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Creating 3D Objects with Carrara Studio

By Mike Kaltschnee

 

Last time, I introduced the Eovia products and gave a quick introduction to 3D. This month, I¹ll walk you through the creation of a simple 3D object so you can get a feel for the process.

I¹ll create a padlock ­ a simple object but typical of an icon you¹d find on a Web site. It would be very hard to create this object using traditional tools and get the lighting right or be able to play with the perspective to get the right look you want.

After starting Cararra, I add a cylinder to my work area. I then scale one side of the cylinder to make it more like the body of a padlock. I want it to look like brass, so I drag and drop a yellow metallic color onto the cylinder (figure 1).

I add another object, a torus (looks like a skinny donut) to the work area by dragging it to the work area. I want this to look like steel, so I drag and drop an aluminum color onto the torus.

I want to join the two objects together to create the simple padlock shape, so I simply drag the torus on top of the cylinder. Viola! A very simple padlock, and it didn¹t take long to create.

Now that I¹ve created a wireframe model, I want to light my scene using the provided lighting tools. I drag and drop a light, rotate the light to face the object and I¹m almost done (figure 2).

I want to add a background, to show the shadow of the object (and show off the lighting). I drag and drop a background.

I then want to "render" the scene, so I hit the render button and wait as it draws my scene (figure 3).

I can then export the rendered scene to an image file, such as JPG and use that, or even edit the file in PhotoShop.

Believe it or not, this is how they created Jurassic Park and even the recent Pixar movie "Finding Nemo."

This example is just the beginning of what you can do with Carrara Studio. This powerful program enables you to create animations, visual effects like fire, adjust camera and lighting in amazing ways, and much more.

I can highly recommend the Eovia family of graphics products (www.Eovia.com) if you¹re interested in creating your own digital works.


Mike is a DACS member who loves playing with new software.

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