From Wikipedia:

Lenna is the name given to a standard test image which has been in use since 1973. It comprises 512×512 pixels, and was originally cropped from the centerfold of the November 1972 issue of Playboy magazine. It is a picture of Lena Söderberg, a Swedish model, shot by photographer Dwight Hooker. The test image is often used for image processing algorithms (such as compression and denoising) and related scientific publications.

This is the original 512x512 image that’s commonly used:



Here’s the full centerfold image from the November, 1972 edition of Playboy.



I thought since being such an iconic, well know picture in the world of computer imaging, that it would be fitting to use the “First Lady of the Internet” as the basis for a 3D render.

I hopped into DAZ Studio and started out with Victoria 6 HD and some simple props.



I slowly started to build up the scene until I had the basic look of the image.



As a quick test, I rendered out what I had and laid it side-by-side with the original. I think I’m going to have to make a lot of the props myself, but I think it’s totally doable. I’m not looking to create a one-to-one copy, but I want to get as close to it as I can while maintaining a little bit of artistic license.



I started to build more of my own props using some basic primitives and giving them some textures.





For the rocking horse, I used the DAZ Horse 2, shrunk it down, and made my own base.



Creating the ceiling that would reflect in the mirror was a little tricky. I didn’t like the stock mirror that I was using. The bezel was way too big. I just made my own out of some primitives and set the reflection to 100%.



It looks like it’s going to take a few test renders before I have all the angles correct.



With that, I made a few more tweaks to the ceiling and beams.



I also managed to find a feather boa online. I thought I was going to have to make that from scratch. I’m glad I didn’t have to. It looks pretty complicated.



I twisted and moved it into position and gave it a test render.



Pretty good, but the reflection in the mirror still needs a little more work.



I made a bunch of changes, added some more props and tweaks, and rendered it again.



It’s starting to look like something now. It’s not a one-to-one copy, but I think anyone familiar with the “Lenna” image would recognize it.



I wasn’t happy with the way that Victoria looked, so I made a few changes. I changed her skin texture, hair, stockings, and boots. Pretty much everything. After that, I started playing with the lights.



After about another 70 renders, I was pretty happy with the results.



I then took the render into Pixelmator and tweaked the colors a little bit. I wanted it to have a slightly more vintage feel to it. I also ’shopped in the stained glass window. I thought it would be a cool idea to reuse some of the elements from the original image.



I didn’t have an easy way to draw in the shoelaces on her boots without it looking like I drew them in. So again, I ’shopped them in from the original. I also pasted in the dress. I really wasn’t happy with my version of that. It looked more like a table cloth than a dress, so I thought it would be better to paste that in too.



All done. Like I said, it’s not a one-to-one copy, but enough so that anyone familiar with the original image would instantly recognize it.



Here’s a larger close up.



I think it came out pretty darn good. I’m sure even Lena would be proud.