New Toons and tips

[Speedster]

Hi all;

Been slow lately, so I spent most of the week working up a new series of art prints using Toon.  Learned a lot, so I'll share a few tips.  I chose a variety of projects just to see the differences in technique required.  I dumped a lot of images below, and apologize, but each shows a different approach. Each have been tweaked over a bit in post to print on my Epson 4880, on Brilliant Satin Matte Natural, my favorite art media.

First, I now see Tooning as a Rendering or Illustrative concept, not just a materials concept.  It can only be used with CAD, so backplates and stuff is not in the equation unless part of your storyboard.  I am working on a FilterForge filter to modify photos to emulate Toon, but I don't think it will be successful.  For me, this is good, and quite a revelation.  We all strive for the "perfect shot", especially for product and automotive rendering. But for my personal stuff a perfect photo-realistic rendering is akin to rolling your car out of the garage and photographing it.  Big deal.  There's no "CAD" in it, so to speak.  No gee-wiz factor.  Toon provides a new way of creating artwork that cannot be done any other way, has a lot of potential, and I'm quite excited about it.

Some thoughts and tips:

1)  Practice the "Zen of Toon".  Let toon be toon.  Crazy?  Nope- it's real easy to tweak the toon out of it, and lose the impact of the materials and concept.  Less is Best, IMO.  I carried the Case image a bit too far, but I was looking for the "old-style engraving" style.
2)  Simple HDR's seem to work best.  I tried almost all of my collection, both studio and outdoor, and in every case ended up back with the Start-up HDR.  Outdoor domes offer a lot of complexity, but also a lot of confusion.  If there are any materials in the scene other than toon, like glass, be sure to fully desaturate the HDR in Edit or it will pick up the HDR colors.
3)  I used glass and chrome reflectors in the final "Speedster" print, as it worked best and did not conflict with the overall tooning.  But I used a transparent toon for the monocle windshield to retain the edges.   
4)  The primary material adjustments seem to be Contour Width and Shadow Multiplier.  I use Contour ranging from 0.240 to 0.750.
5)  Shadow Multiplier is crazy!  A very slight tweak can have huge impact, and it can take time to dial it in depending (apparently) on how complex and detailed the model is.  I about went nuts tweaking it for the GG1 Electric, due to the broad compound surfaces, and ditto the cowl area on the Miller 91.  But on the Case and the Bi-polar Engine it was a breeze.  Really do pull region renders as you work, because what you see is not what you get!
6)  Tweaking the HDR Brightness on the Environment Tab has no impact- do it instead on the Settings Tab.
7)  Tweaking the Contrast on the Environment Tab can have a huge impact, so this is an important setting to play with.
8-  Decals (labels) are way strange.  No real adjustments available, so it's best to use a B/W version and tweak levels in PS, or create a greyed out (or whatever) label in the first place.
9)  I start by dumping a toon material onto the top assembly in the Scene Tree, then selectively unlink (and re-link) as needed. 
10)  Bump (normal) maps are really useful!  The wallpaper, tile and wood grain are all bumps on the Bi-polar Engine.  If it's a "color" type of normal, check Use Normal.  If a B/W normal, leave it unchecked.  VERY low bump height is the trick, as you will discover if you raise the height and everything turns black.
11)  I now render only as a TIFF, and ALWAYS pull a clown pass, as you will likely need to tweak post.  Be sure to unlink any parts/surfaces you anticipate tweaking to separate the clown colors.  Better yet, create a purpose clown pass and don't depend on the auto-clown.
12)  Always pull full balls-out renders.  Timed or other realtime renders just don't work for some reason.  Toons render really fast.

Tooning is deceptively simple, but I think it's actually the most tweakable in the KS toolbox.  Enjoy!

Bill G

[Despot]

Bugger me sideways... that last one is absolutely immense...

J

[Speedster]

that last one is absolutely immense...

No kidding!  63,343,920 polys, and a 4.6 GB .bip!  Took 45 minutes to import on 32 cores and 32 gigs of RAM.  But the 4950 wide render took 5 minutes!
Bill G

[Despot]

Dear lord, that's one big file... but by 'immense' I meant the quality of the toon render, it looks like a high-key photograph... very, very nice indeed.

J

[KeyShot]

These are gorgeous. Amazing work and detail!

[DriesV]

+1 on a masterclass webinar about (technical) tooning by Bill.
...Including model resources!

Dries

[Josh3D]

quality indeed Bill. Love that last one as well.

[TpwUK]

That last render and the Showman Traction Engine are the dogs nads Bill

Top notch stuff

Martin

[thomasteger]

Awesome indeed!

[NormanHadley]

Fabulous work, Bill. One possible extra tweak to experiment with is a sepia wash for extra period cred.

[DriesV]

Hi Bill,
Just wondering about the technical SolidWorks part of the story...

What is your general approach to modeling these monster models? Top-down, bottom-up, multibody parts...? Do you rely on pure solid modeling or do you do surface modeling as well?

Dries

[Speedster]

Hi Dries;

Basically all of the above except surfaces.  There's probably only 10 or so SolidWorkers on the planet that are pros with surfaces, and I'm not one of them!  SolidWorks weakest link, unfortunately.  nPower Surfacing for SolidWorks is almost there, but we still can't do top-down edits.

Starts with research, and then model the basic bodies.  Then into sub-assemblies where I continue with top-down modeling, my favorite approach as everything is then in context.  Then the subs into major subs and then into a Top Assembly.  You do have to be careful about references, which I never break but rather correct on a feature-by-feature basis, often with the simple "fix" command.

For many things I work in multiple bodies, either by not merging the features, or by slicing a .0001 "slot" through them.  That way I have control over down-stream in-context modeling and edits, as well as KS mapping.

I NEVER use toolbox parts!  Disaster waiting to happen!  All bolts and nuts and like stuff is simply modeled on and where they should be.  Having said that, if the intent is a document model for a museum, then all holes are modeled and bolts/washers/nuts inserted in assembly with smart mates.  But I make my own, or use downloads from McMaster-Carr, a leading supplier.  They have CAD models for almost everything!

Bill G

[BenG075]

jaw dropping !! Amazing work as always

[feher]

Bill,
These are fantastic ! Sell prints immediately.
Tim

[Chad Holton]

Awesome job, Bill