making-of
# 01
Terminal 4 / Paris-CDG Airport
Accelerated workflow
The image represents a proposal for the future terminal 4 of Roissy CDG airport. It was produced using 3DS Max, Corona Renderer and Photoshop.
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Architectural project and imaging:
Arthur Neveu
Model :
Composition and atmosphere
Before starting an image, it is important to know where you are going. Personally, I like to proceed with references that help me draw up a first mental picture and define a idea of atmosphere / framing of my project. This allows you to know from the start the level of detail needed. In the case of this image, I wanted to show the silhouette of the project from the southern runways of the airport. Several references have inspired me, of which the main one is:
The scale of representation of the project allows me at this moment to conclude that a fairly basic level of detail of the modeling is sufficient.
Modelization
So I start by placing the elevation and the structure drawing in the 3ds max viewport, to scale of course, then I draw splines. These will serve as my attachment points for the roof and for the structural elements (beams and columns):
Once these splines have been drawn, it is very easy to convert them to a volume with a rectangular profile.
I create then a simple edit poly and extrude the edges by fitting the points of the polygons on my base splines. Once finished, a turbosmooth modifier smooths the whole thing out. It is not necessary to enter a higher level of detail for this image.
Camera rollback
We can see here that the retreat of the camera greatly changes the perception of shapes. A close camera emphasizes the differences and emphasizes the foreground, while a far camera tends to unify and flatten. Here, I chose a close camera to keep the tip of the cover facing the sky.
Once the volumes have been summarily mounted, it is already interesting to place a camera and a sun to adjust the recoil, the focal length and the general framing. (See section " Global composition " at the end). We can then place an HDRI to start work on the lighting. Some graphic designers like to clearly dissociate each step by completely completing the modeling before starting this phase. Personally, I prefer to spread the ripening of the lighing over the entire workflow.
Rarely does an HDRI immediately render as desired. Generally, I rely on three main parameters to adjust the rendering:
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The outpout amount of the bitmap
The gamma with a correct color.
The shade with a correct color and / or a composite map
Following this step, I wanted the interior light to have more impact on the context and for the project to shine on what surrounds it (yellow areas in the illustration).
It was therefore necessary to locally add two rectangular sources.
Snow material
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The base material comes from Megascan, but I have greatly simplified it to keep only the diffuse , glossiness and bump . Contrary to what one might think, snow is a very easy material to simulate, as it is mainly white and not very reflective. For the foreground, I applied it to a subdivided surface and modified by a modifier noise (here in green) to create randomness and hide repetitions. This noise relief is not necessary elsewhere than in the foreground.
Track material
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The base texture is from textures.com. It is initially a simple road for cars. The bitmap is broken down into a few channels, then the entire material is mixed with that of the snow, by means of a " blend material From 3ds Max.
Basic materials
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All other materials in the scene are very basic and vary around only three parameters : Solid color of diffuse, reflect and glossiness.
Farming
Arrangement of objects in the scene :
I went through a very rough sketch on a screenshot of the current rendering.
The objects come from the Evermotion paid libraries. Many of them are models normally used for train stations, but at this distance, you can't tell the difference. Note also that the level of detail of these objects was not necessary either. I could very well have used simpler objects from Sketchup's 3D Wharehouse for example, but the advantage of Evermotion is of course that the models are ready to render.
Background
There are two types of methods for a background: 3D modeling or 2D integration. In this image it is a mixture of the two, since the background is a jpeg image converted to a Corona material and inserted on a plane in 3DS Max.
Five channels are used : Diffuse, Refl color, Refl gloss, Opacity and Self illumination. With this method, we save a lot of time spent in Photoshop adjusting the light and tints, since the image fits into the overall lighting of the scene. For the creation of the material in question, I started with a simple royalty-free Jpeg found on Google which I then took over in PS to create different versions:
Reminders on material channels :
Diffuse : Corresponds to the colors and the basic definition of the material.
Opacity : Corresponds to transparency. White = Opaque and Black = Invisible
Reflect : Corresponds to the level of reflection. White = 100% and Black = 0%
Reflect gloss : Corresponds to the shine. White = smooth and shiny ; Black = rough
Self Illumination : Light emission, intensity and color.
This integration method blends the background into the image as it will receive the same light and reflections as the rest of the scene. There is no need to spend too much time on the details of this material, especially since it will be partially obscured by fog.
Post Production
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The effects of snow and wind come from screenshots of typical animations " VFX Which you can find on platforms such as footagecrate.com. The advantage of these animations is that you can extract images from chosen moments. As the background is black, it is very easy to pass them in Photoshop by applying a blend mode like " screen " Where " soft light ".
Global composition
The subject of composition is still the subject of discussion and debate, but there is no one-size-fits-all answer and it's all about taking a stand. Personally, I find it often interesting to use a vertical format for a horizontal building and vice versa. So I found it interesting for this image to talk about verticality. I finally settled on a square format that frees up space for expression for the sky and the ground. By centering the image on the " cost key "Structural of the project, the building seems slightly" sitting down At the bottom of the image, freeing up more room in the sky where there is an area of deliberate over-lighting.
See you soon for other making-of
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Arthur Neveu