RORY HYLAND
Maxon: Icelandic Landscape Scene
This project was created to showcase the launch of new Maxon Capsules, developed in collaboration with Aixterior. These capsules allow users to access high-quality ground materials, skies and other 3D scans natively within Cinema 4D - streamlining the process of building detailed environments without needing external assets.
Client: Aixterior/Maxon
Role: Environment Artist
Cinema 4D Redshift
Brief & Constraints
The scene needed to highlight the capabilities of Aixterior's scans while remaining lightweight, clean, and emotionally resonant. A key constraint was that I could only use assets available within the Capsules system. No custom geometry, third-party models, or outside textures were allowed.
Approach
I chose to design a sparse, Iceland-inspired landscape that reflected the natural realism of the assets while keeping the composition minimal and focused. The project emphasized mood through layout, texturing, and lighting, rather than asset complexity.
I developed several lighting variations from overcast to low sun to show how the same scene could shift in tone while staying simple. In the end, no volumetrics were used, keeping the renders efficient and clear while still evoking atmosphere through contrast, color, and natural detail.
Outcome
The final renders were featured by Maxon to promote Capsules as a powerful new toolset for building environments directly inside Cinema 4D. The project also served as a personal exploration of creative limitations - focusing on composition and mood when working with a restricted set of assets.
All renders featured are untouched. No post processing, AI or upscaling.