what do you think
of the rather
splendid Russian-doll cocktail
shaker on the front of our magazine
this month? Already wondering
where you can get your hands on
one – or pondering which
intoxicating creation you’ll be
shaking up first? Well, sorry to be
the bearer of bad tidings, but it
doesn’t really exist.
That shiny metallic finish and those curved ridges may
appear real enough, but they’re actually just the surface of a
3
D model that’s been created specially for us using computer
software. In fact, this month’s cover has more in common
with a Pixar cartoon than it does with any kind of real drink-
making apparatus.
Time was when it would have taken a powerful computer
many days to create something so impressively realistic, but
advances in technology mean our Russian cocktail lady took
just 48 hours. Designer Steve Whiting, who’s represented by
the Jelly London agency, started off by finding an image of a
cocktail shaker to use as a template. “I then turned it into 3D
model frames,” he explains, “added layers of texture, lit it and
Shake it up, baby
The story behind this month’s explosive cover may surprise you
M A K I N G O F
T H E C O V E R
MARCH 2013
A MAGAZINE FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE TO TRAVEL SMART
FREE TO TAKE HOME
Shaking it up
in Moscow
On theedge
Gocliffclimbing inFrance's
newestnationalpark
Insiderdining
Revealed:where topchefseat
when they'renotworking
Manvsspa
Justhowdidour (male)writer
copeonagirlyskiholiday?
From red-hot
culture to
killercocktails,
wesalute
thenewRussian
revolution
EJ135_00_Cover.indd 001
12/02/2013 14:48
02
01
03
SHAKER MAKER
01
A real cocktail shaker is
used as a template
02
A 3D model frame is
created and texture is
laid on top
03
The Russian doll is added
using Photoshop
put a Russian doll on the front. A load of Photoshop work later
and there you go.”
Since setting up his design and animation company
Kineticmesh (
kineticmesh.co.uk
)
nine years ago, Whiting has
worked for clients ranging fromMcDonald’s to the BBC, and
there are few briefs that surprise him anymore. “We can be
asked to do anything: flying lips, babies splattering their hands
onto a wall, anything. The most technically demanding job I’ve
ever had was for Pepsi, where liquids had to splash across the
screen while jazz players jumped out.”
So is this artistry or geekery? A bit of both, says the
designer. Describing what he does as a “technically minded
piece of art”, he says the method is becoming more widely
used because it allows clients to achieve the look they’re
going for in a fraction of the time. “My job is to realise people’s
visions – they give me their idea and then we work it out.”
So, with the technology now so advanced that it’s already
difficult to discern whether images are real or not, the
question remains: how much further can it possibly progress?
“3
D design will never replace photography altogether,” says
Whiting. “Everybody wants to see
the real world being captured. The
advantage of photorealism is that it
allows you to take something real,
put it in a virtual 3D environment,
and then play around with it till
you’re happy.”
Photorealism allows you to take something
real, put it in a virtual 3D environment,
and play around with it till you’re happy
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