Fics & Mayhem

Spellslingers with Hats "Duuuurge! That kills people!" "Oh, oh, wow, I-I didn't know that! "Duuurge!" "Yeah, I'm in the wrong here. I suck~"

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𝓒𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓾𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷

D'ylân was still a child when he showed a love and talent for drawing, a hobby he dropped when he discovered his gift and passion for music.

Many years and a world-threatening adventure later, he found the inspiration to pick up a pencil again.

This is me when I read:

or: a photo mode tutorial to those who know even less than me All right, so this is a result on a FF conversation I had a few days ago, about how to make outside pictures "look good" - as if I had any idea about that and wasn't just lucky.

But this is mostly for people who want to play around with photo mode a bit more without installing Otis/Reshade/Lighty Lights (because they don't want to or can't).

I am a beginner. I started playing with VP seriously late last summer and picked up Reshade and Otis later Autumn so experienced VPers will definitely find issues with this "tutorial". This is just something that works for me and I think (hope) it's easy enough to get someone started and research this more? Mind you; I am addicted to LL but with enough elbow grease you can use in-game light (lanterns, torches) by moving them around or positioning your characters appropriately. Or even having a caster ready and opening Photo Mode when spell is prepared. Then just hide the caster an the VFX will remain.

Part 1: Preparing the scene.

So, first thing you need to figure out is what exactly you want to convey with your picture and what you want your end result to be. Seems simple and obvious right?

Thing is, the tone of the photo will definitely help you with figuring out your ambient light.

Lets start with day shots:

Depending on what you want to be the center piece, you might fare better when starting in direct sunlight or maybe in some shadowed area. The photo mode tabs offer a nice variety of post processing effects for people just starting - and they do have the Exposure slider as well - but I always find myself of the opinion that with these particular settings, less is more and unless you want something dramatic, moving the Exposure slider just slightly is enough.

Also, depending on mood, I think it might be easier for someone to brighten up parts of an image (face for example) with dodge and similar tools in the 'shop and Gimp later - with strength turned down (less is more, you can always add!) than to darken them and risk getting the colors to be blown out (this can happen when brightening pics as well! Figure out what you are comfortable with).

Lets start with a day photo not in direct light; First picture is as it came with just the pose, expression and initial camera after hitting F9 (Reshade turned off).

Then I play around with angles to find a shot I like, that perhaps hides things I dislike. For example, this pose is not meant for a poolside and you can tell the hands are slightly raised, so I try to hide them without making it too obvious.

Next step is my favorite: the Lens Settings!

Field of View I find the most crucial slider and oftentimes the most forgotten one by beginners and this is the thing that makes it or break it for me; the fisheye look.

The difference may not be as striking at first but you can tell the face on the right looks more natural - and there was no rotation to the character, only rising/lowering of the camera to adjust which marts of the model are visible in the frame.

If you're using Lightly Lights, this is the moment where I adjust the Exposure:

And Contrast and Brightness from Post Processing tab. I rarely go more than +2/-2 for wither direction, even for photos made in the dark:

Again; this works for me because I don't do much for the scene and focus only on character and props. So at this moment I choose colors for the lights and brighten up the front (sometimes with 1-2 additional lights on clothes or face) and add the thing I like the most: light from behind and the sides. But that's for another post if anyone will even find this thing useful.

Depending on what you need the picture for, think if you really want to take that closeup with your character staring down the camera lens. And if you do - consider their expressions carefully. An awkward expression can make a break your photo and make your close up change from something you are proud of to a driver's license pic.

I personally just go crazy with colors and this helps (in my opinion) ease off the comparison - or make for a nice mugshot if that's what you want. This could be her expression for a wanted poster but notice how there is nothing else in the frame to distract from the close up.

Ok but back to the blondie. Don't focus as much as what the names of expressions tell you; go through them and look for what works with what you have in mind. Just because you grab a 'disgusted' expression does not mean it will convey this emotion in the end photo.

Check what works the best with your character's head model.

For example, default Val, to me, looks weird with big smiles, so I don't use them much or if her face is not the main focus on the picture (I am very normal about expressions and yes, will spend a lot of time on choosing something for a character that is turned away depending on whether I like the curve of their cheek or not)

Don't fear the Grid, it's here to help you.

Ok so this is something I know nothing about and it deals with scene composition and other artistic/technical/skill things that people who actually know their thing should talk about.

But I use the Grid to set the scene to what I think looks good?

Granted, it would look better with a more interesting background but again - don't fear to play around with it, see what looks more natural?

Or use it to help you angle a vertical photo:

Depth of Field

This too, I feel, is often forgotten by people and for me it's just another important slider to make your characters really pop in the pictures. Especially important if the background is busy and takes away the viewer's focus. You can use Automatic:

Or Manual, which gives you more control on what you want to do and what or whom to be in focus:

Or how much to blur things:

Or just mess around with what you thing is most important on the picture:

Personally, I feel like having Strength slider closer to the left than the Distance one (even if not by much, these are finicky and I actually use arrows and not drag and drop the slider) allows to make a somewhat dreamlike effect?

Also, don't be afraid to rotate the character slightly away from the camera. It is a personal choice of course, and sometimes it works for what you have planned but as someone who hates to pose for a camera?

Angling the character slightly away makes for a more natural look; like you're capturing a moment and not forcing them to pose. Makes for better storytelling maybe?

Of course us PC users have it better with expression mods that provide us with different eye positions. Also, new LL update gives us the BoneZone where we can adjust more than eyes manually.

But apart from the last pose and the sitting one, this was all done with only vanilla available (minus the scene itself but shhhh, this is where my save is) so I think (hope) it does show how much can be done?