How does a three-pronged dose of cuteness, followed by a couple of post-apocalyptic pick-me-ups sound? Great, if you ask me, and that's exactly what today's Hand-picked collection looks like!
Blender artists' talent is scattered all over the internet for everyone to behold, with one amazing artwork after the other being posted on all sorts of forums and mediums. In this series of posts, we attempt to collect and showcase pieces that wowed us with their artistry and production value.
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Leo Bottaro- Lil' Octopus Plushie
Starting up today's cuteness salvo is Leo Bottaro and his "Lil' Octopus Plushie" render. This render juggles incredible photorealism and very cute design, both mostly achieved via the super successful "Fur" sheen recreation on the plushie. It was made using by creating a very short (4mm) fur-like hair particle system on the plushie, and shading it via the Principled BSDF. Check out the comments of his Reddit post for the node setup for the fur material and the model shader itself.
Jeremy Titus - Old Chibi Totoro
Next up straight out of the cute cannon is Jeremy Titus' "Old Chibi Totoro". This render is also in the photorealistic medium and aims to depict and grumpy old Totoro based on Kaya Oldaker's 2D concept. The soft subsurface scattering around Totoros ears and tail are a very nice touch. Check out Jeremy's Blender Artists' post for breakdowns of this render.
Sheaf57 - The Doorway
Before Jumping into the third cute render, here is Sheaf57's incredibly moody intermission, "The Doorway". This piece features great composition and atmosphere. Sheaf57 used Megascans assets for the environment, all while reworking their shaders to better fit his vision and colorkey. The characters are random Mixamo animations with cloth simulations on top to get the cloaks.
Denis Wipart - Ice cream car
The final entry into today's cuteness trio is Denis Wipart's Ice cream car. Denis is no stranger to whimsical and colorful artworks, and this latest one is no exception. Check out his Artstation post for a look at the viewport and a timelapse of the scene's work in progress.
Brellias - Hopeful
Last but not least is Brellias' "Hopeful", another great atmospheric render to finish up today's collection. The Blue and pink duotone palette of the atmosphere set up a mood through which the image's storytelling can flourish (much like the incubated tree). Brellias used Cycles X to render this artwork, with the post-work being done in Photoshop.
