Project #Cloud

Daily practices
Personal project 

The purpose of the practice is to capture the image's essence and not worry about the details. 

I want to share some of the workflow processes that went into creating this visualization.

Softwares used: 3ds Max, Coronarenderer, Photoshop

Step 1

Firstly, there was an idea in my head:
- Big chunky clouds
- Wind blowing the fields
- A walking path through vegetation
- A small residential building

I used a Vertexpaint modifier on the ground mesh to paint two different materials on the surface. This tool helped me to separate the path and the vegetation area materials from each other.

I used simple daylight, Corona sun, to light the scene. There was an idea to make a dynamic, evening, more yellowish-orange light setting, but I think that would add another focus point for the viewer and the whole idea of the clouds' domination might be lost to other interest areas.

The Cliff was imported from the Megascan library.

Step 2

Adding clouds and vegetation, the essence of the image.

At first, I wanted to use photoshop to add the clouds in the background, but as you know
clouds are very sensitive to light and when the light reaches the cloud, it bounces and scatters inside in all directions. Creating the same effect in photoshop would take more time and I think the outcome would not be as fitting as using the volumetric clouds inside 3ds max.

Using Volumetric clouds gave me a lot of control to adjust their tint, light scattering, emission, absorption, and shape. 

I used Itoo Forest Pack plugin to scatter the grains.

I used the bend by the object tool, under the effect panel of the Itoo Forest Pack to bend the plants. The plant will imitate the angle of the bending from the object. 

I did it to create the effect of wind blowing the grain field.

Step 3

Modeling and placing a small residential building.

The idea was to even more immerse the viewer into the scene. 

The architecture of the building became a tool of immersion. The terrace, which is located on the cliff, helps a person watch the great fields and clouds behind it.

A person standing on the terrace is not only to help the viewer understand the scale and the distance/depth of the image, but to put a meaningful storytelling as well - raising hands to welcome nature and it's beauty.

I used a simple Rule of Thirds composition guideline. The core of the image is placed in the left third of an image, leaving the other two-thirds more open.

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