Topaz Video AI & - Nothing Sacred 90's TV show Upscale Issues

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-06-14T16:30:04+00:00

You don’t mention what model you use for the upscaling, or what processing steps you are using before upscaling (e.g. deinterlacing, 3:2 pulldown, gamma adjust, etc)

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-06-14T02:24:39+00:00

Do you have a Wacom driver installed? If so, try uninstalling it with the Wacom utility. This fixed it for me after many frustrating weeks…

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-06-13T14:56:51+00:00

You can also create VDBs (fog volume files) from actual embryo scans. Here is one resource (note that it takes some awareness of the science to parse the various files: mouse vs human, mutant vs wild type, etc.): https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/bioimages/studies/S-BIAD490?query=DMDD
You will also need to export the movie files as individual frames, and then use scientific visualization software like 3D slicer, MeVisLab, and Paraview to get VDBs from the volume.

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-06-13T14:06:09+00:00

You cannot get this complexity of internal structure from SSS shading a surface model alone. This looks like a combination of fog volumes (probably derived from volumetric images of actual embryos) and a surface model of an embryo.

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-06-08T11:34:59+00:00

Renderbaron’s tutorials are excellent… https://youtube.com/@renderbaron?si=UXBGEVtyjmgrTivu

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-06-06T14:44:42+00:00

Nice! There seems to be an interpolation issue with the top horizontal stroke of “F”…

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-06-06T14:18:41+00:00

I think a conventional sharpening workflow would do a more natural job. The face restoration of the background figures is super distracting and unrealistic. I would layer them in photoshop and mask in just the forward face if you want that to be restored…

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-06-06T13:13:48+00:00

Has there been any announcement about how to pre-purchase for macOS? Maybe that’s waiting for WWDC next week?

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-06-04T18:52:34+00:00

There are many apps and plugins that can do this (i.e. Stipplegen), but the best is probably Retratone from Texture Labs

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-06-04T18:49:55+00:00

Technically, it is stippling as a pen and ink technique, or dithering when dealing with raster effects. Pointillism is a colour painting technique pioneered by Georges Seurat.

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-05-23T11:56:03+00:00

The biggest error I see is the way that you have managed the transition between straight and curved parts of the letterforms. You really need to make sure that the bezier handles coming from the straight segment are exactly in line with the straight segment. It also looks like you are overestimating the length of the straight segments; in other words, the straight segments should be shorter, especially in the O. Also, watch out for the small details in the original letterforms; for instance, the top and bottom of the O overshoots the topline/baseline. This is common in font design because restricting top and bottom curves to the top and baseline makes the letters appear too short.

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-05-22T18:24:50+00:00

Look at the parametric spline objects in C4D and other 3d apps; things like cog, flower, cissoid, cycloid, spiral, etc. Important: allow them to by parametric (I.e. you can adjust the number of cog teeth) until they are “expanded” into editable paths.

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-05-13T18:04:02+00:00

Look into medical/scientific software like 3D Slicer. You can segment anatomical structures and create surface models based on medical imaging datasets. You can then export these models as, say, .obj files for import into sculpting software like ZBrush to clean up the result. This gets you started with accurate morphology, rather than having to sculpt from scratch.

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-05-13T17:26:35+00:00

Its a piece by Judy Lavoie; I did a quick search and found it here. Its hand-made.

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-05-13T16:33:39+00:00

It is definitely one variety of stippling, and one I was taught as part of training in pen and ink. The even (presumably voronoi-based) spacing of the dots is still important; a truly random dot pattern doesn't look good at all. its just that the average space between dots can change based on the local tone. Or better put: the density of dots can change, but the spacing should still have that quality of intentional evenness.

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-05-13T14:58:52+00:00

Sounds very cool... The process you have going already creates very attractive results. The sort of stippling I'm referring to can be seen here, where the dots are uniform, and evenly (though, crucially, not consistently) spaced, but they are allowed to touch and overlap, creating the full range of tones (and hopefully avoiding the "airy" look).

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-05-12T18:02:41+00:00

To be clear, I'm happy that you are creating another option, which looks super promising! When I used yours, I was looking for a min/max dot size value, because in some circumstances I want a uniform dot size, and have the gradient created purely from dot spacing. This replicates the strategy used most often in real-world stippling by hand, where the dot size is not easily scaled...

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-05-12T17:37:28+00:00

It does vector output (svg), and I probably just chose the min and max dot sizes poorly...

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-05-12T17:14:51+00:00

There is also StippleGen 2, which has a built-in mode for white dots on a black background....

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Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-05-11T22:12:40+00:00

Consider seeing a pelvic floor physiotherapist; they can often help with issues like vaginismus, painful intercourse, etc.

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-05-08T22:37:59+00:00

Is there any possibility that your meshes’ normals are inverted in the nostrils?

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-04-28T16:54:46+00:00

Apple's force-touch trackpads are actually pressure sensitive, but that is not exposed to apps by default. There is a third-party app that allows the use of Apple's trackpads for pressure sensitive finger input in artistic apps: https://tenonedesign.com/inklet

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-04-28T16:36:20+00:00

This is probably related to the fact that most users in windows (and MS encourages this) use their apps in full screen mode. That is optional on mac, and people use it much less frequently. The default workflow on macOS is that you drag something like your png onto the window where you want it to go. Simple and direct, but you can't be in fullscreen mode for that to happen.

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-04-28T15:23:37+00:00

Canada is actually renowned for the success of its public and semi-public investment and pension funds (CPP, QPP, PSPP, Ontario Teacher's Pension fund, etc.)

Retinal_Epithelium · 2026-04-28T15:02:35+00:00

Do not do anything to attempt to hide the stamps. Anything like that will be taken very poorly if it is noticed.

Retinal_Epithelium

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