A Throne Fit for a King (2024).
Drawing inspiration from Nigeria's rich artistic heritage, my project intricately weaves elements of ancient Benin, Igbo, and Ife art. Taking references into the diverse tapestry of Nigerian cultures, I craft a regal throne set on an elevated podium reminiscent of traditional palace thrones, symbolizing authority and command.
The geometric patterns adorning the woodwork pay homage to the intricate adire patterns of the Yoruba people, steeped in hidden meanings known only to a select few. Embodying strength and power, the eagle mirrors the iconic symbol from the Nigerian Coat of Arms. Historically revered as a status symbol, the elephant's tusks serve as a poignant reminder of the owner's influence and social standing.
Styleframes
Process.
For composition, most of my renders were done super close to the model because I wanted to capture the intricacies of the throne and the play on light on the different elements such as the elephants at the base, and the eagle at the top. For textures, I based my models and scenes off brown and red textures. I wanted to really sell the idea that the culture the throne comes from is one of proficient woodcarving.
For lightning, I went to a somewhat dramatic lightning in which the throne is mostly well lit while the other parts of the scene are dimly lit. I also made use of a gobo light to show some shadows of trees over the scene to imitate light/ shadows coming from outside. Almost all models were exclusively modeled and textured in 3dCoat using the inbuilt materials and brushes. A typical example of my workflow is sculpting in 3dCoat, sending it over to Cinema 4D for retopo, importing the retopo mesh back into 3DCoat and baking in displacement into the paint room where I texture my object before importing the textures into cinema 4D and applying them using the Redshift render engine.
Process renders
Credits.
I was responsible for conceptualization, modelling, lighting, rendering and post production.
