Rustic Cabin
It all started when…
I decided to participate in Pixar’s Renderman Art Challenge this year, ‘The Rustic Cabin’. I plan on telling the story of an old writer (~55-60 years old) who has recently lost his wife and is mourning her death, and has been unable to write anything since then.
I intend to create an environment as photo-realistic as possible. Join me on my journey as I explore the features of Renderman 22 for Maya!
CAMERA
I decided to go forward with the camera that was provided with the scene, and I want to primarily focus on the chair, that the writer’s wife used to sit on and knit all day; and his desk. Camera is set to a focal length of 24.
LIGHT
MOOD REFERENCE
I chose this image as the reference for mood. I do not plan on matching the exact same lighting, but I like how this image portrays a feeling of dismal emptiness. This image caught my attention because of its analogous color palette and the contrast of values in the frame, with a clear focus and nicely directing the viewer’s eye. Source: Hidden Secrets by Bousure.
LIGHT TESTS AND COLOR PALETTE
Here are some of the initial lighting tests, testing out some ways to direct viewer’s eyes while maintaining focus on the chair and the desk.
While I stuck mostly with the analogous color palette, I tried making the chair green to see how does a complementary color palette affect the scene. I also played with volume to add atmosphere to the room and help direct focus.
LOOK DEVELOPMENT
I am primarily using Substance Designer for creating the texture maps. For look-development, I am using the Look Development Studio created by Fabio Rossi Sciedlarczyk provided by Pixar for Renderman 22.