WIP: 3D Anvil

[VestanPance]

Great job Adam! Looks good.

A couple crits: The angle of the arm and the hammer just don't seem right. I would imagine to get the most out of a swing you would have them lined up with one another. I can't imagin getting much power out of an angled hand.

Also the top of the anvil should be all shiny from repeated abuse. You may want to also shine up the edges in a damaged sort of way as well as the top of the long pointy end of the anvil.

The block of wood seems to be too sharp. Being that old I would think it has seen it's share of abuse as well. Perhaps some nicks taken out here and there.

Love the wire shading on the arm...brilliant. And the fire/luminant/fire effects are top notch.

[AdamT]

Thanks Vestan. Very good observations, although I'm not sure about the hammer position. I'll have to grab a hammer and a mirror and see what's up. I'll probably add some motion blur to the arm anyway, so that should make it look more dynamic. I was planning to add some damage to the edges of the anvil and wood block, but I hadn't thought about the anvil's top-surface tex. I'll give that some attention too.

[squidinc]

this is looking really cool :thumbsup: apart from the things that vestan has already mentioned, I'm not sure the molten metal is as good as it could be, I think the colour needs to be a more orange and brighter ( see attached image )

[JoelOtron]

Blurring the arm is a great idea---was about to suggest it.


I might scale up the rust pattern on the anvil. Looks just a tad bit repetitive. I might also increase the bump value a bit more. Otherwise looks great!

Good luck on your site. Looking forward to seeing it.

[artemesia66]

great concept, adam.

a couple of comments:

love the denim texture.

vestan is right about the angle of the hammer--it's always going to be in line with the v of the hand. The wrist could be bent (although this would reduce the power of the hit), or you could bring the arm in from a different angle--it looks like he's standing up pretty straight right now, not really getting his back into it.

way more dirt. forges are filthy. on the floor, on his apron, on the wood, etc.

[Cactus Dan]

Howdy Adam,

I like it. I think you should show more of the wire frame transition. Compositionwise, it might be more dramatic if the camera was higher up looking down and the "3D" letters were laying flat on the top of the anvil.

As far as the rust goes, I've watched many a farrier bang out my horse's shoes (every eight weeks) and it's my opinion that an anvil that gets used alot doesn't have that much rust on it. Most of them are very dark (almost black) and any rusty spots seem to be very smooth almost just a brownish discoloration.

I really like the concept of a blacksmith banging out computer 3D.

Adios,
Cactus Dan

[kiwi]

Cool idea :thumbsup:



A good smooth metal surface like VP suggested is a great idea.Personally I would remove all of the rust,for the reason your site is 3D anvil,so you dont want the subconscious connotation of rust connected with your site,jmo.Also the anvil of the 3D anvil is what you want to be making the focus of the image,so make it well worn and clean,like its done a lot of good hard work,but not so its been left to rust and had no care.If the anvil was not part of your name for the site I would say ya make it rusty give it the works,but you would never see a C4D logo with rust on it,or Coke etc etc,does this make sense?,its kind of hard to explain.



Stu.

[JoelOtron]

After looking at this a bit more I noticed some things. I would suggest either toning down/darkening (or removing) the background. Its nice modelling and texturing, but i think it competes too much with the foreground.

As a 3d scene it works, but as a symbol of your site/business its too much I think. The anvil isnt strong enough of a graphic image/shape at present. Its almost the same value and hue as the background. Darkening the background will help it pop. The anvil should be the focus of the image I would think.

Also doing a full (subtle) wireframe transition as Cactus Dan says (from right to left) might emphasize the mesh better than just applying it to the glove. Consider trying a reverse-out wireframe as well rather than black---maybe the cliche green?

[AdamT]

Cool! Thanks for all the suggestions. I think you guys have hit on the basic conflict I've been having, which is the desire to do a cool scene on the one hand vs. the need for a promotional image. Seems like the majority, including my wife, think the image should be focused more on the iron/anvil, and I think that's right. Okay, back to the drawing board

But I think I'll end up doing two images: one for fun and one for profit. :)

More to come....

[kiwi]

A good idea would be to try and combine the anvil with something space age/technological to represent the CG side of things.The other problem being with the medieval sort of anvil idea it does not quite fit the area you are wanting to promote Adam.



What about a processor in the shape of an anvil? :),that has really good connotations as well.



Stu.

[JoelOtron]

Not sure why I'm posting this, but theres a kind of similarity in themes I think. Alec Syme (fluke studio) did this plastics company ident animation a while back. Its a great animation but also sells the company adn the end frame makes a great logo as well as being pretty clever.

Just a possible inspiration piece for you.

http://www.flukestudio.com/blufox.html

[AdamT]

Thanks Joel. I remember seeing that when Alec first posted it--very cool. I already have some ideas for animations that I'll probably keep in the gallery section.

Some day I'd really like to get that Realflow/wave, but it's a little pricey to buy without a particular job that calls for it.

[JIII]

maybe take the person completely out of it its kind of distracting if you ask me.

one idea for an image would be the hot metal being quenched in water so its got all the steam and the metal is fading from bright red/yello down to metalic.

Also if you are trying to achieve photorealism or close to it you will need to make the hot metal alot brighter I think. think of a welder and how bright that metal gets. Also the metal should not be so prefect it should have some bump imprefections to it not completely smooth.

[AdamT]

Also if you are trying to achieve photorealism or close to it you will need to make the hot metal alot brighter I think.
Not necessarily. I have a lot of reference pics and the metal is anywhere from a bit brighter to barely glowing--depending upon how long it's been out of the fire.

[That Adrian Guy]

This is really good!

Something is wrong with the lighting and I don't know what it is....

Maybe it needs to be brighter? sharper?

Keep it up!

[JIII]

now that I think about it adam you might be right am thinking of my dad's industrial copper furnaces which are operating at 3000 degrees and stuff.

so yeah you are right about the color, that said it would need some more glow or something.

make it affect its envoirnment more.

I saw your anvil in the HDRI thread I kinda like that one more.

[squidinc]

yeah, the textures current brightness does look as though it would glow a little, this thread got me interested so I started to mess around a little :D glowing 3d (http://www.squidinc3d.co.uk/cgremote/3d-furnace.jpg)

[AdamT]

Hey, that looks cool Squid! Mine actually does have a little glow on it, but I guess not enough.

[sunk]

damn nice!
drawing on a few years of amature blacksmithing ...... years ago ...

the top should NOT be "shiny" but smooth, a lot of carbon is getting mashed in there, so a dark flat color is closer.
generaly the horn runs in a straight line along the top.
tho the rust is cool a pitted surface isnt good, round shallow bumps would be the worst.
the iron would be grimy with oil and suck, back to dark metalic hues vs. steel grey.

a more realistic veiw would have it layed flat, the angle its held at with that hammer strike would twist it out of your hand, and warp the D, tho a strike along the bottom would have it rounding out the square stock.


Denim burns.

gotta bolt that thing down to a bit larger block, they hurt when they hit your toes, i have a pemanently mashed big toe from my anvil, been 10 years and it still grows nails funny.


most of all, remember they guy is burning a coal mixture, dipping hot iron in oil and water, dirt is your friend!

oh yeah again, denim burns.

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