Wieland: Modelling Empty Space

Well, before any work starts on the peninsula, I decided to try my ideas with a 3D model. Less messy and you can start over again without problems. SketchUp is a great tool for that purpose. Rendering is done using the trial version of V-Ray 2 plugin.

Coop Agrivoix

Sainte-Anne Coop

Both prototype feedmills previously discussed were modelled… The results puzzle me but some elements stand out.

Coop Agrivoix

Sainte-Anne Coop

Agrivoix (the one located in Clermont) looks surprisingly good. I think its low profile and long façade works well with the background mountain. Bizarre enough, it seems there’s enough place behind the building to have a realistic parking lot to handle road traffic. However, as feared, the team track is seriously shortened… It barely holds three 50ft cars.

Coop Agrivoix

 

Sainte-Anne Coop

Sainte-Anne’s Coop is also looking good. In fact, its large side wall toward the parking lot makes a nice focal point to close the scene. Relation with the mountain relief is also good, the building’s profile naturally nest itself against the scenery. All in all, this structure has the advantage of leaving enough empty space to make the scene “larger”. To be bold; enough space to believe large semi-trailer trucks can work around the team track.

Coop Agrivoix

Sainte-Anne Coop

When you start adding cars on the team track, you start to understand when I talk about a cluttered scene. Sainte-Anne Coop fare better than Agrivoix in that respect.

Coop Agrivoix

Sainte-Anne Coop

I have no final thoughts about the feedmill. I could try to compress or rearrange Agrivoix buildings to suit the place better. It could also be a small mash up of Sainte-Anne and Agrivoix. Steel grain bins could be added to Sainte-Anne feedmill to modernize it a little bit, even a propane tank or oil tanks. It is really hard to tell. One thing is sure; this scene works better together when a structure closes the perspective. Maybe I won’t keep the idea of a feedmill on site, but there will definitely be a building there. I already have pictures from one of the shed that stood at Clermont yard back in the early 80s.

Coop Agrivoix

Sainte-Anne Coop

I think – when planning a scene – we have to learn about modelling empty space. Failing to address this important factor is the main pitfall that makes so many greatly crafted layouts look toyish. Look around yourself, you’ll find more emptiness than built up space (in the countryside at least!).  Railways are large endeavours span large areas. Reproducing it in scale is crucial. It means to sacrifice a lot of things on your “must list”, but you are largely repaid in term of realism. You really feel your trains need to travel some distances to perform their tasks. So far, Donohue, Ciment Saint-Laurent and D’Estimauville proved me I was right to walk this unusual path. Modelled scenes are truly glimpses of a real network. No need for fancy tricks; any visitors with minimal knowledge of the place with quickly find himself at home.

Coop Agrivoix

Sainte-Anne Coop