Learning Arnold
This project started when I set out to learn the Arnold Renderer and grow as an artist. I chose a hallway setting to keep the project limited in scope and allow the light to bounce along the tight structure. I also liked the idea that a hallway isn't a destination but something you pass through. My hope was that these images would make someone want to wander through the halls and leave them curious about what's around the corners at the end. For most of these images I set out to learn a specific technique, then the concept would flow from that. I also found them incredibly calming to create and they became a release valve for me when I was stressed. This made it a very personal project. Here are all 15 hallways to date and the techniques/concepts behind them. I relied heavily on tutorials by Arvid Schneider and generous advice from my talented friend Jens Kafitz.
Foliage
My first deep dive into the Arnold renderer. The goal here was to learn the basics of shaders and lighting. As with many of these, I started with quixel megascans then modified them.
Curtains
I'd started working in the cloth and hair simulation department at Sony and wondered if I could do a cloth sim on an entire room. I'd recently done some photogrammetry of a wall detail during a walk to work and incorporated that into the sim.
Here is my original photogrammetry pass.
Neon Latex
I revisited my original hallway with the intent of being braver and more surreal with my color choices.
Furry
The goal here was to get more familiar with the Arnold fur shader and create a mirror shader.
Synthwave
Inspired by the art and music of the synthwave genre, this was another attempt to be braver with color, this time with lighting instead of surfacing.
Glass Installation
The goal here was to learn translucency and tackle the rendering challenge of multiple layers of partial transparency. This render brought my ancient computer to it's knees. By the end of the Hallways project I had replaced my computer fan twice after it wore out from all the rendering.
The Creek
The goal here was to create a water shader and specifically tackle how light travels through murky water. I also used xgen to scatter moss cards, then scatter dewdrops over those cards.
Patronus
I wanted to create a dark scene with a bright object at the end, then try to vary the quality of the reflections with procedural roughness and displacement.
The Sewer
In the previous image I'd started playing around with Arnold procedurals so I set out to create an image with minimal geometry and one giant, procedural shader. Here is the image, the minimalist scene and my shading network for the tube.
Long Exposure
I got inspired by long exposure photography and challenged myself to create a shader that mimicked the effect. I also limited myself to a single concrete shader and procedurally created roughness variation.
Concrete variation
Skyscrapers
While looking up at tall buildings I noticed how their windows would distort reflections in a specific way. I tried to re-create that effect and also change the camera orientation while still keeping the hallway theme.
Making Sausage- a quick aside
I spent some time learning Arnold volumetrics (smoke, fog, ect) and found it one of the more difficult techniques. I made simple scenes to avoid huge render times. Here are a couple of those tests. The door was fairly successful and I'm now able to use that specific volumetric in scenes. The chair was an utter failure, but I learned a ton making it. Plus I used it as an excuse to model and texture a chair from scratch.
I spent some time learning Arnold volumetrics (smoke, fog, ect) and found it one of the more difficult techniques. I made simple scenes to avoid huge render times. Here are a couple of those tests. The door was fairly successful and I'm now able to use that specific volumetric in scenes. The chair was an utter failure, but I learned a ton making it. Plus I used it as an excuse to model and texture a chair from scratch.
Stairwell
Another image based on changing orientation while retaining the hallway format.
Primaries
I set out to create a scene that mirrored itself. The mirrored image was distorted by complex displacements. The result was a visually confusing disaster. Instead of throwing the scene away I lit it with primary colors and liked the result.
Day and Night in the Greenhouse
I challenged myself to create a single scene lit two different ways. These were a bit of a culmination of everything I'd learned during this project. And for those counting, I do count these as two hallways because 15 is a better number than 14.
It's interesting to look back at all of these. While I still like some, others embarrass me by their amateurishness. That in itself is a good thing. I can recognize my mistakes. It's an indication of personal growth. I may continue this project if time allows or stress demands. In the future I'd like to try to be more subtle and spend more time in traditional texturing rather than using Arnold procedurals. Maybe use a real-time render engine. I still have dozens of ideas, a half-dozen unfinished scenes and so much left to learn.
