This project's ultimate goal was to develop a believable concept for testing in Blender's Cycles rendering engine. I started by thinking through some designs with rough sketches. My focus was placed on speed to consider a wider variety of ideas.

I selected three directions to guide the development of a second round of refined concepts. Each concept offered the use of a caddy to manage the two mills. The first concept conveys a minimal form with visually soft details.  

The second concept conveys a different take on salt and pepper mills. Most of the time, salt & pepper mills are self-standing. My idea was to give them a less grounded form, even unstable. Beyond aesthetics, the benefit would be keeping loose grounds from getting onto the countertop or shelving.

In its hand-held profile, the third concept is much the same as the second. I sought to make this concept more playful. To that end, I suggested iconic details at the top of each mill to make griping more reactive. This feature also gave the mills an inherent anti-roll quality.

For the final direction, I chose the second concept. I used Rhino 3D to develop the form and Blender Cycles for rendering. Also, I experimented with Blender's particle effects to produce peppercorns and salt crystals. Being an experienced user of Keyshot, Blender enabled me to craft background assets to fill the scene without going back into Rhino. The countertop, backsplash, tiles, knives, and knife block were all created in Blender.