Onshore Collection
About the project
Onshore is a project entirely dedicated to form explorations, created by Daniel Lepik in 2023.
Form explorations
What sparked this project?
It grew organically out of work I was doing every day. So I decided to make a project of it.
What is your approach to working on a project like this? Do you follow a specific process or framework?
I generally work on these first thing in the morning when I get to the studio, with a fresh cup of coffee, my phone on "focus" mode & nothing else open on my PC but the software that I'm using.
I usually have a set amount of time (2 hours in most cases). I repeat this pretty much daily on weekdays, where time allows.
What did the early versions of this project look like? What did you learn from this v1?
There wasn't really a V1 in my case. This project is one ever-evolving exploration and there's something to be learned from each day.
'It never seems to get easier. And that's the beauty of it.'
What was the biggest challenge? Did any part of the project make you step out of your comfort zone?
Each day I'm trying to come up with a new form for the project feels overwhelming in exactly the same way.
It never seems to get easier. And that's the beauty of it.
Form explorations
How did you overcome this challenge?
By being persistent and sticking with it until something clicks. I think it's the hardest part of any creative journey, but also the most rewarding.
What was your biggest learning or take-away from creating this project?
I learned a few things about design, but more importantly it has taught me quite a bit about the power of showing up every day and creating *something*, despite not necessarily having to.
Can you point out a detail in the project that might go unnoticed but you’re particularly proud of?
I'm very happy with the vividness of colors I was able to achieve on some of the visuals.
'About 95% of the explorations get binned, that might give an idea for the amount of iterations that go into these.'
Which part of this project consumed the most time or energy?
Coming up with the forms, modeling them (in a way that takes into account how I would like the light to interact with the form in a later stage) and trying to balance all the proportions of the elements so that it would convey the correct sense of scale in the final render. There are a lot of moving parts to be considered in the modelling stage.
What was the result of this project?
It led to many work opportunities, but also gave start to a side project where I make mockups in a similar style - it's called Beyond Forms (see more at www.beyondforms.co)
Some more tasty explorations from Daniel
If this project had a soundtrack, which one would it be?
Which tools did you use to create this project?
I use 3 main tools daily for the process of creating these images.
Shapr3D - I model most of the objects there. It allows me to iterate quickly and not think about the "correct" way of doing things, so that I can focus on the form & details.
Cinema 4D - My main tool for already 10 years now. This is where I bring in the model, light, texture and build an environment for the final image.
Redshift render engine - This is my render engine of choice. I use it in combination with Cinema 4D to render the final image.
Davinci Resolve - All my post-processing (which is very minimal) is done here.
Work in progress
What are you currently working on, and what's next?
Nothing specific at the moment, just creating more and building my skillset.
Who or what are you inspired by lately? Any current influences that you find are seeping into your work
My biggest influence must be furniture and interior design. There are so many beautiful forms & textures that I'm trying to integrate more into my work.
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice about navigating the design world, what would it be?
Don't overthink it.
From the maker
