The Process of Designing the 3D Illustration
I was committed to deliver a 3D illustration of the DMS Data Galaxy Platform by the end of my internship.
The first step, after gathering all the requirements back & forth, was to choose the right tool to design the base of the illustrations.
Since I had been working on flat surfaces for the majority of time, there were not many 3D modelling tool I was familiar with. But out of Blender, Autodesk Maya, Cinema 4D, Zbbrush, Modo, I decided to use Maxon's Cinema 4D R20, since I was introduced to their LITE version from Adobe AE earlier.
During the design process, I had been heavily relying on Adobe Illustrator for designing the modelling texture materials (2D graphic skins) of the FC Switch, Host Controller & Data Interface, and Client Server/Storage. As it turns out, it did save a lot of time, since I could simply export the graphics from AI and attach them to the core wireframe accordingly.
Here is what the completed host model with imported texture materials and artificial lighting looks like.
In order to provide a better visual experience for the clients, the precision of the DMS v5 illustration in the background of the product UI is crucial, even though it is subtle.
Therefore, I did look for the solid (real parts) models of part of the products to meet the closest simulation.
Eventually finishing up the 3D model by designing the client server & storage models connected by the FC Switch which was connecting the data interface. And to wrap up by throwing in an artificial studio camera, planning the paths, setting the key frames & BOOM... There we have an animation.
In early 2019, the illustration was shipped with the final product as the background loop of the main login screen.
