Last week we completed another Italian Archviz Masterclass, and it was a breathtaking experience for everyone involved; we learned a lot, worked a lot (with excellent results), and had a wonderful summer-vibe time.
One of the questions we commonly get from our Italian students is, “Italians do Archviz better?”. We cannot generalize a thought topic, so we usually reply smiling with a challenging “No!” to see how they react. We can happily say they get motivated, as I have never seen before.
The project for this month was “The Twist Museum” by BIG, which needs no presentation. Students had to be challenged by a detailed natural environment, water shading, mountain creation, volumetrics effects, etc.
Besides an intensive use of iToosoft Forest Pack, we use Quadspinner Gaea to generate Height maps and diffuse maps for the entire landscape. It’s been super easy since now you can import 3d meshes and use one of the many colored satellite presets to get a realistic color for the ground and streets.
As needed in any public place, we had fun modeling and texturing a fire extinguisher, which probably no one used—still, an excellent excuse to see the entire workflow from references to 3dsmax to substance painter.
To get a realistic river, we experimented a bit, mixing procedural noises in a Chaosgroup Corona shader to simulate the differences in wind and water turbulence. We also used our acquired knowledge of Substance Designer to bend waves depending on the river shape and slow the flow close to the borders, like it happens in real life.
We are incredibly proud of the final output for many reasons. First, everyone worked autonomously most of the time – which means the new Masterclass lesson schedule works. Second, we had a nice mix of new ideas and copies from actual photos. Coming up with your own composition indeed needs some bravery, but using a real picture as a guideline is not easier. It forces you to understand what’s happening and why before you can correctly remake it.
We want to thank you guys, it was a fantastic month, and we can say that as you get motivated by us, you did the same to us. You have a bright future before you; stop overthinking and just do things.
To the next adventure!
SOA TEAM
ps. We love you Mario.
