Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Props for a 3D goldrush ... figure model and all!

Western 3D props! Seriously -- a realy fantastic set of odds and ends that put a huge kick into many historical scenes you're setting. "Western" is a time-frame as well as a location ... bet your bottom dollar, the bits and pieces would have looked the same in England, Europe or Australia in 1870, so they mix and match beautifully...

Now, you might have noticed that it is Impossible to sell, demonstrate or display anything in this universe (or at least on this planet) without having a near-naked babe draped over it. I was looking at fancy paper stocks yesterday. Paper! And sure enough there had to be a young female in what was supposed to be provocative costume partially obscuring the product (actually it just looked like her corsets were so tight they were cutting off the circulation to her brain ... or maybe it was the height of her heels making her dizzy). So, in the interests of fair play --

You there, sonny Jim. Yes, you in the blue jeans, pretending to be a male model. Yes, you! If you want to be a model, let's take the idea for a spin!

Being a nice lad, he didn't seem to mind. Maybe he reckons sexist advertising is a right royal pain, and he'd be right. But if it's going to be done at all, it oughtta go both ways... equal opportunity eye candy, nudge, wink.

Yes, well, thank you, dear. Now, git out of the picture and let's see the props. Go! You and your scarlet undies can go get a coffee while the props speak for themselves now you've grabbed everyone's attention for us.

And they really are a heck of a nice set of props. There's about 20 items in the set, including a tripod for the campfire, a coffee pot, a branding iron, several bags, crate, box, chest, trunk, pail, and so on.

The whole kit looks like someone's struck gold in them thar hills, and won't be seen again till they show up swanning around on a Mississippi river casino boat, like James Coburn in Maverick! Best of all, this great set of props cost the princely sum of $9.99, and it wasn't even a sale.

Jade's verdict: highly recommended, 5 out of 5, great quality, great value.

Also, I couldn't resist using these renders as an exercise in shadows and light too ... have you noticed the shadow cast by the lantern? Is that nice, or what?! Yeeees, I managed to turn on shadows without Studio crashing to the desktop. (The sound you hear is a sigh of relief.)