This image is a part of a series of images having the same elements: the church, the path and the forest. This series depicts different mood states determined mainly by time and weather, from an artistic perspective. Each image conveys tension determined largely by its composition and lighting. The feeling of emptiness is illustrated through the wide panorama which is primarily populated by leafless trees. The church is a representation of a source of some of the human spiritual values. We are becoming increasingly isolated from this source, because of the current cultural and social trends. The river cuts through the landscape, making a clear division between the left side and the right side. The bridge suggests hope by connecting the two sides of the landscape. The dead trees, hint the spiritual "poverty" of people on the secular side of the world (landscape).

The colorful palette of the image is apparently suggesting a serene autumn evening. However, I made the light of the sunset very intense, such that it resembles a burning fire, creating a dramatic effect. The dead forest is going to be burned at the end of the day, everyone will die.

The church is a 3D reproduction done by me after a real church which was built around 1821 by the Austro-Hungarian empire, in Arad, Romania. The architectural style is late baroque, with simple ornaments. The real church is located across the street, where I live. I used no photographs or pre-made elements to create the images. The church was modeled by eye only.

I used Cinema 4D for modeling the objects and Vray for rendering. I worked on the project for about six months. The renders were made in multiple steps and composited as layers. Each render had a different light setup or textures. I composited and post-processed everything in Photoshop.

Download the 3D church (ZIP file, 15 mb)