Summer release WIP shots! (Patreon)

Thought I'd do a little post on my thinking as I developed this set! All images used in this post are included at the top :)

So a few days ago I started experimenting with this holiday retreat set, mixing and matching it with various skydomes to see if any of them provided a nice summer vibe. Ultimately the dome that came with the scene itself proved better than most of the ones I already had (I was gonna re-use the skydome from the Four Year Anniversary set otherwise).

I wasn't really sure what to do with the scene since it was a little barren in terms of assets, but this random low angle far shot I stumbled on was made me realise there was potential here:

Plus, purple has always been Yelena's colour. She's an empress, after all! I liked the idea of just her dress contrasting with the rest of the scene, but there were some colour elements here that distracted from the purple/white theme. For instance, the trees in the background. So editing all the small assets that were easy to overlook, I came out at this:

At this point, I was in love. The idea of a regal Yelena enjoying the serenity of this locale on her own was a great idea to me. But maybe not super exciting? I mean don't get me wrong it'd be super easy to crank out 60-100 shots like this, but at some point you do kinda want something to happen.

So what if I made it a Yelena solo set? Could that work?

Put her on a bed with some purple going on, to match the trees and her outfit. I love how the light interacts with her body here, and I even decided to utilise a little mesh light to see if it could complement the natural sunlight. I did like the additional sheen it offered. Maybe a bit more saturation though to make the colours really pop?

Now we're talking. But much as I liked how Yelena was looking on her own, I didn't think it was the right direction for this set. Moreover, I still wanted... more to happen. At this point it's still just Yelena on a bed out in the sun, in a locale that is otherwise unused. So what next?

More purple! A bed canopy that I originally didn't want to use returned, and I also added some drapes to the walls to really spruce up the place. Also added custom wall lighting to provide future consistency in case I decide to render a summer night's style set after this one.

Also you can see a second girl joined the scene. Yeah, that's Tatiana! I really just added her because I wanted to see what her skin shader looked like, but the longer I kept her around the easier it was to see what this set was going to end up being.

Couldn't leave Tati the way she was, with her original hairstyle from The Words Unspoken. I liked her hair in The Royal Exhibition muuuuuch better! Some more wet shader testing followed, and I even added in a few water ripples for added realism! The light tweaking took a LOT before I was done. I really needed the sun to be at the perfect angle compared to the rest of the scene, and I had to make sure that the light pouring down wasn't so overbearing that it completely flattened the SSS effects when hitting the ladies' skin.

Ultimately, I really like this shot. The right balance of light and shadow, a real good wet look, and a convincing wet shader and wet simulation settings for Tati's hair (that wasn't originally intended to be used in wet purposes, but that's the beauty of simulation!)

And there's Marcella! Same pose as Tati previously but at this stage I'm just concepting and not going for poses yet. Yelena's pose has remained basically unchanged too lol. That said, at this point I know exactly what this set is going to be:

The Royal Exhibition was where the photographers auditioned themselves. This is the set where one of them has been picked out to do a proper shoot with Yelena, Tati, and Marcella. I love the idea of a dedicated adult photographer showing up and just working with these girls in a private setting, really getting the most of out of em. It allows me to display a new side to Tati and Marcella as well: as performers.

Ultimately I may even do a Patreon-exclusive comic spinoff from this set, because there's great potential for a story to be told here. And... an interview? :D It's been a while since I did one of those!

So this set will be The Royal Exhibition: Part Two! With lots of ideas in tow :D Stay tuned throughout Q3!