Going Away (Chaplain)

I got contacted by the Wing Chaplain's office today asking if I could help them with their going away gift.  They already had a sketch, featured below, that they wanted developed further, so here is what I'll be starting off with:
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I promised them a Freestyle and Cycles render by Tuesday, so this will be my weekend project. I also have to study for my language test that is on Tuesday and Wednesday which I'll be focusing more on than this--so I wouldn't expect anything polished, but I thought you'd all like to follow along as it goes.

Here's what I got so far:
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I like it. Very well done and professional looking. Only one thing stands out to me, what's the depth of the blue back areas? From the angled view it seems like it's set almost half way in the structure. I'd think as a result, most of that blue area would be in the shadows and hard to see once it's actually built. Maybe make it closer to the surface? (hoping that made sense) Other than that, looks ready to be built.   

Thanks, Scott!  After reading your comment about the blue cloth shadow plane thing, I have to agree. I'll move it forward to 1/4 depth and see if maybe we can cover it with glass to prevent dust buildup over time.  Thanks for taking a look at it!

Edit:  Changes made - added glass, moved items forward a bit, increased glossiness of wood material.
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Was the original drawing (vector) supposed to be a granite/rock/mineral type base?

I believe it was wood they asked for, but now you got me wondering, lol...
They are going to send the renders to a "shadow box" company they found online who will make the actual object, so the shape of the base is more a "suggestion" on my end based on what I think would look best. I will probably go back to the original render and just move the blue plane forward like Scott suggested. The glass and new material killed the look .

Wow, that looks great! Although, the flag in the middle, is that cloth? I wonder what that would look like if that was behind glass as well.

Just an update for anybody interested...

The online company bowed out of making this.  None of the local engraving shops were willing to take this on either, saying it would be more work than it would be worth.  I'm not sure I believe those shops--for a few reasons:
1. Routing the wood, including the beveled base and round frame, can be sub-contracted out to a milling house if they don't have the capability in house.  I found three such local sites with just a quick Google search--the engraving shop could have easily passed on the added cost plus "handling" to our bill.
2. This is their business, this is their reason for existing.  They make trophies, plaques, engravings, and related gifts.  Most of the stuff they do are built from pre-fab parts, but they should have the expertise and equipment to make the occasional non-standard order.  When you break this object down into its components, the hardest thing for this one would be the flag triangle because of the many small pieces, and that is one of the most frequent objects made for shops next to military bases.  The large round thing would be time consuming but easy providing they invested in the equipment or shipped it out as I mentioned above.
3. If it won't be worth it to them then they can bump up the price until it is "worth it".

My wife has been pressing me to consider opening my own shop, and I have been thinking seriously about it....

Thanks for letting me rant!  We did find a patriotic shop in Texas that is excited to give this a try--so I've been rendering up blueprints for him to get started.  I'll show you all pics once it's built!

{btw--the Chaplain saw the renders and loved it.  He said it's "just how he imagined it", which made me feel pretty good. }

BnBGobo99 wrote:

{btw--the Chaplain saw the renders and loved it.  He said it's "just how he imagined it", which made me feel pretty good. }

That's cool! It's too bad those places wouldn't fabricate it for you. Seems a bit odd that they would actually turn something like this down.