| |  | | Lighting
Now comes the most interesting stage of creating this scene – lighting. I used image-base lighting – HDR for this piece, to achieve the highest photographic quality that I desired. I also love HDR lighting because it allows for the variation in light intensity over the scene and creates exciting reflection effects. I actually did not lock down the light direction from the pre-viz stage, and instead played around with the offset parameter in Material Editor to find what I though was the most beautiful spot, as seen in the finale.Depth of Field
This effect on an image creates a powerful sense of realism, especially with miniatures. Thus, I brought it in as the one of the core elements, to make the render float. Consequently, this was the reason why the render took roughly 35 hours to render in the 3K size!! I was that passionate about this piece that I did not mind the high time cost to render. Post production
This final touch was simply to make the render a bit warmer and more photographic, so it didn’t look like a computer render. A duplicated layer was brought on top and blended in Overlay mode. I also created a mask for it and manually painted to find a perfect combination between the two layers. Also, a little amount of noises was added for more of photorealistic effect. Conclusion
In my opinion, this render is more about feeling and imagination, and is a loose interpretation of COPIC markers, suggesting a formation of buildings. It reflects much of my vision towards art. Sometimes, the message an artist wants to convey does not have to be obvious or overpowering; and instead, leaves some space for the viewers to freely interpret – to feel it in their own right. By owning this characteristic, this piece of artwork tends to have a mutual link between the viewers and the creators, not just a direct, one-way 'route' from the creators. About me
My name is Richard Minh Le. I am 21 years old. I live in Australia, but was born in Vietnam. Like most kids, I grew up loving comics, and watching cartoons. I am currently finishing off my Design Degree in Architecture at RMIT. It is actually a very interesting course; and to my surprise I discovered that through this course I could turn my childhood dream into reality. During my study I was introduced to 3ds Max as a way of presenting my architectural projects, and since then, I have focused on mastering it, whilst also developing my conceptualization skills in Architecture. I am enjoying watching and practicing VFX for film and now hope to pursue a career in this field. I once read an interview with Timothy Albee – the creator of the impressive, independent animation, Kaze Ghost Warrior – and discovered that we share the same vision. He said: artists might not have a doctoral explanation of what they do, but it is more important that they do what they feel right. His words left a strong impression on me, as it is what I have been thinking and trying to develop in my artworks. So, guys, let your feeling and imagination make you float and create stunning artworks. Last but never least; 3D art is just like any other arts. We need to breathe the art into it above the technical performance. So, study traditional painting, sketching and photography and let them guide your creative mind.  | Featured in ELEMENTAL 2
ELEMENTAL 2 is the sequel to the critically acclaimed art book showcasing the world’s best digital artwork produced with Autodesk solutions. |
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