Step 106


Go to (Create>CV Curve).[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 107


In the side view create the profile for your backdrop.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 108


Move and duplicate the curve, for the width of your backdrop.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 109


Select the two curves, and then under “Surfaces”, go to (Surfaces>Loft).[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 110


Create a polygon plane.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 111


Select the Spot light you created earlier, place it in the middle of the poly plane, and rotate it on the x axis by -90 degrees.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 112


Select the plane, then shift select the light, and press the p key on your keyboard.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 113


In the Hypershade, drop a surface shader, and for the Out Color, choose pure white.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 114


Apply the surface shader to the polyplane.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 115


Create a new Lambert material, and for color, choose a lighter gray.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 116


Assign the Lambert to the backdrop.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 117


Choose a position for rendering.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 118


Select the spot light, and in the attribute editor, enter 20 for Penumbra Angle . This will give a softer edge on the light.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 119


Select the light, and position it to the left and looking down on an angle at the sword.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 120


Duplicate the light setup, position it to the right, and looking almost perpendicular to the sword.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 121


Do a test render. As you can see, the image is a little blown out. You will have to tone down the lights. .[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 122


Start by setting the intensity of the lights to 0.8. This might vary depending on the position of the lights, sword, color of the backdrop, and so on, so you will probably need to spend some time tweaking the intensity to get the desired result.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 123


Select the lights, and in the Attribute editor, scroll down until you find shadows and then Raytrace Shadow Attributes. Check the Use Ray Trace Shadows, and for Shadow Rays enter 16.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 124


When you are satisfied with your light setup, do a final render. Go to (View>Camera Settings>Resolution gate). So you can see exactly what area you will be rendering.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 125


Go to (Window>Rendering Editors>Render Settings).[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 126


Under the quality tab, in Quality Presets, choose Production.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 127


Scroll down until you find the Raytracing options. For shadows enter 16.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 128


In the Common tab, under the Image size setting, enter your final resolution. Press the render button to render your final image.[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Step 129


Here is the final result. Just for better presentation, I added a stand. You are welcome to create your own stand, or maybe a hand to hold the sword…or anything else you like![You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

This tutorial is Day 3 in a series – Go to Day 1, or Day 2.

Don’t miss more CG tutorials and guides, published daily – subscribe to Cgtuts+ by RSS.]