Project Overview

Our ray-traced image used Blender Cycles to generate a Mulan-inspired scene for CS 148: Introduction to Computer Graphics. We modeled the geometry for the trees, stones, water, the bridge, and the ground from scratch. The bridge, lily pads, lotus flower, and tree were custom UV-unwrapped and painted in Photoshop. The water and stones' texture were procedurally generated. Petals and cherry blossoms used a phsyics-based particle system to generate, and additional features such as volumetric emission, depth of field, motion blur, and denoising were added to the scene.

I worked on procedural materials for the water and stone, lighting the scene and sky, an emitter for floating petals with motion blur, a hair particle system to scatter cherry blossoms on the tree, and denoising in the scene. I also collaborated with my partner on adding volumetric emission and depth of field, and the layout and camera placement for final renders. Feel free to contact me if you would like to learn more.

Concept

We wanted to create a garden scene featuring a pond with lily pads and a cherry blossom tree. My partner and I wanted to achieve a stylized look to our scene inspired by low-poly artwork with a touch of realism. We wanted our image to be resemblant of a relaxing, garden scene you’d see in Mulan – to evoke a quiet, tranquil quality. Games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons were also an inspiration for the setting and mood of our scene, especially how they blend bright, pastel colors with a soft, understated look.

In our image, we combine the still mountains and greenery with elements of movement in the reflections of the water and the floating cherry blossom petals. The viewer is meant to peer at the view, focusing on the lotus flower on the water. We set the camera with the lotus off-center, framed by the cherry blossom tree and the floating petals to guide your eyes into the bridge to the distant mountains.

Modeling

The volumetric scattering cube is removed to show the scene more fully.