Still working away on getting better at rendering interiors. It really is the small details that make a difference.
Trying to really get comfortable with subdivision surface modeling in Cinema 4d. I decided to try and build a piece of furniture with details instead of a whole environment. It’s very satisfying to have something that you built all from scratch instead of just purchasing stock models. Hope to do more of this soon.
My entry into the render weekly x Herman Miller Sayl Chair Gaming Edition Reimagine Contest.
I’ve been working on a virtual lighting lab for my wife - a lighting designer and teacher. While she usually works in a lighting lab with the students to put lights onto people and objects to discuss angle, color, theory, composition, etc - the pandemic makes this impossible. We’ve been doing this virtually in 3d pretty successfully, but the quality of the people has been lacking. The skin, in particular, looks to opaque and video gamey. We bought some high quality scans from Ten24.info and I’ve been leaning how to set up proper skin shaders with SSS (Sub surface scatter - or lighting penetrating the skin). Here’s some early tests while I dial in the shaders and pretend that I know what I’m doing.
While recovering from surgery (!) I’ve been working on fabric RnD. I can only work for short spurts of time, so these simple scenes and experiments fit in well right now. I’ve been looking at fabric in Cinema 4d as well as Marvelous Designer. Much to learn, but great fun too.
Free for use for any person or group helping to get the vote on this election. Share. Repost. Resist.
I haven’t posted here in forever. Since the pandemic, the ongoing Black Lives Matters mission, and the upcoming election - it seems the last thing the world needs is pictures of my sushi or weird artworks. I have taken a break from creative outlets for a few months and focused my energies inward on my family, my health, and social movements. That said, I have taken time to revamp and update this website - still working out some links and kinks, but the bulk of it is live now. Stay safe out there!
Have some project work coming up in Redshift, so trying to just log some time in the program and get more fluid with it. The nodal material system is really strong and lets me do a lot of things (wear and tear) that are harder in Corona. I’m enjoying the learning.
SEARCHING FOR FATHER. The machine didn't give us answers, it just connected points in space to make the picture clearer. Where are you?
I've been chipping away at this one for a few weeks in my spare time - time to move on. Based on architecture by Buro511. Modeled in Vectorworks and rendered with Corona for Cinema 4d.
Some texture work and R&D with Corona. I never feel like I have wood grain or rough concrete dialed in correctly, so, practice. I also need puddles for a current project, so trying to tune that in as well. As always, working on camera work, lighting and color grading in post production. Corona still seems a miracle to me everyday.
After working on large desktops machines for a decade, I finally got a laptop. I’ve been doing more teaching, training, and traveling and bringing a iMac around has proven to be too cumbersome. I narrowed it down to a Digital Storm Nova 15” laptop which has 6 cores, 32 Gb of RAM and a RTX 2070 GPU card. I’m still getting used to the idea of doing work on a smaller machine and curious to see how it goes. My studio towers are still my main workhorses, but this new machine will also be my home/after hours machine, as well as for teaching. Attached are the first images I’ve rendered on it - it performs very well, but the fans go crazy when rendering and sound like a train going by.
Car model from CG Trader
Really enjoying doing some product design work. Quite different to production or set design. Here’s a wineglass design I’m working on. Modeled in Vectorworks and rendered with Corona for Cinema4D.
My entry for the renderweekly Season 04: Week 01 Challenge. Design and render a Kettle. I wanted to have a classic design that played with light and heavy forms together, but also take advantage of the modern convenience that electric kettles can offer. This unit would have wifi in the base so it can send you a text when the water has boiled. I don’t love smart home products, but I do often set a kettle or oven preheat, only to walk out of the kitchen and forget. Modeled in Vectorworks and rendered with Corona for Cinema4D. Nice to try some product design for a change.
Some late night Sub-D modeling practice in Cinema 4D. The topology is pretty rough, but I’m pleased that I was able to have a shape in mind, do some research and get it close. Next one the geometry will be cleaner and tighter - time to move on. Modeled in Cinema4D and rendered with Corona.
Working on them all with Corona.
Well, my love for Corona is real, but that doesn’t limit me to just using that engine. I had originally gotten Redshift purely for it’s volumetrics (which are fantastic), but I just finished a job where I had to do texturing in Redshift and it showed me what a nice and fast engine it is. So trying to learn more - slowly but surely. Here’s some experiments.
Suzuki GSX 750 model by CGTrader.
I hit a pretty big mental block on daily renders and R&D experiments outside of my client work. It’s been a busy year, but when I did find some time, I often scratched my head and wondered what I wanted to make. The end result was I didn’t make much for about 5 months. At first this upset me, but I’ve come to realize that it is just part of the ebb and flow of a creative journey. Nothing more, nothing less. So I thought maybe I would just start to make some stuff without putting too much thought into it. Simple lighting sketches to just get back into the software and create something - without putting any pressure on myself. These car shots were some of the first of those. Don’t think. Make.
Model from Turbosquid