Why Modo?
Posted by Colin | Filed under 3D
Good question. Why not C4D or Maya or one of the other far more dominant applications?
The fact of the matter is that you can’t just pop onto a 3D forum and ask which is best. A simple popularity contest will ensue and possibly stronger, but less entrenched, apps can be overlooked due to a smaller user base. Even focusing on the ‘big’ programs results is too much info for a noob to process.
I don’t have a good reason. If I had a friend working on 3D then I would’ve used what he was using. I also tried Blender but the Modo interface made learning so much easier that I had to switch (my wallet will hate me for this). Modo’s price is about the same as the other apps. While Modo is missing a few features (but v401 is looking quite tasty!) it also has some things that other the competition doesn’t.
I don’t have the ecpertise to test 3 or 4 different apps because I have no idea what to look for so basically it came down to 2 factors:
Done. Decision made.
One drawback with my decision: given the smaller user base there are a lot less free resources. At this stage tutorials are the thing that I am struggling to find.
Final.
Posted by Colin | Filed under Uncategorized
My final render/composite is done. On to the next idea.
Less shotgun, more sniping.
Posted by Colin | Filed under 3D
I’m starting to get the hang of Modo. I’m beginning to suss out how to get around and have begun to play with UV Mapping, texturing and HDRI.
Here’s the results of today’s exploration, Probes made in Modo, composited and retouched in Photoshop:
I’ve postponed my Orbs rework. As I was going thru it I realized that I had to start smaller. Instead of trying to learn how to properly model a wall and aluminum and vents and doors etc, I should focus on one object. Less shotgun more sniping.
Modo 3D - a noob’s learning process.
Posted by Colin | Filed under 3D
I have switched from Blender to Modo as my weapon of choice for 3D rendering. Modo isn’t the most popular 3D package but I really like the interface, its just more natural than Blender’s. On the downside the biggest difference between Blender and Modo is the relative lack of ‘Modo 101′ lessons as most tutorials seem to assume that you’ve migrated from another 3D app. So I am going to document - for myself and other beginners - the recreation of my ‘Orbs’ set piece.
Day 1
I spent last night modeling and as of now I am here:
I discovered that I don’t know the difference between Clone and Array. I know what an array is in Blender, but it didn’t seem to work the same in Modo. I could’ve made the small wall along the outside a lot more efficiently if I knew the proper ways to use Clone/Array.
I am terrified of UV mapping.
Day 2
Started to learn how to UV map. Got a better feel for materials and the shader tree. Really you have to play with it to understand how it works. A good tutorial video is on the Modo site with a file name ‘CreateUV.mp4′ (sorry - don’t have the title).
Also got more familiar with Modo’s lighting and positioned the camera.
Here is where I am at the end of Day 2:
Not too bad. The wall looks like marble, IMO. Most materials are not textured so they have a plasticy look to them. Hopefully I can remedy this. I want to learn how to put down a bump map for the floor.
3D
Posted by Colin | Filed under Uncategorized
I have taken my first steps into 3D modeling (no matter how many times I spell that word I always want to use two L’s). I’m doing this so I can create - or attempt to create - elaborate sets that:
The wall, rooftop and orbs in this shot are my first 3D render. LOTS of photoshop work on it after rendering it but the basic structure is a 3D model. I could’ve done less in Photoshop and more in the modeling app if I wasn’t such a rookie. Amateur hour, for sure, but it works:
Gels
Posted by Colin | Filed under shoot
I’ve been wanting to play with gels for a while. I’m impatient and don’t want to have to wait for a gel order to come in so I went about finding a quick solution. My first idea was a winner…. I went to the nearest Music store/DJ equipment store and got a pack of four 12″x12″ gels for less than $5.00. They are meant for Disco lights (for lack of a better term) and are green, red, blue and yellow. One 12×12 sheet was more than enough to cut into one large gel for my White Lightning X1600’s and two smaller ones for a pair of speedlights. They work great and deliver the intended results.
Then things went a bit downhill. My “omg I just outsmarted Rosco (the main gel manufacturer)” vibe was ‘harshed’. I wanted orange and a purple/pink. They don’t sell those in nice small packs so now I had to buy full sheets (about 18″x24″) and these were $7 a pop, $14 total. Not so cheap, but they work and my impatient appetite is fed.
Here is a shot with the pink gel on camera right:
Another weekend, another shoot.
Posted by Colin | Filed under Uncategorized
Noel simply rocked it in front of the camera.
“Adventures at 11 x 17″ and “Gearlust cured”.
Posted by Colin | Filed under Uncategorized
Ordered an 11×17 print of this shot today:
I like the texture effect for this web version, but once I saw the printed version I was solidly in the “meh” camp. So I came home and remixed it into this (which I will pick up tomorrow):
I’m confident that it will look much better.
Gearlust.
I really, REALLY wanted the new Canon 5D mII. I shoot Nikon right now, but 21MP had me salivating. I compared the price of the Canon to the Sony a900 - both including comparable high end lens sets - and the a900 was significantly more. Plus the video capabilities of the mII piqued my curiosity.
Anywho… the 11×17 I had printed today cured, or should I say ‘tempered’, my 5DmII lust. This was my first print over 8×10 and MAN was I impressed. My measly 10MP Nikon D80 produced great results! Individual hairs can easily be seen, the detail is fantastic.
Gearlust cured. Not a bad thing given today’s economy.
Dissection of a shot.
Posted by Colin | Filed under Uncategorized
I’ve been asked how I lit this, so here is a dissection.
Lighting was quite simple and, I’m sure, not hard to figure out. I had one White Lightning X1600 in a medium softbox to her left and one bare X1600 to her right. Simple enough, eh (my Canadian heritage shows through)?
That was the easy part. The hard part was using Photoshop to combine the studio shot of Aenux with these two other photos I took in Seattle.
The background:
The roof:
The background picture is pretty self-explanatory but the roof may not be, so let me elaborate. Instead of simply having the model in front of the cloudy building-scape I felt it would be better to ‘ground’ her on top of something. I searched high and low for a photo that matched my criteria. I couldn’t find anything but in one of those ‘ah hah’ moments I remembered the photo of the beautiful view I had from my Seattle hotel room. I used a small section of the nice wet roof across the alley.
Sliced n’ diced, did some color matching and voila…. the final composite shot.
A few more from my first day in the studio.
Posted by Colin | Filed under shoot
Here are some more results from Saturdays shoot. Click them a couple times to see them full size.
Eunice’s man had a great look so while her makeup was being done I grabbed a few shots of him.
