May Visual Trend Exploration: Assets with a Purpose

Among his 3D composites, one of Jesús’ favourites will definitely get your attention. He used Adobe Fuse to model a grasping, bloodied zombie, then took it into Photoshop to animate it, apply 3D retouching, create custom textures from his own photos, and put everything onto a stock background. Together, the pieces create just what you’d want in a zombie — something strikingly un-lifelike.

Assets with perspective.

While Jesus works with 2D stock to create 3D-looking images, Project Felix (currently in beta) takes a chunk of the technical complexity out of the equation by letting designers start with a 3D model, then apply materials, lighting, and backgrounds to create photorealistic 3D scenes.

Early adopters are using the tools in practical ways, like creating pre-visualizations for clients or showing how a logo will look on a box or bottle. There’s also a growing trend of abstract and creative work.

Justin Patton, the creative director for the Felix team, hopes to see more members of the community developing and offering models through Felix. “We’re stoking the fire, and we hope that soon we’ll see more members of our community contributing. We think the collection will grow naturally based on what really interests artists and designers.”

For designers interested in creating 3D models, Justin says there is demand for all kinds of blank objects that artists can really make their own. When it comes to sheer creativity and exploration, his favourites are metallic and mechanical objects: “As the designer, you get to experiment with how the light interacts with them, and how they reflect the environment.”