Splash

Well, what a beautiful day it was yesterday. Rudely awoken by hailstones banging on the window, it was seemingly nothing but rain and gales for the duration. And it was cold. You know things are out of hand when I’m in a jumper.

It did, however, lead me back to my beloved stormy scenes, and this time I headed to the coast, as I imagine things were pretty dramatic out in the North Sea. There surely isn’t a more treacherous bracing place to be in such conditions. I don’t think I’ve ever focused on the sea before; certainly it’s been a long time if I have. Time to fix that.

Back to a more local setting, and facing the other way; a most welcome sight on the coast would be the lighthouse:

Making waves was more of a challenge than anticipated, but a lot of fun with it – now I’m wanting to hear them crash, whatever the weather! Got your sea legs?

The Lighthouse at Happisburgh

Lighthouses are plentiful on the east coast, but few could boast the immediate charm of Happisburgh. The oldest of its kind left in East Anglia, construction in 1790 came in response to a dire winter the year previous, in which hundreds of sailors were lost for the lack of warning lights. Two towers were originally built, but the second structure, under threat of collapse due to erosion, was demolished in the late nineteenth century, granting the taller twin undivided attention.

After almost two hundred years, it seemed it was lights out for Happisburgh in 1988 when service was decommissioned, shunned for more sophisticated navigational technology. Thanks to a tireless local campaign and parliamentary action, it was saved and entrusted to a small group as an independent facility. Upkeep is entirely dependent on volunteers and tourists, thousands of whom visit each year.

The light still operates and has a range of eighteen miles.

It was nice to be able to work a bit more liberally with trees thanks to what was learnt in the Huizermolen build.

It seemed ludicrous and chicken to go so far constructing the lighthouse without due consideration for the light bit. Within the lamp room, I modelled a basic lens for beaming with a spotlight behind it, and it seemed to work, giving the small source a wider, tinted glow. I actually think I fiddled a bit too much, especially with turbulence, and started to lose some of the early promise. It’s something to look at on the next attempt.

I want to marry a lighthouse keeper, won’t that be okay?

 

Huts on the Beach

Tuesday was a scorcher here on the coast, with temperatures coming it at just over twenty degrees. I don’t know how on earth we’re expected to cope with such inferno; indeed, I didn’t fare that well, and after initial joy was willing a breeze to swoop in. In fact, I still feel as though I’m browning as I write this in the early hours of the morning. All this being said, opening windows felt good and some brightness was very welcome.

The persistent sun took me to the beach – well, in terms of inspiration, anyway. After a number of failed drawings, I thought it’d be easier to draw a beach hut. Then that failed, and I thought it easier to model one. And it came out – well, far better than the drawings! You’ll see these charming little shelters standing out vividly at many Norfolk beaches – elsewhere too, I daresay! – offering a place to change, or just seek refuge from unremitting heat. Perhaps I need one.

The joy of digital modelling means simple duplication and re-texturing, making those rows of colour easy to achieve.

Hmm! Spoilt for choice. I think I’ll take the mint green – even if there is an outside chance of neighbouring Mr Blobby. It’s a risk I’m going to have to take.

Next Dimension: Pinwheels

On a pleasant Sunday evening, we head not to the amusements but to the adjacent seaside, abundant with cheap and cheerful souvenir shops and stalls. Well, my eyes just lit up; what have we here?

The pinwheel was a pretty seductive toy to my infant self. They had all the pull of my beloved windmills, except these whirling wonders were resplendent in sweet, sparkling colour and could be held in the hand. And they span uncontrollably with even the slightest breeze.

They’re much simpler in structure than a windmill, of course, but boy, that didn’t translate into the modeling process. I thought the Bend tool would produce a fold easily – it didn’t. Coming out of Cinema 4D, I couldn’t even find a tutorial for assistance, which leads me to believe there’s a blindingly simple way of achieving this… I must have missed it!

I cut a square into triangles, isolated one, then broke that into several vertical sectors. I then took each of those sectors and lifted or rotated as needed to give the impression of a fold. That sounds elementary enough, but it took forever, and almost cost me (what’s left of) my hair. Still! We got there in the end.

I used Hyper NURBS on the polygon to soften the edges, which gave it more a ‘folded paper’ feel. Turning this up even more rounded the edges to almost a completely different style, so I took this and indeed created a separate toy, this time with eight fins:

Oh to be beside the seaside! Now, who’s for skinny-dipping?