Catching up - Automotive renders

[SebasDesign]

Hi guys I'm back again after another break.
I feel like I MUST up my game this year since I've been rendering a bit less these past few months.
Anyway I thought I could get back in the mood for awesome renders (thanks also to Nils for the inspiration with his recent work) so I put together a couple of renders that could  act as sort of a warm up.
As I always say, give me your thoughts, your feedback is very welcome!

[SebasDesign]

oops, forgot to attach this one...

[Will Gibbons]

Looking good!

How are you hoping to 'up your render game'? Any ideas of what you're shooting for? Usually brainstorming and answering some tough questions can help. Answer the question, then ask 'but, why?', then answer that question, and ask 'why?'... they (talking heads) say answering '5 whys' will help you get at the core of what you're after. It can help to re-frame your goal and give you ideas on how to add depth to your work.

Sorry to get all conceptual here, but I thought it was an interesting statement "I feel like I MUST up my game this year'.

Best of luck!

[mattjgerard]

I was wondering the same thing, where do you go from here? These seem to me to be quite high quality images, worthy of any ad, magazine or print use already. But that's where I run out of steam, I can't see what to improve in these images. That's not to say I don't have an opinion on what I would change if I myself was doing them, but that doesn't make it right or wrong or means you should change anything.

If anything they look almost too crisp and perfect. Realistic surfaces always have imperfections, so maybe really start exploring that.  And like Will always says, references references references. Lots of reference images.

[SebasDesign]

Well it's interesting that you (and I) wonder where to go from here, because I think most of the time the ultimate goal is to create work so good that makes people wonder if what they are actually seeing is real or not or if this isn't the case, then create something that makes people not care that it doesn't look 100% real because the concept behind the render really gets to the person viewing it.

Obviously we know that the path to creating something so impressive is quite long and you need to practice as much as you can and that's why I feel that I need to really get back to rendering more often; actually 3D work in general. I want to make new assets, new 3D models, try new techniques (sorry if I typed that wrong) for modeling, rendering and also post production. I haven't created new models since at least 6 months and I've noticed that my renderings haven't improved much since. I admit I've been kind of lazy creating materials so I have to fix that, really get my mind together and focus on creating good projects.

That's pretty much how I want to up my game, not only in keyshot but also everything else.
Sorry for the honest rant lol

[mattjgerard]

Sounds like you have a good idea of what you want to do, and that is great. One thing that is easy to do is to become complacent with our skills. Good for you for looking for ways to push it.

I am in the middle of modeling a watch that I had for a while before it was removed from my home without my consent, its not an expensive watch, but i really liked it. I have some reference images that I am trying to build it from, and am heading for the same direction as you, to have a model that I created from scratch myself. I've never modeled from scratch before, and my job doesn't require it, but I know that being able to do that will make me a better asset for the company and secure my employment for a while at least

[crankin]

I think one way to get better is to constantly associate with people doing outstanding work. Forums, Facebook groups, look at car ads, then keep trying to make your renders look like the ones you admire. Get feedback from peers, as much as it hurts, then do it again. Keep studying and watching vids on how to do techniques. See in your mind the kind of renders you want to make and then work towards them.  You'll get there.

[Esben Oxholm]

I think most of the time the ultimate goal is to create work so good that makes people wonder if what they are actually seeing is real or not

Good one - I'll add that I think that the goal is that people shouldn't wonder at all. People should just see an awesome piece of work and appreciate it for what it is. I can see that as a 3d artist it's hard not to wonder about how an image/rendering is created, but I guess that most people don't really care as long as the artwork is interesting and believable

Your renderings look good. I would suggest you to study/experiment more with the composition. I think the first and last shots are fine, but the composition could be better. It's a tricky one as there is no correct answer to how it should look, but I think that, at least for those two shots, that you can improve them by trying out a few more options.

Cheers,