This project is one that I was looking forward to. We were tasked with designing a retro 3D-inspired folder, or trapper keeper. To get a better picture of this, some examples are below.

To begin, I started creating shapes and grids in Blender. I liked the cube, but chose to make a grid of spheres. I began adding them here and there until I liked how they looked together from different angles. I then started adding colors and textures. I like the bright cyan and magentas, so I used a lot of that.

Lastly, my favorite part, was adding lighting. Lighting composition is one of my favorite things to do in Blender, so I had fun with this one. I added one bright light from above that would cast a cool cyan glow, and then from the front and back at different angles, I added warmer orange lights. I loved the effect this had, especially on the more reflective sphere.

Once I felt comfortable with my composition and lighting, I began to render out an image to bring over to my iPad.

To add the finishing touches, I decided to use Procreate. I love the effortless brush strokes I can get with my Apple Pencil, and it felt fitting to use here.

After some adjusting and trying out different brush types and textures, I am happy with my final result. I think I would love a folder with this design on it, personally.