Terra Sigillata

[Gaieus]

A fine pottery, probably originating from the Greek Island of Samos but spread all in the Mediterranean and along the Rhein-Danube rivers during the Roman Empire.

• Wikipedia
• Google image hits

Now the problem is that we usually find these fine ceramics broken, more exactly most frequently only small fragments of them. Most of the times, the whole pottery can be fully reconstructed as this area of archaeology has been researched so much that we even know most of the names of the individual masters (or at least workshops).

However "dull" archaeological papers genrally don't go further than this kind of "presentation":







As we exactly know how the cross section of such a piece of pottery used to be when it was intact, it is not too hard to simply lathe the form. Now using some studio setup and (most probably) some SSS material (if you read the Wikipedia article, it also talks about a final "engobe" given to the pottery which will give a special, "silky" glow to it), these ceramics can be easily "reconstructed" - if not for the archaeologists themselves but at least for visitors (especially at smaller places where there might be a small exhibition of the artefacts found in the vicinity - obviously the Metropolitan or the British Museum will exhibit intact pieces).

So now experimenting with surfaces (don't think about too much - I haven't even set up a studio for this, the below images are only the pot placed on a surface and lit by a spherical sky, rendered at Low+ only, where I guess SSS materials won't even provide their greatest glory).

Simple Ceramic > Gloss (can't remember shininess)

TS1.jpg (141.16 KiB) Viewed 6035 times

SSS Wax with 70 shininess

TS2.jpg (136.25 KiB) Viewed 6037 times

I don't know how much time I will have to go on with this project at a "healthy pace" but I am sure that I won't abandon it. ATM I am working on the reconstruction of a Roman basilica found in town and the deadline was some time in the summer. (tru that the excavations are late, too).

Clay2.png (205.43 KiB) Viewed 6039 times

This will probably be another (and more interesting) thread once I start texturing it.

[fymoro]

Wow, the second image looks real...

[Ecuadorian]

I want to thank you very much, Csaba, for working in these reconstructions. Talking about how a magnificent building/object/city was and then showing the students pictures/drawing of the colorless remains of that, is like giving a class about a famous man and then showing a photo of the corpse.

Your students will pay a lot more attention to your explanations now.

[Gaieus]

Wow, the second image looks real...

Well, on top of all, I realised that I should use some unbiased, progresive rendering methods for SSS materials so that will be the next step.

Miguel; well I am also excited about this, you can imagine - problem is that I also need to live on something so often there are the boring jobs... Yet I'd like to finish modelling of the building this week-end and then comes the interesting part as far as texturing then rendering goes.

Texturing an arch with bricks on a curved surface for the windows of the apse seems to be a challenge but I already have some ideas in mind - I'll even make some tutorials about it when finished, I think - surely it is not a "rendering" stuff but rather SU but hopefully there will be some use for many