Concept & Inspiration
“Symmetric Rotation” was born from the idea of crafting an abstract mechanism where pure geometry cones, discs, and spheres becomes the material of a hypnotic ballet. Inspiration comes from studies in minimalism and kinetic art, with a nod to the precision of watchmaking and the mirror-like reflections of high-tech objects.
Graphic Description
Form & Rhythm:
A pair of horizontal concentric discs, joined by a double cone at the center, rotate in perfect mirror symmetry around a common axis. The animation is calibrated to emphasize symmetry and the constant flipping of planes.Striped Pattern:
Black-and-white banded patterns applied procedurally via shader or UV projector create a moiré illusion and amplify the sense of rotation.Materials & Reflections:
Glossy-metallic surfaces and small transparent spheres floating around the structure add points of light, reflecting and distorting the striped motif.Environment:
A pure black background isolates the form in a “theatrical void,” focusing all attention on the motion.
Technical Breakdown
Procedural Modeling
- Discs and cones generated with Geometry Nodes, with input parameters for thickness, radius, and subdivisions.
- Small spheres instanced to lighten the render and uniformly distribute the globes around the perimeter.
Striped Pattern
- Custom stripe shader in Blender’s Shader Editor: mixing object-space coordinates and a gradient ramp to control stripe frequency and orientation.
Shading & Materials
- Principled BSDF with metallic = 1, variable roughness tuned for crisp but not overly mirror-like reflections.
- Glass BSDF for the spheres, IOR = 1.45, with slight chromatic dispersion for a prismatic effect.
Animation & Rigging
- A driver node on the rotation angle linked to the current frame (
#frame / 2) to complete one full revolution every 120 frames. - Opposing rotations (one positive, one negative) accentuate the dynamic contrast.
Lighting & Rendering
- Two white softbox area lights positioned at 45° on the X and Y axes.
- Rendered in Cycles with OptiX denoising, balancing 256 samples for under 5 minutes per frame.
Challenges Tackled
- Managing Noise in Shadows
The darker areas under the structure required a balance between acceptable render times and visual clarity. I optimized sample rates and denoising to retain organic detail without grain. - Material Translucency
(From a related project) I experimented with thin-film shaders to let light pass irregularly, producing that subtle “glow” typical of dew-wet surfaces.
Key Skills
- Geometry Nodes & Procedural Modeling
- Shader Programming (pattern generation, glass & metallic)
- Rotation Kinematics (driver-based, keyframe-free animation)
- Minimalist Lighting (softboxes and high contrast)
- Render Optimization (denoise strategies and instancing)
Image Gallery
