Wednesday, February 12, 2014

SSS, Poll, & Stuff

Ok, so first things first. You probably just saw the poll pop-up and said "ZOMG WTF is this shit!!!". Alright maybe not that extreme, but you might have raised an eyebrow. It's a poll to see what sets/series I should think about focusing on. I'll still do whatever feels right at the time, but this will help guide my inclinations. Also the poll will pop up Every. Single. Time. you visit. At least until I disable it. Oh, and in the Member's section of my site too. So get used to it. Sorry. But hey! On the plus side you'll be able to see who's winning whenever you check. And yeah, I know some of you are gonna game it. Such is the way of polls. By the way the list order is randomized every time, so there isn't a reason why some show up before others. And if for some reason the poll script doesn't work, you can check it here.

Now on to other things. As I said before I'm looking into playing around with SSS (Sub-Surface Scattering) for sets. So did some tests with Cherry Bomb since it was working on that set that I came to the conclusion to start testing the method. So we start with a full body shot using my standard light set - ambient IBL light, upper left main light, right-side blue specular-only no-shadow rim-light. Same shader nodes, but one with Scatter added. No idea what that meant? Don't worry. Do know and think it's terrible? *shrug* Probably. But works for me. In any case, pics. Left side is normal, right side is with SSS...

So... not alot of difference. The SSS side is a bit softer in the shadows, so not as much contrast which can be a good and bad thing. Hardly seems worth the extra render time just based on that. So lets look at a type of pic that really triggered my urge to start messing around with this. A close-up shot so that the bump mapping is readily apparent, and the main light coming in from the left side to really accentuate the bump texture. And without hair, cuz I didn't want to wait for it to render. Otherwise same same...

And that's why I'm moving to SSS. Cuz OMFG her skin looks terrible on the left. It's like elephant hide with caked on make-up to try and cover it up, but failing miserably. Compared to the right side which is zomg fukkin AWESOME! It does lose some details around the lips, but after playing with it in the new set, think I've found a solution to that. Sadly it won't be in the set, cuz I thought it up halfway thru. But something for the future. So SSS is def worth the effort IMO. Sure it looks more realistic, but think I've retained enough toony-ness to keep my style. So let's take a look at SSS on a monster guy...

Hmmm.... Not as big a fan of it here. Again the SSS on the right is softening the shadows and the bump, which I don't think works as well on the guys. The rough skin and higher contrast work a bit better there. They are harsh and nasty, the chicks are soft and beautiful - beauty & the beast thing. So at the moment think I'm just gonna stick with SSS on the girls and the few objects that will need it (translucent marble, food, etc).




And of course movie review time. Fur reelz this time! Robocop. So I'll be honest I went expecting it to be terrible terrible terribad badness. I remembered my traumatic experience with the Total Recall remake (I want my money back!). Figured this was gonna be the same. It was not. It was actually a decent movie. Again, not gonna win any awards, but it was fun and well done. Went for more of the "what does it mean to be human" vibe, rather than the "bang! bang! explosion! spray of blood!" shtick. Not that there isn't a shit-ton of violence and action in the movie, it's just more of an occurrence in the film rather than the reason for the film itself. I'd say it's a cop drama with futuristic trappings. And I liked it.

The doctor guy did a fantastic job. Seriously worth watching the movie just for him. Micheal Keaton as the evil Steve Jobs was kinda surreal. Was great casting though. You keep thinking "he seems swell.. WAIT! he's evil!". And Samuel L. Jackson as Bill O'Reilly was hilarious. He did an incredible job right up until the end. The end part just didn't seem to work for me. But whatever. The little bald guy villain didn't really strike a chord with me either. Just seemed like an angry little bald guy, instead of a menace. Also, maybe a sociopathic drone manufacturer is exactly what Detroit needs to get back on it's feet!

18 comments:

sumuner said...

mongo anything you do to your work will be a winner with use!

As for the poll... WHAT THE $*@?#%!!!!!1!!
j/k ;) just gives use more of a voice me like!

the thing I can't get over about Robocop is that they successfully predicted Detroit going bankrupt! I'll have to check the new one out soon.

VenusKnows said...

squeee!!! looking at the numbers go up. Here's hoping for Sc2, SW and WW!

Thank you Mongo for opening up the polls and keeping the content rolling in.

Planetfall said...

Happy to be able to vote. Zelda is your all time hottest character, she needs a gang scene like you did with Peach's first. Need more Squaw Girl, too. Didn't see her on the ballot.

Anonymous said...

Good idea on the poll, but no Resi Evil?

Anonymous said...

Poll seems to be broken, when sliding down the selections the check boxes move but the thumbnails stay the same. Also doesn't seem to be any way to "submit".

Lazy Fuck said...

The poll is just kind of annoying me, because there's about 12 different ones I want to vote for but only 5 I can at any given time. So yea, congrats on having too many good options and being too good for you own good, Mongo, you bastard. Still, don't really care which one of 'em you go for I suppose - though I am still hoping for a Kill la Kill set at some point in the future.

Anonymous said...

I like to see more resident evil as well!
Really hoping since its Valentine's day, there is another Jill Valentine coming out.. please!

MongoBongo said...

Yes there will be a Resident Evil / Valentines set. It just won't be in time for Valentines cuz I keep adding stuff. :-/

Faro09 said...

Skin tone looks a little more natural with the SSS on the girl. Really like the soft shadows too. Never realized how prominent that skin texture was until you brought up the comparisons. Now I can see it everywhere. Glad you're experimenting with new stuff. Speaking of which, really like the poll. Provides some interactivity.

Vegtam said...

It occurred to me that we've never seen Marshal Caleigh's insides. Changing that would be an awesome idea.

It appears that Jill Valentine and Peach/Zelda are the likely winners here, but honestly, I like Mongo's original characters the best.

G Money said...

Hay Mongo when you get a chance check this product out. I think it might help you with advancing you renders with SSS.

http://www.runtimedna.com/EZSkin-2.html

And free is always nice too... :)

Azatoth said...

Wow those troll tusks look great, did you use a horn prop for them ?

Unknown said...

I like the votign idea mongo

Game of Thrones !! I jsut started watching it on season 3 now, so I really think you need more ot the Dragon Mom :)

Shmaded said...

So love the voting idea, awesome. Also as far as the little bald guy goes, if you ever saw watchmen he is the actor that played rorschach, so for me that made it kind of cooler.

Anonymous said...

i voted bretonia knight i love to see our knight and her bestiality adventures :3 a sugestion may her next for be a futanari (lamia/medusa) you know half body woman the other half snake... :D

joeannie said...

I see SSS as more an evolution thing ... with all Poser after 8, MATs which don't use SSS look worse, so someone's been 'sub-optimizing' in favor of SSS. I'm sure there is some correlation with light-set and SSS, so maybe experiment with the lights also - I can't offer suggestions. My favorite lights are from like 2008 ... dino lights :).

Knight77 said...

The troll looks really cool ;)

Anonymous said...

Ooh, Poll. You know my vote, of course. You've got three green characters on your site now! It's a little amusing when you think about it. :)

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