Autor: sarah.molinari

For this project, I wanted to explore the usage of plants in Blender and I went into the project thinking that I will be using the GScatter addon. After a bit of working with it, I found out that this addon was way more complicated than just using the built-in features in Blender called Geometry Nodes.

I also wanted to create a day and night cycle animation and I also thought this would be very complicated by using light animation, but then I also found out that Blender has a built-in sun position animation addon, which creates the whole animation with a few settings.

Another thing I learned during this Project was, that the addons used in a Blender File are not saved to the .blend file, but need to be activated again on each PC before rendering. I made the mistake of not activating the addons before rendering and ending up with 18 animations with no day/night cycle. So as a reminder to everyone – Don´t forget to activate your addons!

To conclude, I found out that Blender has a lot of built-in addons and functions, for which I thought I would be using external addons or do it manually.

I started by using the After Effects template provided to create the animation. To organize the project, I made sub-compositions for each part of the animation. Then, I imported the PNG files needed to build the animations.

Each animation included six different camera renderings. This meant that each main composition contained six sub-compositions, one for each camera angle. After setting up all these elements, I rendered the animation to see how it looked.

When I reviewed the animation, I noticed it was too bright. To correct this, I used Premiere Pro to adjust the colors and make the animation look better. After applying these color corrections, I rendered the final version of the animation.

After the final setup of my cameras I went to the next step, which was setting up the right render properties. For the first preview images I rendered the animation with a low number samples (64). With this I could check if everything is set up right for the animation. The render engine I used was Cycles.

Fo the final animation I used 2048 samples. I rendered the animation in PNGs, which would be later be but together in After Effect. For each camera I used different resolutions, for the main one I used 1248x624px, for the side panels 104x312px and for the bottom panel 832x208px. Each rendering had 240 frames.

In total I had to make 18 different renders, for each camera set up one.

Since I knew the animation was going to be used on a stage, split over six screens, I created six different camera positions for each animation. I made three different animations, therefore I placed 18 different cameras.

The first animation should give an overview over the whole scene. So I set the main camera centered in the front of the scene. The bottom camera I placed at the bottom of the scene close to the plants to set the focus on these. The two left and two right cameras were placed to showcase the arcs of the building, giving depth to the animation.

The second animation was set to see the scene from the top. The main camera in this setting was placed on top of the figure. The bottom camera was placed to showcase the ceiling and plants from above. The outer left and right set the focus on the stairs, and the inner left and right to showcase the ceiling with plants.

The third animation was to show the top view from different close-up positions, to put the plants and pedestal into focus. The main camera was placed facing down on the pedestal to show the sky animation in the mirror texture of the pedestal. The bottom camera was placed facing down on the plants to show the shadow movement between them. The same was done with the two left and two right cameras., the inner ones showing the pedestal and the outer ones showing the plants.

The next step in the scene was to add a figure. I chose to use the default figure from Maxon due to its abstract shape, which added a unique element to the composition. After importing the figure into Blender, I adjusted its scale to fit into the scene.

With the figure in place, I proceeded to animate it. For the animation, I selected the „yawn“ motion from Maxon’s animation library, which provided a natural and fluid movement that added life to the figure. Integrating this animation into Blender, I carefully positioned the figure to create the illusion that it was floating.

Once the animation and positioning were finalized, I focused on the figure’s textures. I wanted a reflective and shiny appearance. To achieve this, I applied a shiny texture to the figure. This texture was designed to reflect light dynamically, particularly the sunlight, enhancing the realism and visual appeal of the animation.

I created the animation with the sun position add-on. Then I changed the color of the background from a simple color to Sky Texture in World Properties, setting up the sky environment. In my composition I changed my light to sun. In the sun position tab I selected my sun as the sun object and added a sky texture to the sky texture. I entered some world coordinates, to change the sun position and to simulate the sun movement in that region. Then I added a date and set it to June.

To animate the time, I went to frame one, set the time value to zero, and created a keyframe. Moving to the last frame, I set the time to 23.999 (essentially midnight), and created another keyframe.

To transition between day and night, I blended two sky textures. First, I duplicated the Sky Texture node and renamed them „Day“ and „Night.“ I added a Mix Shader and connected both sky textures. To simulate night, I set the sun elevation and rotation for the night sky texture to match the day sky texture using drivers.

To make the night sky more realistic, I adjusted the sun size to a smaller value, to resemble stars rather than a moon. Then, I set the altitude value for the night texture to a very high number, making it look like a night sky.

For the final step, I added stars to the night sky. I added another Mix Shader before the night sky texture and plugged in an Emission Shader. I used a Noise Texture and a Color Ramp to control the emission, adjusting the Noise Texture settings to create a starry effect. By adding a Mapping and Texture Coordinate node, I ensured the stars rotated realistically as the Earth spins within the universe.

I also adjusted the color management to high contrast, especially during the night, making the scene look more vibrant. For the final settings, I adjusted the background strength for the night sky, giving a more intense moonlight effect, while keeping the sun intensity lower to soften the shadows.

To enhance my scene, I created a plane with the help of the already existing floor model. I scaled the plane down so that it was fitting the middle of the room. I placed some plant models in my blender file. The plant files I got from GScatter.

Once I placed all my plant models in my blender file I added them all to one collection. With the Geometry Node Editor I created a new geometry node setup by first selecting the plane.

I added an Instance of Points and placed it between the Group Input and Output, I also added Join Geometry node to reconnect the original plane. Then I added a Collection Info node (where I selected the plant collection) which I connected to the Instance on Points node. There I adjusted the scale of the plants to fit the scene. With adding a Distribute points on Faces node I spread the plants randomly across the plane. With using Poison Disk I prevented the overlaping of plants. With adding Random Value node I assigned the randomising of the plant scales and rotations, to create a more natural look, and with using the Combine XYZ node I ensured that the plants rotate only on the Z axis.

With these steps, I created a dynamic and visually appealing arrangement of plants in my Project. These will help enrich the overall aesthetic and bring a touch of nature into the scene.

The next step was to craft a smooth concrete texture for my object in Blender.

I started by using the noise texture and object coordinates to start with the main texture of the concrete. By adjusting the scale, detail, and dimension of the noise texture, I achieved the desired foundational look.

To add more variety and detail, I introduced a voronoi texture. Mixing this with the noise texture through a Mix RGB node created a more complex and varied concrete surface.

Utilizing color ramps, I adjusted and refined the colors of the concrete material. This allowed me to craft an abstract look, adding a shade of pink to the overall appearance.

Imperfections and cracks were essential for realism. I used distorted voronoi textures, along with rolor ramps and mix RGB nodes, to simulate these features effectively.

The roughness of the material was managed by linking a color ramp to the roughness input of the shader. This setup provided precise control over the material’s shininess, enabling fine-tuning to achieve the perfect roughness level.

To enhance the depth and tactile quality of the concrete, I added bump nodes. By blending musgrave, noise, and voronoi textures, I simulated the appearance of bumps, imperfections, and small rocks embedded within the concrete.

Through these steps, I created a concrete material that I used for the project.

For the mirrors and the pedestal I created a basic mirror texture.

After the first sketches, I started modeling in blender. First, I created an object with the help of a cylinder, in which I cut a hole using the „boolean“ function. I also cut holes for the windows and mirrors using the boolean function. I made a “window” at the top of the object through which the light will pass.

I added a wall on the outside of the building. I filled every other window in the building with planes that will serve as mirrors. On the front side, I made stairs that lead to the sky.

Next I added a cylinder to the middle of the object, from which I made platform for the figure. This central element ties the whole model together and provides a centerpiece within this abstract environment.

The functions I used most often in modeling were boolean, array, and subdivision surface. I used these tools to shape and add details to the model, which brought my initial sketches to life.

For this year’s project, I wanted to make a 3D object/environment with plants. First, I started by looking for inspiration and making a moodboard, which I created with the help of Pinterest. There I looked for pictures that I thought were suitable for my project.

After the created moodboard, I started with the first sketches. I wanted to create a model of a “building” which has a platform in the middle on which a figure is floating. The platform should be surrounded by plants. Likewise, the 3D model would also be an animation, in which the figure moves and has a 24-hour cycle from sunrise to sunset.

The model should be abstract, it would contain a mirror to give the room more dimensions, and „windows“ that select a view into the unknown. For the project, I wanted to play with different textures and light. The project should also be suitable for showing on stage and serve as a background for DJs.