Making Of 'Ship'

Introduction

Hello, my name is Moises Gomes and in this article I will talk a little about the production process for this image.

This image was produced as a personal project. I wanted to challenge myself and use the opportunity to improve my inorganic modeling, texturing and rendering skill and techniques.

Before starting I would like to thank and give due credit to artist David Carvalho, who worked with me on the concept of the ship, and to my friend and artist, Estevão Teuber, for the assembly and integration of photographs.

I will cover the whole process from beginning to end.

Concept

The idea was to create a ship that was in sailing in turbulent weather. After some sketches and drawings I decided on this design (Fig.01 - 02).

Fig. 01

Fig. 01

Fig. 02

Fig. 02

Modeling

The next challenge was the modeling. This model was very complex to do, because despite being an inorganic object it still had to look very functional. The following images show the modeling process (Fig.03 - 04). To begin with I started concentrating on the main forms and general structure of the vessel.

This is a very important process as it is necessary to make sure all of the proportions are correct (Fig.05 - 06).
After I had worked on the main form and shape, I moved onto the detailed modeling and started to add all of the features (Fig.07 - 08).

Fig. 05

Fig. 05

Fig. 06

Fig. 06

Fig. 07

Fig. 07

Fig. 08

Fig. 08

At this point the modeling was almost complete. During the process I made a few changes in the layout and the overall design, and made the front of the ship look more like a monster (Fig.09).

Fig. 09

Fig. 09

These images show some of the changes that I made (Fig.10).

Fig. 10

Fig. 10

Here is the final result (Fig.11).

Fig. 11

Fig. 11

Texturing

The texturing of this ship was the most time-consuming part of the whole process; this was due to the fact that there were a lot of different materials involved.

The ship needed to look like it had been well used and have an overall rustic look to show that it had been to many different places in many differing situations. With this in mind nothing could look clean or new. To achieve this look I used Photoshop.

I used V-Ray as the render as I find it gives a realistic look without having to battle with too many complex configurations. The following images show the textured areas and parts of the texture itself (Fig.12 - 14).

Fig. 12

Fig. 12

Fig. 13

Fig. 13

Fig. 14

Fig. 14

At this point the hull was almost finished, but there was still a lot to do. So far I had used 6GB of texturing maps! (Fig.15 - 16).

Fig. 15

Fig. 15

Fig. 16

Fig. 16

I set the parameters of the shader to achieve the best result for the entrance of the cabin.

For all of the textures I used diffuse, specular, bump, displacement (when necessary) and reflection maps (Fig.17).

Fig. 17

Fig. 17

Here is the final model with the textures (Fig.18).

Fig. 18

Fig. 18

Render

To render the boat was actually a very simple process. I find that V-Ray offers the best results with the fewest parameters and settings. To finish the image I took it into Photoshop for post-production.

My main focus when rendering was to make sure that none of the shadows were too harsh so that they could be adjusted in Photoshop and integrated with photos.

I used a V-Ray plane to assist the final render, and the V-Ray physical camera (Fig.19 - 23).

Fig. 19

Fig. 19

Fig. 20

Fig. 20

Fig. 21

Fig. 21

Fig. 22

Fig. 22

Fig. 23

Fig. 23

Here is the final result using the material settings shown in the previous images (Fig.24).

Fig. 24

Fig. 24

I always do my renders a little darker and with a more uniform color with no burst point. This makes it much easier to make changes to color and to adjust the lighting.

Composition

After configuring and testing the lights and materials to get a result that looked good, the next step was to render the separate elements and to begin assembling the final 3D image. I rendered Z-depth, diffuse, Specular, Occlusion, and Alpha Wire maps (Fig.25).

Fig. 25

Fig. 25

This is the result after the first tweaks (Fig.26).

Fig. 26

Fig. 26

Final Image - Part One -Planning

Without a doubt, the most important part in a process that involves creation is the planning. It is vital in all art forms, even traditional.

The image was put in Photoshop and a few strokes were added to start the process of moving towards the final image (Fig.27).

Fig. 27

Fig. 27

I then used the Dodge tool to adjust the highlights (Fig.28).

Fig. 28

Fig. 28

With my idea for the final image created, I started on the final version. It is important to split the layers into separate elements. In this case the layers were split into the boat, sea, sky and foam.

Too many layers can cause things to become a bit disorganized (Fig.29).

Fig. 29

Fig. 29

The size of the focal object in the scene is important. There is a simple rule that you can use to ensure you get this right: the focal object should fill about 70% of the space on the canvas (Fig.30).

Fig. 30

Fig. 30

You can make changes at this point such as a camera distortion effect. This is done by using the Warp tool in transform mode and adds movement to the image. The shape of the ship indicate a sharp upwards movement (Fig.31).

Fig. 31

Fig. 31

Choice Of Elements

When you have decided on the final direction of your image you can collect some images that you will incorporate into the scene. Preferably these should be high resolution, but if the images only feature a small amount in your image then there is no need to make them large.

Placement Of Elements

Before you start adding images the image size should be very high.

The background colors are important as they set the tone for the image (Fig.32).

Fig. 32

Fig. 32

The photographs were added from the bottom up. Use the Warp tool to adjust these (Fig.33 - 34).

Fig. 33

Fig. 33

Fig. 34

Fig. 34

I added the boat in high resolution and applied highlights to it using the Lasso tool with feathering (Fig.35). The reflections were added with brush strokes. I adjusted the color highlights towards yellow. This is to make it look as if the light is reflecting off the sea (Fig.36 - 37).

Fig. 35

Fig. 35

Fig. 36

Fig. 36

Fig. 37

Fig. 37

I used the feather tie set between 40% and 60% on the opposite side of the boat and curves to create the bounce lights (Fig.38).

Fig. 38

Fig. 38

I selected areas where the shadow was strongest and moved the color balance towards midtones, pulling out the blue (Fig.39-40).

Fig. 39

Fig. 39

Fig. 40

Fig. 40

To do the foam I took the foam images from my references and applied them using the Clone Stamp tool to blend them in.

I continued using the Lasso tool and applying curves to adjust each area (Fig.41).

Fig. 41

Fig. 41

It is important to pay specific attention to areas of contrast. Even during the planning process it was easy to see areas where the contrast would be strongest.

I made sure there was a lot of contrast between the front of the ship and the sky behind, and the same applies to the sail area (Fig.42).

Fig. 42

Fig. 42

Final Adjustments

I equalized the colors using Hue and Saturation. In this case I decreased Saturation to my taste.

After flattening the image I also used a Noise filter to finish the image. This is the final result (Fig.43).

Fig. 43

Fig. 43

Conclusion

I hope that this Making Of has been helpful. If you have any questions then please don't hesitate to get in touch with me.

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