Seadragon and a light tutorial

[Norm]

Here is something I am doing for my son's race bike...
22992
I created it first as a pencil sketch, then scanned it and I'm using Corel Painter to work it up..
22993
22994
22995
still has a ways to go before it ends up on the bike, but I find the process of creating it digitally gives me a working plan to get it to the bike.

The next items are some lighting tests I put together in Maya, using a variety of surface and lighting options. Thought it might be of use to someone here...
22996
This first one is an single area light, up and to the right
22997
This one is a variation on the previous, with a red fill in the back, and a blue fill in the front. If you look close on the objects you can see a very subtle red and blue.
22998
This one is a grey outline render to show you a basic hard light from the upper right
22999
once again, same light, just reduced the ambient
23000
here the ambient level is the same as the previous pic, just added a low intensity light a little to the left of the first light.
23001
and finally, the result of all the previous lights, and adding a 'reflective' surface on the objects.

Hope I didn't bore you to tears with this. Just find light fascinating.

[Dizzy]

gonna look really cool Norm!!

Dizzy

[prtchevy]

That seadragon is going to look wicked when painted.

[Norm]

Thanks Dizzy, Nathan.. I sent him a preview this morning... he told me he won't want to track the bike when I'm done.. hahaha..

[Dizzy]

Love the lighting post as well Norm!!
Always good to "see" how light works and with the reflective surfaces it is a great little eye opener!!

Dizzy

[laserman]

Great stuff Norm. THat sea dragon is great... Thanks for the light source :)

[Norm]

Thanks Dizzy, I figured I would use simple shapes... something that could be reproduced easily with an airbrush.

Thanks Gregg!

[Cowboy]

Great post Norm, I Wont even Pretend to Know What is involved or How You Create things. But wanted to Just say Thanks for the time involved. The Dragon is Very Nice to say the Least. & The Light source pics are Great. Good show .

[AndyW]

Working up to be a cracker of a piece Norm, thanks very much for the little lighting studies,

[Norm]

Thanks Cowboy, Andy!

[Norm]

Went to DC and picked up my son's race bike this weekend, along with all the race fairings and such... should be ready to basecoat in a couple of weeks after all the fairings get fitted. I'm almost done with the digital mockup of the artwork for it and I'll post that tomorrow. Here is the result from Corel Painter so far:

23071

I'm going to try and reproduce it on both sides of the bike, and on a canvas as well.
23072
this is similar to his.. basically the same fairings, but a V-Twin (SV-650).

[airarts]

I really love this design! Waaaay cooool!

[Norm]

Thanks Karrine!, can't wait to sling some paint at it.

[Strictly Attitude]

real nice design I love it I am trying to get more into design work in the comp before spraying I bought a wacom pad but not a fan of it the scanning idea never thought of that norm you just gave me a helping hand Thanks

[Norm]

SA, not a fan of the Wacom? I couldn't live without it! I've owned several and loved them all. What size did you get? and what are the issues you are having?

[Strictly Attitude]

I believe it's more getting used to it than other probs I got a bamboo which could be part of it also it is a smaller model I use photoshop allot and it's one of my fav programs but I feel I really just need to train my self with it. I wish I could get it to mor like a lap top touch pad so I can get more detail. I will have to play with it tomarrow is there a way to adjust some of this stuff

[Dizzy]

I am looking forward to you slinging some paint on this project to Norm!!

gonna look awesome!!

Dizzy

[fontgeek]

Norm, this piece strongly reminds me of the first "Asia" album cover, back in the 80's. It ought to be a fun one to paint.

[Whit]

Good Show Norm,,, Good Show !!!
Thanks for sharing this !!!

[Norm]

SA, sorry it took me so long to get back to you... the Wacom software has a number of adjustments and tweaks to allow you to adjust pressure sensitivity, hotkeys, and emulation modes for mouse or pen. It even has adjustments for the angle that you hold the pen on the tablet surface.
Dizzy, Fontgeek, looks like I'll be starting this project in the next week or so... weather dependent.. too cold to be out in the shop, staying in the studio is a much better option at the moment. Fontgeek, I'm a big fan of all the old Roger Dean stuff, so that could have been an influence for sure.. I'll have to dig through some of my old Dean books and see.
Thanks Whit!

[Norm]

Fontgeek, checked the album cover.. some similarities, but Roger Dean's is so much better... mine started as a sketch on a piece of paper originally on a lunch break, but I can certainly see where you could draw a comparison.... I was pleased with my water until I saw how he did his... oh well, difference in artists...

[airartista]

Really an exciting composition to see on a bike... this will be a great project!!! Of course, I love the blue!!!! Looks like fun Norm!

[AndyW]

Gonna be wicked Norm. Lookin forward to it.

[redanner]

Nice project Norm!

[Norm]

Thanks Annette, starting with a blue metallic base to begin with.
Thanks Andy, Robert, can't wait to get past all the base work and into the artwork.
Thanks Gordon, yeah, I checked out that version... actually like it better than mine.. but then, this one is mine and no copyright issues... might study the water in Roger Dean's work a little closer though....

[minniemouse]

Great work Norm. Maybe a wee bit of lightening? Or would that be going over the top?
I love your image, but yeah, gotta agree needs more violence in the sea. Cant wait to see you do this, it'll be a wicked piece!

[Norm]

Not sure about the lightning, but the sea needs more attitude for sure! Thanks Minnie!

[AndyW]

Just love violent seas wee haaaaa..........sorry side tracked lol......

[Gotblade]

This might be too big of a request given the complexity of the subject but how do you make use of the lighting study?
Are you over laying topology from a 3d modeler?
If this was the seventies and I saw this on the cover of a rock album, I'd buy it without even caring what the music was like.

[Norm]

Gotblade, I created the lighting study in Maya, just as a reference tool for folks who might be interested in what positioning of light might affect an object. Perhaps I should do a step by step reference in airbrush to better show how it could be used. The Seadragon is going to be painted on my son's racebike... a Suzuki SV650 (track only), but I thought it might be a good idea to do this on a panel and/or canvas too. Hope I answered your question.

[Gotblade]

I hope to get to the point where my imagination yealds things this rich.
I've spent many years only copying what was in a picture & thinking it quite a skill but it pales in comparison to a vivid imagination.

[redanner]

Kool!