MODELING

For this assignment, I started by looking up reference images for Swiss Army pocket knives. Once I found my reference images, I began modeling the knives and case. I then transitioned into texturing using (e.g. steel, metal) via Maya and Photoshop to make its appearance similar to its real-life counterpart, and then did shading and lighting on the knife via Maya on top of a wooden texture to make it look as photorealistic as possible. To enhance the scene further, I also looked up reference images of still life compositions. I did the same pipeline of modeling, shading, lighting, and texturing to create the surrounding still life objects The end result was a still life composition placed on a wooden surface.

For this assignment, I started by looking up references of cuckoo clocks and researching on the story of The Nutcracker, since this cuckoo clock model had to portray a narrative of my choosing. I then began modeling the different parts of the cuckoo clock, such as the character models, weights, and tower. I then transitioned into texturing the clock with snow, bricks, trees, and clock via Maya and Photoshop to help create the wintery Christmas vibes I intended to showcase. I also did shading and lighting on the clock and characters to enhance the context and a log cabin aesthetic (what vibes or mood, e.g. serene, spooky). With that, I was able to make the whole cuckoo clock look as photorealistic as possible, thus creating the establishing render.