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Thursday, February 25, 2016

3d Product Visualization: Commercial Sized Solar Umbrella

I want to share some renderings from a 3d Product Visualization gig that I had a few months ago.

I don't want to get into the particulars of the functionality as the product is still in development; however, I am rather proud of the way these images turned out as there were some particularly complex shapes involved in the model (such as the organic base shape and fabric like umbrella top.)









Product Visualization is very fun but can be quite difficult as a lot of the time you are creating the first photo-realistic renditions of an object that has yet to be conceived in reality.

If you are interested in learning more about 3d Product Visualization feel free to leave comments or contact me via my website at www.kaplandesignlabs.com for more information. If you have an invention or a product that you would like to develop or market checkout my friend's website at www.EddyPham.com

Software Used: 3ds Max, V-Ray

Thanks!


Wednesday, February 24, 2016

Landscape Paintings & Drawings: Architecture Studies- Pen and Watercolor

Greetings Blog-ettes and Blog-duders,

I want to share a couple of Architectural Illustrations/ Landscape Paintings & Drawings that I made recently. Each one of these was done within 20 minutes to an hour including paints/ markers. Both of these were sketchbook entries to refresh my drawing "chops." Sometime this week I would like to do at least another one or two pieces in more detail, perhaps on canvas.

Landscape painting is my oldest artistic passion going all the way back to when I was about five years old when my grandmother first started teaching me how to paint. I had originally learned on oils as a child and later made my way to acrylics and watercolors as I got older. I know most artists start with acrylics or watercolors and make their way into oil paints as oil painting is supposed to be the most difficult medium; however, I feel if you first master oils, acrylics and watercolors come easy. 

As I mentioned these were quick studies rather than attempted masterworks but I want to get into the habit of drawing and painting more often. I used to draw everyday; however, since graduating art school, digital platforms and corporate art have distracted me from more traditional mediums.

Architecture Study- Postwar House- Pen and Watercolor
Architecture Study- Beach House- Pen and Prisma Color Markers
While I spend most of my time as a 3d artist these days, working in the architecture and interior design industry has renewed my passion for more traditional mediums. I am lucky to be around several talented 2d/ traditional artists in my office who keep me inspired.

Feel free to let me know what you think and make sure to checkout my online gallery at www.kaplandesignlabs.com for frequent updates. Thanks!

Sunday, February 21, 2016

3d Architectural Visualization and Design: Arial View, Original Skyscraper Design

In the spirit of trying to post more often I have a couple of 3d renderings of some towers I recently designed when playing around in 3ds Max.

Arial Rendering of "Kaplan Towers," an original design by Jonathan A. Kaplan

At work I am heavily relied on for creating a lot of interior spaces. Because of my limited opportunities to get to build out exterior scenes, I decided to put together a scene from a building design I recently created in a little down time I had. Below is the base design before adding context such as the forest, roads, cars, ocean, HDRI sky, and additional buildings:

Original Building Design before Context
I was very happy with the design I came up with and I received a lot of compliments from our senior Architects and Designers who happened to see my building on my desktop wallpaper. 

In the future I hope to be able to add more camera angles and continue juicing up this scene as I have more spare time. I will be sure to post if I do. after designing the bones of this building, I have realized how far my understanding of architectural design has come in the past couple of years while working for my current employer and I am inspired to continue creating my own designs in the months to come. Thank you for reading!


Software used: 3ds Max, V-Ray, Photoshop



Monday, February 15, 2016

3d Architectural and Interior Visualization: Mid Century Modern Living Room

Hey there! I want to share a recent render that I had the opportunity to put together in my downtime. 

3d Rendering  of a Mid Century Modern living room by Jonathan A. Kaplan

I have always been fascinated with the Mid Century Modern Era of architecture (think Mad Men)

See examples of Mid Century Modern homes here:

To me, this was the pinnacle of creative design, as architects and designers of this era were intent on imagining what the future was going to look like and incorporating this creative thought into the buildings and homes of all Americans. This style of architecture has also been referred to as "Space Age" and "Atomic" because of it's forward thinking inspired designs. From the huge fins on classic Cadillacs to the houses that sprinkle the hills of Palm Springs, Mid Century Modern Architecture made a major impact on both American and international culture, especially in architecture and interior design. 

Process:

1) I started this project while practicing my tufting skills by modeling the Knoll Barcelona chair which is very common in many interior designs (the pink bench in the middle.) After modeling the Knoll Barcelona, I decided to run with it and create a full scene which would compliment the chairs I had modeled.

2) From there, I envisioned a color palette which included grey tones and shades of pink complimented by vibrant selections of blue and green which really pop against red as green is the complimentary color to red. 

3) I used this great website I found for furnishing selections which is a marketplace for antiques, especially those of Mid Century Modern designers: 
https://www.1stdibs.com/ ; however, I did not limit myself to the colors found in the original reference images.I used this site to pick the lamps, side tables, and chandelier. While I often incorporate my own designs into my personal 3d renderings, for this project I wanted to get the authentic, period look.

4) Once the focal furnishings were established, I picked a retro brick texture for the back wall and vintage fabrics and patterns for the pillows and rug. I accented the design using the Mid Century Modern, egg style, "swan chairs" which I had previously modeled when developing my 3d modeling skills. 

Designer Chairs previously modeled for practice


5) Finally, I added some V-Ray IES Lights to the back wall to give the room a moody but realistic feeling, and of course, living in Las Vegas, I picked a great photo of the original Sands Hotel and Casino as the cherry on top of this vintage inspired 3d rendering. 

Please visit my website at www.kaplandesignlabs.com

Software used for this scene: 3ds Max & V-Ray

Donate to the Blog

By donating you make it easier for me to post more often on more topics and give me the ability to spend more time answering your questions. If you enjoy reading or have found any of my posts valuable feel free to let me know.