Stock Shoot

Last year we did a stock photo shoot here at work.  The purpose was to gather hard to find images/video that we use on a regular basis, images of people studying and gathering for bible study.  Typically on stock sites we find lots of really cheesy images or images that are too staged.  I was responsible for the photos from the shoot and using my 3 speedlights and umbrella and a tiny softbox - this is what I got.  I threw them together on a quick sheet just to showcase some of my favorites. 

Ancient Harbor

This is a companion piece to the Market Place I did a few posts back.  Several people have asked me which ancient seaport it is, and well, a little bit of all of them.  Caesarea and Ephesus are the two I found the most reference/ruin pictures of.  We did have a professor stop by the office and he asked me this question, and after a few more very pointed questions he said "I've been studying ancient seaports for 30 years."  - Great, if I would have asked him for his opinion instead of trying to think back to what I just said wondering if I made myself look like a dummy I could have stamped a "seal of approval" on it.  Oh well.

Set of 4

I originally built this table for one shot, then during our last project I reused it to save some time.  To keep with tradition I decided for our current project I could do a few modifications and use it again.  Granted the last one got a bit more elaborate, but it is still the same table, scrolls, map and lighting setup.  I modified the scene by swapping textures and moving the pieces around, but all in all its the same stuff.

Original

Version 2

Version 3

Version 4

Market

This piece I was really trying to keep the poly count low, which I did until all the paint effect plants and the misc items started to make it a bit heavier.  Would love to really populate the marketplace with more vendors and I would also like to see if we could composite in a few market-goers.  Regardless, here is what I came up with.

The Fall

Here is a new piece that just came out of the render box.  I am really happy with how it turned out, all the existing Eden stuff is during the daytime, but why not have the Fall at night?  The figures were done by our Illustrator, Sean Luo, and there are a lot of paint effect plants but everything else was done in Maya 2012.  I did create the large tree by hand and did all of the lighting and rendering along with the final composite.  Sorry to have to put a watermark on it but.....you know.

Theater

Needed a theater for one of our new lessons.  Pretty simple, most things have ye ole Lambert1 on them - and then the set pieces are from an older lesson.   I will post more pics when they make it out of the queue. 

Jerusalem Council

I know I keep posting these, but each time I do one I try to make it a bit better without losing the original idea and killing the render time.  I thought this one turned out well and I especially like the "set" that came out of it.  I used the Maya Daylight shader to get the light into the room, then lit the rest with point and spot lights.  Final comp came together in AE. Oh and of course the original illustration was done by our in house illustrator, Sean Luo.

Back to the Past

Here is a quick shot of a recent project I am working on.  We needed this shot last minute so I don't have much time to finish.   It is pretty simple, just a floor no walls and a few items on the tabletop.  I did use zBrush to get the two bags made (I wish i had a reason to work there more) and... well... that is about it. Sill using Maya 2012.  If I get a bit more time I would like to add a bit more clutter, but sometimes when it is due - its due.

2D - 3D

More Multi-Planes -  I am still doing a lot of these, basically because they are very fast to crank out.  So here is one more.

                                                                               

Original Painting

Maya Viewport

Final Render

4 Scrolls

A render from an old set yet again, old in more ways than one.  Old because I modeled it a while back and old because, well, it looks old.  We needed an image for a DVD menu and they chose this one.  Supposed to be the 4 Gospel scrolls; Matthew, Mark, Luke, John.

Multi-Planes

I have been doing a lot of these lately, I call them multi-planes or projection mapping.  Basically I take a painting done by our in house illustrator, Sean Luo, and break it into several pieces - map the textures on planes or shapes - add some Maya lights then render out a camera move.  Generally it gives the painting a  bit more visual duration for the viewer.  These are really easy to do especially when you start with such a great paining.

Midieval Abbey - up date

I modeled this set several years ago and just completed a few retouches - this is the final result.  I usually don't like to go back to old projects b/c my new stuff is typically much better but this guy has withstood the time test and I still really like it.  I was working with the compositor on a few color corrections and adjustments to match the rest of the 3D from this current series.

After we finished the above shot I felt as if it lost a bit of the mood of the original idea so we landed back with a bit of a warmer version, closer to the original idea.  Both look nice but the bleach by pass look was just a bit to cool/cold for me.  So this is the new up - up date.

Dynamic Compass

Compass is the best term to describe this object and it was done back when I was feeling very steam punk.  For the purpose of our lessons it symbolizes the relationship between blessing and curses.  When the needle moves in the shot all the gears spin and twirl (set driven key,) pretty slick if I can say so myself.  Fun.

Polished Concrete

I have had this environment finished for some time just now got around to posting it.  Definitely a different look than the more "historical" stuff I usually work on, there is even polished concrete on the floor..., whoa!  

Final Churches

So I had the compositor run the Tilt/Shift on these shots and this is the final look.  Just to note, I am not going to do everything T/S but for the series we are working on it does keep our style consistent.  It has been very nice to have someone to run a final pass on my 3D, really makes it pop.

Heidelberg Church v1

Building another "church door" shot for work  this one is of the Heidelberg Church.  I am not finished with it yet but we are getting there. I have to add a window and door hardware and a few other items to dirty it up a bit.

Jail Cell version 2

Sent this over to the compositor I work with.  He has been working with the tilt/shift style.  This is the end result.

London - 1700's

Working on a "London" street scene, trying to place the model close to the 1700's however this might not be old enough.  Regardless, the final look was achieved by the help of the composite, which was done by a fella I work with, Jon Braucher.  I need to add a bit of dirt and debris...but for now it is a good placeholder. 

Jail

A guy at work needed a jail cell for a shot - he gave me a bit of reference and told me it did not need to have textures...well we can't let it go out without a dash of color.  Everything was done in Maya 2012.

Steam Punk - gadget

Doing some "Steam Punk" type gadgets - this one unfortunately got the ax before it made it into the final.   Win some - lose some.