The cornucopia (from Latin cornu copiae) or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers or nuts.
Day 20: Paint a Cornucopia (Horn of Plenty)
Hello! We’re almost ready to paint our fall fruit centerpiece, but we need something to put the fruit in! So here’s a simple cornucopia tutorial for ya.
Even if you’re not a huge fan of cornucopia (I’m not), this will be fun because you’ll see how to make something appear rounded just by shading and highlighting.
Oh! Another thing . . . I used paint colors that we’ll be using in the other fruit and leaves – trying to keep the paint purchases down to a minimum. Yeah, I can’t stand some paint projects that require more of an investment than if you just bought something readymade!
Paint Colors (all by Plaid, as usual)
- Burnt Umber (dark brown)
- Antique Gold (deep yellow)
- Lemonade (light yellow)
- Raw Sienna (caramel brown)
I had someone email me, asking about the size of brushes I use. I haven’t mentioned that too often before because it really shouldn’t matter with my tutorials. I try and use the largest brush I can and still have control. But use what you’ve got. I don’t use fancy-schmancy artist brushes.
Actually, I get mine at Walmart usually (by Plaid too) or at Michael’s with a 40% coupon.
I usually get a variety of flat brushes and a couple of liners. That’s it. There are painting instructors who use filberts, rounds, rakes, etc. Not me. That’s cool for them and their students. But all of my tutorials are geared for any kind of brush you have.
Plus, it would depend on how big or small you make your painting as to what size to use. That’s why I just say use the biggest brush you feel comfortable with.
Okay, let’s get started . . .
After you draw or transfer your pattern, outline the basic shape with Raw Sienna. It just helps to give your eye a pattern to follow.
I started out painting the shaded curves with Raw Sienna, but then I realized this would just be a wasted step. So don’t do that.
No, I decided to use underpainting with this tute. That’s where I lay down the darkest color first and work my way up.
When I first started painting murals for customers – aka someone other than family & friends – Hubs used to always warn me to not leave the painting looking yucky. Translation: the entire wall mural with just dark tones.
I have to admit, it can look kinda scary and some of the customers questioned their own sanity in paying me to paint on the walls in their home.
But that was also back when it took me sometimes weeks to finish a mural. So I’d just work in little sections so as not to scare the homeowners. Which wound up taking me even more time!
Although I did get to know their doggies really well .
Now, years later, I just tell them, “Hey, it’s gonna look kinda scary for a day. Don’t worry about it.” And I’m generally out of there in a couple of days.
Now, where was I? Oh year, the tutorial. That’s right – this is a painting lesson, isn’t it? Be generous with the Lemonade (light yellow). You might need two coats to get a nice bright spot.
And notice how all the Lemonade areas kind of line up? That’s gonna make the rounded appearance.
Yeah, I kinda lost the highlights after I topcoated with Raw Sienna.
Especially on the rim, so I added some more to make the rim stand out.
And then I repainted some little Lemonade slivers on the body of the ‘basket’.
Makes a big difference, doesn’t it?
Try it and let me know how you like it. If it’s too thick, just add some more Raw Sienna.
Here’s a pattern for you if you don’t feel like drawing one yourself.
You could also just paint the whole thing brown and forget the shading and highlighting. But where’s the fun in that?
Ok, tomorrow we’ll start adding the fruit in and in a couple of days you’ll be ready for Thanksgiving. No rush though. But just imagine how good it’d feel to be a few weeks ahead of the game!
Sketchfab 3D Scanning Challenge: Horn of Plenty
Hello! And happy new year! (it’s not too late to say that right?) Tom aka nebulousflynn here to introduce the first 3D scanning challenge of 2017. The theme? Fruit and vegetables – we want you to help us fill a “Cornucopia” or “ Horn of plenty” with amazing scans of nature’s finest offerings. More info and rules below but the basic gist is: 3D scan a piece of fruit or veg, upload to Sketchfab and set ‘Downloadable’, tag with #3DScanFruitVeg to enter.
If you’re not sure what a “Cornucopia” is here’s the lowdown from Wikipedia:
The cornucopia (from Latin cornu copiae) or horn of plenty is a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers or nuts.
And here’s our sad, empty 3D cornucopia waiting to be filled with an abundance of produce:
Rules
We’ve been trying to think up new ways to make these challenges interesting to both new and experienced 3D scanning artists and also more community oriented – how can we work together to build something and give back to the wider 3D neighbourhood, so here’s how we’re running this challenge:
- You can use any 3D scanning method you wish but if you new to this kind of thing we are recommending you download a free trial of Agisoft’s PhotoScan for Mac or PC.
- Once you’ve created your 3D model, upload it to Sketchfab, tag it #3DScanFruitVeg and set it to Downloadable.
- Share what you’re planning to scan on the challenge thread in the forum, so that we can get a diverse collection of fruits and vegetables.
- Models must be set to Downloadable to take part in the challenge – partly so we can combine the top entries in our cornucopia scene but also because we are encouraging you to create a legacy of free and open 3D content that can be used by artists, game devs and hobbyists.
- Submit your entry before Monday, January 30.
Judges
- Thomas Flynn
- Alper Guler – KabaQ Augmented Reality Food
- The Sketchfab Community Team – Bart and Seori
Rewards
Agisoft has generously offered a PhotoScan Standard, Stand-Alone license for the winner of this contest! The winner will also receive 3 months of Sketchfab PRO.
Scanning your fruit
In case you’re new to 3D photo-scanning (photogrammetry), I’ve made the quick guide below to get you started – all you need is a digital camera (or smartphone) and a photogrammetry app, like the PhotoScan free trial version.
I made this scan of a custard apple using 50 photos, not perfect but OK for 20 minutes work:
- I chose a subject that would be photogrammetry friendly – not too shiny, fair size.
- I mounted it on a skewer so I could photograph all around the subject.
- I roughly divided my 50 photos across 3 angles as I circled the apple: top, middle and bottom. (the GIF underneath gives you an idea of where the images were taken from)
- I processed my images.
- I downloaded the results and used a 3D tool to crop out extra geometry and decimate it to around 25k faces. I exported as an “OBJ” with a 4096 texture on the ‘Med’ setting.
- Upload to Sketchfab, light and done!
3 planes of photography…
… where photos were taken from in 3D.
Terms and Conditions
- No purchase necessary.
- By entering this competition, entrants will be deemed to have accepted and agreed to the conditions.
- This is a contest for individuals, no teams.
- No alternative prizes available. The prize draw is not open to Sketchfab employees or their families.
- No ripping of models from anywhere on the Internet, all entries must be original work. Using work that is not your own will immediately disqualify you.
- The judges’ decision are final – in case of dispute, no correspondence will be entered into.
- Winning entries will be documented and may be used for promotional purposes.
- Contestants models must be uploaded to Sketchfab and tagged #3DScanFruitVeg to be considered.
- Winners retain all Intellectual Property as per Sketchfab standard Terms and Conditions.
- Winners and winning entries may be required to take part in any publicity resulting from this competition.
- The winners will be contacted by Friday, February 3rd.
- Promoter: Sketchfab Inc, 1123 Broadway, Suite 501, New York, NY 10010, USA.
About the author
Thomas Flynn
Community & Cultural Heritage Lead at Sketchfab.
Expert in 3D scanning, photogrammetry, online publishing & dissemination.
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