I very rarely take on personal projects these days, and I rarely do I take take an image from concept to completion on my own, normally operating as part of a wider team. I have very much enjoyed this concept phase.

It has mainly been a matter of researching the area, the history, the ethos of the gallery and Kalmar. I have used Google web and image search extensively of course, Flickr produced some reference photos. Using Google Earth I discovered a 3D model of the nearby castle. Tip: if you see a 3D model on google earth there is a good chance that it will be in the sketchup warehouse, searching by location quickly brought up the 3D model in sketchup format, which I then imported directly to max.

I really wanted to include the three key elements, the sea, the castle and the gallery. I have not found the subject easy to frame, it is such a dominant form that I had trouble balancing the image. central symmetrical composition worked quite well but never enabled me to tell a full enough story.

I’ve just constructed enough to allow me to play with the main form of the image. I introduced boats and a small dock, but in the end I was too far from the building and somehow it lacked drama.

So in the end I decided to ditch the sea in aid of a more dramatic composition. I chose not to the correct the verticals and to allow them to taper in. The path leads you through the image across the ‘stage’ to the castle, the large window to the gallery draws you in. I am using the landscaping in the lower left to balance the upper right of the image. The cabanas and the restaurant will add interest. And I plan to add sculpture and people to the central public space, creating a few stories to dwell upon.

During this process I’ve been using Vray RT properly for the first time, it’s the 3.5 beta2, and I’ve got to say I’m very impressed, it is so fluid.

There is a lot to do, and very little time. Time to push.