Patrx's CGI dinosaur composites

[Patrx]

Squint your eyes and see each composition as a series of layer and assign a value of grey to each layer. Think of the classic Disney 'pool of light'.

Yet my stuff usually sucks, so maybe you should ignore my stupid advice.

I think I see what you mean, particularly in the Stegoceras image - drawing the eye to the focal points using contrast Sound advice, thanks very much.

Additionally, I have seen some of your paleoart and it certainly doesn't suck  Truckloads of character. Quite a bit different from Doug Henderson's stuff, yes, but the "comic-book" style is genuinely appealing.

EDIT: I also just discovered that you were involved with the production design of "Atlantis: The Lost Empire", and that alone is enough reason for me to respect your talent. That movie is stylistically fantastic 

[tyrantqueen]

Takama,

Google Douglas Henderson and see what real paleoart is. I'm just a shmo comic book guy.

Well, comic book art is still artwork in its own right. It does receive a lot of prejudice but if you look at the work of Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Jim Lee, Adam Hughes etc I don't think anyone can deny that it is art.

[rfdelgado]

You're all very kind.

I'm gonna post a Jusrassic Park 3 image today on my stupid blog, just for all of you, lol.

It's about as Hendersonian as I can get.

[Patrx]

A new one! Not actually a dinosaur.


Liopleurodon ferox ventures into the shallows to hunt for sharks.

[Patrx]

Another new one, also not a dinosaur 

[Takama]

That pterosaur almost looks real

[Patrx]

That pterosaur almost looks real

Thanks, Takama! That's just what I was going for 

[Jetoar]

Awesome again  .

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

They may not be dinosaurs but they look AWESOME !

[Nebuloid]

That looks great ! Enjoying a nice bit of fish.

[Balaur]

Tasty fish!

That is really good Patrx! It looks so real! Its as if you went back in time and snuck up o a pterosaur enjoying fish and took a shot of it. Good job!

[Patrx]

Thanks everybody! I do feel like my techniques are improving - the pycnofibers on that Ornithocheirid were done with a new system, rather more complex than what I was doing before, but also more versatile.

It looks so real! Its as if you went back in time and snuck up o a pterosaur enjoying fish and took a shot of it. Good job!

I'm glad it succeeds at that! That sort of candid, naturalistic vibe is something that I think is missing from some of the more recent dinosaur shows like Planet Dinosaur. Despite the advances in technology, older stuff like Walking With Dinosaurs still feels more believable to me because the backgrounds are real photography and the presentation plays up the idea that there was a camera crew simply recording the behavior of animals.

[Patrx]

Whoah! I really haven't done one of these in four years, huh? Well, here's the latest - a couple new ones!




Both of these use the same base dromaeosaur model by Alessandro Mastronardi, and the latter version really pushes the limits of the software to create those feathers.

[alexeratops]

Holy cow! These are amazing, Patrx! CGI is an underrated art form, you are very talented!

[Patrx]

Thanks! To clarify again, the models themselves aren't my work; I just do the fun part, setting up the lights shadows, materials, and rendering settings and then compositing multiple images together using assorted software and techniques. For example, that last one is made up of six images: the background (which originally featured a junglefowl), the dinosaur, the dinosaur's shadow, two photos of extra plants, and a glass/lens texture to blend everything a little more.

[Blade-of-the-Moon]

Awesome bud!

[ZoPteryx]

Amazing compositions, great work!

[WarrenJB]

I'm not a fan of photocomposite palaeoart, all the way up to Julius Csotonyi's work, because something usually jars the eye: the patchwork nature of the photo backdrop; the painted or rendered animals pasted on top, with the effect ranging from uncanny valley to painfully obvious; and the jumble of lighting direction, lighting intensity, difference in focus etc. that causes both of those results.

But... from the looks of things, I think you've largely avoided those problems, or worked hard to minimise them. Things like blurring the background in the vulture-headed dromaeosaur piece (giving the effect of a shallow depth of field in an actual photo of the animal, and maintaining focus on the primary subject), or blurring the pterosaur into the background, or otherwise integrating the creatures into the 'world' you chose for them. E.g. love the execution and effect of that overlapping, out-of-focus foreground foliage in the second dromaeosaur piece! Very 'wildlife photographer'.

Great job!

[Reptilia]

Never visited this thread before and wow, pretty cool stuff. The last one in particular, fantastic! It really looks like something you could actually encounter wandering in a forest.