We constantly get asked to work on projects that involve soft elements such as fur, liquid, bubbles and fabrics so we’ve done our homework to refine our technique to the degree that we can generate incredibly detailed imagery with true photographic qualities in a realistic timeline. And had some fun at the same time, of course. (When you ask the 3D guys if they can do a version of the squirrel for Christmas and they snigger and say “Er…we’ve kind of…already got one”, you know they’ve been up to something…)
This little fella led us to some fantastic nuggets that we’ve used to create later projects in very high standards of detail in much shorter timelines. So: just what can you do with a virtual squirrel?
Sciurus Carolinensis: the grey squirrel
Well, this rodent is entirely 3D, in a 3D world. This means that we can move and rotate him, just as you could with a physical object.
A tweak of the head, a twitch of the tail: our squirrel can be precisely positioned in any pose.
Better than a physical object, however, we can make his hair green or cut it like a poodle, in minutes. We can turn him to wood and make his burrow furry instead. We can quickly change the mood of the scene from cute and bright to darker and edgier. We can change the visual style from illustrative to photorealistic, as here.
It all means we’ve got ourselves a very flexible, reusable asset that can spring to life in print, on the web, on your iPad or projected 200 feet tall on the side of the pyramids (if you can get us a permit for that one, let us know). This year, we gave him a golden bauble instead of an acorn and used him on our Christmas card.
NEWSFLASH: Woohoo! Our furry friend has just nabbed himself a 2011 Applied Arts Photography & Illustration Award! Read all about it…
