The ‘Still Life Project’

Students in Media Design School’s Graduate Diploma of Advanced 3D Productions are faced with a still life project early on in the course, where they need to firstly take a professional still life photograph in Media Design School’s production studio, and then recreate it using Autodesk Maya (and ZBrush or Mudbox) to look as close to the original photograph as possible.

The results can be breath-taking, with even Course Leader James Cunningham having trouble picking Real from Render.

“Some of the final renders are so accurate it can be quite difficult to tell which is the photograph and which is the digital recreation – being fooled just means the student’s work is exceptional, so I’m ok with that.”

So what skill does this teach the students? “Precision, attention to detail and real world likeness. Being able to create something that looks lifelike is a tough challenge and a mandatory skill in this industry.  Students had five weeks to create the work and were marked on their studio photography shoot, 3D recreation and ‘making of’ presentation.”

The steps taken:

Firstly, Advanced 3D tutor and experienced photographer Oliver Hilbert teaches students about the studio process, how to set up still-life and get the best out of the camera and other equipment – in this case using Media Design School’s Canon 1000D.

Students then shoot their still life and return to the classroom, using (among others) software Autodesk Maya and ZBrush (and more recently Mudbox) to create the model, spending five weeks on the project in total to get the final render as close to the photograph as possible.

The process demonstrates students’ abilities in applying lighting in CG as it would work in real life, and the results can be mean it’s difficult to spot the difference.

Advanced 3D student Kirsten Pretorius says “Being involved in a project that starts with a design realised - first photographically and then duplicating it in the 3D environment, opened a new appreciation and understanding of the method behind the process of our 3D artwork. It was a great first assignment that really set the benchmark for the rest of the year.”

Once finished, students are marked on their initial studio shoot, the 3D recreation itself and their ‘making of’ presentation before going on to a series of group production-based short film assignments.

Click here for more information on Media Design School and our 3D department.

01 » 3D Still Life - Jonathan Hagan - Media Design School

02 » The project starts with creating a highly professional still life photo in our studio. Lighting is crucial for this project.

03 » Render without the textures.
04 » Some of the finer details have to be redrawn in Adobe Illustrator.