Last semester I looked into the job of a Technical Artist, I thought it would only be fair to research into the role of a visual effects artist, particularly focusing on environments and effects similar to the ones I'm looking to create.
The career of a visual effects artist is reasonably well known as it they are often known for long working hours when it comes to meeting deadlines. There are also many smaller studios which take on freelance VFX artists and employ their own. Multiple visual effects studios might often be hired to work on the same film at one time.
There are a huge number of visual effects breakdowns, but this video containing work from Marco Lozzi was very interesting to see the wide variety of the types of shots a VFX artist might work on. I was often pleasantly surprised to see the number of real life locations that included CGI composited into the background.
A huge part of VFX particularly in environments is trying to keep the additions consistent with both lighting but also texture. With the advent of High Definition movies, there were a good few years during the early 2000s where CGI was very noticeable because it stood out from surrounding textures. A good VFX artist understands and aims to try and keep the consistency between the CGI and live action shots.
I also found a nice Visual Effects pipeline of how VFX fits in within a film's production schedule: http://www.andrew-whitehurst.net/pipeline.html
Thursday, 26 February 2015
Friday, 6 February 2015
Project Ideas & Research - Part 3
Lastly, the idea I wanted to research into was the atmospheric re-entry effects. There's a great satisfaction while playing Kerbal Space Program to de-orbit spacecraft and watch them heat up and fall apart as they enter. In reality, things work pretty much the same, anything going fast entering the Earth's atmosphere won't stand a chance without shielding.
I recently followed NASA as they launched their new Orion spacecraft into orbit to test the high speed re-entry as it entered the atmosphere. This was the first time I'd seen the re-entry process filmed from inside the spacecraft and broadcast live (minus a small blackout due to plasma). The re-entry effects are fiery but not your traditional fire, a very high intensity concentration of flames.
A big movie from 2013 was Gravity, probably the best interpretation of realistic (well as close as you can get) spaceflight. In the movie [Spoiler] astronaut Sandra Bullock finds herself in the de-orbiting Tiangong Space Station. The space station goes through several stages as it falls, first from shaking to breaking apart, air streaks and finally fully breaking apart and immense heat.
While probably not realistically accurate (although still highly accurate), cinematically it did the job as intended, creating a very dramatic finale to the movie.
I may also want to consider the break up of asteroids, there are lots of amateur footage of asteroids falling to Earth, notably a meteor that exploded over Russia in 2013.
Along the lines of asteroids and comets, we got the best views of a comet in 2014 with Rosetta's visit to 67P/Churyumov-Gerisamenko. Some of the pictures it has returned have been fascinating and as the comets gets closer to the sun we can see the gas and dust outflows become much more active. Although these are stills, it'd be interesting to explore generating these effects in Maya, emulating it realistically while also exaggerating it for artistic effect, giving the viewer a feel of what it may be like on the comet.
I recently followed NASA as they launched their new Orion spacecraft into orbit to test the high speed re-entry as it entered the atmosphere. This was the first time I'd seen the re-entry process filmed from inside the spacecraft and broadcast live (minus a small blackout due to plasma). The re-entry effects are fiery but not your traditional fire, a very high intensity concentration of flames.
A big movie from 2013 was Gravity, probably the best interpretation of realistic (well as close as you can get) spaceflight. In the movie [Spoiler] astronaut Sandra Bullock finds herself in the de-orbiting Tiangong Space Station. The space station goes through several stages as it falls, first from shaking to breaking apart, air streaks and finally fully breaking apart and immense heat.
While probably not realistically accurate (although still highly accurate), cinematically it did the job as intended, creating a very dramatic finale to the movie.
I may also want to consider the break up of asteroids, there are lots of amateur footage of asteroids falling to Earth, notably a meteor that exploded over Russia in 2013.
Along the lines of asteroids and comets, we got the best views of a comet in 2014 with Rosetta's visit to 67P/Churyumov-Gerisamenko. Some of the pictures it has returned have been fascinating and as the comets gets closer to the sun we can see the gas and dust outflows become much more active. Although these are stills, it'd be interesting to explore generating these effects in Maya, emulating it realistically while also exaggerating it for artistic effect, giving the viewer a feel of what it may be like on the comet.
Project Ideas & Research - Part 2
I've looked at planetary bodies and atmospheric effects, another idea was to go closer in and explore the creation of a ground level scene of an alien planet or hostile, out-of-the-way environment. The project would be slightly more focused on expressing how that scene feels. If you were to place yourself at the scene I'd want to create the necessary particles and atmosphere to say the following things:
One of my all time favourite movie franchises is The Chronicles of Riddick, in each movie a different planet is visited, each with its own unique feature. In The Chronicles Riddick (second movie) there is a planet which is very close to its sun which turns daytime hours into flaming no-go zone. Although a little dated there are some neat things in the scene, the way the air mirages with the heat and the steam are enough to tell us its hot. The wall of fireballs is a bit gimmicky but awesome to watch.
Interstellar is the latest big sci-fi movie so I feel obliged to give it a mention. Interstellar visits a few planets with one being an icy lifeless planet. I think its done very well, the clouds are very calm and cover the sky leaving it a white scene. There is a constant light snowfall which says it all. I was particularly interested in the way the blizzard seems to hover over the planets surface which I think is also partly a release of ice from the surface.
I'd also like to give Avatar an honourable mention, you'd think the planet of Pandora would come to mind for a project like this but it doesn't particularly cover what I am exploring. What Pandora does great is the content of the environment (the plantlife, the floating mountains, the terrain) but doesn't particularly focus on the elements I want to explore. It does do a very good job of the clouds, there are a lot of fine light mist-like clouds which really emphasise how "airy" the air was, hinting at a more fuller and dense atmosphere.
- How hot or cold it is - using embers or snowflakes
- How thick the atmosphere is or the feeling of high air pressure - by creating fog volumes
- How hostile the environment is - nature of the particles, speed of the wind, use of colour
Many sci-fi films use these visual techniques very well, some will use most or all of them and others will put them aside for more emphasis on the contents or character of the environment. As this would be a visual effects project I'd want to concern myself more with the fluids and particles side of the scene.
I re-looked at some films which build an environment scene with the elements I am researching. One example is from Prometheus. I was most impressed at the initial landing scene where the planet is introduced. The cloud levels vary all over from very high clouds to middle level storm clouds and ever looming ground fog. It sets the scene as being a very different place from earth and all the elements together do point to a different atmosphere but not so different to be deadly. I found a nice visual effects breakdown which does have more compositing elements but is useful:
One of my all time favourite movie franchises is The Chronicles of Riddick, in each movie a different planet is visited, each with its own unique feature. In The Chronicles Riddick (second movie) there is a planet which is very close to its sun which turns daytime hours into flaming no-go zone. Although a little dated there are some neat things in the scene, the way the air mirages with the heat and the steam are enough to tell us its hot. The wall of fireballs is a bit gimmicky but awesome to watch.
Interstellar is the latest big sci-fi movie so I feel obliged to give it a mention. Interstellar visits a few planets with one being an icy lifeless planet. I think its done very well, the clouds are very calm and cover the sky leaving it a white scene. There is a constant light snowfall which says it all. I was particularly interested in the way the blizzard seems to hover over the planets surface which I think is also partly a release of ice from the surface.
I'd also like to give Avatar an honourable mention, you'd think the planet of Pandora would come to mind for a project like this but it doesn't particularly cover what I am exploring. What Pandora does great is the content of the environment (the plantlife, the floating mountains, the terrain) but doesn't particularly focus on the elements I want to explore. It does do a very good job of the clouds, there are a lot of fine light mist-like clouds which really emphasise how "airy" the air was, hinting at a more fuller and dense atmosphere.
The following tutorials demonstrate some of the effects I may want to explore with for this type of scene:
Wednesday, 4 February 2015
Project Ideas & Research - Part 1
An idea that I may want to explore is that of planetary bodies, atmospheric particles and effects. A classic example of this is the Star Trek (2009) credits where a whole number of different planet concepts are shown. Each scene is very dramatic, often with multiple close-by planets in varying sizes and colours. Also shown are cosmic dust clouds, broken planets, asteroid fields and collisions and J.J. Abrams' signature lens flares (yeah maybe a bit too many of them).
What I was originally thinking was to explore and produce the atmospheric effects surrounding the planets but was thinking of how I'd make a project out of that. Typically these effects are simply just glows around a sphere but in the Star Trek credits there is much more, with geysers and jets of gas or material coming off some planets. There are also a number of asteroid fields and some smashed up planets which may also add some depth to scenes I might want to make.
I looked into a few ways of how these effects are achieved and came across the following tutorials. In the first tutorial an atmosphere is created using a fluid container, part of the maya dynamics system which would be a good area to explore. A colour ramp is used to get the desired effect. One step to go further could be to add dynamic clouds, winds or fog. This would be more suited to a rendered image or preferably a video if I were to turn this into a project.
A dynamic cloud layer like the one in this tutorial could be a start in adding more depth to an atmosphere scene. Scripting could be used to program the behaviour of winds and how those clouds moved. Note that both these tutorials are closer to the planet and not dealing with a spherical volume.
My aim of the project would be to assist in telling the narrative of a scene. How a planet looks like from this angle can tell of the hostility or nature of the planet: the colours and thickness of the atmosphere, how active clouds and particles move within it, the types of particles in the atmosphere (dust, embers, moisture, etc.)
What I was originally thinking was to explore and produce the atmospheric effects surrounding the planets but was thinking of how I'd make a project out of that. Typically these effects are simply just glows around a sphere but in the Star Trek credits there is much more, with geysers and jets of gas or material coming off some planets. There are also a number of asteroid fields and some smashed up planets which may also add some depth to scenes I might want to make.
I looked into a few ways of how these effects are achieved and came across the following tutorials. In the first tutorial an atmosphere is created using a fluid container, part of the maya dynamics system which would be a good area to explore. A colour ramp is used to get the desired effect. One step to go further could be to add dynamic clouds, winds or fog. This would be more suited to a rendered image or preferably a video if I were to turn this into a project.
A dynamic cloud layer like the one in this tutorial could be a start in adding more depth to an atmosphere scene. Scripting could be used to program the behaviour of winds and how those clouds moved. Note that both these tutorials are closer to the planet and not dealing with a spherical volume.
My aim of the project would be to assist in telling the narrative of a scene. How a planet looks like from this angle can tell of the hostility or nature of the planet: the colours and thickness of the atmosphere, how active clouds and particles move within it, the types of particles in the atmosphere (dust, embers, moisture, etc.)
Wednesday, 28 January 2015
Scripting & Dynamics
I have taken Scripting & Dynamics this semester which is a continuation of the Technical Art Applications module.
For the coursework we are able to choose a project in any of the many fields of visual effects and scripting for visual effects. I am more particularly interested in the art side of the course and how I could use particle systems and dynamics to help build an environment.
Although we've yet to look at the particular methods of fluids, cloth and scripting, I can begin to think about what kind of things I may want to make:
Although we've yet to look at the particular methods of fluids, cloth and scripting, I can begin to think about what kind of things I may want to make:
- Planetary and space visual effects
- Atmospheric effects including particles, weather, winds, smoke, etc.
- Compositing effects onto film
- Meteor or spacecraft re-entry effects
I am interested in exploring anything related to space as I feel my personal interest and knowledge of astronomy and spaceflight could be used to my advantage.
Sunday, 14 December 2014
Advanced Features
Along the way I have also been tidying up the rig. Most controls have now had selected attributes locked and hidden. I've disabled scaling on almost all joints and some joints are unable to be translated where they are only used for controlling the orientation of a joint. This overall improves usability and readability of the rig and where possible prevents the user from breaking the rig.
I've added a few advanced options here and there. First up are the feet which have a number of added attributes such as roll, twist and lift options for the heel and toe. To do this a number of groups were created within each other, each controlling the rotation at an appropriate pivot point. These were then connected to the attributes using the Hypershade connection editor.
While all the functionality is there, the deformation isn't too great. The skinning isn't the main problem rather it is the way the joints rotate. I think this is a similar problem to the issue I was having prior to adding IK solvers. Rotating with small values gives the correct result but when you push the rotation the joints move in weird ways. This is something I was unable to correct through troubleshooting and if I had more time would focus on correcting this but I feel this would need to be edited right back at the joints, perhaps their local rotation axis or placement.
In addition the skinning isn't perfect on the shoes due to the complex mesh and the deformers aren't perfect either.
I wanted to do a little bit more with my blend shapes. To access them before would require you to open up the blend sheet window and the sliders would be easily accessible from there. This method wasn't entirely user friendly and would probably be missed as its not obvious they exist. To combat this I've added an extra controller that follows the head controller. This new controller holds all the blend shape deformers as attributes which can be edited just as you could with the blend shape window.
I figured I didn't have the time to look into creating a floating user interface but this would do the job pretty well. In addition to this there is also a face animation camera, accessible through Panels > Perspective > MeryFaceCam which is locked to the head as it moves. The facial animation controller is located conveniently so it can be accessed while using this camera.
I also included an additional variable in the eyes controller which allows you to switch between following the head controller or locking it to the master controller's world space (with the help of this tutorial). This allows you to move the rig around and the eyes will stay locked in one place. This is something I'd also like to add to the hand controllers if time permits.
I've added a few advanced options here and there. First up are the feet which have a number of added attributes such as roll, twist and lift options for the heel and toe. To do this a number of groups were created within each other, each controlling the rotation at an appropriate pivot point. These were then connected to the attributes using the Hypershade connection editor.
While all the functionality is there, the deformation isn't too great. The skinning isn't the main problem rather it is the way the joints rotate. I think this is a similar problem to the issue I was having prior to adding IK solvers. Rotating with small values gives the correct result but when you push the rotation the joints move in weird ways. This is something I was unable to correct through troubleshooting and if I had more time would focus on correcting this but I feel this would need to be edited right back at the joints, perhaps their local rotation axis or placement.
In addition the skinning isn't perfect on the shoes due to the complex mesh and the deformers aren't perfect either.
I wanted to do a little bit more with my blend shapes. To access them before would require you to open up the blend sheet window and the sliders would be easily accessible from there. This method wasn't entirely user friendly and would probably be missed as its not obvious they exist. To combat this I've added an extra controller that follows the head controller. This new controller holds all the blend shape deformers as attributes which can be edited just as you could with the blend shape window.
I figured I didn't have the time to look into creating a floating user interface but this would do the job pretty well. In addition to this there is also a face animation camera, accessible through Panels > Perspective > MeryFaceCam which is locked to the head as it moves. The facial animation controller is located conveniently so it can be accessed while using this camera.
I also included an additional variable in the eyes controller which allows you to switch between following the head controller or locking it to the master controller's world space (with the help of this tutorial). This allows you to move the rig around and the eyes will stay locked in one place. This is something I'd also like to add to the hand controllers if time permits.
Finally I've added some functionality in the wrist designed to help it deform better when rotated. Also using the connection editor I fed the rotation from the wrist controller into another joint located within the forearm. As the wrist controller rotates, the forearm joint will rotate 50% of its value. This has proven to work well while skinned.
Saturday, 13 December 2014
Skinning - Continued
Skinning is definitely a time consumer. Not exactly difficult but it requires a lot of focus and tedious detailing to get the whole thing looking great when its animated.
Thankfully I found out about the 'Mirror Skin Weights' which has helped out a whole bunch with repetitive tasks. The only area that required editing after mirroring was the other hand as the joints weren't exactly identical on either side (can't remember how, think it was to do with pole vectors moving them) but that was sorted too.
The hands themselves have been quite a lot of effort on their own compared to the rig as a whole. On the whole the skinning is fine on them but not perfect. I've been unable to correct my weird thumb rotation axis thing and its not looking right at all when bending. Skinning was fine on it although not as easy as on the other fingers but the set driven key I put on it earlier is not working out for it at the moment with the thumb doing some unnatural movement. Set driven key took so long the first time I did it I'm unsure if I'll be able to attempt a correction on it. Like the feet, rotating small values is fine but pushing it results in unnatural movement.
Thankfully I found out about the 'Mirror Skin Weights' which has helped out a whole bunch with repetitive tasks. The only area that required editing after mirroring was the other hand as the joints weren't exactly identical on either side (can't remember how, think it was to do with pole vectors moving them) but that was sorted too.
The hands themselves have been quite a lot of effort on their own compared to the rig as a whole. On the whole the skinning is fine on them but not perfect. I've been unable to correct my weird thumb rotation axis thing and its not looking right at all when bending. Skinning was fine on it although not as easy as on the other fingers but the set driven key I put on it earlier is not working out for it at the moment with the thumb doing some unnatural movement. Set driven key took so long the first time I did it I'm unsure if I'll be able to attempt a correction on it. Like the feet, rotating small values is fine but pushing it results in unnatural movement.
One thing I am happy with is the skin weights on the jaw. I've managed to fix this right up with the lips deforming much smoother and the neck moving better than it was before. I've also attached the teeth to the appropriate joint (although for some reason the upper teeth would not show its faces, had to re-import this part of the mesh). Of course there's always room for improvement, I'd like to add more influences on to the cheek and upper lip to get it looking better.
I also got some decent deformation in the pelvis both where the legs bend and when the spine bends. Not getting volume deformation in the buttocks and making sure the spine didn't go bumpy required a lot of time with the smooth brush to get a good result.
Most of the recent tweaks have mostly been going around with the add brush and adding low percentage influences on one joint to a neighbouring joint in order to achieve some more realistic movement that there is an influence of one joint to the other.
I would say that I've fixed most volume loss issues and each joint deforms as it should. I had to do many test animations to identify problem areas. The wrist skin weights were particularly tricky but having gradient influence from the wrist all the way up the forearm solved this.
The neck and chest didn't require much editing but the clavicles were hard to work out. I'm not entirely satisfied with the movement the clavicles are giving but I think this is more from the way I connected up the joints and would want to spend time editing this either by adding in corrective joints or adding translation controls into the control shape. More skin weights influence from the upper arm into this area wouldn't go a miss.
As of right now my biggest concern with the rig is actually with the wrap deformers. I was confident from my earlier testing that it would work fine but this is a problem I wasn't able to foresee. With wrap deformers on all the necessary objects the rig is considerably slower to manipulate, there's some noticeable lag. This disappears when the wrapped objects are hidden so I've added an attribute to the master controller that turns the visibility of these meshes on and off, just so you are able to take a look at the (naked) rig with no lag issues. It's frustrating that this was one of the last steps in the rigging process and it was one that had a disappointing result with so few time to correct it. I have tried most of the different settings in the wrap deformer as well as combining meshes and wrapping those but I'm not getting any better results. Unfortunately my slightly laggy rig will have to do as I am unable to get any better results without drastically changing how the clothes are implemented into the rig.
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