Blackbourn Marbles Created by Michael Blackbourn, the marble interiors
and bubbles are all modeled geometry. The Absorption Thickness helped
achieve the subtle effect of the light attenuation through the thick glass.
Painting Also created by Ahmed Alireza, this image uses Modo’s Scatter
Clone tool to randomly place the same mesh repeatedly throughout the
object. The color variation comes from a diffuse color gradient based on
incidence angle to the camera, allowing the artist to move the camera to get
different color effects, as well.
Room This image, by Ahmed Alireza, was created while stress-testing
micro-polygon displacement. A fi ne noise pattern on the chair acts as a
displacement to simulate a fuzzy look.
Since the unique 3D modeling software Modo was released in September 2004,digital content creators have been using the software to create a range of images, many of which can be considered CG works of art. According to Brad Peebler, president of Luxology, not long after the software was placed into beta testing, those early Modo 101 users began sharing their images with the company. Now, a year and a half later, a new crop of beta testers—those of Modo 201, which will be released in a few weeks—have once again utilized the tool to produce some amazing3D imagery, taking advantage of the software’s fusion of modeling, painting, and rendering tools that enable the artists to see their results appear fully rendered with shadows, reflections, and complex materials as they work. The still images, like the artists who created them, represent a wide range of disciplines, including feature films, visual effects, game development, video production, print graphics, product design, visualization, architecture, and scientific viz. The Modo render engine is a hybrid, so it can render with a traditional 3D-style look or use a physically based shading model. As a result, the engine allows for a plethoraof aesthetics. “One comment we hear about Modo renders is that they contain certain organic warmth similar to that of capturing light on film,” Peebler says. Presented on these pages are some of the first Modo 201 still images, whose beauty—whether simplistic or complex—makes them digital works of art. —Karen Moltenbrey
Old Man Looking Up Crafted by Rick Baker, this model’s original displacement
and color-painting was done in Zbrush. The resulting geometry and image maps
were then brought into Modo 201 for lighting and rendering.
Bath Faucet Print By Paul Hammel, this image uses global illumination and
raytracing for the faucet. The candle uses subsurface scattering, and the soap
dish leverages Modo’s Absorption Thickness on the transparency channel.
Arch Ahmed Alireza completed this image for a skyscraper development project.
There is a slight noise bump on the glass to mimic the imperfections one sees
on building glass.
Lemons and Limes Greg Leuenberger lit this image with global
illumination, while the details on the fruit are displacements.