Week 9 - Re-Return To The Grave

NOTE: There will be two posts for this week, as I had planned to continue with the route of focusing on one of the three calender items each week in sequence but, the Patrick's Day Guinness glass will also be covered...I explain below why we are wit the Halloween one again! Well, this wasn't planned I know, but...I had a few ideas to make the Halloween grave-thing slightly more believable so I thought Id better get it on here before I forgot/couldn't remember what it was that needed to be done.

This week I found out that to make this scene as realistic and believable as possible, I would need to use the Environment and Effects facility - supposedly a great way to add in the all important ground-fog and perhaps environment image for the background too. I selected the most appropriate effect (volume fog) and I was able to adjust many settings, including density, step size and even down to the noise types and thresholds

I also added in an image of a moonlit sky which I could then use as an environmental effect. By selecting an omni light and turning shadows on, I could then place the light in the position of the crescent moon, thus creating a believable lighting setup

As the image also shows, as well as a shadow cast in front of the gravestone itself, I had also adjusted the fogs positioning so that it looks more realistic and that it could be having a tangible effect on the ground. But, I'm still not happy with that ground texture - its very poorly presented!

^An update of the current image when its rendered - happy about the dying shrub branches and 'stone textures/ not happy about the lack of environmental effects, background or the ground texture.^

And so, due to my negative attitude towards the textures on the surface plane, I decided to do something about it.
So, off to Photoshop I went to construct my own muddy, disheveled and generally unkempt landscape.
I chose two relevant colours - a mossy green and dark umber brown which then were applied using a feathery, randomized almost staccato-in-application brush at 30px size. This took a little while to achieve the desired effect, but it as definitely worth it in the end. After applying the two tones with no real order, I then applied a very dark green, almost black which the same brush, but at around 150px or so for an uneven and disordered appearance

^The finished article, with the tonalities and application techniques as I mentioned above being portrayed here also^

^Evidence of my texture applied, along with my dozen or so other materials in the library, all textures that can be modified in a way that will suit their usage^

Yes, is pretty much complete..now, its a case of finalizing the environment map I have in store for such an occasion and then angling the camera at just the right elevation for a nice dramatic shot..well, that's the plan, anyways