In photography, composition refers to the way elements in a scene are arranged in relation to each other. This may include the placement of objects within a frame, the use of lines, shapes and colours, and the overall balance of the image. I believe this is the case in 3D modelling too, composition can be used in a similar way to create a balanced and aesthetically pleasing scene and maybe even to greater lengths.
What I am going to create is a 3D scene using high poly textured and rendered assets and explore how to use classic photographic composition techniques to improve the overall impact the scene has. By doing so I hope to discover how universal these methods are and if they are effective in improving the process 3D modelling practices as a whole.
“There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment” (Robert Frank, 1966, p.66)
When looking at these two different fields of photography and 3D modelling I believe this quote makes an important distinction, that is that photography at its core is a about capturing humanity and by extension reality, its used to record and preserve the world around us, such as portraits of individuals, events or just something meaningful. Photography allows people to capture these moments and share them with others, allowing us to better understand and appreciate the world around us. But this is more difficult when it comes to 3D design as you have to create these moments yourself, however i do believe this quote also gives an idea of how to improve the results. Better explained by another common expression in photography “Taking an image, freezing a moment, reveals how rich reality truly is.” The important part here is the phrase ‘freezing a moment’, this implies that the photo is just a single moment in time. I believe thinking about the 3D composition as just a single point taken in time is a useful way of improving the scene by giving things an implication of motion or life, this way they will feel more realistic.
Robert Frank. ‘The Americans’. (1959), Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York. https://www.postandcourier.com/news/a-charleston-mystery-who-did-robert-frank-photograph-downtown-64-years-ago/article_191d8cae-d587-11e9-b0c3-7feb4981645c.html The Post and Courier.
Robert Frank (1966) in Nathan Lyons, Photographers on photography: a critical anthology, p. 66
Initial Research
The first thing I wanted to do was get a deeper understanding of composition as a whole. The fundamentals of composition involve techniques used to create a visually appealing and well balanced photograph. Some of the key principles of composition are as follows:
Contrast – Uses a difference in colour, or sometimes in conceptual ideas, often opposites, to create a strong visual
Saturation – Often affects the mood of a composition by using high or low intensities of colour
Negative Space – Utilising negative space can help highlight the important elements in the scene and create a minimalistic look
Isolation – Similar to negative space, isolation can be used to help focus on the subject often achieved by blurring the background to focus on the foreground
Rule of Thirds – The rule of thirds is a way of arranging elements in a shot. By dividing up the shot into nine equal rectangles, you can then place the important elements along the lines leading to a more attractive shot
Symmetry – Unlike the previous rule of thirds trying to avoid placing elements in the centre, symmetry works very well with centred elements. Also symmetry isn’t confined to just vertical shots, It also works well horizontally
Guiding Lines – Used to direct the viewer’s attention and guide their eye movement within the frame, for example a path leading down to a house
Looking at the differences in composition when moving to 3D design there are both advantages and disadvantages, many going hand in hand. One big advantage is that you have complete control over the scene you are photographing/shooting, removing a lot of difficulties that may occur from circumstance in the real world. However on the other hand this can also come as a disadvantage as you may try to force to much detail and techniques into one shot and loose the sense of attractiveness through over-complication.
In general composition techniques are typically applied to 2D images, while 3D modelling involves creating and manipulating 3D objects and scenes. This means that the techniques used in photography may not always translate directly to 3D modeling, and may require some adaptation or creative thinking to apply effectively. However in theory It should not be a disadvantage to use photography composition techniques for 3D modeling, as these techniques should be very helpful in creating more visually appealing and realistic 3D models and I will test to see if this is truly the case.
Nico Goodden. ‘London Urban Landscapes’ (2008) https://www.nicholasgooddenphotography.co.uk/london-blog/leading-lines-in-photography (Accessed 15 December 2022)
Existing Work
In this post my goal is to review different examples of existing work and pick out the different composition techniques being used. Doing this will give a better idea of how the techniques can be implemented successfully. Note that I tried to pick out examples that use different composition techniques, in particular ones that are more clear to see, however multiple techniques may appear in multiple examples and I may not mention it.
The first area I chose to visit was photography. Composition is a big part of photography and seems to be what differentiates simple pictures and professional photography. This first example is from the street photo graphist Sofie Steenhoudt.
As with a lot of street photography this piece is also black and white. This is done as it brings a sense of timelessness and nostalgia, reminding people of the past. The composition also utilises the patterns of the building, patterns naturally catch a humans eye and they suggest a sense of harmony.
This is a quite centred composition, as a common trait with buildings, it utilises its symmetry to help create attractiveness and also along with leading lines helps lead the viewers focus to the main subject (being the man) as all lines, as shown below, lead down into the centre.
The next example is another piece of street photography this time by Nina Papiorek.
One of the first techniques I noticed in this was having a frame within a frame, this gives a sense of depth adding layers to the scene, this can be seen clearly as the circular holes in the concrete. The concrete holes can also be an example of the rule of odds. To explain the rule of odds, when an even number of objects are on display your mind automatically pairs them and it becomes harder to focus on a particular object, however when an odd number is used one object may become more dominant and its likely the viewer will spend more time looking between the objects.
The next area of media is drawn art (whether physical or digital). The art I will be visiting is in large similar to photography as it depicts a scene within a frame, but it also allows for some more variety as its not physical in nature so can take on any appearance. The first example is by an artist known as A. Shipwright.
As with most of A. Shipwright’s works, selective colour is used as a centre point. In this particular piece the colour is green. As described in the related post, the character is a necromancer so as with many other necromancers in other media green is used as it opposes the colour red which is associated with life and relates more to disease and decay. The strong difference in colour makes it easy to identify and focus on the main components in green. Another technique used Is negative space. negative space is used quite simply in this scene, the majority of the scene is white meaning there is not much else to focus on other than the main components.
The next artist is Kan Liu or artof666k.
In this piece the character is front and centre, this can be seen as filling the frame. This helps by eliminating distractions in the background and general frame making sure the focal point is the centre of attention. Another technique that enhances this is using wide aperture to isolate the subject, this adds a depth of field to the background making it blurry and less distracting.
Steenhoudt, S.S.(2022) ‘Another new picture’ [Instagram]. 17th August. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/ChXrGy8rvmn/ (Accessed 11 November 2022)
Papiorek, N.P.(2022) ‘Once upon a time… in Düsseldorf, Germany.’ [Instagram]. 9th October. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cje7imAIjaS/ (Accessed 11 November 2022)
A.Shipwright.(2022) ‘My necromancy brings dead land back to life.
It’s not delicate, but it doesn’t have to be.’ [Instagram]. 30th August. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch4rwHlPGa1/ (Accessed 11 November 2022)
Liu, K.L.(2022) ‘the most powerful girl in 水禅宗’ [Instagram]. 9th September. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/Ch4rwHlPGa1/ (Accessed 11 November 2022)
Audience and Market
The audience and market for the 3D scene i am going to make could vary greatly as it isnt made for a particular one, however looking at it from a different perspective i believe the use of composition in this way would be more useful in some places than others. Some possible audiences/markets that would benefit from using these methods could include:
Film and television industry: 3D modeling is widely used in the film and television industry to create special effects, backgrounds, and other visual elements for movies and TV shows. Although not static themselves like photographs they can still involve cg scenes of a static nature. In this case, the audience would be the viewers of the film or TV show.
Video game industry: 3D modeling is also commonly used in the video game industry to create characters, environments, and other assets for video games. Similar to the previous industry many games involve static scenes such as a starting screen. In this case, the audience would be the players of the video game.
Architecture and design: 3D modeling is often used in the architecture and design fields to create virtual models of buildings, interiors, and other spaces. From the designs of the buildings to how they are presented there are many places for composition to be used. In this case, the audience could be architects, designers, and their clients.
Advertising and marketing: 3D modeling can be used in advertising and marketing to create virtual product demonstrations, animations, and other visual materials. Although not as useful in the animations, other promotional material such as posters could include 3D elements arranged using the composition techniques. In this case, the audience could be potential customers or clients of the product or service being advertised.
Overall I believe there are many places where these methods would be useful.
Themes
In order to create the 3D scene in question I would need a theme with which would be the basis for all of the designs and models. For the theme to work it would require some certain things. First it should be able to provide a range of interesting and varied objects, characters, and environments. This will give the scene a sense of depth and complexity, and can give the viewer more to look at and explore. Second a strong visual style that persists throughout theme. This will help to create an immersive experience for the viewer, and can make the scene more memorable and engaging. Lastly a sense of realism or authenticity. This isn’t always a must but it may be important to create models that are believable and that accurately represent the objects, characters, and environments in the scene.
After some consideration I decided to go with the theme of medieval. I came to the decision due to a few factors and personal preference. I think medieval is a good theme choice because it often involves intricate and detailed scenes that can benefit from careful composition. In addition, the historical setting can provide a good source of inspiration for creating interesting and unique compositions that can help to make the 3D models more engaging and visually appealing. Also the use of the composition techniques can help to bring a sense of realism and authenticity to the 3D models, which can be particularly important when creating models with historical influences.
Sound Lance (2020). Adventure Theme. Available: https://soundcloud.com/soundlance/vikings-theme-version2 (Accessed 15 December 2022)
Timeline and Plan
Within this post I cover how I plan to work through the project by defining the different tasks required and assigning time dependent on their complexity. The first step i took was to map out the different sections of the project.
Above is the first timeline I created to roughly show the steps involved within each given section. I decided to have three different sections starting from this proposal. I chose to include the proposal as it would help give the project a starting point and also some of the aspects of the proposal would go towards the final work.
Below are brief explanations of each sub-section.
Mind Mapping (Size of workload: small) – Gather more specific ideas and references for the theme to help decide on what assets to create. Draw references from existing work from preferably in different media
Sketches (Size of workload: small) – Create sketches for use as reference for assets. sketches may be of the asset, poses, colours, composition etc.
Asset List (Size of workload: small) – Create a list with all the assets that will be in the scene, this will give a clear idea of what needs to be done before production
Prototyping (Size of workload: small) – Create quick prototypes of the assets and scene to make sure the plan is possible and to make changes if necessary before production
Further Research (Size of workload: medium) – Continue previous research into composition
Creating Models (Size of workload: Large) – Likely one of the most time consuming tasks, create each assets from scratch into high poly models with large quantities of vertices
Creating the Textures (Size of workload: Large) – Create textures for each asset from scratch, scales with the complexity and quantity of the assets
Creating VFX (Size of workload: Medium) – Create vfx to compliment the other aspects of the scene, such as fire, light rays, smoke etc.
Compiling the Scene (Size of workload: Medium) – Using the methods learnt during research to create compelling compositions to present the scene
Post Effects (Size of workload: Medium) – Add effects to the images and videos of the scene to add further depth
I also decided to create a second timeline that would give estimated dates to associate with each section as can be seen below.
At the end of the timeline I also included space for an evaluation which would give a bit of time to reflect on how the project progressed and could be used in the development log.
Expected Limitations
As I am transferring techniques from one field to another, it can be expected that there will be some limitations. One of the main limitations is that a 3D scene does not have the same depth and physical properties as a real world scene. This can make it difficult to apply techniques such as depth of field or perspective in the same way that you would in a photograph of a real world scene.
Another potential limitation is that 3D modeling software may not have the same range of controls and settings as a camera, which can make it difficult to replicate certain photography techniques. For example, you may not be able to adjust the aperture or focal length of a virtual camera in the same way that you can with a physical camera.
Overall, while it is possible to use photography composition techniques in a 3d modeled scene, there are several potential limitations that may make it more challenging than using these techniques in a real-world photograph.