Bertrand Benoit (BBB3)

**bakbek** · 12-16-2009, 11:44 AM

Impressive indeed!

I like the direction you are taking very much. Here is another reference you might find useful, I happened to post it in my inspiration section not long ago - The SHIFT Cottage.

I know it's still in eraly stage but I think it could be better if take the camera back or just widen the image to panorama proportion telling us the sory about the site (Lake, Seaside) a little more... Perhaps showing some activity on the waters or a connection from the house down to a private isolated beach patch.

Looking forward for your progress on this one!

**Advertisement** · 12-16-2009 11:44 AM

**BBB3** · 12-16-2009, 12:13 PM

Thanks Ronen,
This is a great reference. It will be very useful too when I get started with the interior. Yes, the POV is not final, but it will something like that. I'm using it as a guide for the exterior pics as to what must be modelled and what not. I can make it broader, and probably will - but it's a balancing act as the house must remain the main focus.
I'm also thinking of a stairway to the water and a small pier. It's the kind of thing that could look awkward if not done well, though, so I will experiment with a few designs before deciding if it works or not.

**tricky** · 12-16-2009, 12:44 PM

You've produced an amazing amount of work in such a short time - I'm stunned. The rocks are looking really good, and I like the angles you've used for the grain to really show how nature has moulded the land with volcanic activity and earthquakes.

Have you looked at any of the work by Caesar Manrique in Lanzarote? I've visited a few of his projects and the Caesar Manrique Foundation (his house when he was alive, now a gallery of his work) is stunning. The house is built into the lava flows and some of the 'bubble' rooms are actually chambers within the voids created by the lava flow.

Breathtaking stuff. The contrast of the black lava-rock and the clean white render is beautiful.

**BBB3** · 12-16-2009, 04:29 PM

Hi Tricky,
I didn't know Manrique. Thanks for this. Lots of nice rock-and-architecture references there. I was born in a volcanic region, so lava stone as a construction material is something I was surrounded with for a long time and I love it (though in the wrong climate, it can look a bit gloomy at times).
As for the rocks - I guess the key is in the textures, and also some basic understanding of how heightfields and displacement work. The modeling is secondary.

**kizo** · 12-17-2009, 08:27 AM

OMG you started already....damn fast

who will catch up with you now ... lol

I like your idea and approach...nice references and good way to start the work

cya

kizo

**BBB3** · 12-17-2009, 09:26 AM

Thanks Kizo,
I like to work fast (and I often have to), but I don't always finish things, so we shall see ;-) Anyway, the competition here is huge. So many talented people!

Ok, I've taken a bit of a break from carving rock faces and worked a bit on my vegetation. Most of it is probably unnecessary, given my POV, but I thought I'd do the entire garden to give myself more camera options when it comes to the final.

The images show different stages of completion.

I'm basically using three proxies (short grass, long grass, wild grass + weeds), each modelled by hand and painted on the lawn with the free AdvancedPainter script (my copy of VrayScatter is broken right now). Each proxy has essentially the same map, with only few variations, to ensure a better blending. The lawn surface has displacement too to fill the odd bald spots left between the proxies and make sure they blend well between one another. I'll need more variation in the vegetation but I think that's a decent base to work from.

I've also added a couple of low-poly rocks. I pimped the last image a bit, but don't look too closely - it was a five-minute job just for fun, with no colour correction whatsoever.

Now I've been thinking about Ronen's message earlier and I've come to the conclusion that the best idea regarding the stair to the water would be to carve it in the rock. It'll be quite tricky to execute, but I think it's the only solution that will preserve the coherence of the landscape. I'm going to make some test and look up a few references to see if it's doable.

**kimaera** · 12-17-2009, 09:53 AM

Originally Posted by BBB3

- it was a five-minute job just for fun, with no colour correction whatsoever.

maybe we should all just quit 3D.

no seriously, loving it! So hard to fathom how one can produce so much work in such a short period of time!

Got my eye on this one =)

**BBB3** · 12-17-2009, 10:04 AM

High Kimaera - Thanks for the kind words.
Sorry :-) I wasn't very clear. I meant the post-work on the last image was a five-minute job. Doing the vegetation, however, was a long, hard slog...