I’m new to BA, here is my introduction where I was saying that I hope I will find some time to have some personal blender projects… Well, I’m trying right now !
As I asked in this topic, I’m doing a short WIP on the current WE Challenge.
The theme is Serendipity, which made me think about a 2014 movie I just saw, about the Enigma Machine, The Imitation Game, because the only way to find the code is to try random patterns and find it “by chance”. In addition, they could manage to solve the problem due to unexpected mistakes from the germans… etc…
So I decided to create a scene arround this. Maybe if I have time I will try to model a Alan Turing Bombe in the background. But for now, I’m focusing on the Enigma Machine itself.
The project is just started, but I’m going to try updating the WIP as much as possible.
Here is the current state :
You might think it’s weird to make a render so early, but I like to have a very quick render just after beginning the modeling, to have a global idea of where I’m going. Even if all the texturing and lighting part might change later… I’m not happy with the “crocodile like” bump texture on the black part… I’m will definitively find some better texturing later (see the images refs at the end)
Entry looking great so far! Though i’m a relative beginner i’ll let you know what I think.
-Ease down a bit on the bump or maybe tone the glossiness down as it seems a bit intense.
-The texture looks like it was a seamless texture repeated many times (which im sure it was), but to avoid that look I like to add a lot of surface imperfections (scratches, fingerprints etc.)
-Make you sure you get those details in there, im sure you were planning on it as this is just a WIP but yeah.
-Use filmic lighting. It might not change much for this scene but overall filmic lighting is amazing. Blender Guru has a video on it
I kinda sorta think that you should start very soon by repositioning the camera. Carefully consider some of the viewpoints that your colleagues used when they composed those reference shots. From such a sharp angle, lens-distortion is quite considerable and it’s rather difficult to make out the details of the various components of the machine.
The plugboard is probably the most visually-intricate part of the scene, followed by the keyboard and the lights, and most-unfortunately the topology of the thing somewhat gets in your way since the plugboard is "a small, interesting thing, mounted vertically," while the rest of it is “an equally interesting and larger thing, mounted horizontally and therefore receding away from the camera.”
You might therefore consider setting up two camera positions, so that you don’t have to compromise. Of course, many reference photographs did precisely that.
(P.S. Needless to say, the modeling is superb. I am happily “taking it as real.”)
