Follow Your Vision
Abiogenesis" creator Richard Mans shares how LightWave helped him realize his vision
Posted: Fri 31 May 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=z4Kl8JGzsKA
Friday, June 14, 2013
Unfolding the World of “Bunraku”
Origami Digital blends creative CG, stunning VFX, and true artistry onscreen
Posted: Fri 02 Apr 2010
Crime boss Nicola the Woodcutter (Ron Perlman) commands an army of thugs headed by nine deadly assassins in a post-war future without guns. Citizens of the small town, terrorized by Nicola’s regime, wait in hope of a hero to save them. A mysterious drifter (Josh Hartnett) and young samurai (Japanese star Gackt) soon cross paths and, with guidance from the local bartender (Woody Harrelson), join forces in a quest to overthrow Nicola’s tyrannical reign. At Nicola’s side are Alexandra (Demi Moore), the femme fatale, and Killer No. 2 (Kevin McKidd), Nicola’s lethal right-hand man.
Origami Originality
The one-of-a-kind film, which debuted on September 30, 2011 in a limited release, delivers an impressive cast and a wealth of eye-catching, awe-inspiring visuals—all within a $25 million production budget. Bunraku is written and directed by Moshe, based on a story by Boaz Davidson.Moshe’s Picturesque Films, Ram Bergman Productions, and Snoot Entertainment—all in Los Angeles—partnered to produce the film and bring Moshe’s vision to cinematic life. To realize the truly unique and strong visual style envisioned for Bunraku, the production team elicited the help of Oliver Hotz, owner and visual effects (VFX) supervisor at Origami Digital LLC in Los Angeles.
Moshe decided early on that he would tell the story of Bunraku by filming entirely on a green-screen stage and using a wealth of VFX and computer graphic imagery (CGI). The crew filmed the live action over a 12-week period and on roughly 30 sets at MediaPro Studios in Romania.
Hotz, named VFX supervisor on the film, led a team of artists at Origami Digital as they crafted a novel folded paper—or origami, coincidentally—world of Bunraku. “The world it’s set in is almost circus-like in the feel of it and it’s all origami,” described McKidd in a Los Angeles Times interview. “The whole universe is constantly folding paper to create a cityscape or interiors of rooms or the sunrise.”
Green-screen Greatness
“Even though Bunraku was shot entirely inside of sound stages, the director (Moshe) envisioned a massively expansive world,” Hotz explains. Origami Digital was initially contracted to deliver approximately 90 of the more difficult VFX shots in the production, while Snoot Entertainment’s Snoot FX division were assigned roughly 300 “A over B” set extensions. The project’s VFX work soon grew in both quantity and complexity, so the decision was made to reassign all work to Origami Digital.The Origami Digital VFX team was responsible for creating virtually everything that wasn’t in the immediate set, including a view through the City Square’s main archway, a flyover from a Mob Office over the city and past several landmarks, and a colorful, paper-lantern sky. In all, Origami Digital artists delivered more than 1000 shots, which can be seen over roughly 83 minutes of Bunraku’s running time.
Given the volume of VFX the team had to deliver for the movie, Hotz elected to farm out preparation tasks to other facilities and enable artists to devote more time to the look and design of the shots. RotoFactory, together with Origami Digital’s in-house rotoscope/paint team, delivered mattes for several green-screen sequences. Pixel Magic completed speed changes that were introduced in the edit stage. Algous Studios delivered the type of blood Moshe wanted in the movie, as well as provided elements for Origami Digital’s comps and finished “blood only” shots that didn’t require any other VFX elements. Lastly, Imaginary Forces handled a montage sequence, “because we had really liked the style of some of its other work and it fit perfectly into this movie,” Hotz describes.
Design Departure
The visual style of the work in Bunraku was a departure for Hotz and his team at Origami Digital. “Most of our prior work was of a photorealistic/invisible style. Achieving the stylized look that [Moshe] wanted took a lot of trial and error, so we came up with a work flow that allowed for experimentation without incurring overages or getting into a major time crunch,” he explains.“Another challenge was the length of the more intricate transition shots that, at 2000-plus frames each, included a lot of geometry and passes to allow for control later, during compositing. Perhaps our biggest challenge was doing this all with a small team. At our largest, we had 25 artists,” Hotz adds, “but we had a very good crew and a streamlined work flow that allowed us, on average, to get 40 to 60 shots out per week—including all the exploration time that the director needed.”
Hotz entrusted his Bunraku workflow to NewTek’s LightWave 3D, which he chose as the primary 3D application for all the modeling, texturing, and rendering. Artists also used LightWave to do all the setups for the shots. “We used [Autodesk’s] Maya to create a majority of the transition sequences where buildings had to fold and unfold, and then transferred the animation back to LightWave for texturing, lighting, and rendering. Not having to think about licensing the LightWave renderer on our render farm was a huge relief,” he affirms. “We then used LightWave to create all the passes that we needed and then passed those off to compositing.”
Intensive Integration
A smooth, tightly integrated production pipeline was a prerequisite for Origami Digital artists to produce a wealth of scenes combining live action, CG with high polygon counts, and striking VFX—all on a deadline.“The integration of LightWave and Maya on the 3D side, as well as getting camera and geometry information from LightWave into our compositing software (Eyeon Fusion), was key to the speed in which we were able to crank out iterations of work,” Hotz insists. “Having this seamless integration allowed me to make certain calls that would allow the artists to work more effectively. Sometimes, we would choose to use the geometry in the compositor rather than a 3D package, because we could make interactive changes while sitting there with the director.”
Origami Digital also enjoyed tight integration with its internal job tools. The artists did not need to create render folders or passes folders, Hotz mentions. “We automated things like z depth or matte passes, and submissions to the render farm—all to make it easier on the artist, who could concentrate more on the creative work.
“The integration with Maya was also key in moving elements to and from LightWave,” Hotz says. “We used our own tools for that integration and it was a very smooth process. We have a very tight integration of LightWave with the rest of our tools, including our entire motion-capture pipeline.”
Multiple Iterations
Artists need to be able to iterate to improve work, admits Hotz. “LightWave allows us to do that,” he says. “I find shading and texturing in LightWave so intuitive that we didn’t run into any slowdowns on that end, giving us the opportunity to explore many different looks in a very short amount of time.“It has an extremely fast renderer, and where you usually shudder to use motion blur with [other] renderers, I don’t even have to think twice with LightWave,” Hotz enthuses. “We render with 3D motion blur.”
LightWave also proved to be highly effective with scenes having large polygon counts. “We had millions of polys for our transition shots, and we had a much easier time dealing with the geometry in LightWave,” Hotz continues.
Lasting Impression
Bunraku’s visuals are being compared to those of Sin City and 300, both of which commanded much larger budgets than Bunraku’s modest $25 million price tag. “I am extremely proud of the work we have achieved,” Hotz says. “I’m equally proud of the way in which we were able to manage this project.“Typically, a project with 1000-plus shots would only go to a large facility working six- and seven-day weeks to finish; or, it would be broken up into smaller, sequence-sized chunks and distributed to companies all over the globe,” Hotz recognizes. “Due to our pipeline, tools, and management, we were able to deliver this project in the time allotted, with a small crew, in Los Angeles, without overtime or weekend work.”
What Hotz hopes independent movie producers take away from Bunraku is that high-quality VFX work is available to projects of all sizes and budgets. “Going forward, LightWave will continue to be our primary 3D application and package of choice for modeling, texturing, and rendering. Its speed, robustness, and support for custom scripting are all key to our success as a provider of 3D content to the entertainment industry,” he says. “We will definitely continue to use LightWave 3D for future work.”
Bunraku IMDB: www.imdb.com/title/tt1181795/
Visit Origami Digital at www.origamidigital.com
From Cars to Cartoons
Power Artist DJ Waterman turns his love of cars to works of art with LightWave
Posted: Wed 06 Feb 2013
As a professional 3D animator, doing business as Gloss Design in Sydney, Australia, Waterman regularly contributes 2D and 3D animation to all sorts of client projects, including commercials, corporate marketing, children’s programs, and medical/health videos.
While his freelance work as a 3D animator and motion designer covers diverse subjects and techniques, he’s known on the LightWave forums for his car renders. Waterman’s creative experimentation with his 3D car hobby has advanced his knowledge of what works and what doesn’t, and helped him refine his 3D modeling, surfacing, lighting and rendering techniques.
Waterman works from his home-based studio using LightWave 11. Occasionally, a real vehicle—like his green Fiesta—serves as inspiration for a 3D car and a handy reference for realism, but for the most part he works from photographs and blue prints.
The Body shop
“If I’m just modeling something out of my head, I can always cheat; whereas a car makes me stay true to a design and work through all the hard parts,” Waterman said. “A car contains most modeling and surface challenges. It has hard and soft shapes, sometimes flowing into each other. It also involves all kinds of surfaces like metal, glass, rubber, leather, and plastic. It’s a great subject.”Waterman’s modeling algorithm of choice is Sub-D, short for Sub-Division, also known as quad modeling because every object is comprised of four-sided polygons, although there are instances where three-sided polys can’t be avoided.
He begins a car by building it panel by panel using four-sided polygons. These car parts are then grouped together to become a single object.
“Once I’ve modeled a panel using four-sided polygon shapes, I can hit the E key on the keyboard to extrude an edge and drag out a new shape that will become another panel,” Waterman said. "I also use the Tab key (smooth/unsmooth) to check back and forth as to what is really going on with the mesh. A non-smoothed mesh will often reveal where the problem areas are. Tiny adjustments to untangle the underlying poly mesh will magically improve the look of the Sub-D’d mesh.”
There are alternative modeling techniques—like spline patching—that one can also use to model cars. “With spline patching, you get a blueprint you can use as a background image, and the spline-patched model you derive from that serves as the starting point for your car,” he explained. “After you draw the spline-based curves of the car, you select points along these curves and click a button and it patches it and puts a nice, smooth mesh over all that.”
“While that approach gets you up to speed quickly, the problem is that if you discover a problem with your blueprint after the car’s fully formed, it becomes quite difficult to correct or modify one detail without affecting the whole object. That’s why I usually forgo spline patching,” Des said. “With Sub-D, when you build the car one panel at a time, you can go back and solve problems on one isolated part without having those fixes affect the entire car.”
Shear genius
There are many tools in LightWave that are extremely helpful but relatively obscure. One such hidden gem is called the Shear tool. According to Waterman, “Shear has many useful properties for getting nice curvature to a mesh where one might use a Lattice Deformer in another 3D animation program. Once you get a feel for the Shear tool, it will constantly surprise you. It’s very interactive and flexible.”“If you slide your curser over a box, the object will lean in one direction, like a shed leaning to one side,” Waterman said. “Artists can quickly get the idea that that’s all the Shear tool does. If you explore further, you find that you can actually use Shear for deforming and getting very nice curves. The shear tool lets you make these adjustments interactively and see them in real-time.
Shear is just one of many LightWave tools capable of doing deformations. Waterman has noticed a lot of people on the forums talking about problems they’re having that could easily be solved by applying the Shear tool. “I just figure they either don’t know about it, or they don’t realize it can be used in a way that would solve their problem,” he said.
Detailing cars
Once the cars are modeled, and it’s time to apply the surfaces, textures and lighting, he moves them into Layout where the View Port Renderer (VPR) allows for real-time, interactive creative experimentation. “In Modeler, you’re basically dealing with wireframes, but in Layout, you can use the surface editor to apply different textures, such as chrome or leather, and finesse their reflectivity and other properties,” he explained.“If you’re going to do surfacing, you need to get to a lighting situation that fairly closely mimics reality. If the universe you put your car into isn’t correct, you’ll be adjusting your surfaces to match an unreal environment,” said Waterman. “If your surfaces aren’t Energy Conserving, they’ll never relate to radiosity lighting in a realistic manner.” The surfaces will look wrong or odd in some way. For example, they might appear too luminous, too hyper colorful, or too dark, to name a few of the problems.
While animators used to be limited to just a few kinds of lights, like spotlights, point lights, and distant lights, Waterman said since LightWave added its broader set of lighting tools, including dome lights and area lights, quickly achieving a photo-realistic look is now very easy. Also, since LightWave 11 has a very fast, advanced renderer, animators no longer have to keep their scenes and lighting simple to economize on rendering time. “Being able to experiment freely with lighting is the key to giving surfaces a realistic look,” he said.
"Whether it's a studio set up or an outdoor location, I try to mimic reality as much as I can so that I can be surprised by the effects of light and reflection, as would happen in a real photo shoot where you don't have absolute control,” Waterman said. “This is where LightWave's renderer has really impressed me. I don't have to fuss around or employ tricks, it just works like I expect reality to work."
"It helps to think of the cars as celebrity portraits,” Waterman explained, “where I'm trying to enhance their personality or communicate a feeling, not just showcase a completed model.”
After you’ve finalized your presentation in Layout, “if you discover a small detail you’d like to change on your model, you can go back to Modeler, isolate the problem area you want to alter, and make the change,” he added. “When you return to Layout, with the click of the mouse, the object instantly updates to reflect that change.” This is extremely advantageous, because the animator only has to deal with the model and not the entire scene file.
DJ 2.0
Picture Real-Life, Only Better
Power Artist Eugenio Garcia Villareal creates stunning visuals from deep in the heart of Mexico
Posted: Tue 12 Mar 2013
If you read 3D magazines and frequent online galleries, you’ve
undoubtedly seen the work of 3D Artist Eugenio Garcia Villarreal. While
he’s a relative newcomer to the industry, he’s prolific in the creation
of environmental 3D stills and generously shares his techniques and
workflow with other LightWave artists in the global community.
Based in Monterrey, Mexico—a media rich industrial center in the northeastern province of Nuevo Leon—Villarreal is self-taught and self-made. In 2005, he began honing his craft through online tutorials and investing considerable creative energy in 3D modeling as a hobby. He has since parlayed his love of 3D environmental stills into a professional career that he loves by co-founding an agency called D10 Studio with a group of fellow artists, animators, designers, and programmers.
D10 Studio—a name he says was inspired by a famous Argentinean soccer player—regularly perform a wide range of creative services, including broadcast design, 3D animation, motion graphics, and interactive media, for television commercials produced by advertising agencies throughout Mexico, Latin America, and Miami, as well as print, television, and other media outlets.
“Clients like to use beautifully crafted 3D environments as backdrops for their talent or products in commercials, marketing, Web videos, and illustrations. Compared to finding and using real-world settings or actually building physical sets, the 3D environment lets them easily control all the creative parameters within the scene as well as hold the line on costs,” said Garcia Villarreal.
For an archaeology book by Mayo Moller, featuring Mayan pyramids that is still in production, Garcia Villarreal is creating 3D illustrations that go beyond what photographs can illustrate. Using LightWave 3D as his primary software tool, he’s creating 3D environmental stills that accurately portray the way the Mayan pyramids looked at the peak of their luster, before time eroded their surfaces and faded their colors.
While LightWave 3D is his preferred and primary 3D animation system, he often supplements it with software such as Photoshop for color correction, particle effects, and other postproduction finishing. He also uses a few trusted LightWave plugins, such as the fprime render engine from Worley Laboratories, which offers interactive tools for lighting, shadows, radiosity, and textures. Since he does not do 3D animation, most of his LightWave work takes place within Modeler, where he models objects that will be featured in his 3D environments. He then moves to LightWave’s Layout where he experiments with 3D camera angles, shot composition, and all types of lighting prior to rendering out the finished image.
A showcase of his 3D environments displays how diverse his creative vision can be in terms of subject matter, mood, lighting, contrast, and overall inspiration. The 3D stills and spaces he creates are not only painstakingly detailed and photorealistic, they are in some cases hyper-real.
“Most of the stills I do are inspired by things I see in nature, movies, and places,” Garcia Villarreal said. “I try to manipulate lighting to create nice contrasts, moods, and atmosphere.”
An image called Guanajuato Alley (above), inspired by his visit to a quaint old Colonial city in Mexico, is a good example of his approach to 3D modeling. The project, which took five days to complete, also involved extensive research about the architecture, buildings, tunnels, alleyways, and other characteristics of this special locale.
“For the modeling, I created some ‘primitives,’ and did a rough sketch with primitives, one per layer, which ultimately formed the buildings and floors. Next I refined the buildings by using basic LightWave modeling tools like band saw for making geometry, knife, edge bevel, magic bevel, smooth shift, and others to make my models detailed and believable,” Garcia Villarreal said.
While his 3D still environments are varied and distinctive, he generally follows the same highly efficient workflow. It typically begins by referring to photographs he’s taken while visiting interesting or exotic places or found by searching online. In many cases, he also creates 2D sketches to flesh-out his creative concept, and then bases his 3D modeling upon these photos and/or sketches.
In most instances, he uses box modeling, basic cylinders, spline guides, UV maps, and other simple, basic modeling tools to get the elements of his scenes started just right. Wherever practical, he saves modeling time by using existing 3D models, such as plants from 3Dplants.com, as well as elements like rich textures, gravel, and skies available from online 3D stock footage libraries so he doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel each time he needs to put something into one of his 3D stills.
For a 3D environment called “Desert Gas Station,” (above) an image inspired by the roadside gas stations in old westerns and B-movies, Garcia Villarreal created the gas station with basic box modeling and then used tools like multishift, bevel, knife, and band saw to cut openings for windows and doors. He then built the scene up layer by layer by adding 3D objects like gas pumps and potted cacti, and embellished it with area and point lighting. However, he searched for and imported a mountain scene from CGtextures, as well as sunset skies from another online library, which he composited into the background. He used displacement maps to add gravel and stones—also 3D objects obtained online—to make the ground look uneven. To achieve a hot, desert look and feel, he used Photoshop color correction to give the overall scene the bright, orange glow of sunset.
For Detective’s Office (above), a work commissioned in 2011 as a step-by-step 3D tutorial for 3D Artist Magazine, Garcia Villarreal needed to create a vintage detective’s office. After researching online photos of 1940’s detective offices and creating a variety of sketches, he used these visual references to establish his basic LightWave 3D modeling setup, including historically accurate materials and textures to apply to objects in the scene. In Layout, he manipulated the natural light pouring through the office blinds, and the realistic way they reflected off surfaces and cast shadows and illuminated this retro setting to give it a moody, mysterious feel.
“I like to alter the volume and quality of the light, using area lights, global illumination and other lighting and shading tools that produce soft shadows, sharp contrasts, or any other mood I need. Once you’re proficient at using LightWave, you can create any object or environment you may want,” Garcia Villarreal said. “For radiosity, I use [fprime’s] Montecarlo radiosity, and then frequently check my lighting work in LightWave’s Viewport Renderer (VPR) before rendering. The VPR is great. It’s always nice to see your creation before pressing the F9 key.”
“I use my main computer, as well as LightWave’s native rendering engine, for most of the rendering, since my work doesn’t involve a lot of animation,” Garcia Villarreal said. “I like the way the render engine gets faster in every new version of LightWave.”
For 3D artists and animators just starting out, Garcia Villarreal says to read the manuals, look at online tutorials, and learn keyboard shortcuts that make the job go faster.
“Don’t be afraid to be adventurous and experiment with all the tools to learn something new,” he said.
Based in Monterrey, Mexico—a media rich industrial center in the northeastern province of Nuevo Leon—Villarreal is self-taught and self-made. In 2005, he began honing his craft through online tutorials and investing considerable creative energy in 3D modeling as a hobby. He has since parlayed his love of 3D environmental stills into a professional career that he loves by co-founding an agency called D10 Studio with a group of fellow artists, animators, designers, and programmers.
D10 Studio—a name he says was inspired by a famous Argentinean soccer player—regularly perform a wide range of creative services, including broadcast design, 3D animation, motion graphics, and interactive media, for television commercials produced by advertising agencies throughout Mexico, Latin America, and Miami, as well as print, television, and other media outlets.
“Clients like to use beautifully crafted 3D environments as backdrops for their talent or products in commercials, marketing, Web videos, and illustrations. Compared to finding and using real-world settings or actually building physical sets, the 3D environment lets them easily control all the creative parameters within the scene as well as hold the line on costs,” said Garcia Villarreal.
For an archaeology book by Mayo Moller, featuring Mayan pyramids that is still in production, Garcia Villarreal is creating 3D illustrations that go beyond what photographs can illustrate. Using LightWave 3D as his primary software tool, he’s creating 3D environmental stills that accurately portray the way the Mayan pyramids looked at the peak of their luster, before time eroded their surfaces and faded their colors.
While LightWave 3D is his preferred and primary 3D animation system, he often supplements it with software such as Photoshop for color correction, particle effects, and other postproduction finishing. He also uses a few trusted LightWave plugins, such as the fprime render engine from Worley Laboratories, which offers interactive tools for lighting, shadows, radiosity, and textures. Since he does not do 3D animation, most of his LightWave work takes place within Modeler, where he models objects that will be featured in his 3D environments. He then moves to LightWave’s Layout where he experiments with 3D camera angles, shot composition, and all types of lighting prior to rendering out the finished image.
A showcase of his 3D environments displays how diverse his creative vision can be in terms of subject matter, mood, lighting, contrast, and overall inspiration. The 3D stills and spaces he creates are not only painstakingly detailed and photorealistic, they are in some cases hyper-real.
“Most of the stills I do are inspired by things I see in nature, movies, and places,” Garcia Villarreal said. “I try to manipulate lighting to create nice contrasts, moods, and atmosphere.”
An image called Guanajuato Alley (above), inspired by his visit to a quaint old Colonial city in Mexico, is a good example of his approach to 3D modeling. The project, which took five days to complete, also involved extensive research about the architecture, buildings, tunnels, alleyways, and other characteristics of this special locale.
“For the modeling, I created some ‘primitives,’ and did a rough sketch with primitives, one per layer, which ultimately formed the buildings and floors. Next I refined the buildings by using basic LightWave modeling tools like band saw for making geometry, knife, edge bevel, magic bevel, smooth shift, and others to make my models detailed and believable,” Garcia Villarreal said.
While his 3D still environments are varied and distinctive, he generally follows the same highly efficient workflow. It typically begins by referring to photographs he’s taken while visiting interesting or exotic places or found by searching online. In many cases, he also creates 2D sketches to flesh-out his creative concept, and then bases his 3D modeling upon these photos and/or sketches.
In most instances, he uses box modeling, basic cylinders, spline guides, UV maps, and other simple, basic modeling tools to get the elements of his scenes started just right. Wherever practical, he saves modeling time by using existing 3D models, such as plants from 3Dplants.com, as well as elements like rich textures, gravel, and skies available from online 3D stock footage libraries so he doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel each time he needs to put something into one of his 3D stills.
For a 3D environment called “Desert Gas Station,” (above) an image inspired by the roadside gas stations in old westerns and B-movies, Garcia Villarreal created the gas station with basic box modeling and then used tools like multishift, bevel, knife, and band saw to cut openings for windows and doors. He then built the scene up layer by layer by adding 3D objects like gas pumps and potted cacti, and embellished it with area and point lighting. However, he searched for and imported a mountain scene from CGtextures, as well as sunset skies from another online library, which he composited into the background. He used displacement maps to add gravel and stones—also 3D objects obtained online—to make the ground look uneven. To achieve a hot, desert look and feel, he used Photoshop color correction to give the overall scene the bright, orange glow of sunset.
For Detective’s Office (above), a work commissioned in 2011 as a step-by-step 3D tutorial for 3D Artist Magazine, Garcia Villarreal needed to create a vintage detective’s office. After researching online photos of 1940’s detective offices and creating a variety of sketches, he used these visual references to establish his basic LightWave 3D modeling setup, including historically accurate materials and textures to apply to objects in the scene. In Layout, he manipulated the natural light pouring through the office blinds, and the realistic way they reflected off surfaces and cast shadows and illuminated this retro setting to give it a moody, mysterious feel.
“I like to alter the volume and quality of the light, using area lights, global illumination and other lighting and shading tools that produce soft shadows, sharp contrasts, or any other mood I need. Once you’re proficient at using LightWave, you can create any object or environment you may want,” Garcia Villarreal said. “For radiosity, I use [fprime’s] Montecarlo radiosity, and then frequently check my lighting work in LightWave’s Viewport Renderer (VPR) before rendering. The VPR is great. It’s always nice to see your creation before pressing the F9 key.”
“I use my main computer, as well as LightWave’s native rendering engine, for most of the rendering, since my work doesn’t involve a lot of animation,” Garcia Villarreal said. “I like the way the render engine gets faster in every new version of LightWave.”
For 3D artists and animators just starting out, Garcia Villarreal says to read the manuals, look at online tutorials, and learn keyboard shortcuts that make the job go faster.
“Don’t be afraid to be adventurous and experiment with all the tools to learn something new,” he said.
LightWave 11.5 Streamlines Broadcast Graphics at NAB 2013
Powerful new After Effects Interchange gives artists greater flexibility with 2D and 3D elements
Posted: Tue 09 Apr 2013
At NAB 2013 (booth SL4610), the LightWave 3D® Group, a division
of NewTek, Inc., is demonstrating its new LightWave 11.5 3D modeling and
animation software, including the new After Effects Interchange feature
and workflow enhancements for broadcast and motion graphics.
“LightWave remains a go-to solution for the 3D motion graphics and broadcast markets—its ease of use, extensive features and affordability make it an essential tool for 3D graphics and visualization in television and film,” said Rob Powers, president, LightWave 3D Group. “With the new After Effects Interchange tool in LightWave 11.5, we’ve improved the flexibility of the pipeline by allowing artists to easily share elements between the two programs.”
LightWave 11.5's new After Effects Interchange -- Moving from LightWave to After Effects.
With the LightWave 11.5 After Effects Interchange feature, artists can easily select elements in a scene such as animation, lights, and cameras and move them between LightWave and After Effects via the GoAE button. The new After Effects Interchange in LightWave 11.5 supports:
Cameras: Combine 2D footage and 3D elements by tracking the cameras of live-action footage in After Effects to cameras in LightWave. Move the cameras between After Effects and LightWave to achieve identical real-life camera movements inside LightWave.
Nulls: Send nulls from After Effects to LightWave and place them in 3D space for compositing.
Lights: Achieve the desired look by moving lights, including spotlights and point lights, between LightWave and After Effects for multiple test scenes.
View the LightWave 11.5 After Effects Interchange video tutorial detailing the many uses of this new interchange.
LightWave 11.5's new After Effects Interchange -- Moving from After Effects to LightWave.
LightWave 11.5 also includes new features and functionality that enhance creativity and streamline productivity for everyone—from individual artists and designers to large animation or visual effects studios. Some of the many new features in LightWave 11.5 include the Genoma character rigging system with modular presets, predator and prey Flocking capabilities, per-object Instancing control, and soft-body Bullet Dynamics with support for FiberFX. Also included are Interchange Tools for Pixologic’s Zbrush software, stereoscopic and depth-of-field motion blur in the Viewport Preview Renderer (VPR), major workflow enhancements, and more.
Download a free full-feature 30-day trial version of LightWave 11.5 at www.lightwave3d.com/try.
LightWave has been used in the creation of CG and visual effects for leading feature films and television shows, including “Skyfall,” “The Hunger Games,” The Amazing Spider-Man,” “The Adventures of Tintin,” “Avatar,” “The Walking Dead,” “Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome,” “Fringe,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” and more.
For more information about LightWave or the LightWave 3D Group, please visit: www.lightwave3d.com, Twitter, YouTube or connect with us on Facebook.
NewTek is privately owned and based in San Antonio, Texas.
● LightWave 3D is a registered trademark of NewTek.
● NewTek, TriCaster, 3Play and LightWave are trademarks of NewTek.
● All other products or brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
“LightWave remains a go-to solution for the 3D motion graphics and broadcast markets—its ease of use, extensive features and affordability make it an essential tool for 3D graphics and visualization in television and film,” said Rob Powers, president, LightWave 3D Group. “With the new After Effects Interchange tool in LightWave 11.5, we’ve improved the flexibility of the pipeline by allowing artists to easily share elements between the two programs.”
LightWave 11.5's new After Effects Interchange -- Moving from LightWave to After Effects.
With the LightWave 11.5 After Effects Interchange feature, artists can easily select elements in a scene such as animation, lights, and cameras and move them between LightWave and After Effects via the GoAE button. The new After Effects Interchange in LightWave 11.5 supports:
Cameras: Combine 2D footage and 3D elements by tracking the cameras of live-action footage in After Effects to cameras in LightWave. Move the cameras between After Effects and LightWave to achieve identical real-life camera movements inside LightWave.
Nulls: Send nulls from After Effects to LightWave and place them in 3D space for compositing.
Lights: Achieve the desired look by moving lights, including spotlights and point lights, between LightWave and After Effects for multiple test scenes.
View the LightWave 11.5 After Effects Interchange video tutorial detailing the many uses of this new interchange.
LightWave 11.5's new After Effects Interchange -- Moving from After Effects to LightWave.
LightWave 11.5 also includes new features and functionality that enhance creativity and streamline productivity for everyone—from individual artists and designers to large animation or visual effects studios. Some of the many new features in LightWave 11.5 include the Genoma character rigging system with modular presets, predator and prey Flocking capabilities, per-object Instancing control, and soft-body Bullet Dynamics with support for FiberFX. Also included are Interchange Tools for Pixologic’s Zbrush software, stereoscopic and depth-of-field motion blur in the Viewport Preview Renderer (VPR), major workflow enhancements, and more.
Pricing and Availability
LightWave 11.5 supports Windows and Mac OS and is priced at $1495 (USD). Registered LightWave 11 customers can upgrade to LightWave 11.5 free of charge; upgrade pricing from LightWave 10 or earlier is priced at $695 (USD). Educational pricing is also available. Visit www.lightwave3d.com/buy to purchase or locate an authorized LightWave reseller.Download a free full-feature 30-day trial version of LightWave 11.5 at www.lightwave3d.com/try.
About LightWave
LightWave 3D combines a state-of-the-art renderer with powerful and intuitive modeling and animation tools. LightWave includes hundreds of cross-platform render nodes for near limitless rendering, support for Windows and Mac UB 64- and 32-bit operating systems, free technical support and more. LightWave is enjoyed worldwide as a complete 3D production solution for feature film and television visual effects, broadcast design, print graphics, architectural visualization, game development, and more. LightWave is responsible for more artists winning Emmy® Awards than any other 3D application.LightWave has been used in the creation of CG and visual effects for leading feature films and television shows, including “Skyfall,” “The Hunger Games,” The Amazing Spider-Man,” “The Adventures of Tintin,” “Avatar,” “The Walking Dead,” “Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome,” “Fringe,” “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” and more.
For more information about LightWave or the LightWave 3D Group, please visit: www.lightwave3d.com, Twitter, YouTube or connect with us on Facebook.
About NewTek
NewTek is transforming the way people create network-style television content and share it with the world. From sporting events, Web-based talk shows, live entertainment, classrooms, and corporate communications—to virtually any venue where people want to capture and publish live video, we give our customers the power to grow their audiences, brands and businesses, faster than ever before.NewTek is privately owned and based in San Antonio, Texas.
● LightWave 3D is a registered trademark of NewTek.
● NewTek, TriCaster, 3Play and LightWave are trademarks of NewTek.
● All other products or brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
Laughing at "Normal"
French Artist Sylvain Delmé creates online parodies with LightWave
Posted: Thu 18 Apr 2013
In an interview with French Artist Sylvain Delmé, we learn how he creates 3D web parodies that are often based on politics and top of mind situations—like the end of the world according to the Mayan calendar. To create these amusing webisodes, which have garnered fans around the world, Delmé relies on LightWave to create and render his comic creations. We caught up with him to get more insight into his creative mind and how he uses LightWave to create entertaining 3D. Recently Delmé moved to LightWave 11.5 to create his parodies and shares his favorite new features with us.
The teaser for Normal, created with LightWave 10.1.
Can you provide some background info about you and your studio? How long have you been working with LightWave? What type of 3D productions, projects or visual effects do you produce?
Before turning to directing about 15 years ago, I started working as a writer for television and corporate. I’ve been working with LightWave for 10 years—in fact, I learned how to create3D using LightWave. Today, I mostly do television, commercials and corporate work of which approximately 90% is created in 3D.
How are you integrating LightWave into your production pipeline?
I systematically use LightWave as a render engine and for "mechanical" animation for TV idents like "Ca va Mieux en Le Disant" ("It is Better to Say"), where I did the creation and animation in LightWave.
Which LightWave features are most important to your work?
LightWave has an excellent render engine—it is very fast and easy to use. It also offers strong tools like Skinning or weight maps that easily allow me to make last minute and crucial changes to characters without exploding the rig—even if a complex animation is already applied to the character. That's why I chose LightWave for this pipeline.
What other software programs are used in conjunction with LightWave 3D to create your webisodes?
I also use Zbrush and After Effects extensively and Photoshop and additional modeling software from time-to-time.
What are some of the biggest challenges you have faced in the creative phase and how does LightWave help you overcome these challenges?
The crucial point of a project like "Normal" is Skinning. A character must be as perfect as possible, but it should also be able to be modified on the fly, like for suit changes or for character changes when setups are identical or very similar. Personally, I think that there is nothing better than the weights maps in LW to do that job. Good luck to those who to try to do the same in Maya software as fast as it can be done in LightWave.
What inspires you as an artist? How do you translate that to your 3D work?
Society and its evolution inspire me. I'd rather laugh about it and try to make people laugh about it, too.
If you could offer advice to artists and animators starting out today, what would it be?
First, they should ask themselves "where does my idea come from?" The answer should bring them even further in their expression and creativity.
What is the general turnaround time for your webisodes?
The production pipeline is made to be able to produce up to six minutes of programs each week, but for the moment we are still in an experimental phase. We concentrate a lot on validating the pipeline, that's why we only produce a two minute 30 second (2:30) episode every three or four weeks. But each episode is made in an optimized production environment in five days. We wait to produce two modules on the release day to mirror current news.
LightWave is, by its essence, software that allows me to work very fast and well. With Rob Powers joining the development team and bringing new life to LightWave to its fluid interconnection with other software, LightWave allows me to work much faster and better than before. I don't see how I could get any result faster when creating episodes of Normal if LightWave was not the backbone of the pipeline.
Do you have any other information you would like to share with us about working with LightWave?
Just that Normal is kind of a rehearsal for bigger projects involving several characters. The new features and innovation in LightWave 11.5 will be even more important in my coming projects: cloth implementation for the characters clothes, hair appearance with the Hair Guide converted from the fiber mesh of Zbrush, automatic rig generation with Genoma, and more.
LightWave 11.5 was used to create The End of the World, an online parody that pokes fun at the December 21, 2012 end of world scare.
Can you tell us more about your most recent episode End of the World?
The animation End of the World was created to parody the supposed end of the world on December 21, 2012—because it was supposed to be the end of the world, essentially, nothing matters anymore, which is the whole point of the animation. In this particular episode, François Hollande, the president of France, decides to just let go and fulfill a longtime dream—to make a music video all about him since he will be the last president of the world. (The premise of the “End of the World” video loosely follows the first series Delmé did with his web episodes for Nicolas Bling Bling.)
The first goal of the End of the World clip was to validate the production pipeline in extreme conditions. Between the moment we said "yes, we'll do it" and the moment we put it online, it took only 16 days—including scripting, writing, and music composition.
Without LightWave 11.5 as the backbone of our pipeline, it is certain that we would have missed our deadline. LightWave 11.5 allowed us to work fast…very fast.” In fact, Genoma is a wonderful tool and thanks to this new addition in LightWave 11.5, we were able to create great animated dancers with a few clicks. They move very realistically and we were able to be operational with these characters in the blink of an eye.
To see more of Artist Sylvain Delmé’s work, visit his web site at sylvaindelme.com.
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