Behind the Scenes: Yamaha DGX670, What an instrument! By Alina Khan on December 11, 2024 Behind the Scenes Jump into Yuri Decastellis art as he molds a real-life piano through intricate steps.INTRODUCTIONHi! My name is Yuri Decastelli, and Im an Italian graphic designer and 3D artist.I first encountered Blender at 18, more out of pure curiosity than necessity. I opened the program, got lost in its interface, and ended up closing it after just five minutes, convinced I would never open it again. And yetDuring my final years at university, I had the chance to learn and use Blender, initially as a supplement to my graphic design work and eventually as the backbone of every project.So, after graduating, and for the past six years now, Ive been using Blender almost daily, creating renders, videos, and short films, always looking for something in each project to experiment with and learn from.INSPIRATIONA few months ago, I opened an Instagram account (yuridecastelli_3d) to promote my new freelance business. I decided to follow a regular posting schedule to help the account grow. To make the most of this opportunity, I tried my hand at quick hard-surface modeling, allowing me to practice while keeping the time investment to a minimum.While browsing for inspiration online and exploring the vast resources the web offers, I became convinced that theres no subject as elegant, refined, and pleasing as a musical instrument. Be it a piano, guitar, or violin, each instrument undeniably has a complex, vibrant charm.So, I decided to visit a well-known music warehouse near my home and take a stroll through its aisles. There, beyond the warm, rich, and majestic sound of a real piano, I was struck by the unique shape of this Yamaha keyboard. After trying it out (and thoroughly enjoying it) for a few minutes, I decided to snap a few photos to pair with some online references before diving headfirst into modeling it in Blender.I returned to the music warehouse only a few days later. Now, I have my own DGX670 in my room.PROCESSThe goal of this exercise was to achieve a photorealistic result in the shortest possible time (under 4 hours) and to maintain a clean wireframe by using only quads, avoiding triangles and ngons.ModelingTo start, I began the exercise by creating the keyboard. Since I didnt have full access to it at this stage, I used the actual length of the white keysabout 15 cmas a reference for the overall scale. I created a single octave, from C to B (including the black keys), and then replicated it seven times. From there, I proceeded to create the control panel, speakers, and the rest of the casing.Overall, the modeling wasnt particularly challenging, except for two specific areas: the protective grille of the speakers and the inclined, curved back surface of the keyboard.The speakers protective grille was created starting from a base mesh, to which I then applied the following series of modifiers:The result, however, wasnt the best it could have been. In my haste, I mistakenly modeled the base mesh, which also made the project heavier, especially during rendering. Applying a texture like this one probably would have been enough to improve and optimize rendering times and the final result:MaterialsFor this project, I used very simple materials without getting too caught up in the details. The most complex node I created was for the satin black plastic, the material used for most of the keyboard's surface.For the roughness, I used a texture similar to brushed steel.TexturingAt this point, I realized I had used most of the scheduled time for modeling. So, to speed up and complete the work quickly, I mostly used procedural textures (except for the faux wood, for which I used a texture downloaded from Poly Haven).As for the text, logos, and labels, I chose to skip UV mapping and use this small trick:Each text and logo was created by applying a "label," placed on the surface using the Shrinkwrap modifier, and disabling the "shadow" option in Ray Visibility.Perhaps not the most "conventional" or correct method, but it allowed me to save a lot of time while still achieving a satisfactory result:Scene, Lighting & AnimationFor the scene, I decided not to use an HDRI but instead to stick with a three-point lighting setup that rotated around the subject with a barely visible black background.The animation of the light sources would follow the movement of the various cameras capturing the scene and the details of the keyboard, aiming to convey a sense of luxury and elegance.In addition to this "non-environment," I created some extra rough scenes that would showcase the three types of environments the keyboard offers in "Piano Room" mode: Stage Hall Cathedral Finally, I created a short demonstration video of the model that highlights all the features of the DGX670. The video can be viewed on my Instagram account:RENDER: Yamaha DGX670, What an instrument! http://www.blendernation.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Render-4.mp4Thank you for reading! If you have any questions or feedback, please dont hesitate to share your thoughts.About the Artist Yuri Decastelli is an Italian graphic designer and 3D artist, currently working as a 3D generalist at SicoService s.r.l. In March 2024, he started a parallel freelance business as a 3D artist.Links