Sorry been no updates due to bereavement.

Room-set 3...

Or, as I lovingly call it, "28-7"

Room-set 3 render produced as part of my photography BA Honours.

Produced using the incredibly powerful Blender software and Cycles render engine.  Thanks to Ton, Brecht and the rest of the development team.

The reason for the alternative numeric title, two and a half days before the degree module (containing this room-set) was due for hand in I commenced work on this room-set, crazy?  certainly!  I stayed up 28 hours without sleep and managed to produce most of the room-set, although as I later discovered it contained many bugs, back to the alternative title. After modelling was completed (as much as could be within the time frame) I rendered the scene and handed in the work.  Not totally happy with the quickly produced room-set I decided to work on it further, for my own Blender advancement, in the end I worked on it for another 7 days, hence the 28-7 title.  At this point I was much happier with the room-set and wall colour compared to my reference photograph.

"28 hours without sleep"

Later, after learning more about Blender, I returned once more to this room-set to further tweak a few areas, namely to improve lighting, some materials also to further improve some of the models.  That brings us to the current version shown below.

My main room-set reference photograph.

Thanks once more to Graham Nelson of Set Visions for allowing me to photograph this room-set within their studio.

Side by side image comparison (may not show side by side on mobile devices).

I would just like to finish by saying, in no way do I promote staying up without sleep!

It is not a solution, or efficient method of getting more work done, even though it might seem like a good idea at the time, the reality is, work produced is often substandard.

For those interested, here is a Clay render.

 

Thanks also again to blenderartists.org member liero for their very useful Blender Clay script.

Room-set 2...

Although not as complex as the first room-set, this was an interesting and challenging experience for reasons explained below.  The more observant among you will notice the scene is missing a few items.

"almost perfect room alignment"

3D room-set 2 render produced as part of my photography BA Honours.

Thanks once more to Ton and his development team for the incredibly powerful open source Blender software, also Brecht Van Lommel for the amazing Cycles render engine.

3.5 weeks to get this far...

Applying previously learned techniques I was able to model the room-set more rapidly.  Really wanted to finish this scene but unknowingly at the time, I was working with a version of Blender that suffered from the delta scaling bug, once discovered I decided to suspend production until a 'fix' could be found.  After the files were repaired, using the previously blog post mentioned solution, there simply was not enough time left to complete the scene before the course work hand in date, at least not without sacrificing creation of the third room-set.

As an indication of progress from the first room-set, this time I modelled everything except for the flower heads and leaves, this was mainly due complexity of models required within available time constraints.

• Flower model (adapted, simplified and materials applied)

Overall, compared to the photograph, I was able to create an almost perfect room alignment this time, hopefully this is an indication of progress.

Once degree work is completed, I hope to be able to revisit the above scene to finish modelling and colour grading.

"photorealism"

Some people have a dislike for photorealism, I am not opposing anyone's opinion here, everyone is entitled to their views.  From a personal perspective, I feel once something close to realism can be achieved, then anything becomes possible.  My second room-set certainly has a long way to go in that respect but as long as new techniques are constantly being learned, old ideas adapted and improved, then difficulties encountered actually become self-development building blocks. 

Below is my main room-set reference photograph.

 Thanks also go again to Graham Nelson at Set Visions for allowing me to photograph this room-set within their studio.

In keeping with a theme, here is a clay render for those who are interested.

Thanks to blenderartists.org member liero for their very useful Blender Clay script.

Image Links...

Minor blog update

Just updated all the image links after switching to a new hosting service, please let me know if you have any image viewing problems.  Image loading should be much faster and more reliable.

If no one reports any issues, I will post the second room-set later today.

Extremely busy last couple of months...

So what have I been doing?

Firstly, apologies for the lack of updates.  Since the previously featured room-set and room-set variations, I have created a further two room-sets, these will be featured over the next few days, created further "Variations on a Theme", 180 in total, consisting of 90 day and 90 night variations.

Anything else?

Created CGI for a 4D projection.  Since I am still fairly new to Blender this was a massive undertaking, being my first Blender animation.  Over 1000 people were invited to the building re-launch event, one of the main features being the 4D projection, so not much pressure really!

For those who are not sure what 4D projection consists of, the building to be projected onto is modelled in 3D, this is then (after careful alignment) projected onto the surface of the actual building, allowing for (depending on production time) all sorts of visual effects, virtually changing the lighting and moving parts of the building around.
Over the next few days I will provide a blog post, after the other two new room-sets previously mentioned, with images during 4D modelling production plus a video link.

Also

Tweaked the original room-set slightly and produced a 40 megapixel render version, the detail is amazing!

Variations on a Theme...

For another area of my degree work I am looking at interactive website creation

To this end I have been experimenting with the original room-set render, creating various wall colours and floor types, some work better than others.

Experimental Night Time Render

Since I am not a stylist, I must admit that choosing certain colour combinations can be surprising difficult.

If you can think other colours that will work well I will be very interested to hear your ideas?!

PS:  For extra realism I will be adding a rug under the table on the versions with wooden floors.  Currently experimenting with Blender's Particle System.

Modelling Showcase 2...

Happy New Year everyone!

Today's Featured Models: Coffee pot, cup & saucer and spoon

Due to completing degree work, ready for hand in, it has taken longer than expected to post the follow up modelling showcase.  So without further ado, I present a look at some of the other models I created for the room-set scene.


Firstly, the completed models.

Stage 1-2:

To help gauge scale I decided to use another of my photographs as a template, this proved to be a big help.

1. Left image - trying carefully to followed the original coffee pot outline, I added points starting at the coffee pot base centre (orange dot), working my way along and up the right hand side, until finally finishing at the top of the coffee pot (below the lid) back in the centre.  Next, added a 'Screw modifier' to spin the points 360 degrees around the centre axis, so creating a completed object.

2. I used the same method to created the coffee pot lid, probably went a bit far with the level of detail, also modelled the lip on the lid and recessed area on the coffee pot, where the lid rests.

Tip:

After applying the 'Screw modifier' it is important to enter 'Edit' mode (make sure the whole object is selected), under 'Mesh Tools' click 'Remove doubles', also possibly 'Recalculate', to remove extra faces and correct mistakes with surface normals.

Stage 3:

3. In this image I simply had a look at the models from different angles, making sure everything looked in proportion.


Stage 4-6:

4. Next, the part I was not looking forward to, modelling the spout, I had various ideas how to accomplish this, in the end (rightly or wrongly) I used a cylinder with the top & bottom removed, rotated and scaled.

5. Centre image - After tweaked the mesh, I used a 'Solidify' modifier to provide form for the inside of the spout.

6. A little more mesh tweaking later, added a handle and created a Cycles node based material trying to replicate the look of a glazed pot, as seen in the above Cycles render.

I am still not totally happy with the spout but due to time constraints had to move on and create other models for the room-set.  To finish on a positive note.  I like how the showcase scene turned out, Cycles is an amazing render engine.

If people are interested I can also post images of the spoon construction.