Che Vuoi?!
↝ Description
Italians talk with their hands. A lot. Did you know that there are over 250 different hand gestures in Italy for communicating non-verbally? One of them seems to stand out - simply named the italian hands or more formally che vuoi. For a client project I was tasked with finding a way to make the country of italy talk if you will, incorporating the hand gesture into the topography of the country in a 3D scene. The result is a playful scene, catching the eye and incorporating the culture in a fun way.
To incorporate the gesture into the topography, we first need, well, the topography. As I was familiar with gathering scientific data, I wrote a small Python script to download and puzzle together the needed satellite data as a heightmap. Though how do we go on from here, making the hand be a part of this heightmap?
↝ Tools used
World Creator, Python, Cinema 4D, Redshift, Photoshop
So I got a 3D scan of a hand doing the specific gesture I found on a 3D-printing platform and exported a depth map from the angle I needed. Now it's just a tad too smooth to really look like it is part of a map, doesn't it? I remembered using a software called World Creator a few years back to create quick landscapes. I booted it up and went straight ahead experimenting with the hand's depth map, applying various kinds of erosion and noise to make it look like it was part of a huge mountain riff.
After a few iterations, I was happy with the result and exported the simulated and eroded heightmap to Photoshop, where I merged it with the original height data of the map of Europe.
Style development
Having the finished heightmap on hand, I went through a few iterations and revisions of different styles incorporating the client's feedback until we settled on the final look. A little more polishing, rigging the map using some simple bones, animating the camera and I was ready to roll the final render and send it off to the post-team.