This is what 3 hours on a laptop looks like.
If you’re just starting out in C4D, replication isn’t a bad thing because It forces you to learn the software so don’t get down on yourself. Once you have built up a series of techniques you can then start developing your own ideas. Like you, I replicated a lot at first and then I started exploring my own ideas. My advice is to watch a tutorial, figure out how something is done, and then explore that technique in your own way. The fact that you are making everydays is key, you will have no problem pumping out images if you create something daily.
Im no expert but I will share with you what I’ve learned so far. If your scene is simple, there are a few things you can do. In your render options you can reduce the numbers for “ray depth, reflection depth, and shadow depth”, this wont do much but can take a few seconds off. If your rendering out an animation you can do this since every second off adds up. If you are using ambient occlusion turn on cache this will speed up your AO calculations a bit. If you are using transparency, blurriness, subsurface scattering, etc.. there is really no escaping lengthy renders. If you have a lot of objects in your scene and you are using multiple light sources, you are better off using physical renderer. There are some tutorials online that go in depth on what your settings should be. I would recommend watching those. In reality, a quick render should only be used when you are making adjustments to your scene. Once you get to the point where you are satisfied with your scene, turn your settings up and just let it render. Go do something else , flip an egg, paint a picture, you want your art to look good so you’re better off just dealing with the render. If you have a Nvidia chipset you can buy Octane render, this will most definitely speed your renders but you have to be wiling to spend a few extra bucks.
Big thanks my friend. I work at a hospital and eventually will be going back to school for medicine. If my art continues to take off, this may become my career but honestly who knows. This really just started out as an effective way to shut my mind up but I would love to do it as a full time career.
Thanks man! so to get that effect yes im using the luminance channel but im using ChanLum and fading that out with a fresnel. I kind of discovered it by accident and recently ive been using ChanLum for everything. It looks so damn good with soft shadows. Try it out, you wont be disappointed! and yes I also use physical renderer in most situations.
Just experimenting with the landscape object in c4d can generate some cool results. I would recommend using the relief object with digital elevation models and height maps as well. You can find height maps just by googling them or using data from NASA.