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General => Contests => NWDA 2015 Theme Challenge - Iceland => Topic started by: Kranky on November 22, 2014, 08:15:29 AM

Title: My iceland wip thread - Icelandic turf houses
Post by: Kranky on November 22, 2014, 08:15:29 AM
Nothing yet... but is it allowed to put houses (maybe a small village or a part of a city) and/or man-made objects into the scene?
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread
Post by: Dune on November 22, 2014, 10:42:56 AM
I'd say yes, though I wouldn't use an extremely well made man-made structure and render nothing else than that. That would take the Terragen part out of it.
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread
Post by: Kranky on November 22, 2014, 12:06:47 PM
I don't plan to model a complete city in Blender and finally render it in Terragen  ;D.
But maybe a low viewport with a few houses in the foreground or a high viewport over a landscape and a small village.
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread
Post by: TheBadger on November 22, 2014, 08:39:17 PM
sounds cool. Old or modern? Here are some concept art links that may inspire you. Viking looking stuff.
http://oyster.ignimgs.com/ve3d/images/01/47/14798_VikingArtwork-02.jpg
http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/98/e8/95/98e89504efc66bd1904b5ce1d162dc87.jpg
http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs40/f/2009/031/9/d/Viking_village_by_gregmks.jpg
http://media.tumblr.com/5ba46b0e07a36c874bb212968acc4bae/tumblr_inline_nbfdsx8dDa1qgjbhq.jpg
http://s834.photobucket.com/user/conceptmx/media/temple_091201_5.jpg.html
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m026qip3b41qgk4vi.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_r3adJMMRsz0/TMbYp91ED6I/AAAAAAAAAH8/l2iHd0wQGBY/s1600/054.jpg
http://fc00.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2014/233/f/d/acaratus_concept_art___nodian_wasteland___by_klauspillon-d7w604v.jpg

http://www.rosala-viking-centre.com/images/highrfarm5.JPG
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread
Post by: Kranky on November 23, 2014, 05:57:46 AM
The city/village Vik in the south looks really nice.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J5DqzlcI0LE/ToeH9Iz37KI/AAAAAAAABCs/od7zmiC-bxg/s1600/vik_sumar.jpg
http://cdn.planetincolor.com/original/24072dbf.jpg
http://haveblogwilltravel.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Vik-town.jpg

Or maybe these grass covered houses.. but there I'm not sure how to best integrate the models into the terrain.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Cu7nvScviGs/THUj4Dyl1FI/AAAAAAAADu8/P4eQDMvQWQc/s1600/IMG_7641.jpg
http://www.blog.designsquish.com/images/uploads/turf-house_thumb.jpg

Or a high camera position over Reykjavik, but I think this would be really hard.

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/wwtravel/624_330/images/live/p0/14/py/p014py47.jpg
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread
Post by: Kranky on November 23, 2014, 03:34:49 PM
Here is a first test render... I totally forgot the new feature to place populations on objects  :-[ This works great... the last thing I need to do is to fill the scene with a great landscape, a few more houses and make it photorealistic  ;D
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread - Icelandic turf houses
Post by: Oshyan on November 24, 2014, 03:30:31 AM
The church in Vik was a really nice little touch of human presence with a dramatic background. Reykjavik is in a pretty boring area of Iceland, it would be tough to find a good way to represent it that would create a really inspiring image. You don't even find many great photos of Reykjavik IMO.

I get the sense from this and other threads that people feel the rules might be pretty strict, but in my interpretation (keeping in mind I'm not officiating the contest and didn't write the rules :D ), it's pretty wide open. As long as *you* feel you are representing Iceland as a country and a place of natural wonder in a good, evocative way, then it doesn't matter much if you're using houses or not, animal models or plant models or not, whether you're using a real DEM terrain or one you made up, or even whether the position of the sun is plausible for a given time of year (snow on the ground with sun on a DEM terrain coming from the North for example). Maybe my interpretation is too loose, but I think what should matter is whether an average viewer looking at your image automatically thinks "Iceland" or not.

- Oshyan
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread - Icelandic turf houses
Post by: Dune on November 24, 2014, 05:10:52 AM
Yes, I would say that too.

Regarding the chapel, it would be nice to place in in a quiet place, solitude-like, along a path or something between the greens. Maybe some black rocks further away or higher uop. And the vegetation on the roof is great, but needs more variety and more color variety. As well as textures on the walls of course, but that's probably ahead anyway.
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread - Icelandic turf houses
Post by: Kranky on November 24, 2014, 03:03:40 PM
I viewed a lot of images of turf houses and like them a lot. My image will not replicate a real place, there will be a combination of houses, which I didn't see on my reference photos... but I think that is okay with the rules. They will be still created with best photorealism possible.

@Dune: The vegetation (a simple grass population) is boring, I see it now but yesterday I was so thrilled, I just had to post the image  ;D
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread - Icelandic turf houses
Post by: TheBadger on November 24, 2014, 09:44:39 PM
Quote from: Kranky on November 24, 2014, 03:03:40 PM
I viewed a lot of images of turf houses and like them a lot. My image will not replicate a real place, there will be a combination of houses, which I didn't see on my reference photos... but I think that is okay with the rules. They will be still created with best photorealism possible.

@Dune: The vegetation (a simple grass population) is boring, I see it now but yesterday I was so thrilled, I just had to post the image  ;D
Dont worry at all. it will be easy for you to make look good now that you how it works.

Your ref images are inspiring to say the least. You have your work cut out for you!
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread - Icelandic turf houses
Post by: Kranky on November 29, 2014, 07:18:02 PM
After some days of experimenting with different terrains: Here is my first test render for the background terrain (100% internal). I created custom flow maps out of the difference of the uneroded and eroded terrain and added some functions. The surface layers need a lot of work, but I like the overall form of the terrain :)
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread - Icelandic turf houses
Post by: bobbystahr on November 29, 2014, 09:03:29 PM
Quote from: Kranky on November 29, 2014, 07:18:02 PM
After some days of experimenting with different terrains: Here is my first test render for the background terrain (100% internal). I created custom flow maps out of the difference of the uneroded and eroded terrain and added some functions. The surface layers need a lot of work, but I like the overall form of the terrain :)

Awesome 'underpainting'. I look forward to watching this develop.
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread - Icelandic turf houses
Post by: TheBadger on November 29, 2014, 10:18:53 PM
Pretty cool start!
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread - Icelandic turf houses
Post by: inkydigit on December 01, 2014, 06:55:18 PM
Neat flow maps... How did you derive these? Did you have to export them or use the output of the node internally?
Looks great, and really useful too!
:)
J
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread - Icelandic turf houses
Post by: Kranky on January 18, 2015, 02:59:32 PM
Since there is not much time left I need to hurry. I hope I can finish my project until Feb 14th.

@inkydigit: The flow maps are completely created with Terragen. I will post an example clip file after I finished after the deadline.
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread - Icelandic turf houses
Post by: archonforest on January 18, 2015, 03:12:13 PM
Quote from: Kranky on January 18, 2015, 02:59:32 PM
I will post an example clip file after I finished after the deadline.
YEAH!
Title: Re: My iceland wip thread - Icelandic turf houses
Post by: Henry Blewer on January 21, 2015, 12:50:48 PM
You'll get it done. Keep plugging at it. An hour a day ends up as a lot of work in a month.
Nothing is ever finished. The point is getting it to be acceptable for the client; in this case the judges.