3d art

Step by step: Create
a futuristic bar scene
Space Drink 2009
This image was originally created for the
competition called Uplift Universe, organised by
CGSociety.org. I wanted to make a cheerful and
humorous picture with humans and aliens
Michal Suchánek specialises in character modelling
Nobody can doubt my inspiration for this picture. When I was creating
the first concept I was thinking about old pin-up pictures and the light
humour of retro-futurism. I’d had enough of classic tough women in
rough poses; I wanted to do something more light and, more importantly,
something funny. I started work on this picture because of an ongoing
competition on CGSociety website. About a year later I did a makeover for this
image. I made it modern and the dress of the waitress more detailed, and I
added some new details like poker chips. From the beginning I tried to figure
out an overall colour for the picture and a light composition. Sometimes it was
not easy. When I was creating the image I was working primarily with 3ds Max
and ZBrush, and the final scene was rendered in V-Ray. An important part of
my work was also Photoshop. I adjusted the colour shades, cleared small
imperfections and, for a greater sense of authenticity, I added the effect of
chromatic aberration in some parts of the image.
Concepts
Inspiration behind the scene
130 ●
I wanted to evoke the atmosphere of a
01 familiar environment despite the fact that the
image’s story takes place in space. There are no hightech
machines, but I placed some classic cigarettes
and traditional paper playing cards. I like the fun idea
of smoking aliens playing poker.
An inspiration for the waitress in Space
02 Drink were the images of pin-up girls from
the Fifties. I like their funny atmosphere. One of the
best illustrators for me is Gil Elvgreen. It was important
to me that the girl should create a pin-up feeling,
despite the fact that she is not a typical pin-up girl.
I wanted to make aliens on the scene with
03 their own characters. Most of my time spent on
the piece was to create an appearance of the three small
aliens. I tried to make them funny; each of them has its
own part in the picture. No more slimy, scary monsters
that the entire internet is full of.