For the studio I set up a quick cyclorama, a three-point lighting system and a camera on a moving circular rig. See Process Video right. However, the complexities of the project came from efforts to increase realism, and are detailed below.

Accepting that a gift is essentially just a rectangular box, I knew that it would be the subtle features which would be the most important. In order to make the model realistic it needed:

• Varied pinching of the edges where the wrapping paper adhered to the implied box underneath.
• Folds on the side.
• Variation across the whole surface to indicate a lightweight paper and not a solid box.

For this last variation I ran a simulation of the box mesh as a light cloth being filled with just enough air pressure to maintain it’s rough shape. This pressure had to be very precise. I stopped the simulation when satisfied with the effect then froze it. See Project Images right for settings and a clearer demonstration.

After this new mesh was created I could cut out the top section, pin the edges and slice rough cuts into it. This allow me to run another simulation in which pressure pushing upwards would tear the wrapping paper open.

Both these simulations were a matter of very precise values and are detailed in Project Images.