forger offers professional-level sculpting workflows on mobile devices.
The Maxon logo.
Last week, Maxon announced it has acquired forger, a digital 3D sculpting and texture painting application for iOS. Conceived over a decade ago by Javier Edo Meseguer, forger offers desktop-class, professional-level sculpting workflows on mobile devices.
Quoting from the Maxon press release:
forger features an intuitive multitouch interface and a comprehensive collection of sculpting brushes and tools. Powerful remeshing algorithms as well as masking and layering capabilities make concept- and production-level sculpting on a mobile device a reality. The ability to import/export OBJ and Alembic file formats further facilitates mobile to desktop workflows.
forger supports all iOS devices (iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch), although it benefits from the extra workspace found in the larger devices and makes great use of the performance benefits that iPad Pro(s) bring to the table. It also supports Apple Pencil.
The high-end Mac Pro vastly speeds creating animation & VFX assets.
Detail from Lunar Animation ad for Disney+
Lunar Animation wrote a detailed blog about how using high-end Mac Pros enabled their animation activities over the last year. Their blog “looks at the noticeable things that this machine really helps with once you start working as an artist.”
Today we’re going to give a 12 month 3D computer animation perspective on the Mac Pro and Pro Display XDR. We really push our computers hard on a daily basis and benchmarks don’t always reflect real world use on a project. So in this post we will focus on how the Mac Pro has affected our current workflows and how it’s opening up new and exciting workflows for the future.
We currently have two Mac Pros in the studio, we have a mid-tier model which has the 16-core CPU and dual graphics cards and then a higher tier 28 core model, which has four graphics cards. Now I know what you’re thinking, why on earth would you want four graphics cards? Well we’ll get to that later in the post.
Their software includes:
MAYA – 3D Modelling and Animation
V-RAY – Rendering Engine for Maya
HOUDINI – Simulation and Effects
NUKE – Compositing
DAVINCI RESOLVE – Editing
SUBSTANCE PAINTER – Shading and Texturing
ZBRUSH – 3D Sculpting
ADOBE PHOTOSHOP – Image Editing
DEADLINE – Render Management Software
[What using a high-end Mac Pro ] means is that rather than having to close the heavy scene, load up the 3D model we want to adjust and then close that and reopen the original scene to continue working, we are able to simply switch spaces in macOS, add a light to a 3D model and quickly switch back and check the update with the interactive IPR renderer.
Then while we’re waiting for that to create a preview render, we can switch over to another screen and adjust another model.
What we’re seeing here is the fluidity of the artist working and not having to be ground to a halt because the computer is having to think. It feels like having multiple computers at your fingertips. All without constant crashing, which means we avoid losing work and more importantly save artists’ time.
The entire blog is a tour de force and well worth reading. And the behind-the-scenes video is amazing.
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https://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpg00Larry Jordanhttps://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpgLarry Jordan2021-03-10 01:30:002021-03-10 01:30:00Tip #1473: Lunar Animation: Mac Pro Big Help in VFX
Interviews with the VFX team for “The Good Lord Bird.”
For the great reveal of the Harpers Ferry region, a horse and wagon and grassy field appear in the foreground. Right behind them, production rigged a bluescreen. Ingenuity Studios created everything beyond the foreground elements in order to simulate Harpers Ferry in 1859 in this panoramic shot. Images courtesy of Showtime.
This article, written by Chris McGowan, first appeared in VFXVoice.com. This is an excerpt.
For the Showtime series “The Good Lord Bird,” show-side Visual Effects Supervisor Brad Minnich and Ingenuity Studios Visual Effects Supervisor Andrew Woolley were tasked with recreating Harpers Ferry in 1859 and other settings from the last years of abolitionist John Brown.
Matthew Poliquin was Executive Producer and Adam Lambert the VFX Producer for Ingenuity Studios. Marz VFX, Barnstorm VFX, Trehmer Film and Technicolor VFX were other participating visual effects studios. Ingenuity Studios, the primary VFX house, completed 450 shots and worked on everything from period towns and landscapes to CGI fires, muzzle flashes, train smoke, extensive matte paintings and CG body doubles in battle.
“We had a lot of on-set photography and drone footage to reference to build that town,” Minnich comments. A lot of older photography from the area was also used for reference of what the structures and landscape looked like. “The cool thing about Harpers Ferry is that it is still intact and still has the [pre-Civil War] essence. I remember a session with Andrew where we picked off the modern buildings.” With those cleared out, “Andrew and his team at Ingenuity Studios had a good guide.”
Harpers Ferry is in a river valley, with mountains on either side. One of the memorable establishing scenes is a great reveal of the region. A horse and wagon and grassy field are in the foreground of the shot. Right behind them, production rigged a bluescreen. Ingenuity Studios created everything beyond the foreground elements. “We had to find or build all the elements – trees and grasses, mountains and so on, in the correct varietals and topography for the location,” Woolley notes. Another item was a bridge built in CG and added to the scene. “We had to match all the lighting to the practical elements in the scene,” he adds. “We stitched everything together and projected it onto some rough geo to give more 3D feel. It’s essentially 2.5D, though where the various depths move independently to achieve the correct parallax through the crane move. Finally, it was all integrated with atmosphere and the sky replacement to cap it off. It was the big reveal of Harpers Ferry. Once we locked that in, it established the lay of the land for our viewers.”
EXTRA CREDIT
The article continues with more interviews, along with before and after images of various effects shots.
In-camera effects are not the norm, but Christopher Nolan prefers them.
Where possible, director Christopher Nolan prefers in-camera effects.
This article, written by Kevin H. Martin, first appeared in VFXVoice.com. This is a summary.
“Even after reading the script four times, I was still working out the complexities of it,” Tenet Visual Effects Supervisor Andrew Jackson admits. “Tenet was a case of just when you think you’ve gotten things clear in your mind, then you catch yourself and realize, ‘Oh no!’ And so you’ve got to think a bit harder.”
Writer/Producer/Director Christopher Nolan’s return to technothriller territory a la Inception boasts James Bond-sized full-scale set pieces while not stinting on effects magic – though with the focus primarily on in-camera work. Editor Jennifer Lame estimates only 300 VFX shots in the whole picture, while director Nolan says the level of VFX – created at DNEG, which has worked on Nolan’s films since Batman Begins in 2005 – is less than what would be found in most romantic comedies.
Visual Effects Producer Mike Chambers began working with Nolan on Inception. “He’s very tech-savvy with all aspects of production, and sees VFX as just one tool in the toolbox. He has always been happy with DNEG and likes the idea of avoiding multiple vendors unless something unusual comes up. Organizing early on for a Nolan project starts with knowing the ideal is to get as much in-camera as possible, but then to plan alternate routes that can get us to where we need if in-camera approach doesn’t get us all the way.”
“When you break down a script for a Chris Nolan movie, it’s a different process than when you work on any other film,” he continues. “There are aspects that for anybody else, the default solution today would be to go CG, but that’s not necessarily the case with Chris – almost the opposite is true, which I find refreshing and exciting and really gives me and everyone in my crew a sense of challenge. In this day and age, there is so much effects being done as VFX is the go-to mindset, I couldn’t be in a better spot with a more willing boss than Chris when it comes to practicing my craft properly, getting the time to do all these tests and get things right for the camera.”
EXTRA CREDIT
The article includes much more detail, as well as production stills and links.
Replacing a sky is a typical request even for smaller projects.
Image courtesy Motion Array.com
Replacing an undercast or overexposed sky is one of those techniques that, if your client sees you doing it once, they’ll want it every time! Luckily, there are plenty of tools built-in to DaVinci Resolve that make replacing a sky a breeze.
This article first appeared in MotionArray.com. This is a summary.
First up, there are multiple ways that this can be done. A composite like this can be achieved in the Cut, Edit, Color, and Fusion pages – and each toolset offers its own strengths and weaknesses. Today, we are going to use the Color page because it’s the most straightforward way to pull out the sky and draw a garbage matte around the buildings.
Here are the steps. The article provides step-by-step instructions, along with screen shots.
Step 1: Prepare Your Clips
Step 2: Key the Sky
Step 3: Place the Background
Step 4: Refine the Key with a Power Window
Step 5: Match the Elements with Color Correction
Step 6: Track an Object for the Sky
Step 7: Apply the Track Data to the New Sky
Now you know how to replace a sky in DaVinci Resolve using the Color page. What makes the Color page unique is that tools can easily be used in tandem. In our exercise we keyed the sky, refined the key with a Power Window as a Garbage Matte, and tracked the Garbage Matte – all in the same node.
Voxel art is easy to learn, simple to create and very, very deep.
Image courtesy of PremiumBeat.com
This article, written by Charles Yeager, first appeared in PremiumBeat.com. This is a summary.
MagicaVoxel offers a GPU-based path-tracing renderer, which allows you to quickly create some beautiful renders.
The minimalistic beauty of voxel art is more popular than ever. It’s a fun medium between 2D pixel art and more realistic 3D creations. One of the most popular voxel art applications is MagicaVoxel, which is FREE for anyone to download and use.
The highlight of this article are several video tutorials illustrating how to install and use MagicaVoxel. This free utility for Mac and Windows allows you to create these stylized images.
The article also includes:
How to Download and Install MagicaVoxel
Voxel Art is Like Building With Legos
Render Options
Export Options
And a wide variety of tips, techniques and overall good ideas
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https://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpg00Larry Jordanhttps://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpgLarry Jordan2021-03-03 01:30:002021-03-03 01:30:00Tip #1462: Create 3D Voxel Art
The disabled “need to be five times more qualified” just to get work.
Kaitlyn Yang, Visual Effects Supervisor and Alpha Studios Founder
Visual effects supervisor Kaitlyn Yang was hooked on digital imaging when she was nine years old, upon discovering Photoshop and STAR WARS. She was recently interviewed by VFXVoice.com. This is a summary of her interview.
A graduate of USC Film School, Kaitlyn founded VFX postproduction company Alpha Studios when she was 25 and made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Hollywood and Entertainment, and has served on the Television Academy’s Awards Committee and as Co-Chair of the VES Los Angeles Section. An immigrant and wheelchair user, Kaitlyn overcame additional obstacles in her career and has used that experience to fuel her advocacy for diversity and inclusion, to further the representation of disabled artists in entertainment.
In her interview, she reflects on the biggest challenge she faced in the VFX industry: “being a woman.”
“Even to this day,” she writes, “when I show up to set as a VFX supervisor, the first question I’m asked is “who are you here visiting?” It’s an everyday thing that will change with time. The more women are seen and empowered in senior roles, the less these trivial questions will come up. I took a leap of faith in starting my own company, and I am committed to achieving greater equity and opportunity for everyone in VFX.”
“Early on, my mom said that because I have a visible disability, I need to be at least five times as qualified as a ‘regular’ person to be considered for a role …and going through my career, I agree with that. When I was starting out, I didn’t see people who looked like me on screen or behind the scenes. There are still negative connotations around people with disabilities or anything outside what people perceive as the norm, and that drove me to prove myself so that I would not be overlooked. I carry that drive forward to raise awareness of the untapped talent all around us and how those perspectives lend so much to storytelling and our business. Let’s all do our part to make it the norm to see diversity all the way down the end credits.”
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https://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpg00Larry Jordanhttps://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpgLarry Jordan2021-02-24 01:30:002021-02-24 01:30:00Tip #1441: Creativity is Always a Leap of Faith
There has never been a better time to develop an animated series.
Detail from “The Boondocks,” credit: Cartoon Network
This article first appeared in NoFilmSchool.com. This is a summary.
The animation world used to be for kids, but adult animation is having a heyday right now. Adult animation is actually one of the most successful genres of entertainment today. Shows like Rick and Morty, Big Mouth, and Clone High dominate the conversation. We have Primal, Samurai Jack, and The Boondocks all coming back.
HBO Max paid $500 million for the exclusive rights to South Park, and they haven’t stopped there. They have a revival of Clone High (picked up for two seasons), the Scooby-Doo prequel Velma, a take on Gremlins, more Harley Quinn, plus an ongoing slate of additional animated content, including an adult-focused Game of Thrones animated series.
Netflix is constantly developing new animated series, and Amazon is not far behind. Think about Bojack Horseman and Undone. According to “The Hollywood Reporter”, Netflix has invested over one billion dollars in animated programming.
Recording voice lines is easy for actors and only takes a few days. Much of the animation can be done for cheap in foreign countries. And you can write and animate year-round.
Another shift in all of this is the COVID-19 pandemic. With live-action TV and films sidelined, the animation genre was able to continue. It was easier following COVID protocols when you just are sanitizing a room and a mic. And lots of lines could be done remotely, over Zoom, with a proper mic setup.
There has never been a better time to develop an animated series.
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https://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpg00Larry Jordanhttps://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpgLarry Jordan2021-02-24 01:30:002021-02-20 09:37:16Tip #1444: Adult Animation is in its Heyday
Game design intersects with production using LED monitor walls.
Baby Yoda, surrounded by an LED wall, with images created with Unreal Engine. Image courtesy of Disney.
This article, written by Trevor Hogg, first appeared in VFXVoice.com. This is a summary.
Traditionally, movies and television shows have been divided into three stages consisting of pre-production, production and post-production; however, the lines are blurring with the advancements in virtual production. A great deal of interest was generated with what Jon Favreau was able to achieve utilizing the technology to produce The Mandalorian. Interest turned into necessity when the coronavirus pandemic restricted the ability to shoot global locations. If you cannot go out into the world then the next best thing is to create a photorealistic, computer-generated environment that can be adjusted in real-time. Will virtual production be a game-changer that will have lasting impact?
Scott Schambliss, Production Designer:
“One of the best qualities of our medium is its essential plasticity. By replacing traditional bluescreen/greenscreen tech with LED display walls, a stage working environment is dramatically enhanced by its chief gifts of interactive practical lighting and directly representative motion picture backgrounds the screens display in-camera for shooting purposes. For sci-fi and fantasy projects these advances are major and practical additions.”
Scott Meadows, Digital Domain:
“We recently had a client in the middle of reshoots when COVID hit. We had several props and CG characters, and our team put together some blocking animation that we added to Unreal Engine. Within a day, we had everything we needed for the filmmakers to do whatever they wanted within the scene. For the actual shoot there were only seven people present, with the director, editor, VFX Supervisor and Animation Supervisor all calling in remotely.”
Sam Nicolson, Stargate Studios:
“Virtual production is the new Wild West of the film business where the world of game developers and film producers are merging. From photoreal avatars to flawless virtual sets and extensive Unreal worlds, the global production community has embraced the amazing potential of virtual production as a solution to many of the production challenges facing us during the current global pandemic.”
The article also interviews:
Adam Myhill, Unity Technologies
Paul Cameron, Westworld
Alex McDowell, Experimental Design
David Morin, Epic Games Los Angeles Lab
Christopher Nicols, Chaos Group Labs
Nic Hatch, Ncam
Ben Grossman, Magnopus
Rachel Rose, ILM
There are images and much longer quotes in the article.
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https://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpg00Larry Jordanhttps://www.theinsidetips.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Tips-Logo-700x150.jpgLarry Jordan2021-02-17 01:30:002021-02-13 09:44:38Tip #1420: Virtual Production Takes Big Step Forward
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