Wed, February 20, 2008

Those of you on the holiday card list have already received a copy of the following picture, which is a collection of props I modeled for an ongoing 3D project.

I thought you might enjoy an opportunity to take a closer look. After I had created all the models (including those really challenging basic rectangles!), I had to get the lighting and the rendering settings right. Once all that was done, the last step was "texturing." This is applying surface properties (color, reflectivity, smoothness) to the individual objects. In the case of an image like this, that primarily involves designing labels and packaging for a bunch of fictional grocery items.

When you take on a project like that, you generally factor in the object's specified use. If it's going to be far away from the camera – primarily a set dressing – there's no need to focus on minute detail. Nobody will be able to read the text on the package, so anything close will suffice.

Of course those of you familiar with the Bob Ross Code already know that no detail is too minute to enjoy. Inspired by that, I set about designing labels that – if nothing else – at least would entertain me during the process of designing them.

I'll admit that I also took some inspiration from Pixar; I usually do. Here are some examples from Dr. Sherman's dentistry office in Finding Nemo. You'll never see them up close, but rather than writing gobbledygook on them, the Pixar artisans made them cute and silly.

With that philosophy in mind, I composed text for the labels which would make me giggle every time I read it, even though you'd never read it in a final rendering.

You can see the individual texture files for the objects in the scene in this photo gallery. Enjoy!

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