Espresso Extraction

Another attempt of the espresso rendering series

Bella Espresso

Another visualisation work done since the katana assignment. Since I love drinking coffee, especially the irresistible aroma and the crema of espresso, so I decided to model one for myself :)

Anyway, this is a trial short assignment to get the crema effect. It shall be included in the next stage of interior rendering assignment.

Rendered in VRay, DOF done using VRay Z-Depth, post production in Photoshop.

Bloodshed Katanas

This is the scene depicting the ancient Japanese period. Perhaps there was a fight between 2 samurais with the autumn forest as the battle background.

The bloodshed effect adds impact to the composition as a camouflage for the red leaves.

Modelled in 3DS max, rendered with VRay. The leaves were done using particle system + motion blur and post production done in Photoshop.

Wireframe:

Soul of the Samurai

Katana is the samurai sword. It's a deadly weapon with beauty.
The katana is regarded as the soul of the samurai, hence samurai will bear the katana all the time.

To me it's a masterpiece of art that is to be appreciated.
Too bad I can't afford to own one so I have my own digital collection of katana.

This was modelled in 3DS Max and rendered with VRay, with post production using Photoshop.

Digital Painting

Aside from 3D visualisation, I also engage in digital painting.

I use Wacom graphic tablet to draw on computer. I know my artworks are not that great compared to those featured in deviantArt, but I am learning and improving (provided I have time for myself due to office work).

One of the first illustrations done using digital media:

Done with Photoshop, hard to create and control the desired brush stroke effect.

Done with the powerful painting software: Corel Painter which can simulate realistic brush effects

Artwork to celebrate Mid Autumn Festival celebration in September.

Recent artwork: Shinsengumi, the secret police force of the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Latest artwork done this morning (it's my holiday).

Among all the drawing softwares, Corel Painter is the best for drawing and painting. Photoshop is best for image editing.

I use Corel Painting for drawing and Photoshop for post production.

More works to come (again provided I have time for myself).

[Tutorial] Aesthetic Lamp

This is a simple tutorial of making the aesthetic lamp shown in the previous post.
I hope to share some of my new discoveries here.

Firstly you need to download the Advanced Painter plugin.
Click here to download.

Then kindly refer the following pictures:

;

I hope this is helpful and comments welcome.
Enjoy and have fun!

Aesthetic Lamp

When the office jobs get too bored to be done, it's good to try something else which is new and fun.

Hence I did this simple modeling of some aesthetic lamps amidst the boring 3D project in the office.

VRay light (sphere) makes the lighting effect. Intensity is a high 30 to create the shadow effect on the wall.

If I have the time, I will try posting the tutorial of how I made this model with some great plugin.

Chinese Style Interior

Chinese New Year mood was filling the air in the office, so I did this practice job while nothing is on the rush.

This interior scene was intended to present a warm and soft atmosphere.
The fabric presents softness and the lanterns turn the atmosphere into a warm setting with lighting and colour.

Of course, there was minor photoshoping on the lantern lighting effect.

Chinese Lantern

During Chinese New Year, it is common to see beautiful lanterns hung everywhere. They make a big difference to the festival atmosphere by creating a warm and pleasant mood.

This scene was modelled in 3DS Max, rendered with VRay and did some post production with Photoshop.

The lantern fabric itself is Vray 2 sided material, with the red fabric as the front material and VRay Light material as the back material.

No additional lights involved although I thought would make the scene nicer.

Happy Chinese New Year to my readers!

Cassina Prive 241 by Philippe Starck

It's been 3 months since I started working as a 3D visualiser. i hardly have time for myself since working, including updating this blog.

Nevertheless, this time I am presenting my latest work. I modelled this settee based on the real product designed by Philippe Starck. An elegant leather sofa with the challenge of building the tufted cushions and tuning the material, yet it's an interesting piece of modelling work.

The real Cassina Prive 241 31/33G, designed by Philippe Starck:

(Source: Archiexpo)

More info: Cassina

Keroro Gunso であります!!

Keroro Gunso is a funny and awesome animation. Keroro is my favourite character in the show. I decided to model the character and did some simple animation, after watching the show again recently.

Modelling was not difficult and I enjoyed watching the Keroro animation I created.

The completed model

Keroro without texturing (right) and with complete texturing (left)

This is the animation I created using the 3D model, rendered in 3DS Max+VRay and composed in Flash.

Feels good! Kero kero kero...

Things I Do Morning and Night

Brushing teeth is a typical activity every morning and night, for most people.

Since I am so free these days, I decided to model and render things I see and use daily, as practice.

So this is the free time work I produced, experimenting with DOF, as usual.

Classy Furniture Design by Reed Hansuld

I stumbled upon this magnificent piece of furniture on the Internet, designed and made by Reed Hansuld. I decided to do some modelling exercise by creating this dining chair.

I also experimented on various DOF effect. I also did another version of the furniture with stainless steel frame and leather cushion.

Both chairs look amazing regardless of the materials, it is the unique design that gave the soul to the chairs.

Reed Hansuld's website can be found here: http://www.reedhansuld.com/index.html

Finally...

The completed rendering with some adjustments, rendered using VRay Frame Buffer.

Evermotion Rendering Competition

Recently I came across of this rendering competition organised by Evermotion. The other participants are EXTREMELY highly skilled so I don't expect to win anything.

Anyway I joined with the hope to improve my skills and learn the rendering techniques from others. In fact, this is my first time doing exterior night scene.

Work in progress:

Rendering with DOF:

First try on VRayfor SketchUp

This is my visual work modelled in SketchUp and rendered with VRay for SketchUp (v4su) for SU 6. Took me 3 days to learn, honestly, the user interface appears not much different from that of 3DS Max. If you understand VRay for 3DS Max, this shouldn't be too difficult to learn. Unfortunately, some of the work flow are not user friendly enough and I would rather turn to 3DS Max. I wish I can use IES lighting as there's only VRay light provided. And I also wish that the rendered view is not cropped from the seen view. Anyway, it's good to see photorealistic rendering from SketchUp.

Chinese New Year 2009 animation

This is the animation by 8TV in conjunction with Chinese New Year 2009. I love the characters and the storyline. Enjoy!

中國風. Chinese style

My latest visualisation work with traditional Chinese architecture. I tried to use the water shader (ocean lume) to simulate the water. The water generates caustic effect though the effect is not good enough. I use mental ray with mr sun+mr sky. I found the mr photographic exposure quite useful and comparable to vray physical camera in terms of usability and function.

中國風. Chinese style

I love the Chinese style pop songs which incorporate the traditional elements into the music. Jay Chou's music is one of the best example. This had inspired me to do 3D visualisation with Chinese elements. This visual was done based on a photo of Chinese style landscaping, with mental ray and daylight system.

The Pinnacles Interpretive Centre

When producing exterior rendering, I always use the render engine's daylight system. For VRay, I use the VRay sun and VRay sky; as for mental ray, I use mr sun and mr sky. The daylight system produces good results for exterior rendering.

The following images are rendered based on the photo I took at the Pinnacles Interpretive Centre during my visit to Australia. I love the play of shadow on the timber frame.

mental ray: mr sky+mr sun

VRay: VRay sky+VRay sun

The Pinnacles Interpretive Centre