If you recognize this image, it's probably because you've seen it on the cover of the Siggraph99 issue of Computer Graphics World :

 

 

But for me, it remains the wedding gift I gave to my cousin. I thought it was quite symbolic for life together, all puns about sperm cells aside...

 

The image did not use any file texture. The shading is entirely the result of procedural shading networks in Maya. Here's a little overview of those networks :

 

There's an especially blatant overuse of facing ratio (rim light, cartoony dark edges, etc...). That's where I earned my geek name Duke of Facing Ratio. I would have preferred Minister of Groovy Pixels...

 

More about...

 

 

Here's a couple of great images by Fabio Bonvicini that illustrate further uses of facingRatio :

 

thanks Fabio for letting me use your images!