This one is a deceptively simple picture ... you only think it's simple. I went through 10 poses and in the end came back to the simplest ... I went through 10 different lighting setups to get the effect I wanted ... for just about the first time ever, I found myself saying, "I'll know what I want when I see it!"Masculine beauty. Strength, power, physical perfection. Integrity, honor, courage. Along the way, I had dynamic poses, fighting poses, arrogant poses ... you name it.
Eventually it occurred to me that I was making it too complex. I came right back to what LOOKS simple, but believe me, it took eight lights on the model to get this effect!
There's no cookbook method to get a picture like this. You just have to fiddle with it till you see what you want. Load Michael 4. Load the props. Make the background black. Set a Distant Light, so you can see what you're doing. Then start loading point lights, changing the color and intensity of them. Use the surfaces tab to make the props over into what you want in terms of roughness and texture. Render 20 different "takes" ... and eventually baboom! Something will take shape and happen.
Along the way, you're going to have a desktop (workspace) looking like this:
And you'll have been through more versions than anyone would believe...
This one was a challenge ... it was a also a whole lot of fun. I've uploaded the images at large size -- go ahead and click on them. And yes, there is a nude version. And if you're really sharp-eyed, you'll see that it's the nude version that's open in the workspace screen capture...Is that beautiful, or what?! Reminds you a lot of the work of Boris and Julie -- except, if they'd painted this, it would be a woman. Always, always, it's women in "beauty" artwork. So here's Jade redressing the situation "one render at a time." Tune in tomorrow...!
Jade, December 2
This piece has just gone on sale at Zazzle
...as a 15" x 22.5" poster; Order now, for $15.50
...as a mousepad; Order now, for $12.95
