Paco Barruguer on the making of ‘Stone Bathroom’
We caught up with Paco Barruguer, on the creation of ‘Stone Bathroom’ and the secret to designing striking feature baths.
Click on the image hot-spots to find the Poliigon assets used.
Q. When and how did you get into 3D work?
Paco: I started with 3D in 2017, when I worked as a graphic designer and we commissioned 3D videos of product installations. But a lot of the time, the products were modified and we needed to change the videos; so, I decided to learn how to use 3D software, so we could change them.
I discovered Blender and instantly loved it. Nowadays, I'm constantly looking for archviz images for inspiration; mostly real photos. I love being able to choose different ideas from these images and combine them in a single 3D scene.
Click on the image hot-spots to find the Poliigon assets used.
Q. Can you tell us a little bit about ‘Stone Bathroom’?
‘Stone Bathroom’ is a simple scene, but I like to think that in each scene I am perfecting my skills, even if it is subconsciously. I think the cabinet under the sink is one of the assets I’m most proud of, which I modeled myself. But the most important element in the scene is the stone wall, which is a Poliigon texture.
I’ve been using Poliigon assets since 2017; I watched many Blender Guru videos and Andrew was always mentioning Poliigon, so I checked it out. I love the plant models and chair assets, but since I make a lot of bathrooms, the asset I use most is probably the interior decoration models. I recently started buying Poliigon textures, like the stone wall texture, and they are awesome!
The textures and materials of your models are so important for archivz; as important as the lighting. There are many libraries and websites for 3D textures, but most of them are intended for games or for a final artwork with less realism; but the quality of a Poliigon texture is great.
As artists, every detail has to count; you have to have good taste and an aesthetic sense. You have to train the eye.
Q. What is the most important part of a bathroom scene, in your opinion?
Paco: I worked for many years in a ceramic tiles company where I made many bathrooms, and I think the vanity can have the biggest impact. All the other bathroom elements are always fairly similar; with the basin and vanity, you can create something really different in the scene.
Also - as always - the light too. If we have a window, we can play with the light entrance.
Q. You use such striking feature elements in your bathrooms; what is your secret to designing with feature assets, so that they have harmony with the rest of the space?
Paco: The only secret is to have a trained eye; there is no shortcut for this. It’s only when you’ve seen many, many scenes, that you can then unconsciously know how to combine colors and materials.
Never stop looking for new materials, or learning new trends. Just keep exploring; keep combining new materials, different vegetation, large windows, new styles.
Q. Where can people find more of your work? What are your top 3 favorite artworks?
Paco: ‘Cube Rooms’ is a special project because recently, I’ve begun to stream my workflow in Twitch; this was probably the first complete project I’ve streamed. Before this artwork, I had published another artwork that had a pool and was set in a jungle environment, that I noted my followers quite liked. So I decided to create another artwork in the same line - an exterior environment for a hotel room - that I could stream as a complete project.
Some others include ’Curve Bathroom’, for archive artists, and ‘Tatooine’ for sci-fi fans.
