RND / Mixing Coffee and Chocolate with Modo and Octane Materials

Sweet mixing of passion and curiosity.

I have a confession to make. I know it might sound weird to other 3D artists, but I simply LOVE Product Photography and by extent, 3D Product Rendering.

For many artists, the idea of spending countless hours modeling packs of shampoo, bags of chips, milk cartons or even ice cream is nightmare fuel, but for me, is literally what makes me wake up early in the morning and going to bed past midnight. In between all the flashy explosions and cool 3D assets I model for work, I spend my spare time studying photography and modeling simple assets, like this Nescafé mug for example. The splash is from Modo’s Splash Kit, slightly modified for a better image flow.

There’s just something magical when you create an image that looks like it belongs on an advertising magazine or on a big billboard in the subway.

I’m still a mere padawan on a quest to master this skills, that’s why I decided to initiate this series of posts as a way to keep track of my improvements and to ask for feedback from the community.

Octane Mix Materials

Caffè Mocha, also called Mochaccino, one of my favorite beverages, the perfect mix between espresso, hot milk and chocolate. And it’s probably the Canadian favorite beverage in the morning on a cold Winter.

I really love how the liquids look when they’re mixing together, so I’ve decided to use Octane Renderer and try to simulate that look.

  

On a first glance, I believe I managed to create a good mixing between both materials. I used a noise map I created inside Filter Forge as a mask, to simulate the organic nature of the mixing of the coffee and the chocolate. However, I still believe that the SSS (Sub Surface Scattering) needs some work.

Below you can see how I mixed both materials to achieve this look inside Octane Renderer.

I’m going to continue working on this image and post regular updates here on the blog.

So if you’re interested or have any feedback to give, please comment below.