The Ordinary

3D visual of a tricky label and carton detail.

08.05.2020

This project was a self created 3D CGI for learning how to craft the detail in Blender. The small and fine text on the labels and the different materials mean it is a good example of how CGI may be easier to control for e-commerce product shots than a photograph.

Specialising within packaging design I am always looking at the detail of the pack that helps differentiate the brand and the product within the market sector.

On-pack finishes like foil, emboss, deboss and special colours are very important to the brand, applying these consistently and accurately are important to maintain realism when creating a 3D CGI pack visual.

When moving over to Blender and learning the detail of the application I set myself a few tasks to understand how to get the best from the program whilst modelling, texturing, lighting and rendering. The Ordinary products were liked by my wife who had bought a few and I felt this would be a good choice to test my skills.

From actual reference in the hand I had the cartons and bottles but no artwork to use so this project detail also illustrates how I can generate the artwork of the labels and cartons even if you do not have them.

The bottles use the same model but have different glass materials applied, white frosted and brown (UV protect). The pipette dropper screw caps have a few different materials, glass for the pipette, white hard plastic and a rubber squeeze top. These are subtle in the whole picture but important to get right as it would look wrong otherwise and disrupt the realism.

Once the label is applied correctly it is an easy task to duplicate the whole bottle, edit the materials (glass), connect a new product variant artwork label and render again however required.

The carton was modelled flat within blender, given a thickness and folded as it would be in reality, this helps again with the realism as using a simple box would not be right, note the lid area. Often there are subtleties within the cartons, to make them stand upright better for example, that needs to be included.

Once the pack formats are modelled, they are part of your library, and the time taken to create new visuals, product lineups or range extensions is reduced and more cost efficient. Also the lighting setup is part of the file setup so there is no time needed to match a previous photography shoot, for example.

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