of the biggest challenges yet. :)

I knew ya'd dew it!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on May 01, 2010, 12:35:15 am: DEW it, lol. :P

I can't wait for the voting, either.
Arik: Have you finished your render for this challenge yet? I haven't seen a final from you, hope you can get one in. :D
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Arik_the_Red on May 01, 2010, 01:04:33 am: I'm hung up on a "I don't like it" mindset... but still hope to get something wrapped.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on May 01, 2010, 02:40:49 am: Oke doke. ;)
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: $imon on May 01, 2010, 03:54:50 am: Quote from: Arik_the_Red on May 01, 2010, 01:04:33 am
I'm hung up on a "I don't like it" mindset... but still hope to get something wrapped.

ditto :P I'm afraid I won't be finishing my entry for this challenge :(
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: rellik420 on May 01, 2010, 04:00:01 am: i think they all look great. i wont b voting on this either since i have no idea whats goin on when it comes to reflections. but congrats to all who competed they all look really good.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Indian8or on May 01, 2010, 04:49:01 am: Just created another render. Guys (and gals), please tell me, which one is better. I am confused. Actually, I was not happy with my first render's floor texture.
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: johnar on May 01, 2010, 05:44:43 am: Hi All, just wanted to apologise for not making it into these last 2 challenges, after saying that i would.
I've just been sooooooo busy.
Also wanted to say that these renders are looking REALLY GOOD. :)
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on May 01, 2010, 03:59:55 pm: Indiana8or, I really don't know which is better. I like the scenery in this one, but the reflection is better in the other one...

Johnar, No problem, just be sure to enter next time! :P
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on May 01, 2010, 06:23:19 pm: Okay, my REAL final. ;)
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: floyd86 on May 02, 2010, 08:25:46 am: Great entries everyone!! One more day to go and the voting will start. I hope some more people can join in time!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on May 02, 2010, 02:31:13 pm: Yep, it's going to be very HARD to vote, so many good entries...

We should have a vote of who we think will win. :P
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: cooldude234 on May 03, 2010, 02:53:20 am: Aw man, I completly forgot about this :'(
Well I hope to see other great entries like the ones so far :)
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on May 03, 2010, 09:31:19 am: Great entries everyone, This was really fun to participate in I know that! Good luck to all, I don't know who I'd vote for, except probably not myself, there are many that I feel are better. I used far too MANY reflections, and it just didn't seem to turn out right. Oh well, live-and-learn!
Title: Re: Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: floyd86 on May 03, 2010, 10:02:46 am: Voting started!! You can now vote on the two best entries with reflections.
You can vote for three days.
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Arik_the_Red on May 03, 2010, 10:27:08 am: Floyd, you may as well take me out of the running since I don't have anything completed... unless the gizmo itself counts... didn't really get the scene in order, or even render the gizmo in a quality worth mentioning.
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: $imon on May 03, 2010, 11:35:15 am: Quote from: Arik_the_Red on May 03, 2010, 10:27:08 am
Floyd, you may as well take me out of the running

Same goes for me lol, shame we couldnt finish a decent entry, Arik!

Anyway, great work everyone! I really like the quality that came out of the challenge. I hope people learned more about using reflections and can use it in their other Anim8or work!

Good job & everyone is a winner! [/clichés]
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on May 03, 2010, 02:46:05 pm: Yes, I think Arik, $imon, and cooldude should be taken out of the voting. Cooldude's render didn't even show a reflection! :P

http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php?topic=3333.msg23606#msg23606

Great work, guys. I guess there wasn't THAT big of a turnout, but a lot of people were interested, at least. :)
Thanks, Floyd, for a great challenge. I learned a lot. =]
Hope I win! Not really, lots of better entries. ;) Hehe

EDIT: I also don't think Navek or Baxter gave us anything.
http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php?topic=3333.30

Sorry, floyd, just saying. :P
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3D Joe Wiltshire on May 03, 2010, 02:47:00 pm: Good luck to everyone who got a finished entry in!
Can't wait another 3 days! must invent time machine!
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on May 03, 2010, 02:56:17 pm: lol

It's going to be VERY hard to vote... We're supposed to vote for the best use of reflections. There are a lot of great renders, beautiful scenes and such, but who has the best use of REFLECTIONS? Get Einstein over here, maybe he can help, and make a time machine while he's here. xD
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on May 03, 2010, 03:42:13 pm: A time machine would probably take longer to build than the three days it'd take to make. On the other hand, once you have it built you could fast-forward in future contests (or to future contests). You wouldn't abuse it though, right??? Like forwarding to the end, seeing everyone's renders, then going back and make yours, or giving yourself an extra year or two to finish. ;) Yeah, I took a bit to decide also, but I think I made the right choices in my opinion. But then again, if everyone had my opinion the world might be a little more messed up I must admit, so it's probably a good thing they don't.
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on May 03, 2010, 03:44:18 pm: Yes, the time machine would take a while. Except, wait, a time machine is impossible.. :o But if we could, ~~we could fast-forward to like, World War III or something, and see what we're making for the war. :P Except, we'd probably all be IN the war,~~ so, just forget it..

I took my time, also. But I'm certain I made the right choices, too. I want this to be the best challenge yet. :D
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3D Joe Wiltshire on May 03, 2010, 03:59:38 pm: Yeah it would take a while... but it's a time machine! just rewind back to the time you had the idea for the time machine and give it to yourself... but then the building of the time machine would never have happened... what then?

God, this is almost as confusing as primer! (great film to watch)
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Arik_the_Red on May 03, 2010, 04:18:39 pm: As for use of reflections, I was really hoping to get several uses... the chrome on my gadget, the reflection in the viewport window, as well as the reflection off the gadget's camera lens. Well, either way, I got the gadget for use in my Corporal Cosmic project...
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: floyd86 on May 03, 2010, 06:04:15 pm: Quote from: 3Dgeek11 on May 03, 2010, 02:46:05 pm
Yes, I think Arik, $imon, and cooldude should be taken out of the voting. Cooldude's render didn't even show a reflection! :P

http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php?topic=3333.msg23606#msg23606

Great work, guys. I guess there wasn't THAT big of a turnout, but a lot of people were interested, at least. :)
Thanks, Floyd, for a great challenge. I learned a lot. =]
Hope I win! Not really, lots of better entries. ;) Hehe

EDIT: I also don't think Navek or Baxter gave us anything.
http://www.anim8or.com/smf/index.php?topic=3333.30

Sorry, floyd, just saying. :P

It's a sort of unwritten rule, that everyone we posts a render is a participant. Because renders are never done ;) There is always some more tweaking to be done etc.
But since some renders aren't even far from done...they won't probably get any votes (here because they didn't had any reflections). Also no-one will come to me for accidentally leaving a render out of the voting. ;)
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on May 03, 2010, 07:39:33 pm: I guess that's a good idea then. :)
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: cooldude234 on May 03, 2010, 11:12:35 pm: Yea, I didnt get the relfections rendered in. Too bad. I had just made the water too before I forgot about this (that was about a week and a half ago). Sorry, but I did like the board texture I made that was used in it though, I must re-use it!
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Josmic8or on May 04, 2010, 12:42:38 pm: GREAT JOB EVERYONE :) :) :)
GOOD LUCK TO ALL!!
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: cooldude234 on May 06, 2010, 10:08:49 am: ENSONIQ5 WON. Congrates!
(And I know, I sucked this time around, just did some boards and water)

I VOTED FOR FLOYD! LOL

Good work everyone! Hopefully will do somthing for the next challenge
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on May 06, 2010, 10:28:49 am: It was good fun participating, Congrats to the winner, ENSONIQ5!
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: $imon on May 06, 2010, 11:15:42 am: Yea great render Ensoniq, deserved winner :) Congrats!

See you next challenge hopefully!
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3D Joe Wiltshire on May 06, 2010, 01:11:35 pm: Well done to Ensoniq!
and a runner up good job to everyone else, thanks to anyone who voted for me :)

Now we just have to wait for the next challenge!
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: DragonSlayer on May 06, 2010, 01:45:03 pm: Next challenge... I'm already getting antzy...
MUST... M... MODEL... ... ... ... MUST MAKE SOME... THING!!! ;)
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: 3Dgeek11 on May 06, 2010, 04:13:22 pm: Congrats to Esoniq. I voted for Indian8or, btw. But they both deserved the top spots. :)

Yay! Me and 3DJW both got 2 votes. :P
Next challenge, please. :D
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: floyd86 on May 07, 2010, 07:39:43 am: Congratulations ENSONIQ5 and Indian8or!! Well deserved ;D
Good luck everyone in the next challenge!!
Title: Re: [ VOTING ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: ENSONIQ5 on May 07, 2010, 07:46:15 am: Cheers everybody, and congrats to all entrants. Once again I have benefited from this challenge in learning a considerable amount about how the reflective ART attributes work and the range of materials that can be simulated using them, and I hope others have as well (this is of course the point of these challenges). Hopefully the next challenge attracts as many contributors as this one.
Title: Re: [ COMPLETE ] Challenge #16: Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Post by: Josmic8or on May 08, 2010, 04:47:25 am: CONGRATS EVERYONE!!!