Behind the Scenes: Railway Station

Head into Seifi’s artwork journey as he ventures via varied render engines to skillfully grasp his hyper-realistic artwork.

INTRODUCTION

Hello, I’m Alireza Seifi, a 3D designer and atmosphere artist born in Tehran, Iran. My important discipline of curiosity and focus was cinema and movie music so with that background, I joined the 3D trade like many different folks within the early 2000’s and began my profession in 2005 severely. In that point, I used to be primarily centered on recreating historical monuments and structure utilizing 3DS Max, V-Ray, and Brazil render engine.

Since I’ve labored with most render engines, I needed to share my expertise and historical past of working with these as nicely.

Damavand Tomb Tower / 2011. 3DS Max, V-ray

Damavand Tomb Tower / 2011. 3DS Max, V-ray

Tehran Post and Telegraph Building / 2013. 3DS Max, V-ray

Tehran Put up and Telegraph Constructing / 2013. 3DS Max, V-ray

Later in 2016-2017, I attempted to change to a extra fashionable structure fashion, archviz, and product visualization. It was at that time that I mentioned goodbye to my previous favourite render engine, V-ray, and switched to Corona Render which was and could be very consumer pleasant, creative, and produced sensible outcomes with out tweaks and sophisticated settings. 

Melbourne Townhouse Replication / 2017. 3DS Max, Corona Render

Melbourne Townhouse Replication / 2017. 3DS Max, Corona Render

On the similar time, the revolutionary Fstormrender was additionally launched for 3DS Max, with which I made a variety of renders. 

Still Life / 2018. 3DS Max, Fstormrender

Nonetheless Life / 2018. 3DS Max, Fstormrender

I can say that earlier than working with Fstorm, I had began working with Octane Render and Cinema 4D. I used to be a bit uninterested in 3DS Max and needed to change to Cinema 4D however Fstorm was form of a less complicated model of Octane for 3DS Max, Due to this, I stayed in 3DS Max extra and produced extra renders with Fstorm.

MainFrames Lab / 2019. 3DS Max, Fstorm

MainFrames Lab / 2019. 3DS Max, Fstorm

It was round 2020 that I nearly stopped working with 3DS Max and switched into Cinema 4D and Octane Render. Octane render has a selected religious look which was very satisfying to me, and in addition very useful as a result of I used to be switching to a extra retro-style picture creation.

Galaxy Hill / 2021. Cinema 4D, Octane Render

Galaxy Hill / 2021. Cinema 4D, Octane Render

Whereas working with Octane Render was very satisfying, I used to be making an attempt to create greater scenes however I step by step confronted the VRAM concern in Octane which my laptop computer GPU couldn’t deal with. So, curiously, I switched again to Corona Render once more not in 3DS Max however this time in Cinema 4D, and it shockingly gave me the precise retro consequence I used to be in search of. The deep shadows and particular sense of Corona lights have been excellent; nonetheless, the sunshine at all times wanted to be managed by blockers like in some other engine to get extra dramatic and centered lighting. In whole, it was extra dependable and satisfying for me to work with CPU-based render engines than the GPU engines, although the latter offers sooner outcomes as the primary one is extra correct, value it to attempt in case you have a robust CPU.

The Elevator / 2022. Cinema 4D, Corona Render

The Elevator / 2022. Cinema 4D, Corona Render

It was round 2022 that I turned extra taken with Unreal Engine in addition to Blender. After a little bit of working with Blender, I began actually having fun with Blender and Cycle. My important impediment in Cycles was that I used to be not in a position to produce my desired outcomes I used to get from different engines up to now so my outcomes with Cycles at all times got here with a lot of trial and error. I watched a variety of tutorials and I ought to say that I used to be actually influenced by the works of the well-known Blender artist, Ian Hubert, and I actually admire his and different Blender artists’ efforts in discovering and exhibiting the talents of Blender and Cycles to folks. That manner, I step by step began producing extra works and renders with Blender and Cycles.

Ships in The City / 2024. Blender Cycles

Ships in The Metropolis / 2024. Blender Cycles

INSPIRATION

I’m deeply impressed by desires, lucid desires, and nightmares, so now and again I used to recreate a part of a dream in CGI. Railway Station was additionally primarily based on a lucid dream I noticed a number of months in the past; what I can bear in mind was an Artwork Nouveau fashion with a variety of corridors through which I used to be shifting via. The environment was one thing between a retro shopping center, a museum, and a Nineteenth-century railway station just like the well-known Artwork Nouveau Metro in Paris, so I attempted to realize that mixture as a lot as attainable. Someplace empty and deserted, like on a Friday afternoon, but in addition cosy and nice to sit back like European Nineteenth-century city designs.

PROCESS

Previously, I used to make some sketches earlier than creating the scene however I don’t do it in recent times anymore. Fairly, I desire to dam the scene instantly within the 3D program. The primary and most time consuming a part of this undertaking was discovering good/associated stained glass textures and a few useful Artwork Nouveau references to see the structure and construction connections and after that, I began modeling.

Modeling

Concerning the modeling course of I can say that regardless of the previous, I don’t use subdivision modeling anymore however I do use the mid-poly technique which is useful each for sensible rendering and in addition recreation modeling. It’s largely primarily based on beveling however I ought to at all times suppose forward in regards to the bevel numbers to keep away from jagged edges or have base mesh duplicates as backups for classy objects earlier than beveling. 

I had ready this scene for Unreal Engine so all of the objects have been modular and straightforward to array.

However my laptop computer’s previous GPU, the GTX 1080, was not in a position to give good outcomes for the stained glass utilizing Lumen; Unreal has additionally stopped supporting its sensible render choice, the RayTracer, for previous GPUs like mine, so I needed to render the scene with Cycles in Blender.

Addons

Right here, I ought to confess that essentially the most advantageous function of Blender over different 3D applications is its useful addons and asset browser, which make the method sooner and simpler for impatient folks like me who need to see the ultimate consequence within the shortest period of time. This manner I needed to share the record of addons that helped me loads within the undertaking:

Blenderkit for quick readymade supplies and objects:

Utilizing Blender Kit, I used to be simply in a position to load a bunch of various supplies that I didn’t have the nerve to make from scratch coping with 100’s of difficult shader nodes distracting me from specializing in the artistic aspect of the undertaking.

Hardops Boxcutter and Machin3tools for quick hardsurface  modeling instruments:

With out these instruments, it’s nearly unattainable for me to create quick laborious floor fashions. HardOps array/bevel/mirror/modifier/boolean/.. instruments all gathered within the Q menu actually make the modelling course of 10x sooner.

Additionally, Machin3tools options just like the align instrument, right-click save/export menu, and so forth., are essential for any undertaking. I personally can not work with out them. For instance, since I exploit Substance Painter loads, the Machin3tools save menu offers the quick risk of FBX, OBJ, and so forth., export and plenty of different choices with simply urgent Ctrl+S.

Sketchfab and its Blender import addon for sensible 3D scanned fashions:

I can not specific the significance of Sketchfab for I’ve not completed any undertaking with out utilizing Sketchfab 3DS scans, be it both the 3D landscapes, industrial/mechanical fashions, characters, and so forth. On this undertaking, I used the prepare mannequin from Sketchfab. 

Eco-Scatter and GScatter for scattering:

Eco-Scatter is a particularly user-friendly scattering addon for Blender that I exploit for any undertaking with scattering. Perhaps many individuals haven’t heard about this addon, however I ought to say it’s unimaginable.

After all, I desire scattering instruments with biome assist like Graswald GScatter, which have premade grass fields or ecosystems like 3DS Max Forest Pack Professional, however sadly Graswald has stopped releasing the addon for newer variations of Blender, so I can not at present use it for my initiatives anymore, and I actually miss it.

Free Blender Vegetation Library:

I used Blender’s free plant library for this undertaking and others as nicely. It’s very useful and I even generally export its fashions and convert them to make use of in Cinema 4D as nicely. 

Quixel Bridge (at present fab) belongings:

Like many different folks, I exploit Quixel Bridge (at present fab) for each undertaking. I used the stone/marble supplies and the grass fashions for this undertaking from Quixel Bridge.

PolyHaven addon:

As at all times, I used the PolyHaven addon for quick HDRI lighting of the scene. On this scene, I first used PolyHaven to seek out essentially the most appropriate HDRI for atmosphere lighting, and I additionally used the Blender solar for directional lighting, particularly the sunshine passing via the stained glasses and their impact on the ground. Regardless that I exploit PolyHaven for HDRI lighting, I generally overlook that it has a really high-quality mannequin assortment that, in my view, may be the very best or one of many highest high quality 3D fashions out there.

Rendering

Right here is the ultimate render with some post-production. I nonetheless miss the LUT risk in Blender, however the AGX and new Khronos together with curves manipulation give very satisfying outcomes. This manner, I apply the LUT in Photoshop with different results.

RENDER: Railway Station

I wish to lengthen my particular due to the BlenderNation crew for giving me this chance. Thanks for taking the time to learn my article. Be happy to succeed in out with any questions on my social media. Have an awesome day!

Concerning the Artist                       

Alireza Seifi is a 3D visualizer and atmosphere artist primarily based in Budapest, at present engaged on 3D atmosphere and filmmaking initiatives.