Overview

City Barista was a personal project I started for myself during a short break from work. More than anything, I wanted a scene that let me step back, use the techniques I had been picking up, and honestly see what level of quality I could produce when there was no client brief behind it.

I chose a café setting because it naturally gives me what I enjoy most in an image: warmth, variety, and enough material contrast to show real progress. Wood, glass, lighting, seating, reflections, and a lived-in sense of atmosphere all sit together in one space. The main thing I was chasing was simple: if it did not feel warm and inviting, it had not worked.

The piece was built in SketchUp and rendered in D5, put together over roughly four days of on-and-off work during that week away. It was not based on a real location or a strict narrative; it was purely visual, and more reflective than anything else. Looking back, the biggest challenge was getting the people and the overall feeling right. If I revisited it now, I would push the scene further with more content and more small details across the space.

Scene & mood

This view is where the project started to feel right to me. The aim was not a specific story or time of day, but a warm, modern, inviting atmosphere that felt somewhere you would want to be. It gave me room to judge my progress in lighting, materials, and how comfortably the whole scene sat together.

Detail & composition

This angle was more about checking the scene as a whole: whether the layout felt balanced, whether the people helped the image instead of distracting from it, and whether the warmth carried through the frame. It is a personal piece, so what matters most to me here is that it feels cared for and shows how much I value the work I make for myself.