Goose themed 3D scene

Sometime at the end of 2018 I made the decision to re-focus my personal learning as a Graphic designer on Photo realistic image generation using Blender as a tool. The following images represent an effort to make Photo realism a reality.

Shooting for the Moon

Below is a Photo I took at my parents house a while ago. I really like the light, and the Porcelain Geese inspired me to make the 3D image a Goose-themed one. Additionally it is simple to compose. As a beginner I knew I could easily model this, and the real challenge would be in generating effective textures and lighting. I will say from the outset, I have only partially achieved what I set out to do. I still have much to learn. The quote by Norman Vincent Peale comes to mind;“Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars.” I very much hope to land among the stars in this endeavor.

Modeling and first steps

I began by modeling the Window Frame, seeking at first, to copy the texture and shapes of the frame in the source image. Then I decided I didn't like how plain the sliding widow was. Decided to do something a little more decorative. Should be noted that it was also about this time I decided to do a Goose-themed setting.

Stained-glass window pane

I Used Illustrator to create the stained-glass frame, with a goose framed in a circle. See the progression below

I used a displacement to create the distortion effect on all the glass cells. Should also be noted I looked up several Youtube video tutorials on texturing and and other techniques related to what I wanted to achieve.

Details

At this stage I had to decide how much more detail I wanted to include in the scene. I decided to add handles for the windows and stoppers. Had to decide whether the windows swung in or out. Ultimately I chose to have them swing out because of the Porcelain geese I would be modeling on the sill of the window.

Notice I went from two screws to three on the stopper.

the knobs for the windows includes brass and marbel texture. Thought adding a simple brass goose to the knobs tip would be a nice touch.

The imperfect geese

I underestimated how difficult it would be to model the geese on the sill. I will have to go back and try again. What you see here is an obvious imperfect attempt. But it could be a lot worse.

Notice the stoppers were moved to the top of the window frame. With the Geese on the sill I felt this would make more sense.

Conclusion
I still have a long way to go to make truly photo realistic imagery. But I feel I am progressing. There is another step known as compositing in the Blender environment. Its essentially the process of adding additional effects to a rendered image within the Blender environment. Its a bit like adding Photoshop filters to an image, only a bit more dynamic.