Adventure Still LifeThis is a still life piece rendered with RenderMan. I started off with a couple of themes, and eventually worked it down to just one: Adventure. The theme attracted me because I had this idea in my head of a warmly lit desk, covered in artefacts, aged maps and old books filled with historical research. This was inspired by the Uncharted games, specifically the teaser trailer for Uncharted 3, as well as the Indiana Jones films. I wanted my piece to have different elements that all told a story together.
The first step was to do a photoshoot to get the picture I would be copying. Using my own props, a bedroom lamp and a torch, I set up my scene, and took dozens of photographs, playing with angles, DOF, exposure, etc. |
During the photoshoot, I also took a lot of photos 180 degrees around the scene at different elevations. This was to be used to create a 3d version of the scene. After finishing all this, I reviewed the photos and found the one I liked. Out of the rest, it had the best composition and lighting, and the DOF caught the main subject just how I liked it. One thing I really liked about my photoshoot was the way all the different props had very complimentary colours. Combined with the metal of the perpetual calendar, it made for a very interesting scene for me. |
After I had decided on my shot, I could start modelling my scene. Using 123D Catch, I was able to generate an OBJ file of my scene, complete with cameras placed to match each of the images. I then proceeded to model all my assets, using ZBrush to add details to certain objects.
After this, I textured my scene, using photos of my props and extra images off the net to add in lost details. I used Mari for this, as well as a little Photoshop for the more simple/geometric objects. Mari was a very useful tool for this project, as it features a layer that converts your bump or spec map to a normal map. This was a huge help for me, and added a lot of detail to my props. I then assigned materials to my objects, set up my lighting, and adjusted my shaders til I had the result I wanted. |
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For the final image, I rendered out at double the resolution, and made multiple passes. Using Nuke, I composited the passes together, using this process to also make any necessary adjustments to lighting strength and so on. The final result is this:
Screencap property of Naughty Dog Studios