Dining scene blocking and lighting

The first big project! Creating a dining area in a restaurant, cafe, or diner! The scope of this project is cool, because we create several different objects, and will use the techniques we have learned so far to set up a scene. This post is about how I blocked out the scene, setting the major elements, and setting up the lighting for the scene.

The first thing I did was create a cube shaped polygon, and reverse the normals, so the textures will eventually show on the inside of the box. This will serve as the walls, ceiling, and floor of the dining area. I set the size of the cube to match a reference I downloaded of a diner schematic,shown below. The next thing I did was create a booth seat, duplicate it, flip it around 180 degrees, and put a table in between.



I wanted to get a feel for how it would look at this point, so I created a camera that would give me a decent view and threw a light in to spotlight the vicinity of the booth. Here is where I ran into a problem. Nothing showed up when I rendered the image. Turns out, I needed to increase the intensity of the spot light to an incredible degree, due to the size of the room! Once I had that figured out, I began duplicating the booth, and setting several booths along the walls.

The next part involved creating the counters for bar-style seating. This was fairly easy, and I was able to set those up quickly. I then tackled the bar-seats. I created one, and duplicated it, spreading them evenly in front of the two counters. Finally, I made a jukebox. added in some door frames, set up some seats for waiting, and called it finished!

At least, that's what I thought. We have a polygon count limit, and I wanted to ensure that I held to that limit. Also, curved objects create N-gons, and these are highly undesirable, so I felt the need to go in and remove those. I had to rebuild the hanging lights, the tables, and the jukebox. Then, I needed to make certain everything was properly named and organized. Finally, I decided to toy with some more ambient lighting. I have three camera angles set up, but I will end up redoing those as well.

Following are three images taken of the room. There is no shading or texturing at this point, as it is just blocking the scene. So far, I am really pleased with the layout and lighting. I'm looking forward to adding in the features I have planned!







A list of objects present in the scene thus far:

The room
Seven booths consisting of a table, two seats, and a light fixture
Several bar stools
A front counter, side counter, and back counter
A jukebox
Three door frames.
Several overhead light fixtures
Some seats for the waiting area

Eventually, I want to add some mirrors, some common tableware, napkin holders, and other items to create a nice feeling. I'm thinking of creating a Tuscan style.