bespoke renderings & technical drawings

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Fog, SMOKE, and rain

Well, subtle, but working on getting some slight haze and rain to add more depth and detail.  Lots of post work on this to finish it.  Corona render engine and Cinema 4D.

Pony model by Slava Z and House model provided by 3dhdscan.

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Been busy...but still here....

It's been a busy 2018 so far and I haven't much time outside of client work for fun/experiments/learning.  But I have squeaked a few renders in here and there.  I've been wroking on textures with Corona and trying to get a better handle on more interesting and realistic surfaces.

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Depth of Field : Tighter product shots

Focusing on Camera work here mostly.  Trying to get more comfortable finding angles and lensing for renders.  I modeled a quick fake Bluetooth speaker as a subject.  All Cinema 4D and Corona Renderer.

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Diving deeper into Corona

Feel good about what I can do with this render engine and it's still being developing.  Here's some more practice with textures and atmospherics.

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Sub Surface Scattering

You know...like, when you hold a flashlight up to you hand.  or Candle wax.... Subsurface scattering.  I suspect Octane does it better, but Corona sure makes it beautiful.

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Marvelous Designer

Downloaded a trial of Marvelous Designer.  This is a draping and fabric simulation program that works really well.  Now I just need to learn about pattering and draping for real clothes.  I see the potential here and wonder if costume designers could get into this.  I've been using it for simple curtains, but want to try something more ambitious.

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Image Based Lighting

Trying out some backplates with HDRI lighting in Corona for Cinema 4D.  So no lights used here, just HDRI images (and a lot of post processing).  Essentially a 3D car matched into a 2D photo backplate with 360 high dynamic range photo for lighting and reflections. Lotus model via Turbosquid.

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Chocolate

Totally shifting gears here and trying some close ups of chocolates.  Modeled, textured, and lit these all from scratch.  Good practice.  I find it helpful to do something totally different now and then to flex different muscles.

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Back into the darkness.....

A little studio lighting practice while waiting for client feedback on another project.  Lotus model provided by Turbosquid.com - textured and modified by me.

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Audience Part Deux

I think we have a winner winner chicken dinner on making audiences now.  This is the final technique and posed figures.  I spent years photoshopping crowds into Arenas and stages and I was never really satisfied with the look/integration.  It's a lot of work to make the lighting look correct.  This system is more flexible, but requires a hefty machine to be able to render all that geometry.  This crowd is 7400 bodies.  GT5 Space hunter model by Herminio Nieves and modified by me. Thanks to @stuz0r for the tips on Fuse to Mixamo workflow in Cinema. Here is a Corona render test.

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Audience

Trying some new techniques for audiences to make them take light better.  Not perfect, but not a bad first attempt.  More work to be done.  Rendered in Corona. Recon Flyer model by Herminio Nieves

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Curtains

I did a job recently and the client asked if I could make the curtain folds (fullness) less perfect.  So I found a curtain panel that I like and modified it to taste.  Now I have a nice expandable system for good theater or event drape.  Here it is lit and rendered in Corona.

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WIP 11.10

11.10 Corona Render. More architectural lighting practice. AC Cobra 269 model provided by Bruckner Alexander. I modeled the rest based on the Perez Art Museum by Herzog & de Meuron. Artwork by Mark Rothko, Carroll Shelby, and Robert Longo. #coronarender #Coronarenderer

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Human Figures: Corona Render

Been looking for a long time for a good solution to decent figures in 3D.  They always look a bit too video gamey and it's really hard to find figures in clothing that fit into concert renders.  In the search, I found Humanalloy.com that has a sample rigged person that you can pose.  It's not perfect, but it was fun to channel my inner Robert Longo and make this.

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Bending Truss

I had an idea to try and bend a stick of 20.5" truss into a knot.  I still want to do this.  I couldn't get the knot part right and tight enough, but I did do some proof of concept experiments that show that it can be done.

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Intro to Vectorworks 3D for IATSE USA 829 On Dec. 2nd in New York

I'll be teaching an intro to 3D in Vectorworks for USA829 at the Union office on December 2nd.  This is the same class I taught last year - here is a basic overview:

This class will be a fast paced introductory overview of working with 3D in Vectorworks for scenic and lighting designers. Topics will include: general modeling techniques, hybrid symbols, navigation, cutting sections, and general work flow and practices for a fully 3D design package. Participants should already be familiar and comfortable working in Vectorworks 2D, including: layers, classes, sheet layers, symbols, viewports and the basic drawing tools. Class will be a demonstration of these techniques - participants wanting to follow along should bring their own laptop with Vectorworks already installed. Other topics and general Q&A will happen as time allows.

Complete an application and submit it to:
bev@usa829.org
fax: 212-977-2011
United Scenic Artists Local USA 829 IATSE ATTN: Bev Miller 29 W. 38th St. 15th Floor New York, NY 10018

Space is extremely limited: Click here to apply.  Only open to USA829 Members.

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10.19 Corona Render

10.19 Corona Render. Getting brighter. Working on archviz seriously for the first time. So much to learn and much room for improvement, but progress. Furniture models by dimensiva.com. Tentacle by me.  This is the first time I've shown a window and had to deal with that.  Seams simple, right?  Not so much.  Overall this feels a bit blue and lacking of color contrast.  Lesson learned and on to the next.

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