Table of contents for No. 117 in 3D Artist

Pouncing onto our screens earlier this year was the effortlessly cool king of Wakanda, T’Challa, and Black Panther. The latest marvellous VFX superhero film to grace our screens and also the first live-action film on 3D Artist’s cover, Black Panther has plenty of awe-inspiring shots. This issue we’ve spoken to Luma Pictures and Scanline VFX to uncover all the secrets behind creating the infamous suit and the world of Black Panther on page 22. As the software that’s been on everybody’s lips the past few years, you can now learn new, innovative techniques for Substance Designer. You’ll be able to create volumes like never before and give other sculpting tools a run for their money on page 46. Meanwhile, one of the studios that is taking medical visualisation to new…

Lexus donated the Lexus GSF and LC-500 for scanning, building and location reference, and Marvel supplied the studios with CAD builds of all the vehicles. Along with the CAD and LiDAR data, Marvel contributed thorough reference photography that was used to extract textures for shading as well as to digitally re-create light rigs for look development and shader balancing. “These three vehicles were our hero cars and used anytime we needed to digitally replace and/ or augment them in any way,“ says Zink. “There were multiple digital versions of the same car, so they could have crashes and do various stunts with them and Luma could replace them or augment them when necessary,“ says Kevin Souls, Los Angeles VFX supervisor for Luma Pictures. The vehicles were filmed in different applied…

One key difference between Random42 and your typical visual effects working environment is that they like to use teams of generalists. “Most VFX companies are heavily specialist, and artists will spend much of their career compositing shot after shot,“ says Chilcott. “Random42 is more suited to those artists who want to have a lot of creative input and control, it’s for the people who want to be a large part of smaller projects, as opposed to a tiny cog in a big machine.“ The recruitment process is aimed at finding what Chilcott calls ‘specialist generalists’. “These are artists who are familiar with most areas of the 3D pipeline – lighting, materials, modelling, animation, compositing and so on – but will additionally have a specific area that they specialise in and…

“With all the motion graphics on The Beyond we used After Effects and there’s no magic behind it – it’s all key framed animation,“ Dulull explains. “Assets like buttons were first created by me sketching them very crudely in a notepad. 2D artist Joseph Buchanan then used Illustrator to interpret them into buttons, fonts, alerts and interfaces for me to use as a Kit in my comps. We were even able to have screens on set to show the user interface during filming, so it was all shot in camera.“ “There were a selection of big special motion graphics sequences that were used to tell key moments in the story and visualise the science and tech. These were all created in collaboration with my good friend JM Blay, who I…

GREG BARTA Cloud science in Houdini, 2018 Software Houdini Learn how to • Observe nature from both a scientist’s and an artist’s point of view • Learn the basics of cloud science • Create pyro solver-based cumulus clouds • Render them with Mantra using some tricks Concept This is a practical effect experiment with soy milk and water to get some visceral impressions about fluid dynamics for this tutorial. It can actually be very meditative to create images without a computer. In issue 116’s atmospherics tutorial we learned some basic scientific aspects of atmospherics. One kind of phenomena was intentionally missing from that because this step-by-step is all about them: clouds. There are many kinds of clouds but we have chosen the most common one, the cumulus, as the subject…

Developed by We Suck Less, Reactor aims to streamline the installation, distribution and management of third-party content for Fusion using Atom packages. They sync to an online Git repository so it’s also easy to keep plugins up to date. Available content includes the Fusion Cryptomatte implementation. You can download Reactor now on our FileSilo. Check out page 10 for more information.…

It’s said that when Russian ruler Catherine the Great made a grand tour of the Ukraine in 1787 down the River Dnieper, Prince Grigory Potemkin was so keen to impress her that he ordered fake village facades to be erected along the banks complete with peasants acting out charades of industriousness. This visual propaganda masked the poverty of his misrule and, so the story goes, fooled the monarch. These days, Potemkin, with his indisputable skills of organisation and visual deception, could find a place to work in the film industry. Those of us involved in visual effects can increasingly be thought of as world builders, creating visually detailed 3D spaces for action or stories to take place in. Historically, VFX and ‘fooling the eye’ have both been given a bum…

Company Platige Image Location Poland Website platige.com Biography Founded in 1997, Warsaw studio Platige has showcased European talent for over two decades. The team works with a diverse portfolio of clients, however its high-profile work with videogames such as The Witcher III, Hitman and the Total War series has struck a chord with gaming fans and 3D artists alike. Contributors • Jakub Jabło ń ski Project director and art director • Mateusz Tokarz CG supervisor • Justyna Ołtarzewska Producer “Designing the shots, gathering references and early concept art – this is what I love the most”Jakub Jabłoński, Project director at Platige Image A trailer for a videogame is a lot like an elevator pitch – you have two minutes to sell the concept to an audience. In many cases, game studios don’t…

PAUL HELLARD paulhellard.contently.com  Paul is a seasoned VFX journalist and is the former editor of CGsociety.org. This issue he’s spoken to Luma Pictures and Scanline VFX about Black Panther’s VFX. It’s on page 22. 3DArtist username N/A VINCENT DéROZIER artstation.com/vincentderozier  Vincent has revealed to us his innovative new techniques for creating sculpt-like models with Substance Designer. Master the software now with his tutorial on page 46. 3DArtist username Vincent Dérozier GREG BARTA artstation.com/scivfx  Greg’s contribution to this issue is two-fold this month. He teaches us the science behind cloud formation as well as reviewing the latest Clarisse, version 3.6. Read them on pages 54 and 80. 3DArtist username N/A TREVOR BALL & JOSH WEBB stackrockgroup.com  Trevor and Josh are 3D visualisation artists specialising in landscape architectural modelling for a landscape…

When we first meet up-and-coming director Hasraf Dulull – now better known by his industry nickname HaZ – it’s at the perfect place for any indie filmmaker: a busy pub in London’s Soho. Taking a much-needed break from his work on an upcoming project, Dulull is juggling our meeting with calls from various production execs as they’re putting together the finishing touches to the press screening of his very first feature, The Beyond. It’s only a week away from its debut at the Dolby Theatre and the trailer already has over one million views. “If it weren’t for my VFX career, I would not be where I am today,“ Dulull begins, coffee in hand. After 15 years working as an effects artist and supervisor, he had already earned high-end credits…

VINCENT DéROZIER Sacred Bust, 2017 Software Substance Designer Learn how to • Handle master graphs and sub-graphs • Create and manipulate high-definition volumes • Create Perspective and Destruction tools • Sculpt stone and metallic surfaces • Multi-material blending Concept The goal behind this piece is to create something figurative with symbolism and a cartoon twist while enhancing volumes to the maximum and adding a backstory. In this tutorial we are going to learn how to create a high-quality figurative piece in volumes and composed of several elements using Substance Designer. We will discover how to create complex and precise shapes, enhance their volume and mix them together. To achieve all of that, we will work the elements in separate subgraphs before building the final scene in a master graph. We…

TREVOR BALL & JOSH WEBB Canyon Crest Aerial, 2018 Software LandF/X, SketchUp 2017, Lumion 8 Learn how to • Model in SketchUp • Live model • Use Land F/X • Create a topography mesh • Apply textures • Produce photo-realistic renders • Master SketchUp’s versatility • Develop details • Use Lumion • Create quality textures Concept We want to impress our clients with generating 3D renderings of their future landscape design project incorporating a lap pool, pergola, outdoor kitchen and much more. With this tutorial, we are going to explain our workflow at Stack Rock Group and how we create photorealistic landscape architecture visualisations. In order for these renders to be created, there are numerous programs that are used. There are many different programs on the market and it is…

IKinema’s Orion combines with OpenVR hardware to create a mobile and cost-effective system for quality mocap data acquisition. Usability includes games, animation production, training, simulation, social VR, theatre, VR experiences and more. Capture requires a minimum of six trackers as Orion uses six data points to track all body movements. For higher fidelity, an eight-point tracking rig can be used. Motion data can be live streamed to Unreal Engine and Unity or recorded in FBX or BVH format. Node-locked licences are available now for an annual cost of £400 per seat, and for an additional fee setup for live retargeting to custom skeletons is offered by IKinema support. The Orion pack consists of an IKinema Orion solving engine, a Unity plugin, an Unreal plugin, a standard avatar, demo sample motions,…

Company Netflix Project Altered Carbon Website netflix.com Project Description An adaptation of the 2002 science fiction novel by Richard K Morgan where human consciousness is digitally stored in discs known as cortical stacks and bodies are swapped allowing for eternal life as long as one is rich enough. Project Bio Feature quality visual effects for 2,500 shots encompassing ten episodes produced by a team of vendors situated in the UK. The massive task was executing the futuristic version of San Francisco. Other assignments included flying vehicles, holographic advertisements, a reconfiguring AI system, and visualising soldiers with a heightened sense of awareness. Contributors • Laeta Kalogridis Creator/showrunner • David Ellison Executive producer • Carey Meyer Production designer • Everett Burrell Visual effects supervisor • Joel Whist Special effects supervisor • Larnell Stovall Stunt coordinator • Double Negative,…

The idea of being immersed in a microscopic environment and being able to explore microbiological processes as if you’re an astronaut surveying a new galaxy was popularised by films such as Innerspace and Fantastic Voyage. Now, virtual reality (VR) technology can simulate that. “Within the realm of biology, the VR possibilities are almost endless,“ Chilcott explains. “With the help of VR, we can ignite that childlike wonder in us that helps us engage with and understand such complex biological processes.“ It’s so engaging that Random42 have created a VR showreel that you can watch for yourself by going to random42.com/virtual-reality. If you don’t have a viewer like Google Cardboard or something similar then there’s no need to worry – they will send you one for free. “Exploring the human body…

01 The importance of grading I find it very difficult to edit a film together with the flat colours that come directly from cameras in LOG or Rec709. Instead, I used DaVinci Resolve to define the mood and aesthetics I’m after in each shot through a first pass grade. I also used Resolve to stabilise some of our shaky documentary footage and even add basic effects like red alarms blaring. 02 Adding a soundtrack Another element I prefer to have access to before I start an edit is the audio, as I cut to music. Very early on in the process, I engaged with Aleah Morrison and Matthew Wilcock from Zelig to create music for me to work with based on visuals I provided and discussions we would have about…

Vincent Dérozier Vincent is a French environment artist. He started working in the games industry in 2010 and is now a texture environment artist in Canada. Textures.com  Substance Materials, 2016 Substance Designer Here is a bunch of procedural materials I had the chance to create for Textures.comTextures.com in 2016. Everything is procedural, made in Substance Designer with exposed parameters and presets. It’s available on . Link Bust, 2017 ZBrush, 3ds Max, Substance Designer, Substance Painter A personal project made for an environment. The statue was made in ZBrush, the materials in Substance Designer and layering in Substance Painter. I only finalised the upper part of the statue to test my recipe.…

For a personal project I wanted to make an homage to the Camel Trophy that aired on TV in the 1980s and 90s – where the iconic Defenders went to places where no car has ever been before. These cars were pushed to the max and had to conquer water multiple times during their adventures so splashing water would add some extra punch to the visual I wanted to make. For this visual I’m using Maya, Phoenix FD and V-Ray. It’s surprisingly easy to set up – I like using Phoenix FD for its simplicity. In this tutorial I’ll show you how easy it is and in a few steps you can create great-looking water ready to use in your visuals or animations. 01 Create the water base mesh First…

“I had to be very strict on my criteria to get my final list – the devil is definitely in the details!”Nicolas Wirrmann, Substance Designer product manager – Allegorithmic For the Materialize contest, entrants chose an image from Allegorithmic’s Mattershots Instagram account as a reference and then proceeded to create the material using Substance Designer. “Judging work of other people is never easy and picking them among dozens of excellent work is even harder. In the end, I had to be very strict on my criteria to get my final list – the devil is definitely in the details!“ says Nicolas Wirrmann, Substance Designer product manager at Allegorithmic. First prize in the MDL category was awarded to Mark Foreman’s malachite material. “I chose to enter without having more than dabbled…

Corel’s new iteration of Painter has a refreshed UI with an interactive Welcome Book that provides tips, tutorials and a gallery. Natural-Media brushes and canvas textures previously available with Painter are included, as well as physics-inspired Particle Brushes and Pattern Pens, and support for custom brush packs. “New users face a tough choice when looking at art software – either it’s too limited or it’s ultra-powerful with a significant learning curve,“ says Chris Pierce, Corel’s product manager for digital arts. “With Painter Essentials 6, we’re changing that with an easy-to-use digital art studio built with the industry’s most realistic painting technology.“…

Godot 3 Revamped open-source, real-time engine includes a new 3D renderer, the full range of Disney’s principled BSDF for PBR, two workflows for GI and improved mid- and post-processing effects, C++ (GDNative) support, C# Mono and Visual Scripting, improved HTML5 export using WebAssembly, new high-level networked multiplayer API, VR support and more. Houdini Indie 16.5.378 The new production build increases Indie’s render resolution limit to 4Kx4K, with a completely rewritten UV Flatten tool and features FBX import/export improvements specifically tailored for game developers. Customers also now receive a supplementary licence for non-concurrent use. Rental pricing has changed to $269 per year or $399 for a two-year term. Mocha VR 5.6 The latest release from Boris FX takes the complete stereo toolset from Mocha Pro standalone and adapts it for Mocha…

Job title TheLaserGirls Location New York, NY Website thelasergirlsstudio.com Biography While pursuing art degrees, Sarah C Awad and Dhemerae Ford had a fated meeting in an art class, and thus TheLaserGirls were born! As 3D printing evangelists, their mission is to share their 3D printing journey so others can build on it, learn from it, or start their own journey. To do this, they founded thelasergirlsstudio.com, a multimedia workspace of blog entries, tutorials and photo stories based on fostering a positive and creative environment of teaching and learning 3D modelling and/or 3D printing technologies. Just as their teachers inspired them, both Awad and Ford hope that they can do the same. Portfolio highlights • 3D-printed manicure, 2013 • 3D-printed cosplay: Knight (The Sleeper and the Spindle) and San (Princess Mononoke), 2015…

01 Return to sender by Bruce Conners 3DA username bruceconners Bruce Conners says: “The goal was to create a predatory alien that was trapped on a container ship. The creature was to have similar intelligence to a Velociraptor but with a more lizard-like anatomy.“ We say: We adore Bruce’s concept here, and the way the creature is posed works so well with the scene and the added depth of field. Good job! 02 IMZNAMI-A50 Belka (Squirrel) by Nail Khusnutdinov 3DA username nailgun Nail Khusnutdinov says: “This was a model created for ‘Autolegends of USSR’. This car concept never saw mass production. Designer Dolmatovsky Eugene experimented with the new layout with the landing above the front axle. The front door was common to both sides and leaned forward along…

GROOMING I used Yeti because I appreciate its nodal interface. The first step was to study references of lynx and tigers – it’s really important to understand the direction and shapes of fur. I started with the grooming, then I refined the look by setting interpolation. There is finally a huge texturing work to get the colour variations to obtain the final picture. Julien Robyn robjin.artstation.com  Julien started his training by spending four years in a CGI department and he has been working at Illumination Mac Guff for two years Software Maya, Substance, Yeti, ZBrush, Photoshop AnimalWarrior, 2018…