Powerplant Study

This is one of my most complex models to date. The tanks were modelled in Sketchup, imported into Max in 3ds format. The materials (where shown) were applied to sub-object groups which I defined by hand. The pipes were built around the tanks in sketch up, and imported separately.

Materials are all mental ray, as is the lighting system (when a sky is visible). I used the architectural materials in mental ray, experimenting with brushed, satin, polished (etc.) metals. For less important parts I utilized the MR wood and porcelain templates, and modified them until they gave me the image I wanted.

One very important thing to remember is to set up many cameras, instead of moving a single one around, its just a lot more practical.
Speaking of practical, I used the Mental Ray "render region" and "render selected" to great extent in this project.

In order to develop the image some more, I referenced industrial design objects using google images, and sketched them in sketchup. These were then merged into the same Max scene. It was therefore important to keep an eye on scale. To do this I kept a 2d "person plane" visible when modelling in sketchup.

Again, I couldn't help using my orthogonal clay render technique...but I added a twist. I left the pipe material as a MR Metal, which to me really makes the complexity and design stand out.