Mirn’s Book of Renders

[Michael Mirn]

@drgnclw

Thanks! I like it too. Even with the fact that this is not a 100% replica and you can’t build it up from that visualization (that was the plan).

[Keith]

Nice! I’m looking forward to seeing this come to life 👍

[Michael Mirn]

Step 1:

Fortunately, I wasn’t able to find a solid 1440s press so I’ll try to model it as close to the original as possible but with numerous interpretations and “artistic freedoms”.
For the instance: it feels right to me to give that press a descent standing place. It looks almost like a temple entrance or a sacred monument and requires some fundamental base to be placed upon. These first books were like relics after all.

Plus here is a good one to dive deep into the history of that printing process:

[spikeyxxx]

OMG! It’s Stephen Fry from “A bit of Fry and Laurie”!

At first when I saw the length of this video I thought: that’s a tad long, but now…

I’ll watch it tomorrow morning with some coffee and cookies;)

[Michael Mirn]

Step 2:

I have a feeling that this model is more historical than artistic)
Well, sometimes you have to do plain work.

[spikeyxxx]

You will have to learn procedural shading in Blender for this one, with all those wooden parts (wood is 3 dimensional and not just a surface, you won’t be able to use image textures for that…think of the wooden ‘screw’ for instance…)..

But great project! Looking forward to seeing your progress!

[Michael Mirn]

Well, I don’t use image textures. I use SP ).
I tried to do some procedural surfaces in Blender too and I feel that I am getting there (pretty slowly I have to add). But it is a question of quality of life. It is so convenient to create all the textures I need in SP. I almost force myself to do that in Blender.

Thanks, @spikeyxxx I like that series too. Gonna do the first atomic bomb next, the Little Boy, the one that was dropped on Hiroshima .
It is going to be a good contrast — that print press and an atomic bomb. An explosion of wisdom and knowledge + an explosion of cruelty and literally hell. Both done by human kind.

[spikeyxxx]

Did I misunderstand how SP works? I thought it created maps (image textures). It creates them procedurally, but they are still 2D textures in the end. Or can you, without unwrapping, directly texture your model with SP?

Edit: Sorry I was thinking about Substance Designer…But still can you paint without unwrapping?

[Michael Mirn]

You have to unwrap, yes.
But it is ok with me cause I can export my model to wherever I want with textured maps of all kinds I need. I don’t want to create a model just for the fancy screenshot via f12, I think it is kinda useless and locked within the program. Plus it is a good practice. For the instance: there are 64 textures in Reitwagen and it was really good to play with them.

I wish there were more tightly packed courses that cover the whole process of creating an asset, not just the initial stage.
Something like the Chest one + various complexity. I know that UVs might seem boring and dull but that’s a part of the drill.

[spikeyxxx]

What I meant is that when you unwrap, you get 2 dimensional textures and this would not be doable (this specifically applies to wood):

But maybe this is possible with SP?

[spikeyxxx]

As for portability, you could texture it using a procedural shader and then bake that into textures…

[Michael Mirn]

Thanks, @spikeyxxx 

For some reason I just avoid Blender texturing. I don’t know why. I force myself into it but nothing happens. Maybe I just block it like some bad memories xD
But I really love sculpting / modeling and animating tools.

As for the model — I hope that everything would turn out all right eventually) But I’ll keep an eye on these naughty woods.

[spikeyxxx]

Yes, the main thing is you get a satisfying result, whatever software or method you use!

[Keith]

I had chance to watch that Stephen Fry film earlier today – that was interesting to see the craftsman build it using the old fashioned tools! Big respect to how he chiseled the thread on the spindle, he must be a patient guy I reckon.  🙂

[Michael Mirn]

Step 3: it’s almost done. Have to add these ink-pads and some letters for the set.
Can’t wait for the texturing part. The model has wood, metal, ink, paper, rust + so many scratches and spots.

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