The Brief:
“This is an open brief for you to create something using the Future Perfect logo as inspiration. Show us what you can do in the areas you are most skilled in, whether it's materials, modelling detail, characters, lighting effects, particle systems, augmented reality, environments, physics simulations or anything in-between.” - Buzzby Grey
As you can see here, I went for Environments and Lighting. I work closely with concept art, so I thought it would be suitable to incorporate the logo within what I do best. That and who doesn’t like neon signs?!?
Soon I will go into the steps and software used to make this artwork, but first, I have got to explain my inspiration behind this artwork. Recently Dying Light 2 came out, and I have been enjoying that game and the world presented in that game, so I had to make something inspired by the game or at least my take on the style of that world, so here it is.
I won’t lie; working with the logo was hard. I expected a slightly more universally usable logo, but it was a challenge, and I am always up for challenges. But here are the steps taken to make this artwork
Illustrator Work
So I was provided with a PNG to work with, but that wasn’t enough for me, so I re-traced the logo and saved the AI file.
Cinema4D Is Awesome
So I use Blender as my primary 3D software, but before that, I used Cinema4D, which is still an essential tool in my arsenal.
I used Cinema4D here because Blender is not the best to make text from SVG's. It takes ages to rework the mesh, which can be excruciating, So I saved the AI file I created and imported it into Cinema4D. Now, Cinema4d is excellent with this; as soon as you import the AI file, it sets it up as text and gives it all proper topology, this saved loads of time.
(Also, yeah, I have a student licence, I yoinked it off my mate who is studying, I don't have that much money for a monthly subscription)
And Now to Blender
Once I have finished importing in Cinema4D, I export in FBX and then Import into Blender. From here, I can now do My magic. I set up the materials and figured out how I will incorporate this logo into an artwork
Woah! that looks cool!
So I will admit, I forgot to take screenshots whilst I was working. I put on music and work.
Some things to note here, most of the assets here are of my making, apart from the building. I used Megascans to get a building. I just edited the red the original roofs had and replaced it with the green inside of Photoshop.
But apart from that, most of these are assets from previous works and assets made for this specific artwork (Which I will probably repurpose for other future works)
From this, I render three passes. The Main Render Pass, an Ambient Occlusion Pass for social media, and an Environment Pass
Main Render Pass.
Because Without it, I can’t make an excellent looking image. Also, it's where I do my fixes, Like that annoying window with the eye-catching reflection.
Ambient Occlusion Pass.
Mainly for comparison reasons, I plan to post this up on my Artstation and Instagram and my followers like seeing these.
Environment Pass.
To use with masking the clouds I use. long story short I use this image to select by highlights and then mask the clouds off like that, its quicker and very accurate.
Organisation is vital. As you can see on my layers, I like to keep things somewhat neat. There is loads to break down here, so I will start from the beginning.
I brought the Main Render Image (.tiff) into Photoshop and fixed up that front window that annoyed me, and I used a combination of the Stamp Tool and the Spot Healing Brush. It took about 12 layers because I wanted to be non-destructive with it, but in the end, it looked fantastic, along with fixing some other minor problems I saw in the render. Then I copied all the layers and merged them to do some colour work. I use Camera Raw Filter to refine the colours and make it look better (Because Camera Raw is awesome). And then I added the clouds. So, Firstly I grabbed some cloud textures and put them in place. They are black and white images, so I used the "Lighten" blend mode to remove the black and allow the whites to add over the blue sky. I then group them up and bring my Environment Pass into the document (Edited to greyscale and have overexposed whites). I then go to Select > Colour Range with the layer visible and selected, and I choose highlights in the settings and hit Ok. I then hit the mask button in the layers panel with the group selected. Having them in a group and that group being the one with the mask helps as now I can move and edit the clouds independently and in a non-destructive matter, allowing me to make edits in any way I wish.
I then use a nifty software called "Topaz Studio 2". this software allows me to give that slight impression look. I copy and merge the layers and take it through the plugin for photoshop. I then add the impression look to the artwork and tone it down a bit; there's no need to be obvious; all I need is that slight little effect. And for extra effect, I put a few dust effects around the image, to give that atmosphere of grass and plants pollinating and so on. I then add a bit of grain to the image (imperfections are perfections). and I then export the final image to what you see now
So, Thats it! I hope you like!
Programs used to make this artwork: Cinema4D, Blender, Photoshop, Illustrator, Topaz Studio 2
Hours spent on artwork: 36 Hours
Times my cat walked on my keyboard during project: 0