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I am a 2D Illustrator with basic 3D skills using SketchUp, Fusion 360, an Keyshot.

I need to render some realistic images of what my poster designs will look like on a wall once they've been printed.

I am going for something like in the image below. I'm trying for photo-realism, so I would like the curl to happen slightly on 2 axes at the same time, and not be perfectly symmetrical. I am not familiar with Blender, but I am wondering if there's a way to weight paint and add a modifier for this effect to a plane that has the illustration mapped to it..?

Any suggestions?

Thanks! Keith

enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ Have you tried a Lattice modifier? $\endgroup$ – Dontwalk Jan 8 '17 at 21:10
  • $\begingroup$ For such a slight curl, a little bit of proportional editing would do. For a more pronounced curl read this: blender.stackexchange.com/questions/54114/… $\endgroup$ – lbalazscs Jan 8 '17 at 21:11
  • $\begingroup$ if you literally mean "like the picture below", well that paper is perfectly square and not bent in any way, it seems: it is a typical effect for 2d apps or web sites. The shadow is simulated as if the surface below was detached from the paper in the upper and lower part, but the paper is not curved as the shadow "visually suggests". It is more like if the below surface was a bit curved, like a cylinder, if you wish your image to be perfectly square and flat, as in the image, you need to curve the surface, not the paper, and use a light source not perfectly centered, to avoid shadow symmetry. $\endgroup$ – m.ardito Jan 8 '17 at 21:11
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I'll expand my comment above, to post an example.

As I said, if you literally mean "like the picture below", well that paper is perfectly square and not bent in any way, imho.

This is a typical fake effect for 2d apps or web sites. The shadow is simulated as if the surface below was detached from the paper in the upper and lower part, but the paper is not curved as the shadow "visually suggests".

It is more like if the below surface was a bit curved, like a cylinder, if you wish your "paper sheet" to be perfectly square and flat, as in the image, you need to curve the surface, not the paper, and use a light source not perfectly centered, to avoid shadow symmetry.

Here is a possible setup, in the image below ( the render was with slightly grey paper, I just later changed the paper color to blue, to make it stand out in the setup on the right side).

enter image description here

But if you really need the paper to be curved, and the surface flat, see other answers.

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  • $\begingroup$ I like this answer and the fact you explain how to do this without distorting the poster image, which is usually what you see on websites for products etc.. $\endgroup$ – Neil Jan 10 '17 at 11:05
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In Edit Mode Subdivide a plane many times > Press "W" > control the number of times Subdivided in the Tool Bar.

enter image description here

Then in Object Mode add a "Lattice". Press Shift + "A" and choose "Lattice" from the drop down menu. Make the Lattice approximately the size of the Plane by Scaling it. Increase the U, V and W options in the within the lattice.

enter image description here

Select your plane and add a Lattice Modifier. In the Modifier settings select the "Object" (The Lattice) with the eyedropper (Or dropdown menu).

enter image description here

Select the Lattice > Tab into Edit Mode > Select appropriate Vertice(s) and move them as needed.

enter image description here

*Add a Subsurf Modifier to to the plane and set the shading to Smooth (In Object Mode) to smooth out the plane.

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