When Lockdown Ends
Villages, small towns, historic districts, are the places where living together has always characterized even the architectural form of living space: this emergency has strengthened our bond with our neighbors making them part of one big family fighting alongside.
This emergency has forced us into our homes, returning to our countries of origin we have rediscovered the value of being together, in a cohabitation, even if forced, with our families we have had to face an unforeseen threat but which has undoubtedly made us develop new convictions about our role in relation to family members, especially the most vulnerable.
Villages, small towns, historic districts, are the places where living together has always characterized even the architectural form of living space, this emergency has strengthened our bond with our neighbors making them part of one big family fighting alongside. And it is there that the image is set: it represents the end of quarantine, the exact moment when it will be possible to relate freely in the street, as we have always been used to, to see children playing, tourists crowding the alleys of our historic cities, and finally live without social distancing.
The process
You can find a more complete process through this article written for The Rookies:
https://discover.therookies.co/2020/06/10/matte-painting-making-of-when-lockdown-ends/
I started out from these preparatory sketches made with alcohol-based grayscale markers to start imagining how the scene would look like.
Clay model
After modeling with 3dsmax a typical Naples alley trying to add as many details as possible in the modeling phase in order to make the scene more uniform, I switched to lighting, provided by an HDRI map, which I imagined should not be zenithal but should bring out the typical shapes and overhangs in these streets.
For the texturing phase I chose to work with Substance Painter to have the maximum freedom in painting the materials of the outer walls of the buildings that I knew would characterize the scene. I then proceeded with PBR materials trying to get the right degree of deterioration of the surfaces typical of these environments.
With Photoshop I improved the contrasts on the halftones, added some extras like the clothes suspended between the buildings and the people, and in the end using the VrayZDepth pass I added the atmosphere.
