A "Before & After" Photoshop Exercise

When a client asks, "Hey Sean, how quickly can you add an additional room to this kitchen?" I first ask, where does the room go? The clients reply, behind the door. So after a brief discussion a new room was added by way of 3D Modeling in 3ds Max and then composited in Photoshop. 

The idea was to have a small greenhouse close to the kitchen so fresh veggies and herbs can be grown and picked easily.

Original photo of kitchen interior.

Modified version of kitchen with green house added. 

Wireframe of 3d set extension.

Original file with a layer mask.

Ambient occlusion pass. 

Star Trail Photography

For the first time in 3 years I had 20+ hours to myself. My wife took the kids for an overnight weekend with the grandparents. Thanks honey! What did I do with my 20 hours? I quickly decided to take some pictures. I needed a place close but somewhere I had not been before. I also knew I wanted to venture out at night to try my hand at star trail photography.

After bouncing a few possible locations around, I decided I would head out to Hoover Dam. I really wanted to walk to the center of the pedestrian bridge and photograph the star trails crashing into the dam. I was however quickly informed that the bridge was closed at night to foot traffic as well as the Hoover Dam. Great, now what. I drove an hour for nothing!

After the kicking and screaming subsided, I decided to drive over the Hoover Dam to the Arizona side and hike. I parked on the side of the highway and hiked about 15 minutes and found a spot I thought would be good. I set the tripod up did a few test shots. I adjusted the camera accordingly and began my series of photos.

I used an app called TriggerTrap. I just plug my iPhone into my DSLR and let it do the rest. There are a ton of settings from timelapse to Sound sensor modes. I recommend it to everyone. 

After 350+ photos later, this is what I came up with. Lots of photo stacking in Adobe Photoshop. 

Below was my approximate location grabbed from Google Earth.

Squish Studio remade

Keeping my 3D rendering skills sharp is important. To do so, I decided this month to model and render the Squish Studio by Saunders Architecture.

3D Rendering of the Squish Studio during the day. 

3D Rendering of the Squish Studio at dusk.

Todd Saunders was commissioned to design a series of six artists’ studios on various Fogo Island locations. The organization is committed to preserving the Islanders’ traditions and aims at rejuvenating the island through the arts and culture.

The Fogo Island Squish Studio is located just outside the small town of Tilting on the eastern end of Fogo Island. See the link below to see the real thing. Totally awesome design work. 

http://www.saunders.no/work/item/173-fogo-island-squish-studio

Background images sourced from:

http://www.widescreen-wallpaper.eu

http://organicoptics.wordpress.com/

Single line drawing using code.

The program code loads an image and based on the image brightness and contrast it begins to draw a single line. The results below. 

Processing logo integration.

I have been using the visual coding program processing from processing.org and it has become a new favorite. When I have any free time I launch it and start coding. I am currently working on a series of photographs processed in using this program. Below I use my logo as an example of what is happening in the experimental photographic series. 

Voro Frag Script from scriptspot

Fracture geometry in 3ds max using  script.

I recently had to blow up the walls of a building and needed a script to help fracture the geometry so that when I use MassFX and a pbomb spacewarp, I would get a nice explosion. VoroFrag was the ticket. There are lots of scripts out there that do fracturing, but this one is FREE with lots of features. Tutorial below. 

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Animation using the free VoroFrag 2.0 fracture script.

Video of the massFX Fracture

Create a box and convert it to an Editable poly object.

Add the VoroFrag modifier. Turn on quick box and add the number of pieces you need it fractured into.

Check the option to use MultiThreading and check multi-color and pivot to center. Then click Detach all.  

Open up the MassFX tool bar. Right-Click on the main toolbar and select the MassFx Toolbar.

Select all the new fractured objects and assign a Dynamic Rigidbody

Now press play in the MassFx toolbar to simulate the fracture and the wall will fall apart. To add key frames to each object, click  bake all. 

Color Symmetry

Draw with the left and right mouse to create black and color. Press the "C" key to clear the canvas and create a new drawing. Created in processing.

3D creation accessible to everyone

You can find out more at the project’s Kickstarter page here.

Have you ever just wished you could lift your pen off the paper and see your drawing become a real three dimensional object? Well now you can!

3Doodler is the world’s first and only 3D Printing Pen. Using ABS plastic (the material used by many 3D printers), 3Doodler draws in the air or on surfaces. It’s compact and easy to use, and requires no software or computers. You just plug it into a power socket and can start drawing anything within minutes.

Oh, and it’s also the most affordable way to 3D print… by a looong way! With 3Doodler we’re making fun 3D creation accessible to everyone.

Free download of FloorGenerator.

Free download of FloorGenerator script for 3ds Max.

FloorGenerator is coded by Jerry Ylilammi

FloorGenerator is a script for 3dsmax which generates floor objects consisting of individual boards which can easily be textured using MultiTexture.

It’s a great tool if you’re doing architecture visualization and need to make floors that are NOT going to tile and that you can see up close without any pixelation.

-Create floors inside any closed 2D shape object

-Control width, length, gap size individually 

-Randomly rotate, offset and tilt boards 

-Interactive update to get instant feedback 

-Fetch settings, to work on an existing floor later on

-Assign textures randomly using MultiTexture Map

Forest Pack 4 Released

Introducing Forest Pack 4 Lite and Pro. With new render engines supported, and many new features. I have been using Forest pack 3 for a while now and it is so great. I switched from MulitScatter a little over a year ago and IToo's plugin has been awesome. It renders LOTS of objects quickly and the ability to cull out the objects from outside the camera view is a must with high poly models. The forest material and painting features are my favorite art of the plugin.

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Download Forest Pack Lite, the free version of the plugin and use it in your personal and commercial projects. 

If you are new to Forest, see the Getting Started guide for videos, tutorials and more help in your first steps using the software.

Free 3d Models for 3ds Max, Sketch-Up, AutoCad, and Revit

Free 3D Models from Herman Miller.

If your a Herman Miller fan like I am, you will be delighted to know most if not all of their chair designs are free for download on their website.

Chair One 4-Star Base from their 3d model library rendered in 3ds Max using VRAY.

Below are the direct links to each seating library.

AutoCAD

CAD Pack Symbol Library
Individual Products
Individual Typicals

Visit the CAD Pack Symbol Library to download symbols for all our products in 2D plan and 3D or individual products including seating, storage, desking, and tables.

If you’re looking for preconfigured workstations, search through individual typicals by workstation size, price, or application.

Revit Families and Typicals

Product Categories
Individual Families
Typicals project files

Download complete product category catalogs or individual product families, including seating, storage, desking, and tables.

Typicals project files include preconfigured workstation layouts grouped together.

3ds Max and SketchUp

3D Models by Product
Individual Typicals

Download 3ds Max or SketchUp files for individual products, including seating, storage, desking, and tables.

If you’re looking for preconfigured workstations to use with SketchUp, search through individual typicals by workstation, size, price, or application.

Architectural Photography of Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health

I recently took a trip to the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health to photograph the exterior. It was a great experience to see all the cutting edge technology and methods used to help Keep Memory Alive.

Architectural Photography

Keep Memory Alive (also known as KMA) was founded by Larry Ruvo, senior managing partner of Southern Wines and Spirits, in memory of his father, Lou Ruvo, a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease, together with his wife Camille, Mirage Resorts CEO Bobby Baldwin (who also lost his father to Alzheimer's Disease), and Bobby Baldwin's wife Donna. KMA supports the mission of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health and has held several star-studded galas, attended by celebrities and notables from around the world. It has become one of Las Vegas’ most important charity initiatives and a key participant in the nation fight against Alzheimer's disease. Since its inception, the event has raised more than $20 million towards achieving its goal – the realization of the Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health. Funds committed by such supporters as the Spector Family Foundation, the Roland and Terri Sturm Foundation, Steinberg Diagnostics, the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino and America Online will be utilized for the construction and operation of this incredible state-of-the-art facility. The Center is planned to become a national resource for the most current research and scientific information for the treatment of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington 's Diseases, and ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) as well as focusing on prevention, early detection and education.

Photograph vs Rendering

The Inspiration. This interior space calls to me. The way the daylight washes the interior surfaces is so great I had to attempt build it myself. 

My process:

• Create the 3d model
• Hand match 3d camera to photograph.
• Create and assign finishes
• Create a light source. In this case I used the vray sun and sky model.
• Render out the diffuse pass
• Render out an Ambient Occlusion pass
• Composite all layers in photoshop

All that's left to do is add the fastening hardware at the top of the circular element and it's complete.

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Childcare Facilities in Boulay / Paul Le Quernec

Details about the building. 

Architects: Paul Le Quernec

Location: 

Ferme des Bougeois, Charmont, France

Assistant Architects: 

Damla Oktay, Michel Grasso, Benjamin Ringeisen, Guillaume Jenny

Year: 

2012

Client:

Communauté de Communes du Pays Boulageois

Photographs:

 Courtesy of Paul Le Quernec

Interior Rendering Composite process

Interior Rendering in VRAY Render Element passes. 

• raw GI
• diffuse
• alpha
• volumetric light
• zdepth

Below is the rendering composited in photoshop. 

The order was as follows:

• volumetric light layer set to a screen blending mode.
• raw GI set to a multiply blending mode.
• diffuse layer set to normal.
• NOTE: the layer zdepth was used to control blur.

Final rendering after Photoshop post work.

VRAY lighting experiment.

I started an experiment today. I saw this image on tumblr and it struck me in the gut. I had to recreate it. At first I thought it was a 3d rendering, but the exif data says it's from a Phase One medium format camera. I spent two hours recreating it in the computer and doing a few lighting tests to match the photo. Below are my results. 

NOTE: I used 3ds max, vray, Photoshop and Lightroom to create the final image.

The original photograph and CG rendering below...

Final CG Rendering.

Why using RAW matters.

Why you should take photos in raw? infographicby lombokdesign.

HDR, Bracketed Exposure, and AEB?

In this quick tutorial I will explain what these three terms are and how I use them.

HDR stands for High Dynamic Range, and it is a technique in which you merge several differently exposed photographs together to create an image with a more complete dynamic range similar to what our human eye’s see. The first time I heard about HDR was from Paul Debevec at Siggraph in 2004. He had a great lecture on image based lighting and he showcased the Parthenon recreated from 3d scans. 

Bracketed Exposure is a term referring to a set or series of the same image each one taken at a different light stop, in short the first image will normally be dark (under exposed), the second will be "technically" spot on and the third shot will be bright (over exposed).

Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) is a camera setting in which it takes a series of photos all with different exposure values, all automated so you don’t have to manually make changes to get your set of Bracketed Exposures.

How to Set Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) on the Canon 7D

On the Canon 7D, which is my current DSLR...

1. Go into the menu, if you forget where the button is its still located on the back of the camera to the left of the screen.

2. Select the Exposure Compensation / Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) option.

3. Press the set button and using the small wheel, location on top of the camera, move the EV indicators apart until you have them at either side of the center pointing at number 2. This will give you an exposure value of -2, 0, +2 for you bracketed shots.

4. Press the set button to save the option, and then use the menu key to back out of the AEB menu.

Your camera is now setup to take a set of three shots, each one with a different exposure. Again, note that due to the limitation of the Canon 7D you can only take 3 auto bracketed shots at once.

5. Set your camera on a tripod and change the drive mode to continuous. Pre-focus and compose the shot. Using the self-timer, a remote or my choice an app like triggertrap, fire off your bracketed shots.

You can now simply load the shots into your chosen software package and create your HDR photos. I first bring them into Photomatix and then save it out as a 32 bit tiff. I then open the TIFF in Photoshop and use the camera raw settings to tweak the image.

IES Lights in Vray and Mental Ray,

1,000+ users from 30 countries a month can't be wrong. Wrong about what you ask...

• A FREE IES  library!

If you use IES lights in your visualizations, why not try the free library. Daniel Tal even references it in his upcoming book, Rendering in Sketch-up.

Daniel is an amazing resource as a landscape designer, SketchUp guru, author and teacher. Find Daniel's book on amazon this February. 

How To Shoot Tethered in Lightroom 3.x

UPDATE NOTE 1/8/13: Adobe is using camera RAW support as leverage to encourage people to keep up with Photoshop and Lightroom upgrades. After a new version is released, Camera RAW support for any new camera is not added to the previous versions of ACR

I have found that new versions of Lightroom will cause Photoshop to complain when you open a RAW file in a non-current version of Photoshop. Since Lightroom 4’s version of Adobe’s RAW processing is newer than the last ACR released for CS5, CS5 complains and won’t render the RAW as it is in Photoshop.
The only work-around is to export the RAW file in Lightroom as a TIFF. Then it can be opened in CS5.

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Adobe Lightroom allows users to shoot tethered and save the images directly into their Lightroom catalog. Users should know that this feature only works with newer DSLR cameras, and generally it only works with Canon and Nikon camera.

Step 1: The Ease of Tethered Shooting

Before this edition, users had to access the photos that they took with their camera via third-party providers. And, in the case of Nikon users, this meant that they had to buy Nikon's Camera Control Pro, which is expensive.

Now, with version 3.x, you can simply hook up your camera and start capturing the photos. Not only does it reduce the number of programs eating up memory on a computer, it reduces the number of steps that users have to worry about. The Tethered Capture feature allows you to directly communicate with camera, making the whole process much easier.

Step 2: How to Capture Photos in Lightroom

To use the Tethered Capture feature, follow the step outlined below:

Plug in your camera via USB to the computer. If necessary, users should turn on their camera and set it to the playback mode. Some cameras need to be in the playback mode for the computer to recognize it as an external device.

Now, open up Lightroom 3.x

Next, users should click on the File Tab and then scroll down to Tethered Capture. In the dropdown menu for Tethered Capture, users should click on Start Tethered Capture.

Once users click on Start Tethered Capture, a popup menu will appear, and it will be titled Tethered Capture Settings. In this dialog box, users can give their capture session a name. This should be unique to the shoot itself. Images are save as a DNG format.

Digital Negative (DNG) is an open lossless raw image format written by Adobe used for digital photography. It was launched on September 27, 2004.[1] The launch was accompanied by the first version of the DNG specification,[2] plus various products, including a free-of-charge DNG converter utility. All Adobe photo manipulation software (such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom) released since the launch supports DNG.[3]

Additional options include picking whether or not they would like to breakup photos by shots. They can also use a naming scheme, pick the output destination, add Metadata and add Keywords. Metadata and Keywords are important if you are planning on uploading the photos to the web. This way, the images are easily searchable. Also they are easily found within the Lightroom catalog when using keywords.

Once done, hit OK. Now, the camera control bar will appear, and it will allow you to see their aperture settings, ISO, shutter speed and white balance. As the images get captured, they will start showing up in your Library.

Let the camera download the images at its own pace. You can set the images capture to be processed in a certain way using a default preset or one you create. Once the camera starts downloading information, you will not be able to adjust any of the settings.  Once all photos have been captured, back the catalog up and have fun!

A Creative Manifesto for 2013

A Creative Manifesto for 2013 is from Richard Bernabe's blog which I regular. It's so great I had to re-post it. Link to it here :: http://goo.gl/fb/cKxNo

http://www.richardbernabe.com/

1. We create. Everyday. Not because we have to, but because we can’t help it. We empty ourselves because that’s what artists do.

2. We are brilliant at what we do, but what we do does not define us.

3. We understand that our vocation is bigger than our occupation. We’re on this earth to do more than earn a paycheck.

4. We are committed to growth. We do not tolerate stagnancy, because it’s the first sign of death.

5. We are committed to healthy creating. We recognize that to be prolific for a long time involves intentionality, choice, and discipline.

6. We know the value of what we make, and we refuse to prostitute ourselves to organizations. We make career decisions based upon who we are not what everyone else would do in our situation.

7. We are always looking for ideas. We are focused, curious, and passionate about life – because life is art.

8. We refuse to play the victim. We are proactive and responsible for our own creative health.

9. We are generous because we are free. We know that the goal is to act on the best idea, whether or not it’s our own. We build other people up, even when they don’t reciprocate.

10. We are committed to relationships. We recognize that healthy creating will come out of vibrant relationships.