3dvisualisationsydney.com.au

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3dvisualisationsydney — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 23:27:20 +0000

From Concept to Reality

3dvisualisationsydney — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 21:19:06 +0000

Our job, on a lot of the projects we do, is to take a clients concept or idea or sometimes take our own concept or idea and create an image/animation that brings that product to life and into reality.

On occasion I get to see the finished product which is great… but this can sometimes take a number of years.
It’s interesting to see just how close to the mark we are able to get with our 3d work. Now, as with most design projects there are changes and alterations along the way. This can happen for a number of reasons, a couple of the main ones being budget (materials or initial design are too expensive, or outside of the clients budget, to produce) and function (certain elements might work in theory but sometimes just aren’t going to work in reality).

Below is an image I did for a project some time ago, next to it is a photo of the completed apartment building. I must say, I’m very happy with how it turned out. I mean, when comparing the look of the 3d render with the final building.

Here is another project. This one went through a few changes from concept to the final build but overall looks very similar. There were a number of client changes because of branding guidelines and a couple aesthetic changes too.

3D Visualisation & Rendering Explained…It’s like Baking a Cake!

3dvisualisationsydney — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 01:00:04 +0000

”3D visualisation and rendering is the computer-based graphical process of converting 3D wireframe models into 2D images with photorealistic effects.” Which sounds very technical and clever……don’t get me wrong, it’s both of those things and much more. But if you didn’t understand any of that, maybe this bare bones explanation might help… it’s like a sketch, but taken to a whole other level by using computers instead of a pencil!

You could look at the steps to creating 3D visualisation, or 3D graphics in general, as the same as baking a cake…The ‘rendering’ part of the process is almost the final step.

To bake a cake you begin by mixing all the ingredients for your cake together in a bowl, putting them in the oven to bake, then taking the cake out of the oven. You still have to decorate it but you have the hardest part done, you have your cake.
So, your 3D models and other elements are the ingredients which produce a prepared scene or the bowl which the ingredients are in, the oven is your rendering engine (the piece of software that calculates all the hard physics to bring the image to life) and the cake is your image or render that is produced out the other end. The next step is to decorate your cake which is where our render (cake) is taken into an editing program, like Photoshop or something similar, and post production is done, the finessing of the images colours and details.

There are a number of different techniques and methods of rendering but I’m going for the simple explanation here so I won’t confuse things by talking about those. The rendering process (baking the cake, if you will) can take from seconds to a number of days for a single image or frame.

Most technologies these days are in a constant state of change and development, both are making the process simpler and quicker. 3D visualisation and the rendering process are no different, always working to push the boundaries and cross the worlds of reality and creativity to achieve images of outstanding photo-real quality.

So, if you want a great looking cake you would find a great Chef and you would expect to pay a bit more for their expertise and quality of the fantastic final product you’ll get, well the same goes for your 3D visualisation. It might be a bit of a cliche but I’ll say it anyway, ‘you get what you pay for’.

I hope this little metaphor has helped you to understand the process a little better. It’s not a one click process like a lot of people think, even though I have broken it down to it’s simplest steps here. There is a lot more involved in producing a still render and even more with producing an animation.

I have explained the process in another post ’6 Steps to 3D Projects at monkey3media’ if you want to understand how things work when we are working together on your project.

L’Oréal Paris Infallible Brush

3dvisualisationsydney — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 04:40:35 +0000

It’s a great feeling seeing your work published, talked about or just out in the public eye. Sometimes you have to wait quite some time for it to be released. But when it does, the wait is all worth it!

We were asked by a marketing company to do some animation for a new product that L’Oréal Paris was about to release, the ‘Infallible Brush’. The project was actually picked up half way through, after another company had apparently ‘dropped the ball’ and decided they either couldn’t or didn’t want to finish the job.

The animation was already signed off by the client but the models and scenes we received had to be reworked to fit into our pipeline and the software we use.

Here is the link to the L’Oréal Paris website with the animation, ‘Infallible technology in 3D’. Below are a few screen-shots of the website (just in case the site is down/gone) and a video of the animation we completed.

L’Oreal Paris Infallible Brush Collection

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L’Oreal Paris Infallible Brush Collection

3dvisualisationsydney — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 04:00:45 +0000

4 Steps To Visualise Your Ideas…In Less Than 48 Hours

3dvisualisationsydney — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 06:13:45 +0000

The saying ‘A picture paints a thousand words’ is very true, so in order to get your ideas across to your audience it just makes sense to create the best possible picture you can. If you can’t… then there are four easy steps to have it done for you.

Get your idea as vivid in your mind as possible

Put your idea on paper with words and sketches

Share it with a Visualisation Specialist… I know one!

The Visualisation Specialist will digitally create your idea

Here at monkey3media, we specialise in bringing your ideas into a virtual reality and sharing them in a realistic, compelling, and cost effective way. We get excited about new ideas and that’s why we love to present and demonstrate our skills and talents to clients, so they can understand how we can help them.

Our team are passionate about what they do and have over 15 years in creative industries delivering eye-catching visuals using different mediums that ‘wow’ onlookers. The last 7yrs have been focused on 3d visualisation, creating images and animation for industries like architecture, interior design, design manufacture, point of sale and product producing companies.

“Working with monkey3media has allowed Thinking Ergonomix to get a professional standard of renders in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost, especially compared to the alternative option of setting up a photo shoot with the costs of studio hire, photographers, post production work etc……

……..We were very satisfied with the finished quality and the time taken to do the work, and the more we work with him and the better he understands our company and our products, the better the finished result is looking.

Getting Warwick to prepare professional product images for us means that we can show our customers multiple versions and options with our product range……. In a marketing sense it allows our clients to better visualise the products they are interested in which is a valuable selling tool.”- Matt Cramsie | Industrial Designer

How would you like to have your ideas brought to life in a photorealistic and unique way in only 48 hours? Be able to deliver your ideas the way you intended, how you saw them in your mind?

Here at monkey3media that’s exactly what we offer. For a short time we are taking on select new clients that have ideas and a need to share them and that can benefit from our specialised unique talents and personalised services.

Don’t present your ideas with chicken scribble sketches (that’s so 1985). Act now to save thousands of dollars that you would normally spend on studio photography and gain a competitive advantage by using new technologies and techniques like 3d visualisation.

Call now on 02 9620 9809, and speak with the ‘Head Monkey’ of the outfit or contact us here, while we still have appointments available.

Don’t forget to ask how we can save you money and set you apart from your competition!

Warwick Hays | monkey3media

6 Steps to 3D Projects at monkey3media

3dvisualisationsydney — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 18:07:26 +0000

There is a lot of work that goes into producing 3D imagery and animation. Scenes can take days, weeks or even months to prepare and setup ready to start producing even the most basic of 3D imagery/renders. Which is why it is vital to have a process in place to make sure a project is continually moving along and unnecessary work isn’t being done because of miscommunication.

This process is also part of the reason I can meet tight deadlines and produce the high quality images and animation that I do.

Although every project is unique I tend to place projects into these categories… Architectural Visualisation, Product Visualisation and general 3D Illustration and graphics. But no matter what category the project is in, each has a very similar process. And it’s good for all those involved to know what that process is, especially the client!

So, I thought it would be a good idea to break the process I use down into 6 steps for current clients and any potential or future clients to be able to see and understand my workflow. Why 6? Well it just worked out that way!

STEP 01 – Initial Meeting/Project Discussion

I say discussion because some of my clients I have never met face to face, although I try to, sometimes it’s a little tricky when they are on the other side of the country or planet. This process, and the internet, enable me to be able to work ‘remotely’ so to speak.

In this meeting I will ask for information about the project so as to get an understanding of the size and scope that will be covered. Then finally, I ask the client what THEY need from me. Sure, I will offer my ideas and maybe alternatives but there are a lot of ‘whizz, bang, wow’ things (all technical terms, haha) that I can do but without an understanding of what a client wants, it’s pointless offering the ‘Avatar’ version of their project when all they wanted and could afford was the ‘Toy Story’ version.

Then it’s a matter of getting as much information as possible on the project. Things like concepts, technical drawings, materials/finishes, the more detail provided the more detail can go into your 3D imagery or animation.

For the examples below I’m using images from an Architectural Visualisation project I did, but like I have said, the process applies to Product Visualisation and most other 3D Illustration work I do.

STEP 02 – Basic 3D Model

Some clients, especially if this is their first time working with a 3D Studio, start to panic a little when they see the first ‘test’ renders of their project. They aren’t the prettiest, basic flat gray finishes without any substantial lighting. There is no real detail at this point, just the bare bones.

These ‘test’ renders are to make sure I’m heading in the right direction and to get some of the basics signed off without the sometimes overwhelming detail that is to come in the next steps. At this point we want to make sure the camera view is right or camera path of an animation moves the way we want (so I only add detail to the areas that will be seen) and key elements of the design are as the client thought they should be. It’s surprising just how different something can look in 3D as opposed to the initial 2D plan and elevations or concept sketch.

Client feedback is key to getting things done quickly and correctly throughout this whole process, so being able to isolate the focus on particular elements of the 3D imagery as we move along can help to avoid confusion or even missing those little things because there is too much to look at all at once.

STEP 03 – Adding the Lighting and Finishes

So far so good, now we can start adding in some of the detail.

Lighting is very important, whether it’s a product in a softly lit studio, an interior with the sun streaming in or even a moonlit night scene, the right lighting can bring an image or animation to life, so it’s important to get it right from the start.

At this point I’ll also start texturing the main elements of the scene, adding the right finishes to the walls, the carpet with the proposed pattern or even the fire engine red car paint to the concept product. I’ll also look at adding a few larger items of detail eg. large furniture or cars etc.

Again client feedback comes in and once I get the ‘thumbs up’ I move onto the next step…

STEP 04 – The Finer Details

Now that the project is coming to life and the client can see they aren’t going to be getting a gray image with box furniture, like in Step 01, for their final product. I can now start adding in some of those things that make the 3D imagery/animation come to life… the clutter!

Sure I could produce a product that looks near perfect but that’s not how things are in real life, in order to make something look real I need to make the scene look lived in and less sterile (unless of course that’s what the client wants), which means adding in the clutter or finer details. Those things that are always there but most of the time we don’t notice them (or is that just a guy thing?) things like books on shelves, food on a bench, plants and trees and sometimes even those little flaws or details in furniture like creases or scratches. Nothing too drastic so your product looks like it has had a family of 12 living in it or it’s been run over in the driveway half a dozen times but just enough to look, well, realistic.

Once again client feedback at this point will be focused on these new details that I’ve added because everything else was given the ‘OK’ in the previous steps.

STEP 05 – Final Product and Post Production

On the home stretch now.

Depending on the final output, this part can take quite a while. To give you an idea, a project that needs an image for basic print like a magazine or brochure could take anywhere from 40mins – 4 hours for the computers to do their thing and render out the image (depending on the detail in the scene). Then a render that needs to be printed larger, like one I did recently for a wall mural in a media room, can take anywhere from 10-24 hours or more.

For an animation it’s a little different, I try to keep the time per frame fairly low (since an animation is simply a sequence of images played one after another at about 25 frames per second). I have never had a client who has had the time for their project to give this final step 2 months to produce the final animation. (Here is the rough calculation: 1 min animation is 1500 frames: render time at say 60mins per frame would be 62.5 days of rendering 24/7) Of course if the budget is there, the scene can be sent to a Render Farm and be completed in a fraction of the time. But in most cases we are all watching the dollar in our projects right?!

So keeping the frame times down will give a realistic time for the project to be completed. Once I start this stage I can’t make any other changes without have to stop and start all over again, you could imagine watching your final product and having elements magically turning into something else because it was changed half way through the rendering process.

Now as good as the 3D software is that I use, it doesn’t always give me the final look I’m after. So instead of spending hours trying to tweak and test I’ll take the image or animation and make those changes in post production software like Photoshop or Fusion for example. That’s where I can give it the finesse and the unique look that makes the project stand out and be noticed.

STEP 06 – It’s all over, until next time…

Then comes delivery of the project. At this point my fingers are crossed that the client is happy with everything I have done (track record so far has no complaints and very happy clients!) and I like to have a quick chat about the project and how I felt it went and how they felt it went. Just to make sure future projects run smoothly and any hiccups that may have happened along the way don’t happen again.

So that is how I like to run my projects and so far it’s working very well. I take feedback from clients on the process and I’m always on the look out for tools and processes that can make it better.
I hope this has helped with your understanding of my workflow and the 3D process in general.

Feel free to leave you thoughts or ideas to help make the process better.
Or better yet, if you have a project coming up that you think could use my help please get in touch!

My Encounter with Syd Mead | Visual Futurist

3dvisualisationsydney — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 06:41:37 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to attend a keynote presented by Syd Mead, visual futurist and a very inspiring gentleman. If you haven’t heard of him before I know you will have come across some of the work he has worked on. He is a legend in the movie industry and as I found out on the night he has had his finger in many other industries where he has spun his magic and delivered his vision.

The night was very inspiring and insightful, not just from hearing Syd Mead talk but also from the discussion and Q&A panel after where three other visionaries joined in to offer their views on the many areas of the industry. Here is a bit of information about the members of the panel…

Syd Mead – Futurist and Concept Designer. His influence can be seen in such movies as Bladerunner and Tron as well has having influenced the designs of cars and buildings during his 55 year career. Syd has helped to shape the future and influenced generations of designers.

Rob Coleman – Animation Director. He worked for over a decade with George Lucas and was Animation Director on the Star Wars Prequel. He has been recognised for his work in animating Yoda and is currently working at Dr. D with George Miller on HappyFeet 2.

Grant Freckelton – Visual Effects Art Director. His visions have helped shape movies such as 300, Matrix Reloaded and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and he works for Animal Logic – one of Australia’s leading Design, Visual Effects and Animation companies.

Jason Bath – Executive Producer/Founder – FUEL VFX. He has overseen visual effects production on over 20 films at Fuel, most recently completing work for Marvel Studios on Iron Man 2. Prior to working in post production Jason worked for 6 years in the production departments of both large and small feature films including Babe 2 and Dark City.

I must admit that after this encounter with Syd Mead and the other visionaries I have a renewed fire in my belly for my own design work as well the work I’m offering to my clients.

Here is a bit more information about Syd Mead, a man who has altered the way we picture the future and inspired generations of designers.
Syd Mead’s career has spanned more than half a century. His work has been seen in such movies as:

Bladerunner
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
TRON
2010
Short Circuit
Aliens
Time Cop
Johnny Mnemonic
Mission Impossible-3
He has also influenced motor vehicle designs working with companies such as Ford and Chrysler, building designs through work with companies such as United States Steel and Intercontinental Hotels. He also developed a close working relationship with a number of major Japanese corporate clients, including: Sony, Minolta, Dentsu, Dyflex, Tiger, Seibu, Mitsukoshi, Bandai, NHK and Honda, influencing toys, electronics and anime including designs for two Japanese toy icons, “The New Yamato” and all eight robot characters in the new Turn-A Gundam mobile suite series which were also seen as characters in Television shows.