Produce stunning product shots in Notch
Will Smith showcases a selection of projects that demonstrate the many possibilities of working with nodes in Notch
How to create high-quality product renders with Notch
As an experienced 3D artist, it’s been exhilarating to witness Notch develop into a highly sophisticated top-end 3D creation tool. I have been using Notch for more than two years; the versatility of this software has never been so good. And it’s really only just beginning to stretch its legs!
I’m going to show you Notch at its finest with a range of projects. Over the following steps, we will create a series of photorealistic product images for use in marketing and advertising.
I plan to demonstrate just how easy it is to import existing 3D models into Notch where they can be textured, lit, animated and rendered at an unbeatable speed. Notch’s simple node-based workflow makes versioning product designs a breeze. And as well as simply using pre-made models, we will also create products entirely from scratch using Notch. The off-the-shelf nodes make it possible to create high-end product shots using just one 3D tool.
Notch’s fast render engine produces exceptionally highresolution images and video at a competitive speed. We will cover how to transform your product shots into animated, interactive pieces of content – perfect for brand installations and product launches. Notch is the all-in-one solution for everything interactive and real time.
I’ve had fun injecting a bit of the Notch personality into these images; it’s so easy to version these product shots into anything. Unfortunately, despite extensive research, ‘Notch Gin’ is not currently available on the market!
01 CREATE A MULTI-PURPOSE PRODUCT SHOT
In this first tutorial, I want to show you how to take an off-the-shelf model and transform it into a photorealistic branded product shot. I chose this watch model from Turbosquid because of its intricate details. I will guide you through the process of optimising the 3D mesh, texturing using Notch's bespoke materials and versioning your product shot for interactive use.
02 SOURCE A DECENT MODEL
I chose this Turbosquid model because of its detailed mesh. I want to achieve laser-sharp detail in close-up shots. At a later stage, I plan to separate the hands of the watch; for this, I need the hands modelled as separate elements. This mesh also came with high-resolution textures, including several different bezels which enables me to play around with the face and the branding. Turbosquid is a brilliant resource for animators and designers to share and purchase high-end models like this watch.
03 SET UP THE MESH
Before embarking on any project, I will always optimise and refine my mesh. I use a 3D modelling package to do this before exporting out the mesh for use within Notch. First, strip out any unnecessary geometry and replace high-poly parts with low-poly versions. I remove modifiers like turbosmoothing, except for in essential areas where I need to preserve the poly count. Make sure that all the polygons have the correct smoothing. Finally, ensure that the model has adequate UVS – a set for the main textures and a second set for lightmaps.
04 IMPORT ASSETS INTO NOTCH
Drag and drop assets into Notch or import them individually in the resource window. Once imported, you can drag assets directly into the node graph. Connect the asset to the root node, and it will appear in the viewport. Perhaps you’ve found a few angles you like while moving around the model in the viewport? Simply add a Camera node and set it to Current View.
05 SCENE SETUP: PATHTRACING
To create photorealistic lighting, I’m going to set up Pathtracer and Raytraced Skylight nodes within the scene. The Raytraced Skylight node uses an environment image to produce all the HDR lighting. The Pathtracer node will create all the reflections, refractions and diffuse bounce for the scene so that it looks more realistic. I’ve also added a Raytraced Refinement node, which will clean up any raytraced noise in a static non-real-time scene. Our realistically lit model is now ready for texturing.
06 BASIC MATERIAL SETUP
Because we are using raytraced lighting, I can take advantage of the raytraced materials available in Notch. I have used Metallic material and Glass RT material for the watch face. In addition to the readily available optimised materials included with Notch, there is also the option to choose from materials created in Substance Designer. I have used a Substance material for the strap.
07 MAKE IT REAL TIME
With no additional setup, the watch looks photorealistic. Now let's take this look to the next level and make it run in real time! To improve the performance of your scene, remove the Pathtracer node and replace it with a real-time RT Multibounce Reflection. Then, set the skylight to apply to nonraytraced specular lighting only, and turn off Dynamic Lighting within the root node. Despite looking identical to the original pathtraced scene, this real-time scene runs at 100fps at a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution on an RTX 2080 Ti.
08 FINAL POLISH, LIGHTING AND MATERIALS
Next I’m going to polish the lighting and materials to make the scene look more like a marketing shot. I’ll add some depth of field to a camera to give the watch some scale. I also want to make the background much darker as well as make the foreground more reflective to reflect the watch on the floor. I’ve added some additional lights to help bring out the specular and normal details on the wrist band. These lights also help bring the blue colours out on the watch face, making it look more metallic.
09 INTERACTIVE AND REAL-TIME ANIMATION
Notch’s Clock Time Modifier node can use the local time on your PC as a rotation to a mesh. I've applied it to the individual hand of my watch face, so it reads my local time. There is also the Mouse Picker node, which can be hooked up to envelope modifiers so that when you tap or click on parts of the screen, it will tilt and rotate the camera around the watch.
10 FLEXIBLE MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES
As you can see, creating this project in Notch is extremely simple. With a detailed model, it is easy to produce and render a photorealistic product shot in less than an hour. With Notch, you have both the benefit of speed and exceptional quality. The most fantastic part of this workflow – it's possible to version your model for a multitude of use cases. Transform your shot into an interactive project for touch screen, LIDAR, Kinect, motion tracking or audio-reactive, without a degree in coding to get it set up.
11 NOTCH GIN
For this next tutorial, we create a scene using simple meshes and basic lighting nodes. I am going to create a photorealistic gin marketing piece, featuring a glass of gin in the foreground which contains realistic ice cubes and liquid, and a branded gin bottle. We will also design background elements to sell the digital environment. I want to push the lighting within this scene so it looks like it has a higher dynamic range – making the content pop like a compelling marketing image.
12 USE PINTEREST FOR REFERENCE POINTS
With all well art-directed pieces of artwork, the most important thing you can do is find excellent references. Once you have that reference, it's just a matter of mimicking the style, lighting and layout. If you search for marketing shots on Pinterest, you will find hundreds of great-looking images.
Once you find what you are looking for, draw inspiration from colour palettes, layouts, camera setups and locations. All you are then left to do is model the assets for the scene and tailor the content to your vision.
13 CREATE THE GIN ASSETS
When modelling your asset, pay attention to all the subtle changes of direction in the surfaces. With raytraced glass meshes, it’s important to model both a detailed interior and exterior as one mesh. Avoid hard edges and keep smoothing groups to a single group to get the best surface response from the raytraced reflections, refractions and diffuse bounce.
14 MODEL PLACEMENT
Assets can import into Notch as one whole object or as individual elements; this time, for a little more control, I will import my model as individual elements. Now I can work on the composition, arranging the bottle and glasses until I find the perfect placement. Control multiple assets by linking them to a Null node; this lets you scale and rotate all linked objects uniformly.
15 WORK ON THE RAYTRACED MATERIALS
By splitting the gin glass model into three separate objects – the glass, ice cubes and liquor – I can adjust each material individually before moving onto the next. First, I apply the RT Glass material onto the glass. Next, I use the same material for the ice cubes, adding a little roughness and absorption. Finally, I add the gin. I had previously modelled the details of the meniscus – the liquid rim around the inside of the glass. Now with the RT Glass material applied, the meniscus has created a realistic highlight on the surface of the gin.
16 SET UP THE MAIN IMAGE
I wanted to create a light, bright, contemporary design for this product shot. I used a rough, glossy metal table as my reference point. To create the look, I chose a basic sand material. I used the material’s normals to deform the lighting as it hits the surface. I then reduced the material roughness and ramped up the metallic property to create a slick reflective surface. For the lighting, I added a colourful HDR image to the skylight, then adjusted the HDRI directly with colour correction and blur.
17 FRAMING AND COMPOSITION
I've linked a Depth of Field node to my positioned Camera node and set a short focal plane distance so that my models are the focal point. I also want to narrow the focal range, which will enhance the depth of field even more by giving both near and far blur. I've arranged a cocktail in the background and have left the cork off my bottle of gin, suggesting a cold, freshly poured beverage.
18 GET THE LAYOUT CORRECT
Achieving the layout was pretty simple – I got some good references and copied what worked.
I am now in a position where I can nudge and adjust the layout of my scene until I am satisfied. This is one of the perks of real-time animation. At this stage of the design, I am free to move and adjust every element of my scene without waiting for render previews. I can visually art-direct as if it were in real life – with the freedom of being able to change materials, textures and lighting at the click of a button. It's the best of both worlds.
19 BRANDING
For the branding, I've used a poster design created by Notch's creative director Jani Isoranta. I dropped the asset into the project and applied the image to the label material, using the UV scales and UV offsets to position the artwork. This workflow makes versioning different label designs exceptionally fast, and it can come in handy when previsualising designs for clients.
20 FINALISE THE COMPOSITION
I'm happy with my composition, design and branding. I could go straight ahead and render out my image, but first, I'm going to polish the lighting. I've added some spotlights to accentuate the highlights on the surface edges.
I can change the entire lighting of the composition by rotating the skylight, which will also change the backdrop. I did this until I was happy with the reflections, refractions and highlights within the scene. In Notch I can render out multiple high-quality images in seconds – perfect for tight deadlines.
21 MEAD GIN
Here is another example of using off-the-shelf meshes to produce a classic marketing image. In Notch, it's simple to balance materials and lighting to create virtual photographs like this gin bottle, resting on an old gnarled tree stump. The moody tone of this image was created using Notch's bespoke nodes from the post-fx category. Colour LUTS balance the lighting, and the Colour Grading node is used to alter the hues and saturation. The post-fx node family is like a Notch penknife, helping you whittle down the look you are after with the steady precision of a surgeon's hand.
22 PERFUME
A brilliant graphic product shot I found on Pinterest inspires this next scene. Contrasting colour and materials make the image pop. The perfume bottle was the only thing here we needed to model, the rest of the plant meshes were purchased from Cgtrader and imported straight into the scene.
It was then a simple matter of setting up the scene layout and lighting by copying the layout and lighting from the Pinterest product shot, to produce a compelling piece of marketing imagery.
23 DIFFUSE LIGHTING
In this final project, also inspired by a Pinterest image, I wanted a really simple scene that I could light with area lights and bounce lighting alone. The raytraced diffuse bounce from the path tracer is on default. Parfum de Armin is a hint of beer, a splash of shots and the smell of a small room that was once filled with 20 hungover people after two hours of training.
24 THE FINAL WORD
In the digital age, virtual photography is an essential part of advertising. The product shots you create can be used from early product development right through to print and brand activations. Notch has all your design needs in one place, and it is easy to learn and enjoyable to use.
It's been great fun sharing these product shots with you, and I would love to see what you can come up with yourself using the Instagram tag #madewithnotch.
For further information on Notch and more learning resources, visit