Concert Hall Architectural Visualization (WIP)

February 8th, 2012

This project is a work in progress. It is an animation sequence of interior renderings for a concert hall. Shots one and four are still anamatics while the final renders for shots two and three are complete.

Rolling ellipse using expressions

January 19th, 2012

In order to animate Mr. Egg rolling on the floor, I needed to find an effective way of positioning him at the proper vertical distance without tedious key framing. The result:

There are various formulas for the ellipse which include one by Kepler often used for calculating the elliptical paths of planets. Once the formula is properly factored, it can be copied into the expression editor in Autodesk Maya or the wire parameters dialogue in Autodesk 3DS Max. Currently this setup is limited to motion in one axis along a flat ground plane.

However this small application of mathematics into the 3D scene will greatly enhance the believability of the characters animation and physical dynamics.

Compositing Depth of Field

January 19th, 2012

Autodesk Composite

Rendering motion blur and depth of field from a 3D scene are effects that demand a huge amount of computing resources. Render times skyrocket and changes to the shot may very well put your production behind schedule. Utilizing render passes we are able to combine separate elements after 3D rendering which allows us to make major adjustments in the final stages of post-production of a final CG shot.

The z-depth pass is a black and white representation of the distance of elements from the camera. When combined with a lens blur effect by utilizing the z-depth pass as a luma matte for a blurred instance of the base render from your 3D application, you have a huge amount of control over the final look of the shot as well as a high quality lens blur at a fraction of the traditional render time.