INTRODUCTION
Hello, my name is Evgeniy, and I’m 3D artist from Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
I have been actively engaged in 3D graphics for over two years. Currently, I work as a motion designer at the interactive design studio, Akademia.
Despite not having an artistic background or traditional drawing skills, and without attending art schools, I am entirely self-taught. I learned everything through YouTube and paid courses.
INSPIRATION
I am eager to try my hand at various aspects of 3D modeling, but the list of topics I want to explore grows faster than I can master them. Therefore, I have to prioritize the most important directions.
Currently, I am drawn to hard surface modeling, and I am trying my skills in this area. I found a reference for my work on Instagram by the author, mobilitylabs.ai.
The design of this device caught my attention, and I decided to recreate it in three-dimensional space. Usually, when working with an existing reference like now, I don’t limit myself to one angle. I always find it interesting to “rotate” what I see in two-dimensional space. This requires me to develop concept design skills.
One of my sources of inspiration and additional references has been the gadgets from Teenage Engineering. Therefore, you might notice that many elements in my work mimic their design and interfaces.
PROCESS
Design
When I first saw this gadget, I wondered about its purpose. What is it for? How can it be useful?
At first, I thought it was a music player, similar to a Walkman, but with elements from Teenage Engineering. Then I decided to create something like a GameBoy, but in the style of Sony and Teenage Engineering. However, I ultimately returned to the concept of a music device, while retaining some interface elements such as RB, LB, Start, Mode buttons, and so on.
I want to warn those who seek logic in the functioning of my gadgets: there is none. Usually, my devices exist in a non-existent world, as you might have noticed from my previous works such as Pocolator and Rockorder. I don’t invest much in the detailed functionality of how they work, but I strive to make them “conditionally” functional.
I have also planned a video sequence for the screen, which I will showcase soon by releasing animated videos featuring this device.
Modeling
In this project, I primarily used only one modifier—Bevel. Sometimes, I prefer not to use Subdivision because it requires creating proper topology, dealing with n-gons, etc., which doesn’t make sense for me anymore since I’ve already gone through that stage.
If you see my wireframe, you might say I’m doing everything wrong. But what difference does it make? I would ask you. When you only see the final render, all those topology complexities can seem excessive. Therefore, I try not to complicate the process to save time.
Materials
I usually use materials from the BlenderKit library and my own materials from my personal Asset Browser, which I started collecting not so long ago.
For the main body material, I couldn’t decide whether it should be metal or plastic. So, I would call it “plastic metal.”
I also added orange accents and, most importantly, an orange leather back cover, which I really liked from Teenage Engineering.
Lighting
As usual, I use studio lighting, setting it up manually. I don’t know why, but I can’t seem to work with HDRI maps, and the lighting always turns out flat.
Details
I decided not to stop at what I see in the reference and added more details to my work. I usually add details even where they aren’t needed. I don’t know how to get rid of this habit. Maybe it’s my curse.
Naming
Why Pony and not Sony? I decided that since this is a fictional gadget, its name should be fittingly imaginative, much like the car names in the GTA game series.
And that was it! Below are the final renders.
RENDER: The Pony Project
More renders:
Thank you for reading!
About the Artist
Evgeniy, a.k.a, poco_rocko, is a 3D doodler from Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Currently, he works as a motion designer at the interactive design studio, Akademia. His previous article on BlenderNation was, A Date with Poco.
