Working methods: how do you get the job done?

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

One of the artists I'm working with has described how he'll sometimes set up a Vue render before he goes to work in the morning, then pop home at lunchtime to set up another for the afternoon. I can't do that, but recently while waiting for a render - reading, or writing, or whatever - I've been thinking how when I can do this for a living I'll set up two PCs so I can prepare a scene on one while another renders. Until then, it's reading these Essentials.

So how does everyone else fit in Poser time - or whatever you use - around having a life and earning a living?

IMP.
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GhostofMacbeth · Forum Member Joined: Sep 21, 2001 Posts: 615

My normal day consists of getting up, going to work, coming home, working on illustrations or Poser stuff. During more deadline time I get up earlier, work, go to work, come home for lunch and work, go back to work, come home for dinner, work, go to bed for a couple of hours and repeat.

GhostofMacbeth · Forum Member Joined: Sep 21, 2001 Posts: 615

Also, I try to have no render take longer than a little bit. If they do I render them while I am asleep or at work. Anything longer than 6 hours is out the door.

samcclung65 · Forum Member Joined: Sep 22, 2001 Posts: 31

Uh oh, Ian's talking about me. :-)

No afternoon render today, had some thunderstorms go by.

Scott

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

Damn lazy, if you ask me.

I have an advantage over some of the artists here, in that I'm usually not going for photorealism: less detail, fewer shadows, shorter render times. On the other hand, doing comics, we have to generate a lot more renders than someone doing standalone images.

IMP.
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lectatege · Forum Member Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 203

Wouldn't it be easier just to draw the damn things?
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palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

No.

IMP.
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palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

Well, I mean yes, but far, far crappier.

IMP.
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lectatege · Forum Member Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 203

I'm talking about your work here not mine.
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digitalmagi

Personally i do the inbetween stuff while i am rendering. Usually pencil work, layout or straight up writing and re-writing. That is if i am feeling industrious. Other wise i grab a novel and read or pick up my guitar and play.

The only time i have render times exceeding 20min is when i am rending something in Max that has a ton of lighting and shadow and video post stuff. Since i dont use most of that for 3D still images my base render times for a largish file are 5 to 10min.

i get away with this by doing lots of composite work in photoshop. i spend more time setting up a scene and rednering the hell out of it and then matching camera angles to render my figures.

An to answer the "isn't it easier to draw it" question. A straight "NO". i would say that many of the artists here can draw. Some better then others. Speaking for myself, i am a very slow draftsman. Takes me ages to draw something in detail that i can produce in 3D in an hour. Some of the artists here do not draw yet they have some mighty 3D skills. It is all about the tools that work for the individual.

lectatege · Forum Member Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 203

I was being a bit facetious - I work mostly in Photoshop myself. I do get the occasional pang of guilt and go back to the drawing board only to give up an hour later in disgust at my own efforts.

I still think it is good to get out the old pencil and paper from time to time though, not because it improves your drawing skills but because it improves your looking skills.
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itisitex · Forum Member Joined: Sep 01, 2002 Posts: 177 Location: Tx

Lets see i will work in illustrator or photo shop inbetween classes home work yard work and sleep
then once i have created a texture or reworked an existing texture map i will work on the character in poser once that is done i will try to compose an image and render it out i am lucky to render one complete image every couple of weeks and of those images i might post one out of 6

samcclung65 · Forum Member Joined: Sep 22, 2001 Posts: 31

I just started reading the book "Artists on Comic Art." The first chapter is on Brain Bolland. He now does all his work in Photoshop with a Wacom tablet. Dave Gibbons got him started working that way.

Scott

palmers · Forum Member Joined: Jun 07, 2002 Posts: 379

I've been doing more compositing than I used to, but still, a set with three or four 2nd generation DAZ figures with clothing and transparency for hair and so on can take, I don't know, up to an hour to render.

The trouble with writing while rendering is that I write a lot faster than I can make pages. The more I write, the further I get behind.

IMP.
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lectatege · Forum Member Joined: Mar 14, 2006 Posts: 203

Interesting info samcclung.
I might give that another shot - if its good enough for Gibbons and Bolland...
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