WIP ... critical comments needed

On your first question, IMO 256 would be better as that is the max size for ObjectDock icons. Even if the end user only sizes them up to 128 on zoom, they will still look good, as opposed to zooming a 128 png up to 256 which can look a bit pixelated.

yeah 256 look more better..nice glass look indeed!

well done although i'd like to see it over a lighter BG.. hopefully you have some dropshaodow going on. The glass is great.. the outer metallic area not so defined. Definately shows some potential. Btw the way.. all the Icons ive done.. have been 512. I reckon that's a preference though.

Lookin good.

  

 

I think he's having an off day Zubaz   

Thanks, Zubaz. Yes ... the eventual finished product will be a on a transparent background with a drop shadow. This is just the primary render, and I don't want to go any further than that until I have all (and I do mean all) the kinks worked out.

I know what you mean about the metal not being well defined. I was trying for a brushed metal look, one that would have a light interaction, but with very little reflection. However, I'm working with Bryce (which has limited lighting effects), and I am not the best with lighting anyway.

So .... I think I'm going to see if I can add the definition to the metal in Photoshop. Perhaps by doing a series of renders of just the rim and then using them in layers to get the effect I would like. If anyone has any suggestions, I would be glad to hear them.

The way I've got it lit at present ... well, if you look at Tiggz new K-TEK wallpaper .... you see that window reflection in the central blue ball?? Well, I'm trying to get icons (and rivets etc) that are lit the same way so that they all fit with that wallpaper. Really making it more for myself than anything, but I plan to post and share them after I'm done.

But, also ... as mentioned ... who do I beg for icon files?? I'm rapidly running out of icons for programs I actually own.

I'd go through the ObjectDock icon gallery or the Misc Icon one and see what you want to update.  A PM to the artist might cover any one or all of the icons they have produced. 

Again, welcome to the club!  Hope you are having a good time, I appreciate yoru efforts (both in the artistic creation and the "fitting" in with us all).    

That's a great idea. If someone else did a dock icon, then they must have access to the original icon. Duh .... why didn't I think of that?

Still pondering how I'm going to get the effect I want on the metal, if I turn up the reflectivity, then I lose the brushed look, but if I turn off the reflectivity, I also lose a lot of the dimension .... grrrrrrr.

You watch ... this will make me so crazy, I'll have to ask for Cinema 4D for my birthday.

45 minute renders? on 256...I've never used Bryce but something sounds way wrong there...I've got a mid range pc and my first attempts at hdri renders were much larger and only took a few minutes. :NOTSURE: 

Bryce is notorious for very long renders. I've had renders that took days. Also, Bryce does not have HDRI. In order to get an effect that is something like HDRI, you have to jump through some hoops, and the render time is really increased.

Of course, Bryce is also a much cheaper program. So .... you work with what you have until you can get something else.

In any event, I think I found the solution to my steel rim problem (in a dream last night no less ... and yes, I sometimes dream in wire frame). So, here, maybe is my final test render.

Please note ... the final dock icons will be transparent background, so please don't tell me it would look better with a transparent background.

Also, before anyone else thinks to mention it .... as I look at the new render (on the right), I think the outer edges are a little too rough, so I am fixing that as well.

But on the whole .... I think it looks better.

And I have to edit my reply to your #10 

Nice work.

Zubaz, you have to edit your reply and I have to correct myself entirely. Apparently I have zero skills in estimating time.

Brainiac, Bryce is slow .... but not that slow. I took a stop watch and timed one of the renders. It only took 15 minutes.

What is it they say ... a rolling stone never boils??

I'll post the absolutely completely final render after I get back from the Post Office.

You might give Blender a try...its free and I've seen people get good results with it.15 minutes is better,but still much too long for such small renders.(I would go goofy waiting that long)  

well that explains alot

And who says I'm not goofy??

Eh .... I've been using Bryce for so many years, I'm not sure changing to another render might not just push me over the edge.

A free program I don't have?? How'd that happen? I'm off to find it.  

Oh gosh, Blender?? You never heard about Blender?? Xiandi ... where have you been? You need to sign up over at Renderosity, you would find out about so many free (and nearly free) programs, it would knock your socks off.

I updated the picture .... and except for some very slight edge tweaking, I think it's done. And, once the transparency is up, the edges won't really show up at all against the background (unless someone is really anal and has a completely white blank desktop. Eeeech.

Only crazy people have white desktops.  

  I've only been skinning for about 8 months, got my first computer shortly before I joined this site...I've been in the dark ages!  

Blender is good at blending your brain...

This is your brain.. this is your brain on blender..

Made me crazy trying to figure it out.   

Well to save your life there John... You all should give "MAXON CINEMA 4D" a good hard look for doing these icon renders. For that matter most any 3D image work with glass effects that are impressive.
a demo can be downloaded here at the Maxon website here
WWW Link

I see Tiggz is using it with a lot of his work now and I'm very impressed with how well it works myself.

SGT  

Oh and in using the new Icon Developer to do the icons with. I would render those icons at the highest resolution that I could. Icon Developer will compress the image to the proper 256 format and it turns out killer as ever. That new Icon Developer is a must have to doing Vista Icons. I personally recommend that program. It really does work good and saves tons of time !

gt

I have C4d... its a bugger to learn too   

It's my understanding that Cinema 4D is a pretty pricey program. Especially if you can't purchase it at institutional prices.

I do have Icon Developer, and it works very nicely. However, I don't want to render larger than I need to, simply because for my dock icons I'll be uploading them as png files. Or am I wrong in thinking that size would be a problem in that case?? I'm doing about 40 icons and a dock.