Aditya Sharma, also known as Rusty Skeleton, is a computer science and engineering college student who recently won 2nd place in "Kaizen’s Perfect Products Challenge" with the impeccable rendition of a personal watch in 3D. With a keen eye for replicating real-world objects in digital form, Aditya's journey in 3D artistry showcases a dedication to capturing every nuance and intricacy that makes an object unique. In an exclusive interview with Fox Renderfarm, the industry's top cloud rendering service provider and leading render farm, let’s dive into Aditya's creative process where proportions, dimensions, and materials intertwine to bring forth stunningly realistic models.
Fox Renderfarm: Hi Aditya! We are honored to have you here! Please introduce yourself first to our readers.
Aditya: Thank you so much for the warm welcome! I am equally honored and excited to be here. :) My name is Aditya Sharma, also known by my moniker “Rusty Skeleton”, but I also use the nickname “Aditya Raj”. I am a 3D artist with a deep passion for creating detailed and innovative 3D art using Blender. Although I have been familiarizing myself with Blender for about three years, my most significant progress has been made in the past year when I officially started posting my work online.
Currently, I am a college student entering my third year in the BTech Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) program. The first two years of my journey were spent getting comfortable with the software while also preparing for my college entrance exams. Over the past year, I have dedicated more time to my craft, significantly improving my skills and building a portfolio that I am proud of.
Fox Renderfarm: Congratulations on winning 2nd place in Kaizen’s Perfect Products Challenge! How do you feel about it?
Aditya: I was watching the livestream and my hands were on my lips, not a whisper could be heard when Kaizen was deciding on the winners. When I heard the result, I felt shivers run down my spine and my hands kept trembling—I couldn't believe my eyes and ears. It was a surreal and exhilarating experience.
Ever since I started posting my work online, I have been participating in various challenges such as pwnisher’s Endless Engines, Bad Normal’s World Inside Glass, and more. Despite my best efforts, I had yet to win a single time and had grown accustomed to viewing these challenges purely as learning experiences. I entered each one without high expectations, focusing on the opportunity to grow and improve my skills.
This time was no different—I didn't have my hopes up. So when I actually won, the surprise and joy were overwhelming. It was a moment of validation for all the hard work and dedication I have put into honing my skills. This recognition has motivated me even more to continue pushing the boundaries of my creativity and technical abilities.
Kaizen’s Perfect Products Challenge
Fox Renderfarm: What were the most critical aspects of the watch that you wanted to capture in your 3D model, and how did you go about it?
Aditya: The most critical aspect of the watch that I wanted to capture in my 3D model was the watch face. This part required the most attention and detail. Unlike typical watches with a single watch face, this one had four—three smaller faces within the main frame. Each of these smaller faces served a different function: one displayed minutes, another seconds, and the last one showed the time in a 24-hour format. Although these additional faces might not be necessary, I have been wearing this watch for a long time and wanted to represent it accurately.
The rest of the watch components were arranged in a way that made them appear capable of being wrapped around the wrist, even though none of the pieces were actually connected. Capturing the striking combination of gold, blue, and silver was also essential. I worked diligently to achieve a smooth finish that closely matched the actual watch.
Additionally, the rotating dial on top was a key feature that I emphasized. Despite not knowing its exact function, I included it in the model because it adds a unique and visually appealing element to the watch.
Monolith WristWatch © Aditya Raj
Fox Renderfarm: Did you use any reference materials or techniques to ensure the proportions and details matched the original watch?
Aditya: To ensure that the proportions and details of the 3D model matched the original watch, I used the watch itself as my primary reference. Having the actual product in hand allowed me to measure it accurately and capture the intricate details closely. This hands-on approach was incredibly helpful in achieving a high level of accuracy.
Additionally, I utilized one of my character models as a reference, which has similar proportions to a human being. By fitting the watch model onto the character's wrist, I could ensure that the size and proportions were correct. This technique provided an extra layer of verification to confirm the watch would look and fit naturally.
Fox Renderfarm: How did you handle and recreate the details of your personal watch during the reproduction process?
Aditya: Recreating the details of my personal watch during the reproduction process involved a multi-step approach. Initially, I captured several photographs of the watch from various angles to ensure I had comprehensive reference material. These images were crucial for capturing intricate details accurately.
One of the most challenging aspects was recreating the markings on the watch face. While my skills in 3D art were strong, my proficiency in 2D art, specifically in programs like paint.net, was not as developed. Despite my efforts to manually recreate the markings, the results were not satisfactory.
To overcome this challenge, I opted for a different approach. I imported an image of the watch face directly into the 3D modeling software. By applying this image as a texture and using techniques like color ramp adjustments, I successfully replicated the markings for the times—such as 15, 30, 45, 60, or 6, 12, 18, and 24—on the watch face. This method ensured that the details were accurately represented in the 3D model.
Fox Renderfarm: Could you please tell us about your process for this work? And how long did it take you?
Aditya: For this project, I followed what I understand as a structured pipeline to efficiently create the 3D model of my personal watch. My approach involved dividing the watch into distinct parts and tackling each part separately. This modularity not only helped prioritize tasks—such as focusing on the intricate watch face first and simpler components like the side dials later—but also provided a clear workflow for constructing the model.
In terms of timeline, the entire process took approximately 2 to 3 days. One day was dedicated to modeling the watch and ensuring all details were accurately recreated. Subsequently, I spent an additional day or two refining the lighting and rendering settings to achieve the best visual representation. Throughout this phase, I iterated through 20 to 30 different scene and lighting setups to optimize the final render.
I applied a similar modular approach during a recent 7-day challenge where I modeled a sword each day. This method allows me to maintain efficiency and focus while ensuring each component of the model receives the attention it deserves.
Process Photos © Aditya Raj
Fox Renderfarm: What special rendering techniques did you use to showcase the shine of materials like metal and glass in this project?
Aditya: To showcase the shine of materials like metal and glass in this project, I primarily relied on effective lighting techniques. Initially, I almost made a mistake by including a blurry gear scene in the background of my render, which could have compromised the quality. Fortunately, a fellow artist pointed this out when I asked for feedback on the server, and I promptly removed it to ensure a cleaner presentation. Additionally, Kaizen suggested removing flying gears, although I wanted to keep them.
When I mention that it's all about the lighting, I mean that achieving the desired shine and reflections relied heavily on a well-executed lighting setup. After going through numerous online tutorials on product visualization in Blender, I realized lighting was going to be the key to excel in this, so I dedicated a significant amount of time to refining and iterating the lighting setup.
For the glass material, I used a straightforward texture setup. It consisted of a glass shader mixed with a transparent shader, tinted with a slight darkish color. This setup effectively simulated the reflective and translucent qualities of the watch glass. Additionally, textures for other materials were applied with simple mapping techniques—squishing on the x-axis and stretching on the y-axis—to ensure consistent and realistic appearances throughout the model.
Fox Renderfarm: Did you face any challenges when rebuilding the watch in Blender, especially in simulating material textures?
Aditya: During the process of rebuilding the watch in Blender, the main challenge I encountered was with the watch faces. Specifically, I struggled with simulating the textures for the time markings. No matter how I set up the 2D textures for the time markings, they kept getting warped and didn't align correctly with the watch face geometry.
After attempting various approaches with 2D texture setups, I ultimately decided to use the actual image of the watch face itself. By directly applying the watch image as a texture, I was able to achieve the desired result and accurately replicate the intricate time markings on the watch.
Fox Renderfarm: What is your proudest achievement in the creation process?
Aditya: My proudest achievement in the creation process of this project is definitely the lighting. I have dedicated a significant amount of time to refining my skills in lighting, not only on personal projects but also during an internship I undertook last year. The lighting setup I achieved for this project is the best I've accomplished so far, and it represents a culmination of my efforts to create realistic and impactful visual environments.
I am particularly pleased with how the lighting enhanced the textures and reflections of the materials, such as metal and glass, in the 3D model of the watch. Moving forward, I am excited about further refining my lighting techniques to consistently achieve even better results in future projects :).
Fox Renderfarm: In 3D modeling, which factors do you think are crucial for achieving accuracy in reproducing real-world objects?
Aditya: Some might say that size doesn’t matter but the truth is that it does. Size matters significantly because it directly impacts how lighting interacts with the model and how depth of field effects are rendered. When the size is true to life, lighting behaves realistically, allowing for natural shadows and reflections that contribute to a more convincing final render.
Additionally, maintaining precise proportions and dimensions ensures that textures and materials align correctly with the model. This attention to detail extends to every aspect of the object, from its overall shape to the fine details that make it distinct.
So, we do need to at least roughly get the size and proportions of the model to be the same as real-world objects in order to get the desired result.
Ancient Turtle Dragon © Aditya Raj
Fox Renderfarm: Have you tried or heard about Fox Renderfarm’s services before? What is your impression of our cloud rendering services?
Aditya: I have never personally tried this render farm service until now. I didn’t get the chance to have that honor since I want to make full use of the service and resources provided by Fox Renderfarm. I do have a few animations in my mind that will take a huge load on my laptop and I plan to render on the cloud through your service. So, looking forward to happy and heat-free rendering through the prize I earned. I’ll put it to good use in another challenge. :)
Fox Renderfarm: After achieving such success in the challenge, do you have any advice for other 3D artists looking to improve their product rendering skills?
Aditya: I hesitate to claim that I've achieved enough to offer extensive advice, but I can share two valuable suggestions.
Firstly, approach every challenge as an opportunity to learn and grow. Experiment with new techniques and don't focus solely on winning; instead, strive to improve collaboratively with others.
Secondly, I highly recommend being actively involved in a community of artists. Engaging with like-minded individuals, seeking feedback, and offering help to others can accelerate your growth tremendously. Over time, the collective effort and knowledge-sharing within a community will undoubtedly yield significant progress in your skills as a 3D artist.
Hoping that this would be helpful to others as much as it was to me. It was fun chatting with you, thanks a lot for giving me such an opportunity. I'll strive harder and maybe I’ll be here answering such questions again:).
The Eerie Whispers © Aditya Raj
Aditya’s Social Media:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rusty_sk3l3t0n/ (For most frequent updates)
- Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/rustysk3l3t0n (For my smaller but more curated portfolio)
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@rustysk3l3t0n (Though I hardly post anything on YouTube)
