Taking Image From Ugly Duckling To Swan.... Or At least A Goose Of Some Type.

Hi everyone. Today I'm taking an ugly render and making it into the image you see when you came to this post. Sometimes digital rendering doesn't turn out the way you would like. Some of that has to do with lighting, some to do with quality of textures, but sometimes it just happens. Sooo, if there is something about the image you like (the pose for me in this case) you try to make lemonade out of lemons. Here is a little breakdown on how to do just that.

First, you start with an ugly, not so great render. I used DAZ Studio, a free software, and some assets from DAZ3D. (No I'm not an affiliate or pushing the system, I've just been a big fan for a lot of years and its my go to.)

As you can see, the light sucks, but I see promise... So, I take the render into Pixelmator for MAC, you can use any picture editor you want, but you should use one that uses layers and is compatible with photo shop brushes like the ones here: https://www.daz3d.com/deviney (I know, I know, DAZ Again, But this guy has some great brushes.)

First stage is to use coloration on the image, fool with the dark and light until you get something you can stand. Plus you need to fix all the little imperfections like gloves, pixel holes, hair, shadows, or whatever isn't quite right.

Now that's a little better, but we need a background. So over to pixabay.com....

Once you have the background, you can get to work....

From here I go into color modes, brushes or brush stamps to include light effects, planets, smoke, clouds. Just letting the mind wonder and trying to make an image that stands out and tells a story. (make sure each addition to the image is in a separate layer, that way you can size and place the addition where needed or remove it if you don't like it.)

Once done, I merge the layers into one image and fool with the color again. Trying to pop the main focus of the image while providing a mood and story. If everything goes right, your ugly duckling should have been transformed into a swan.... or a dog.... or at least something different and a little better than you had before.

And there you have it. Thanks for looking and have a great day!