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The Watchtower

My latest artwork, "The Watchtower." Here, I wanted to experiment with industrial space concepts. I really enjoyed making "Event Horizon Explorer" and wanted to make another "celestial industrial complex" type piece. There were a few challenges I encountered while producing this. Making the cracked Earth surface required some finagling (see the nodemap). Lighting was also a challenge, and I think I could have done a better job.

Final render, with post-processing.

Final render, with post-processing.

Clay render. At this scale, it was difficult to construct detail on the watchtower that would appear crisp and clean, while also conveying the leviathan size of the object. Often too much detail can make an object feel smaller than it is.

Clay render. At this scale, it was difficult to construct detail on the watchtower that would appear crisp and clean, while also conveying the leviathan size of the object. Often too much detail can make an object feel smaller than it is.

Raw render, with no post-processing. I went with HDRI lighting and used black planes in the front, back and right to focus the light from the direction of the "sun".

Raw render, with no post-processing. I went with HDRI lighting and used black planes in the front, back and right to focus the light from the direction of the "sun".

Node map for the Earth, including the fractured crust. I used every color ramp, noise node, and gradient map trick I had to get it to blend seamlessly in with the rest of the Earth's surface.

Node map for the Earth, including the fractured crust. I used every color ramp, noise node, and gradient map trick I had to get it to blend seamlessly in with the rest of the Earth's surface.

The result of the nodemap in the previous image.

The result of the nodemap in the previous image.

Elements of the scene without any SFX. After I have the main aspects of the scene laid out, I add fire and smoke elements to flesh out the world and make it feel real.

Elements of the scene without any SFX. After I have the main aspects of the scene laid out, I add fire and smoke elements to flesh out the world and make it feel real.

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