Model AND Render this: Lavalamp

chrisjk

I take it that SketchyPhysics is allowed?

solo

Sure Sketchy physics is allowed, are you planning an animation?

solo

Either this is a real tough one, y'all are too busy for it or not interested.

I guess I will need to go first.

The outer glass

The inner liquid

The stand

The lava

wires

Rendered with Thea, lava is a medium based material with subsurface scattering.

Rich O Brien

Pete,

I've modelled a lamp but struggling with the render. Do I model glass, liquid and wax and apply material setting to each?

Or just glass with wax inside?

I'm using Twilight

solo

Rich, I'd difinately make the glass with thickness and apply a Twilight normal glass (not thin glass) The liquid inside will be water I guess with a very slight color and the lava can be a SSS material (try Rubber from Twilight and increase absorption)
Use a basic rectangular plane as light and try it with different strengths and positions until you get the right look I guess.

fymoro

Hey Pete, It's absolutely incredible, very quick and so nice render...Congrats...

notareal

@solo said:

Rich, I'd difinately make the glass with thickness and apply a Twilight normal glass (not thin glass) The liquid inside will be water I guess with a very slight color and the lava can be a SSS material (try Rubber from Twilight and increase absorption)
Use a basic rectangular plane as light and try it with different strengths and positions until you get the right look I guess.

With Trilight (and Kerkeythea) one must model so that surface normals do point from inside to out; from the wax to the water, from the water to the glass and from the glass to air. Use dielectric materials. Wax will need SSS.
Principle http://www.kerkythea.net/phpBB2/files/dielectrice_glass_modeling_normals_echo2web_129.jpg

Nice render solo!

tallbridgeguy

Just to show how great Solo is at rendering, I will submit the anti-lava lamp. I call it the ping pong rocket!

I did a really quick attempt so I could play with Thea. I need to learn how to make sss mats in thea,among other things....I think I will go back to bridges.

At least right now, I'm second best! (Until somebody else enters...of course)

TBG

EscapeArtist

I'm working on this retro-styled model:

Rich O Brien

@solo said:

lava can be a SSS material (try Rubber from Twilight and increase absorption)

By absorption, do you mean the SSS Density setting? Do you have a suggestion on how high it should be?

@solo said:

Use a basic rectangular plane as light and try it with different strengths and positions until you get the right look I guess

At the moment i'm using the circular base below the liquid as a light emitter. Is this the right approach?

Great challenge, very informative

boofredlay

Alright Pete, you are an evil man
All I set out to do was make a simple lava lamp and post a render. Well I have spent a good portion of my afternoon / evening on this now although most of it has been fun.
As for the model this, here are some shots of my model. And yes, I know I am too detailed sometimes. I went for the bottle cap and all

I have a couple renders planned, one cooking right now.

honoluludesktop

Great model and render Solo. TBG, I like your render, what is your tool. Interesting note is that Solo's photos of his collection have a wider contrast, and some incompatible colors that all add to the illustrations sense of reality!-)

boofredlay

Hmm. some interesting reflections from the HDRI.

boofredlay

Overnight progressive.

Rich O Brien

Hi,

I'm doing something drastically wrong to get this result...

Lava Lamp.jpg

There's strange vertical bars around the glass?

Lava Lamp Exploded.jpg

I've a feeling I've made a fundamental mistake in the model but i can't see what!

tallbridgeguy

Did you use a glass texture with lines? Its a cool model.

My lava now looks like marshmallows!

boofredlay

Another shot.

dale

Here my attempt, rendered in Thea. I would love to post the model, but strangely the image attached below is all that comes up in wireframe mode. I am a little suspicious of the WxSu plugin. I have had a few things give me problems in SketchUp since installing it along with the SU to Thea exporter.

Picture 437.png