[jvanmetre]

frosty-ramen-

Sand is a bit more difficult...debris or some kind of a grunge map on the deck might do the trick.

In post...you could blend the deck and chairs in by taking some of the leafy elements in the scene and adding layers in PS -- you can adjust opacity and scale to make it look like shadows or more weathered wood.

That way it will look less like a set and more like a scene.

Curious, did you try using physical sun to get the correct shadows and light for the deck and chairs?

[frosty_ramen]

Jvanmetre,
thanks for the crit, if i find some time ill try the grunge mapping.
yes the current scene is lit by emitters and physical sun, but im playing with a mix of the two to get better lighting and shadows. but i still have more steps to take until i get it where im happy with it.

thanks again

dan

[deflix]

yes the current scene is lit by emitters and physical sun

I strongly advise not doing this - you only need physical sun/sky for correct lighting.

[frosty_ramen]

Here is an updated image

[Bubbaloo]

Much better! BIG improvement.

[-Adrian]

Yes, much better. The background still has higher exposure than your objects though, which strongly hints at composition work.

[frosty_ramen]

Bubbaloo, thanks

Adrian, i agree i need to increase the lighting on the deck area.

thanks for the crits

[kami]

it is better. could be a little lighter though.
the horizon line sits right, but it looks like the platform with the chairs is floating. you've simply moved down the background image? I think you should scale it a bit down.

[djflod]

much better frosty ... as bubba said big improvement

i think a big lost of really the wooden platform. maybe you can model each plank than using a bum map? just an idea *peace

[deflix]

sorry to rock the boat but the lighting is still way off. You need to lose the emitters and work with the sun only. the light needs to be orders of magnitude higher, and the shadows darker. This assumes you are after a realistic image.

[frosty_ramen]

Kami, thanks you are correct i did just move the image, you think i should scale down the deck or the image?

Djflod, thanks, my concern with modeling the deck would be that i would have to get quite a few images of wood planks to get it to look right, or am i overlooking an easy solution.

-dan

[djflod]

hmm ... i just would model them from a cube ... bevel all edges slightly and texture all planks individually ... cut some parts of your original texture map out in PS and save the seperately ... i also wolud model the screw heads (little spheres dived into the plank) so there shadows look more realistc

[frosty_ramen]

djflod humm that sounds like it would work out pretty well.

[deflix]

Best if I explain with a picture.... although it needs re-rendering rather then photoshop work to get the exact look.

[def4d]

totally agree with deflix, just as it is pretty logical : only use the same light setup as in the photo, so Physical Sky & Sun will do the job
Why did you add emitters?