Lighting, Rendering, and Post-production
For lighting, I like to start with a 3-point lighting setup + an HDRI for ambient light and to help with reflections, then adjust and add lights as needed. The rendering was done using Blender’s Cycles render engine.
For post-production, I kept it relatively light. Using the Camera Raw Filter in Photoshop, I adjusted parameters like contrast and saturation and added effects such as vignetting, sharpening, and bloom to the brightest areas. Post-production is definitely something I want to improve on in the future.
Summary and Closing Thoughts
The original project took me about a week to complete in 2022. The rework surprisingly took me 2 to 3 weeks despite already having some base pieces from the original, due to the added complexity and refinements.
The biggest lesson I learned is the importance of iteration and trusting my own ideas. In 2022, I worked in a more linear way, whereas now I allow myself to experiment more and not follow the concept one to one.
My advice for beginning artists would be to keep revisiting your work and avoid stagnation. Improvement doesn’t happen overnight, but looking at your old projects and reworking them can be a great way to track progress and push your skills further. Trust your ideas, and don’t get discouraged. During the first three years of my 3D journey, I had very few eyes on my projects, but I kept going! That persistence is what eventually helped me improve and get where I am today.
