Calcium is a pharmaceutical ad agency in NYC and Philadelphia. They use cows in their self-promotion ads for the agency. For a while they were using stock photos of cows and retouching as needed, but then Steven Michaelson, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Calcium, directed Big Al Gruswitz of Boundless Creativity to create a 3D image of a cow weightlifting—because you sure can't find that image in stock! 

Since the first weightlifting cow, the agency has know the possibilities of what their cow could do is (dare I say it?) boundless! Next Steven requested the cow turn around to see the Calcium logo branded on his hip.

Next, it was requested that the cow become a rockin' guitar player in a classic Pete Townshend pose. This, of course, needed some theatrical lighting to set the right mood.

In each 3D cow image, to make the cow look photo-realistic, photographic elements are added to each cow such as the cow's facial hair, top of the head, ears, and tail end. Additionally, hairs are drawn around every inch of the cow's outside edge in Photoshop.

There are somethings a real cow just can't do—their legs don't bend the right way to pedal a unicycle, so a few liberties were taken to make it possible.

A lot of liberties were taken to get the cow into a yoga position, but if that's what the client wants, we're happy to oblige. After all, the Calcium cow's only limitations are what Steven hasn't dreamed up yet! I'm glad to help bring these concepts to life!