3D Art
Project:
Exotic - Exploring foliage and plant modelling
Software:
Blender
Time:
6 hours
Poly's:
944,811
Focus:
The focus of this project was to explore creating a realistic plant in blender which fit aesthetically with pre-made plant models scattered in the scene, I also explored camera and lighting options to enhance the final render. I textured the plant with a photographed petal and leaf to create a realistic appearance and combined it was a Principle BSDF with shaders nodes for the stems. The background assets came textured which gave me a style guideline which I wanted to follow.
Process:
I created a collection of images with plants I thought looked interesting and exotic, once I found one I liked the shape of I used it to model the structure of my plant laying out basic shapes for where I wanted the flowers and leaves to go. I then found images of petals which I used as a reference image to create the flowers, I then mapped the UVs to the images to create the realistic textures. I used the same process for the petals as I did the leaves before replacing my basic shapes with the new models. I then created the background by using the gscatter add-on to add the foliage to the mid and background. A sun light and HDRI were used to create the lighting and finally a plane with an image texture was used to create the background. An empty sphere was used to ensure the focus of the camera was on the plant I created while the rest of the scene remained out of focus.
Project:
Explore - Environmental and gobo lights
Software:
Blender
Time:
4 hours
Poly's:
10,035,262
Focus:
The focus of this project was to explore create an environment and use gobo lighting to enhance the scene. The plants and rocks were existing assets scattered onto a generated terrane plane. The gobo light is the main light source with a HDRI as the secondary light source.
Process:
I found a couple environmental images to use as references, focuses on ones with a small clearing/path in them to help influence my placement of assets. I placed my larger assets such as the trees and rocks statically and then scattered the foliage to fill space between them. I created a pathway of small rocks to guide the viewers eyes to the centre of the render. I then found a gobo which fitted my requirements to create a textured light source and create the effect of light coming through the trees.
Project:
Oceans - Water simulations and lighting
Software:
Blender
Time:
8 hours
Poly's:
Sunset Scene 61,990
Island Scene 1,637,575
Focus:
The focus of this project was to explore water simulation, lighting effects and volumetric shaders to create contrasting scenes. The first scene was intended to show a calm sunset over the horizon while the other portrays a more violent sea isolating a single house on an island.
Process:
After gathering some inspiration pictures I started by creating the sea in the sunset scene using the ocean modifier on a high poly plane, although I wanted a peaceful atmosphere I also wanted detail on the waves so I played with the choppiness modifier and enabled foam until I was happy with the detail. The shaders for the sea used a colour ramps to add depth and variety to the water. A volumetric shader was used to create fog in both scenes, the sunset scene used it to create a softer horizon line while the island scene used the fog to create a more isolating atmosphere. An emissions shader was used to create the sun in the sunset scene which I then enhanced in the compositing stage by adding glare modifiers. I used a similar technique to create the light coming from the house on the island. HDRIs were used for both scenes to add realistic lighting and adjusted with nodes where necessary.
Project:
Secret Garden - Environment design
Software:
Blender
Time:
6 hours
Poly's:
172,885
Focus:
The focus of this project was to make a small but detailed environmental design.
Process:
This was my first project using the g-scatter add-on so I wanted to tests its capabilities. I started with creating the arch and using g-scatter to add the foliage before hiding the arch mesh to render allowing the light source to come through some of the less dense areas. I then created a plane to create the ground, using g-scatter to add more foliage and rocks. The stairs I used a simple cube, duplicating it and making small adjustments to create the uneven look of the stairs. I removed the foliage and rocks which interfered with the stairs however left some of the larger plants to make it look like the stairs were overgrown. The textures on the stairs was found on ambientcg and I use the blender shader node to make adjustments. A sun light was used to create the backlight and a HDRI was used for the ambient light. If I were to create this project again I would spend more time on making the stairs more organic.
Project:
Travelling - Interior environment and textures
Software:
Blender
Time:
16 hours
Poly's:
Suitcase Scene 12,199
Campervan Scene 15,428,696
Focus:
The focus of this project was to create interior environments with realistic lighting and textures. Every asset was modelled by myself and textured with both image textures and principle BSDF nodes. HDRIs were used to create realistic lighting for the scene.
Process:
I wanted to create more inside spaces so for this project I used references to find indoor spaces. For the suitcase scene I create the walls first using a cube and making a space for the door. I then used a reference images to create my suitcase and door models. I used g-scatter to create the lawn and a cube for the path. After adding the textures I felt the space looked bare so I added a skirting board and doorframe to make the space feel more like an actual house rather than an empty cube. The passport was created using an image texture of UK passport on a cube where I extruded 3 edges and bevelled them to create the book shape and give it a slight dimension. For the campervan scene I used a cube to create the shell of the campervan, cutting out planes for the windows and doors and bevelling the roof. The furniture in the campervan was modelled using reference photos and then I added planes with a cloth and solidify modifiers to create the blankets and pillows in the campervan. The use of fabrics in the scene did increase the polycount significantly however it could be lower depending on the need for the project, since these scenes are intended as still art I was willing to add more poly's for a smoother final project. Both projects used HDRIs as the main light source.