This image was modeled and rendered completely in Cinema 4D, very little post work in Photoshop. The basic scene did not change much after the initial set up. I probably ran up to sixty test rendered until I was able to come up with an image I was happy with. All of those changes came in the lighting set up.
This final render is using a single light which is cast on the character through the window. At one point along the way I experimented with some fill lighting but preferred the more natural effect of a single light.
Through the different phases, at one point the scene was rather dark, yes the lighting was low but I speak more of the mood of the scene. I must admit that even though all of the characters in my scenes are women, they do often times reflect my own moods and feeling. Recently I have found myself waiting for news to come. There is that worry and concern, inner emotions that manifest outward. Those emotions were certainly inspiration for this piece of digital art.
(please click on the thumbnail for a full size view)
I tend to shift my focus around to different things but one that always tends to draw me back with my digital artwork is light. Of course its the root of anything visual, but I really enjoy the focus of doing different things with light.
This particular scene might be a little different than most, in that I spent very little time on the subject and extraordinary amount of time playing with the light. In the process I allowed the character and the scene to be effected by the light rather than the other way around setting the light to highlight the character.
Whether or not that ends up producing a flattering image of the character was in this case secondary to my goal, which is really about learning the craft.
I think that artist tend to gravitate to their own style, mine is certainly headed in the direction of realism. That doesn’t mean that I always strive for images to look like photographs, there is always some form of fantasy involved. Rather than getting caught up doing another NVIATWAS (naked Vicky in a temple with a sword), I enjoy the opportunity to make other actors in the scene the star.
The funny thing is where I used to be able to knock out full animations in a few hours, I seem to be getting slower, this one took almost three weeks of effort. And the results of that effort:
Click on the image to see a full size view.