Artist Spotlight
A CGI Artist’s Guide to Creating Beautiful Product Renders
Mike DiCola takes product photography to the next level! Discover how this CGI artist, with a background in photography, uses cutting-edge technology to create hyper realistic product shots with captivating animation.
Meet the Artist
Mike DiCola is a CGI artist based in Charlotte, North Carolina. A graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, his background in photography informs his artistic approach, where he merges photorealistic and artificial elements. He creates captivating visuals through a blend of 3D modeling, photography, and videography. You may have even seen his work on Fox Sports during the Super Bowl, World Series broadcasts, and Big Noon College Football.
DiCola thrives on collaboration and frequently works alongside photographers, videographers, animators, and designers to bring his unique vision to life.
Mike DiCola + Greyscalegorilla Plus
Using the Studio app Mike effortlessly transferred materials, light textures, and 3D models to his product viz C4D project with ease.
Get Plus Learn MoreMike’s background in photography brings a unique perspective to his meticulous and artistic approach to animation. To jumpstart his project in Cinema 4D, Mike used the Greyscalegorilla Starter Scene for Redshift, which includes a pre-built studio environment with lighting and cameras ready to go.
How this animation was made
He began by exploring Greyscalegorilla’s extensive library of assets, carefully selecting the perfect cosmetic packaging models to showcase his vision. To these models, he applied realistic materials and textures, further enhancing them with beautifully crafted, custom-designed labels.
Next, Mike focused on composition. He played around with different arrangements of our product photography props, fine-tuning the scene until everything clicked. With the composition set, he expertly added cameras and lighting, mimicking the techniques of a seasoned photographer to create depth and visual interest.
Cinema 4D + Redshift setup 
Final render with models, materials, and lighting. Finally, he infused the scene with eye-catching movement, bringing the products to life with subtle animations and captivating transitions.
The result? An animation that’s both beautiful and technically impressive.
Cinema 4D + Redshift setup 
Final render with models, materials, and lighting. Greyscalegorilla 3D Assets Used in this Render
Cosmetic Packaging Models
3D Models20 D bottles, tubes, canisters and tubs to show off your shelf-ready and ad-worthy branding, labels and products.
Product Photography Props
3D ModelsAn assortment of plinths, stands, and stairs to best showcase your jewelry, gadget and cosmetic renders. Tasteful? Fancy? This collection does both.
Terrazzo
Materials80 high quality terrazzo materials, using 40 distinct color combinations in both dense and subtle dispersions.
