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My attempt at creating a crux scene

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fallenmystic

Tribune
As I mentioned on several occasions, I don't really like crucifixion personally so I normally don't create artworks pertaining to the theme.

However, after witnessing a recent 'drama' that involves "crux vs non-crux" enthusiasts among our members, it got me an idea. As I've been trying to recreate my 3d character after a recent accident, I needed a simple scene in which to see it under different lighting conditions. And it's much easier to do it with an outdoor scene than with an interior one, like the mine asset I created for my project, for example.

As such, I decided to create a test scene with crux theme because it's pretty easy to setup (you can just put a girl on a stick and hit 'render' right? :p) and much faster to render. Also, I wanted to see if I would be able to create interesting enough result when I'm not really into that particular theme.

So, here's a render that I made today:

X26IcwP.jpg


And two more earlier WIP versions from yesterday:

2Z4yFyq.jpg


(This one was an initial test render, so I didn't give it sufficient time to clear up the noise)

KUU6NxD.jpg

(All images hosted on Imgur)

I won't probably do many other crux artworks in future, but as I'll work on the character texture I will try to post a few close up shots later.
 
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These are very good. :thumbup:
But you should not feel like you are only supposed to do "crux" themed art. Many of us dabble around the edges. Anyway, let's not rehash the recent drama. You produce excellent images, and I really think that whatever you wish to offer will be appreciated.

She reminds me of someone... Will try to figure out who.
 
These are very good. :thumbup:
But you should not feel like you are only supposed to do "crux" themed art. Many of us dabble around the edges. Anyway, let's not rehash the recent drama. You produce excellent images, and I really think that whatever you wish to offer will be appreciated.
Thanks for the compliment! The reason why I usually stay away from crux artworks is that when such a scene involves inflicting severe pain or irreversible damage, it usually prevents me from getting excited about it because of my personal preferences. I don't have any particular grudge against any specific genre of fantasy including crucifixion. So my repeating the joke about it being about "girls-on-sticks" was just a friendly jab.

Technically speaking, it's true that a rendering of an outdoor crux scene is much easier to do than an interior scene involving more characters and objects. And it's certainly true that some of those curx images we have on this forum may look rather similar to each other.

But the way I see it, I feel it to be a bit like the blues music - songs under that genre usually follow a very rigid patterns and devoided of much technical embellishments. Still, I wouldn't think it to be an "easy genre" to master, since art is not like sports so technic isn't everything. And when everyone is following basically the same pattern, it requires even more skills to make something unique.

Anyway, as my aversion of crux images is just about the aspect of hammering nails into people, I don't have any problem with similar themes that don't involve death or extreme pain. For example, I can probably turn this scene into a plain whipping scene by replacing nails with chains, for example :)

She reminds me of someone... Will try to figure out who.
I've been trying the same thing... and here's my best guess so far :)

Dr. Wilson from House M.D.jpg
 
Thanks for the compliment! The reason why I usually stay away from crux artworks is that when such a scene involves inflicting severe pain or irreversible damage, it usually prevents me from getting excited about it because of my personal preferences. I don't have any particular grudge against any specific genre of fantasy including crucifixion. So my repeating the joke about it being about "girls-on-sticks" was just a friendly jab.

Crux doesn't have to be about severe pain or permanent damage. Some of the most interesting images and stories revolve around non permanent bindings and extreme humiliation and discomfort rather than blood and mutilation, which is something I think you appreciate in your own work. There is actually a lot of variety possible when it comes to chicks on sticks, but it's true blood and pain bring a lot of drama, a lot of power to an image or story.
I tend towards nails in my own manip work partly because it's more aesthetically pleasing, and partly because it's easier from a standing start. If you already have ropes, go with ropes. Nails are very permanent, they make a statement, they indicate a clear direction for any scene, and it's not one with a positive outcome for the victim.

And it's certainly true that some of those curx images we have on this forum may look rather similar to each other.

Believe me, the subtle differences are very important. Like any good artwork, it's how it's done that makes a difference.

But the way I see it, I feel it to be a bit like the blues music - songs under that genre usually follow a very rigid patterns and devoided of much technical embellishments. Still, I wouldn't think it to be an "easy genre" to master, since art is not like sports so technic isn't everything. And when everyone is following basically the same pattern, it requires even more skills to make something unique.

exactly :)

Thanks for your contribution to the genre, fallenmystic, it's very welcome.
 
As I mentioned on several occasions, I don't really like crucifixion personally so I normally don't create artworks pertaining to the theme.

However, after witnessing a recent 'drama' that involves "crux vs non-crux" enthusiasts among our members, it got me an idea. As I've been trying to recreate my 3d character after a recent accident, I needed a simple scene in which to see it under different lighting conditions. And it's much easier to do it with an outdoor scene than with an interior one, like the mine asset I created for my project, for example.

As such, I decided to create a test scene with crux theme because it's pretty easy to setup (you can just put a girl on a stick and hit 'render' right? :p) and much faster to render. Also, I wanted to see if I would be able to create interesting enough result when I'm not really into that particular theme.

So, here's a render that I made today:

X26IcwP.jpg


And two more earlier WIP versions from yesterday:

2Z4yFyq.jpg


(This one was an initial test render, so I didn't give it sufficient time to clear up the noise)

KUU6NxD.jpg

(All images hosted on Imgur)

I won't probably do many other crux artworks in future, but as I'll work on the character texture I will try to post a few close up shots later.
Its good !!
 
So my repeating the joke about it being about "girls-on-sticks" was just a friendly jab.
"Girl on a stick" is a term we crux fetishists use to joke about it ourselves, Melissa established it many many years ago ;)
Anyone who contributes to the genre earns the right to also make fun of it ;)
when such a scene involves inflicting severe pain or irreversible damage, it usually prevents me from getting excited about it because of my personal preferences.
There is "execution crux" but then you can also have roped suspension or use cuffs and chains. For punishment, display, humiliation, slave training, whatever. It is still effective. Not even all of my chicks on sticks get deadly nailings.
having this one chain-suspended using the original shackles is obviously an option.
But the way I see it, I feel it to be a bit like the blues music - songs under that genre usually follow a very rigid patterns and devoided of much technical embellishments. Still, I wouldn't think it to be an "easy genre" to master, since art is not like sports so technic isn't everything. And when everyone is following basically the same pattern, it requires even more skills to make something unique.
I agree, you can stay within a genre and still innovate. Anything fetish will have a slightly obsessive angle to it.
 
"Girl on a stick" is a term we crux fetishists use to joke about it ourselves, Melissa established it many many years ago ;)
Anyone who contributes to the genre earns the right to also make fun of it ;)
I'll be honoured to accept that privilege :)

XuWEpl7.jpg

(Image hosted on Imgur)
 
Yeah, but they don't normally use "chicks" in England. Birds perhaps, but I can't work out the alliteration - Bird on a board?

I have no objections to British usages. My own turn of phrase derives from a roommate of mine back during Reagan's first term. A recovering Southern Baptist from northern Texas, he referred to Christ Crucified as "Jesus on a stick."
 
Fallenmystic, you don’t sound very enthusiastic about crux, which is too bad, because you are goddam good at crux in general and this lady in particular. ;) :babeando:
 

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Fallenmystic, you don’t sound very enthusiastic about crux, which is too bad, because you are goddam good at crux in general and this lady in particular. ;) :babeando:
Thanks much for the compliment! You don't have to worry because she will soon return to the mine and be given plenty of opportunities to pose for a camera :)

And I actually like the idea of fixing up a naked girl on a cross to torment her. It's just that I tend to be distracted by the pain the victim must feel in such a situation when nails are used.

So, I'll probably do more of similar simple outdoor scenes in future, just without using nails (it's pretty easy to make ropes in Blender too!).
 
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A bit more serious render of the same scene. She was given a brief respite between whippings, which will last until she drops the whip:

5yWf2W5.jpg

(Image hosted on Imgur)

On the technical side, I tried to make it look like an old photograph this time, adding a bit of lens distortion and using a more natural contrast setting than the one I used for the previous renders. It blurs areas around the hands and feet, but it's fine with me since those parts haven't been textured properly yet.

I'm still having a trouble with my shitty monitor, by the way, so it should look much more yellowish than I actually intended. It's a problem I'll have to live with until I can replace my hardware for a better one.
 
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Made another render from a different angle:

bdsmlr-103628-y6GFL9eHrb-og.jpg

(Image hosted on bdsmlr.com)

Some self-criticisms, or a reminder as to where I should direct further effort to improve it:
  • The wrinkles are simply horrible. They are either too obscure (e.g. on the palm) or way too strong (e.g. the armpit, including the black spots in the middle). I haven't found a way to properly draw wrinkles yet, so it should be my top priority now.
  • The skin - I really like how the recent addition of a displacement map and the tone variation layers makes it look much more realistic than it was before. So I don't find anything to be done for now (at least, in this part of the skin).
  • The whipmarks - it seems the idea of splitting them into 3 different layers was a sound one, but I don't find them to be very convincing. They look more like burn or scratch wounds than whipmarks. Maybe I could redo the middle layer to give it more smooth bumps and see how it'd compare.
  • The brand - I don't find it too convicing either, but I'm utterly out of ideas on how to fix it. Using the displacement map seems to be a bit too extreme, and probably won't work properly. Maybe I'll just make the letter area brighter and see if it would improve it.
  • The hairs - I like the hair as it is, largely thanks to Blender's excellent particle hair system. But I'd like to give it a more greasy, unwashed look, so I'll do some experiments to see if it can be done easily.
  • The nails - I mean, the nails on her fingers, not on her palms :) It's simply that I haven't textured them yet, so just don't look at them too closely! (There's a reason why I set the chromatic aberration level so high).
  • The blood - I know it looks fake. But as it probably won't be used in other scenes, I'll leave it as it is, at least for now.
  • The cuffs - Maybe I accidentally stretched it? The texture seems that way. I should check.
  • The elbows - I realize that I forgot to add darker areas around them, better fix it soon.
  • The palms - Human palms don't glisten like that! Need to increase the roughness a bit.
On a side note, Substance Painter has been extremely unstable and sluggish for me, so I can't really work as efficiently as I hope for. When I open up the project and select layers, it takes about 5 minutes to load and sometimes pauses for 15 minutes when I change certain things.

And it almost always crashes at some point, every time I use it. But saving the project would sometimes takes 5 minutes, so I can't do that very often... I wonder if it's because I have a lowend hardware, or because I run it on Linux.

I considered asking for the tech support... but they normally request the project file and I certainly don't want to do that... let's say, for their own mental health :p
 
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Must say you've grown better every time you post something IMHO

Love the hairy armpits!


2 tips
As for the blood it's liquid so make it a bit more shiny, less opaque and you are prolly good to go
For the hair.. More highlights, less shiny to get a more dirt/dusty hair look.
 
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