Before animating something you need something to animate. Here are some of my early attempts at 3D sculpting as well as my latest “Mushroom” project. All were made using the Blender open software.
The mushroom I first sculpted and then painted using different layers that I all connected up in Blender’s shader node system giving various properties such as glow and glossiness to the different parts. For the grass I made a simple model of a straw that I rigged with some armature and inverse kinetics so that it would be easy to form and bend like true grass. I also customized a shader emphasizing translucency and a reflective surface to give the impression a slightly moist surface. Then it was just a question of arranging 140 grass straws in a natural way..
For the mist I experimented a bit with Blender’s particle simulation of smoke, but found that the most “‘misty” result was gained by simply using a mesh and fill it with a slightly emitting volumetric shader. I later added some simple trees and glowing spores and played a bit with the lighting to make the right atmosphere. The final result was rendered using Cycles. For the complete project file click here.
I also did some other earlier experimenting on sculpting and painting 3D models. It is interesting how much shading and contrast can change or enhance the way we perceive 3D structures. The sculpt above I did based on a sketch I had done earlier.
I quite recently started of on a bigger project where I will try to make a complete human model. The GIFF above shows the initial quick sculpt I did of the face.
While 3D modelling is all about taking a real (or imaginative) object and putting it on screen the reverse can be equally challenging (and a good practice in my opinion). Every year I will make some ginger bread “house” for Christmas, always trying to make next one outdo the previous. The result you can find above.
This ginger bread AT-AT I made together with my sister and a friend in 2017. I stood for the general design and templates, while the others helped with the construction work. It was all edible, made only of ginger bread and sugar, and consisted of 109 individual parts.
