the making of a ‘sexy image’ 01.12.2015
software used: autocad, rhino, v-ray, photoshop
1) it all started with a sketch and a discussion, a main driver behind my building is creating a vertical restaurant. so for future representation i would use my 3d modelling and rendering skills to recreate three interior spaces that would be in my building: a tea room, a garden and a sushi bar, all with art nouveau elements in and amongst them. using photoshop for post-production i would add elements to these spaces that would connect them.
2) after looking at images of existing interiors i began modelling these spaces in their traditional forms, so a japanese tea room has a size relationship to the tatami mats that line the floors so the room size is based on these dimensions. within my design work i was looking at art nouveau architecture in particular gustave strauven’s maison saint-cyr and the horta museum both in belgium. so i modelled windows of the sushi bar and tea room on these styles of architecture. the walls of these two rooms were based on small elements of the doors and windows.
3, 4, 5) by creating an extrusion for the rock, both small and large, i used the POn and rebuild commands i was able to manipulate these extrusions in more detail than i previously knew how to. i was able to define the curvature of the different surfaces with more accuracy and play around with the shape easier than i previously understood how to. lastly the using a ‘cutting plane’ i could create a angular cut on the rocks to further change their shape, the cutting plane allowed me to trim the edges of the rock to give it an angular sharp finish.
6) the bridge in the garden scene was a recreation of a bridge i came across when researching japanese zen gardens, by breaking down the model into smaller components it was easier to model the finish result. starting first with the structure, then the pathway with the timber planks and then the ornamentation of the arches. i’m not usually too comfortable or confident in modelling curved shapes however by having the ‘gumball’ setting on it has been easier to manipulate, scale, rotate and move objects throughout this exercise.
7) to create the ‘shell window’ in the sushi bar scene i traced an existing window i came across on google images, the window exists on a synagogue however it was rather simple so i combined this with another art nouveau window to create a more complex and interesting window.
8) after tracing the window i could create a surface over the flat image and remove the surface where the glass would be and extrude the surface. i then traced the parts of the window that were glass and used the ‘patch’ command to create surfaces in these otherwise complex shapes. i could then apply a glass material to these patched surfaces with ease.
9) using the v-ray plug in for rhino i could add light and material to the three separate rhino models, however when rendering i couldn’t get the desired light effect i.e. the lighting streaming into the spaces through the art nouveau windows, so i took screen shots of these desired qualities to later recreate in photoshop.
10) lastly we move onto photoshop, initially i tried to create a composition where the three renders could work as one image however this wasn’t as effective as i originally had hoped. luckily i had rendered other views of the 3D model while the opportunity was there, so I could use these to create three interior views. using photoshop i populated these renders with people, objects, flora, fauna and background images of blackheath. it is always challenging to create interior renders due to the lighting indoors compared to exterior renders however i am not striving for realism, this exercise was to help me understand smaller details i want in my spaces and the atmosphere’s in these spaces.