Attached Link: Click here to go to the contest page !

Hi all, We've just launched our new February/March contest . The topic is to model and render a cup of coffee and a donut in a photorealistic way . Our sponsor is Zenstar Software and you can win a copy of Tree Druid . So check it out ! I hope this contest will have the same success as our last one :) Good luck ! litst contest manager litst@chez.com

Good luck to everyone! I'm going to play along and do my own photorealistic "Coffe & Donut" image, so I hope you find it as challenging as I do. In choosing this topic, I wanted to see what Carrara users can do to rival Lightwave, 3DS MAX and Maya in terms of realism. It may sound sound simple . . but it's a quality that's not easy to achieve in 3D (no matter what software you use). If you want a good example of what I had in mind, go check out litst's "This Is Real Cheese!": http://www.chez.com/litst/eng/images_gal/gal13.htm Good luck! -Otis

This sounds like a cool contest, but since I'm just learning Carrara it is a little beyond me right now. I will be interested in seeing what everyone comes up with.

I know I can't officially enter, but I thought I'd play along all the same. Anyway . . I'm to blame for the contest theme, so I'll get the ball rolling. Everything is Carrara Studio 1.1 except for one light get (Bryce & Photoshop) and one texture map (Photoshop). -Otis

Nice job Otis. So if I entered the contest we're allowed to use other props besides the coffee and donut? I wasn't sure on that one. I'll have to give it a whirl.

Sure, you can use other models in your scene. There really aren't any hard and fast rules, other than to model and render a photorealistic still life with a cup of coffee and a donut as the focus. I chose simple items so that everyone could focus on the things that make 3D images live and breath; lighting and texturing. I feel that even simple primitives can make you want to reach out and touch them when lit and textured in interesting ways. And you can learn a lot when applying those standards to simple scenes. While working on the image above, I certainly learned some things. I learnd that I know a lot more about the spline modeller than I thought . . I know a lot less about shaders than I thought . . and that the vertex modeller still scares the hell out of me. The thing that I feel makes the image work is the light gel. It's composed of three images; a Brycean sky, a tree shaped cookie, and a window shaped cookie. Combined and blurred in Photoshop, it creates a sense of randomness in the light and shadows that adds to the realism I was going for. I also applied the light gel to a cube primative and lit it with another spot, so it is visible in the toaster's reflection. I hope this helps everyone, and I look forward to seeing your entries. -Otis

So, this is what a donut looks like ! I'm happy that 3D doesn't simulates taste, coz it doesn't look like a masterpiece of cooking . Better eat cheesy cheese i think ;) . But the pic is very good, Otis 8) I'm makes me more and more impatient to see the other entries :) I've thrown an eye to the contest rules and it states "Model, texture and render a simple still life image of a cup o' Joe and a donut sitting on a kitchen table" . I can change them if you want, but i think the term "still life image" is clear : you just can't do something that looks like a life image if you model only the cup and the donut . Anyway, if you have any questions and don't dare to ask on the forum, you can ask me : litst@chez.com Back to Camembert ;) ! litst

Sorry if I was unclear. Hopefully my image will help rectify that. In choosing the theme, I was trying to get away from the usual nude Poser/spaceship images that seem to clutter the web. Carrara is capable of so much more. If anyone here has visited 3dluvr.com and seen the contests there, they know what I'm talking about. The themes are usually very simple . . but the resulting entries are anything but! Here is an example of some "simple but great" Carrara images for inspiration, courtesy of TOXE: http://www.renderosity.com/gallery.ez?ByArtist=Yes&Artist=TOXE -Otis

But I like nude spaceships!