Snow globe

[FedPete]

I did some experimentation on glass shaders. It’s a difficult thing!
You want to have reflection, but not too much. The glass material does not block too much light. But light distortion is a must. And things like much realism can I achieve. And how should a real snow globe look like.
Yes, I have seen and used reference material. But it is still a guessing game.

First I had this idea. But to mush realism inside the sphere. Most snow globes do contain colourful plastic, very simple (cheap) objects. And Thor’s hammer and snow … ?

So, I used some other models I’ve created in the last years. It fits, the cheap look and feel of a snow globe.

But because the scene has a lot yellowish dull colours, I needed some contrast.

I think I need to add some post-processing to the final render. Brightness could help, but maybe a next time.

Project was done in Blender Cycles 2.7.9. Comments, feedback, etc. always welcome.
It’s the learning process. Be inspired and happy render times.

[FedPete]

I forgot to add these, experimentation mishaps.

The effect is funny. but it’s more like a glass sphere. You can also see that I used HDRI imaging. The only light source in the scene.

I wanted to add some particle blur (snow flakes) in my render. Giving the impression that some flakes are moving. But to animate particles, you need to bake them. That process I could not create and it didn’t succeed.

Have fun!

[FedPete]

With my new approach of glass in glass, I got a better realistic result.

There is less reflection interference, more refraction (see light bending off the floor / feet).
I had to scale down the subjects in the sphere, otherwise they were to much deformed.

But I’m still not satisfied. Feedback, comments always welcome.
See my glass study Why is glass and water so difficult?