Michael Brown - Glass tower

Thanks for the nice comments Girish :)

The later version after modifications looks much better. It's not that the earlier wasn't, but some tweaks and the render gets so much life in it. I really more blue feel to the image + the sky. The other objects getting a little dark helps to get more focus on the building. Well done.

Good Idea Dima, I went back and forth on that idea a bit too. I like it, however wanted to keep the sense of a little foreground as well... always a tough balance. Maybe I'll go back and rework the model at some point so i can have the foreground with a 'not so centric' image composition. Cheers, M-

[ATTACH=CONFIG]41728[/ATTACH]Hi, Nice work. I think that if a little cut then the composition will be more expressive. Sincerely. Dima.

Fair enough, Thanks for the feedback Mr. Schmiesing. Here's another with some changes. [IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b253/aliasmarks/MichaelBrown_Glasstowerimage_v07_web.jpg[/IMG]

Don't read to much into it. I just simply meant to fill back in with a brush or eraser that has a very soft gradient edge. Maybe airbrushing is not the right term because the pattern an airbrush creates is quite a bit more intricate. The term is probably thrown around more than it should be. Just like when people say that they are doing an NPR, they want it to look like a watercolor. Very very few digital NPR's really look like a watercolor. Most are probably closer to a gauche or some other type of pencil drawing.

Maybe not all of the color, but some airbrushed back might be kind of nice.

I like the idea of masking some more color back in, but am curious exactly what you mean by 'air brushing' I've heard the term a lot but am not quite sure what that exactly translates too execution wise. how exactly does one 'air brush' in photoshop?

Personally I like the blue overlay to the scene. How about masking back in some of the color of the tower onto the image? Maybe not all of the color, but some airbrushed back might be kind of nice. Also, I feel that the fins or fenestration on the tower is a bit 'muddy' in the way it reads. Perhaps higher render settings would produce more definition to the articulation.

Having some more fun with this.. Another update with more settle color implementation. [IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b253/aliasmarks/MichaelBrown_Glasstowerimage_v05.jpg[/IMG]

took a couple more comments into consideration... Tommy, tried a couple whole skies but just couldn't find the right fit so keeping what I got for now. I like your added vignette idea for the bottom corners. [IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b253/aliasmarks/MichaelBrown_Glasstowerimage_v04_people.jpg[/IMG]

Thanks for taking a look and the comments Nicolas and hkygod. Good thought on the people. Working on trying to add some in the right places...

thanks for the comments Tristan and Abdel. The way I figure, there is always someone better out there that can help make things better, so I'm always open to crits. Sometimes the best crits come from seasoned veterans, sometimes they come from a junior designer doing web design. who knows... Everyone has a unique perspective that makes their feedback valuable if you can translate it and interpret it effectively. At least that's my outlook :)

very nice work, love the colors.

Nice Mike. Your colour usage is very good. A few people would be nice to show some scale.

nice work :)

The original image was good but Amazing how much improvement with just subtle changes. Which reminds me that no matter how good you are there still so much you can learn from your peers. I'm saying this cause I just happen to browse on another post by a newbie and the guy goes defensive ballistic on some constructive crits.

Much better sky! I still think you should find one sky image and use that in its entirety. The image could benefit from putting the sky on a plane in 3d, apply vray light material and use as a reflection board behind the building for the glass. The sky gradient does look a little like a vignette now as well, so maybe vignette the bottom also?

Found some time to noodle around a bit and get an update together. c&c welcome. [IMG]http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b253/aliasmarks/Glasstowerimage_v02_web.jpg[/IMG] highres Cheers, M-

Thanks for the comments gents, Just to be clear I haven't gotten image of the week quite yet.... I think... I'm a bit confused actually as I thought I would submit the image to this forum it would be reviewed before being posted, but it was posted right when I submitted. Perhaps a mod could help me out here on the proper way to submit. Anyway, happy to have it up and get some good crits. Stan, The blend into the sky was mostly done with a large directional motion blur. Process was, 1. Flatten all visible layers into new visible layer, ctrl+alt+shift+e. 2. vertical motion blur layer like 800-900 pixels of so 3. Set blending mode to overlay and adjust opacity 4. Mask out actual building and paint/gradient mask to your liking. Travis, good call on the sky there and the composition, my eye definitely just kinda stays around the bright area at the base of the tower. Something about the image seemed off balance to me, and you may have pinpointed what it actually is. Tommy, thanks for the good crits, no need be sorry :) really appreciate your honesty. I think your spot on and you definitely called the hoge poge of combining 3 different skies and lack of attention to the trees, hence part of the reason I made them so dark. I'll try to incorporate some of the crits into a revision if I get the time. It's a bit of a constant struggle for me not to put too much extra jazz in the image when I'm having fun with it (like you mentioned in the lower right). Maybe a bit over the top though. Thanks again for taking a look! Cheers, M-

Congrats Mike!