nazSTUFF - Composing in 3D with Clip Art 04

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The Fun of Composing a Scene using 3D Clip Models

This little exercise, one amongst many I've done, is fun, easy and relatively quick to do. It involves utilizing 3D material already made and readily available from a myriad of online 3D content sources, like clip art. There are many positive benefits from playing with software this way. One, it helps you learn the programs better while making somethng. You have to manipulate the elements, the lights and textures. And in this case, I've used it to quickly create illustrations for other uses. I'm working in Carrara Pro software but most programs allow this.

"Contemplation"... a calendar illustration with Buddha

In this case I'm going to create a scene using the program Carrara, using Poser props, water and several 3D objects, including a Hexagon built polygon shape. I've acquired some pre-built polygon models from online content providers. I'll modify the composition, textures and shaders to my new purpose. Here's how...

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First, we're going to open a blank file in Carrara.

Since Carrara now imports and uses Poser runtime files the possibilities for creative composition is increased considerably.

In this first frame I show that I've imported a Poser background scene.

Although not visible in the placement stage, it renders as a garden sanctuary background and will serve a stage for other characters in my still life.

Amongst my props is a bowl shape, originally intended to be part of a dinnerware set of dishes on a tabletop. I just want the geometry. I flatten the bowl into a more shallow shape and I enlarge it so it becomes a fountain in my garden.

In the SPLINE room I build a shallow disc shape that conforms to the inside geometry of my fountain. This is going to be my reflective water pool.

Temporarily I give this shape a dark blue color to help me see better as I level it and line it up with the bowl shape. At first the shape pokes out thrugh the bottom of the bowl and I have to work on it until correct. In this picture the bowl still has the dibberware pattern. This is temporary.

This a low resolution test render, having applied a water shader to the water.

Now, for the centerpiece of the composition, a delecately created polygon scuplture of Buddha. We are impressed with the skill of the creator. This item is added to our assembly space.

Aligning the items in the assembly room, using primitive forms. You can tell here that I have now assigned the Buddhe and the fountain bowl the same stone shader so they will render as a single item in the same light. Adjustments have also been made to the water shader to brig it into harmony with the scene. This is all an example of how this composition exercises become true teaching lessons.

Here's a successful test render. We discovered that changing the spot light to a buld gave the scene a softer glow. We also added a hint of blue to the light, this greatly improved the look of the reflective pool.

For some uses this would be considered the final version. But we're aware that the Poser scene prop is built at a low resolution. This limits our own output potential.

So, once again, we dip into our vault of stock 3D models and we find this stock foliage shape, created no doubt by another 3D artist using a plant designer. It will render in higher resolution and in any light.

This shows you how it looks in the assembly room before any render. Portions of the new foliage poke through the backdrop.

So, here, after the required patience to allow it to render, is our final scene, perfect for the calendar imprint we desire. Thanks for watching and we hope this elementary exercise is helpful.

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