Messenger Bag
- Digital Fashion
THE BRIEF
This messenger bag is based on a vintage bag I found in a charity shop. I'd been looking for a project that would push my texturing skills. While this bag is minimal in design, the vintage leather had a lot of character that I knew would be challenging to capture.
My aim was to then create a series of photoreal CG environments that were inspired by fashion and beauty photography to showcase the bag. With a limited use of assets, I focused on composition and lighting to differentiate each shot.
CREDITS
Self initiated
BREAKING DOWN THE BUILD
I started by measuring the bag and creating a sewing pattern.
The pattern was then drawn out in Marvellous Designer. The advantage of using Marvellous is the accurate and realistic fabric simulation. The result was a natural resting pose for the bag that would've been time consuming to replicate by hand. Once I had a pose I was happy with, I then brought this into Cinema for clean up. I also added the buckles and rigged the lid for posing.
*please excuse the compost bin background!
THE LEATHER
The vintage leather has a lot of details that I wanted to capture. The wrinkles from years of use flowed along the creases of the bag. The stitch detail was very thick with a clear, prominent puncture point. The patina subtly changed the hue of the leather.
Starting with a fine leather material, I slowly layered up these details. For the directional leather creases, I built custom alphas in Designer.
FINAL ASSET BREAKDOWN
DESIGNING THE SET
I had started out this project with the intention of re-using a pre-existing shot that had been cut from a different project. Because of this, I knew that I would be placing the bag in a rocky landscape of sand. Compositonally, I was inspired by the following perfume photography.
Photograpy for Oman Luxury by unknown
Final Shot
Photography by Zeynep Özkanca
Final Shot
Photography by Studio Woork for Zenjiwa Living
Final Shot
Photography by Jake Curtais for Aman Skin Care
Final Shot
EVOLUTION OF INSPIRATION
The trickiest shot was definitely the last shot. I really liked the lighting in the original inspiration, but I had to reluctantly accept that it didn't work for this product. To pick out the detail and highlight interest on the bag, it broke the realism of the lighting and made the shot feel slightly off. I made the decision to relight it from scratch, trying out a sun & sky rig along with a more moodier, spot light set up.
DISOVERING THE DETAILS
One of the most rewarding parts of creating shots like these is being able to find new compositions by exploring the set up. I was really pleased with how well the lighting held up as the camera moved around. Finding these extra compositions allows me to highlight the details and care that has gone into creating the asset.
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