How is a clay render different from claymation?

A clay render is a computer model in one matte material. Claymation is a photograph of real plasticine, which carries fingerprints, asymmetry and a real depth of field.

Should there be any colour?

Barely. A very slight warm grey reads better than pure neutral, and any real colour starts to make the picture about the object rather than about the shape.

Why do studios review models this way?

Colour and texture hide problems in a form. Removing them makes every lump and every bad transition obvious, which is exactly what a review is for.

Clay Render

clay shader
matcap clay
grey render
AO pass

One matte material on everything, so only the form and the shadow show.

Draw this style

Opens an image model with the prompt in it. The price is on the page before you sign in.

What it is for

Stripping colour and texture leaves only form, which is why studios review models this way. It also looks expensive and calm, so it escaped from the review room into finished work.

How it works

One matte material covers everything. A large soft light gives an even falloff with no hot spot. Ambient occlusion darkens every crease and every point where two surfaces meet, which is what describes the form. There are no reflections at all.

When to use it

Use it to show a shape, a product or an idea without committing to colour. Avoid it when the subject is material, because this style removes material by definition.

Told apart from its neighbours

Claymation is a photograph of real plasticine, with fingerprints, asymmetry and a real lens. Subsurface Character adds light passing through the surface. Stylised PBR keeps real materials and a key light.

Where it is used

It carries a portfolio page, a product concept, a design review and any image about form rather than finish.

Design reviews and modelling portfolios
Product concepts and architectural studies

The prompt

Replace the blanks with your own character, keep the rest. Then run it on an image model.

<character>, clay render style, the entire model in one single matte clay material with no colour variation and no texture anywhere, soft even studio light from a large source, deep ambient occlusion darkening every crease and contact point, a very slight warm grey tone, no reflections and no specular highlight, a plain seamless background in the same tone, the geometry doing all of the work

Run it

What goes wrong

A picture of real clay with fingerprints comes back. Say render, one uniform matte material, no fingerprints and no unevenness.

Leave out

colour, texture maps, reflections, specular highlights, fingerprints, a photographic background

Watch for

It is a render, not clay. Ask for no fingerprints and no unevenness, because those belong to real plasticine and having both makes the picture read as neither.

Questions

Darkening where surfaces come close together, which is what a crease or a contact point does in real soft light. In a clay render it does most of the work of describing the form.