The Phantom Gate

The Phantom Gate

I wanted to make a floating, heavy gate for a long long time. At a moment I was inspired by "La caretta fantasma" by S. Dali. I used a modified version of his astonishing background and modeled one classical Roman Gate, and then carefully cut it into pieces. The cutting center fits the elusive chariot, now removed. Background processing, 3Dmodelling, cutting and lighting took about 5 days (the delicate cutting of the column edges was the most difficult thing). Rendered with MRay, 3DSmax, 3450x2208 px. If anyone is interested, I will post the full res picture.

Original Dali: [link]
While modeling this scene I have realized that paying attention to minute details in Dali's paintings is both motivational and rewarding. The attention he put in subtle variations of lights and shadows is absolutely astonishing. I am very happy that I have done this and I hope it will foster the curiosity of the watcher towards the original picture.