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So I ran into a guy who says he owns a $50,000 computer running a software called Flame which is apparently some kind of super-compositing software and costs as much as a Mercedes. What's the deal with that? I thought we were in the era of Nuke and even comparable free compositors like Fusion. How do people even gain access to a software like Flame and learn enough to make a reel for it? Seems like some incredible little niche of the CG industry that's still inside a walled garden and only accessible to students if they'e interning at some kind of special computer lab like the guys who originally formed Pixar.
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Oct 25, 2018 22:16
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Ccs posted:So I ran into a guy who says he owns a $50,000 computer running a software called Flame which is apparently some kind of super-compositing software and costs as much as a Mercedes. Flame is a bit of a throwback from a time when specialised workstations were needed for real time compositing. It pretty much just hangs on in the world of TV commercials because the clients like to sit down with the flame op and mess around with colour grades, timings and super placements and stuff. It can't do anything you can't do in Nuke or Fusion but clients believe it has special powers and when it gets to the end of a job it's kind of nice to have someone else be stuck in a room with client and agency people and put up with all their bullshit Also when the client is pixel loving stuff really bad you can just tell them that flame will be able to sort it out, then they get into the flame suite with a huge TV and comfy chairs and snacks and people treat them very nicely and suddenly everything looks great EoinCannon fucked around with this message at 00:57 on Oct 26, 2018 |
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Oct 26, 2018 00:50
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Haha that's hilarious. A magic button for making the client stop being annoying. So it's only studios that own it? It sounded like this guy owned his own copy and computer but by "owned" maybe meant he's the only permanent operator of it at the studio, or maybe he has a stake in the studio ownership.
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Oct 26, 2018 03:47
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Some bigger places that do TVCs have a flame suite and a full time flame op but there are also freelance flame ops that use machines on site or sometimes have their own I think. All you'd need these days is a decent machine with some fast SSDs and a bunch of ram to cache shitloads of frames. If you don't have big TVs and a nice setting to kiss the client's rear end then there's no point to flame. I've sat in on a flame session and they're not fun, flame ops probably don't get paid enough to put up with some of the people/poo poo they have to deal with
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Oct 26, 2018 04:00
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has anyone else tried out rizomuv yet? it looks amazing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2QvajdFHes
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Oct 26, 2018 21:05
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Any opinions on CG Spectrum? Is it a waste of money and time? A scam?
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Oct 27, 2018 06:56
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Whoa, Arnold finally comes with a Round Edges shader!
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Oct 28, 2018 00:15
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Oldstench posted:Any opinions on CG Spectrum? Is it a waste of money and time? A scam? Aside from a couple of places like Sheridan or Lostboys, online schools are the best place to learn CG these days. I wouldn’t have gotten a vfx animation job without iAnimate, and student success is way higher from the online schools than anything brick and mortar. Just look at who the mentors are. The average teacher at a traditional school isn’t working in the industry or only worked a couple jobs before dropping out to teach for the stability. Whereas mentors at these schools are usually supervisors at major studios or even department heads. There’s really no other way to learn what the industry is currently requiring. BUT consider if you’ll need a work permit to work in a place that actually has vfx jobs. Lots of Americans do online courses and get screwed cause nobody from Disney is hiring junior animators. To get your start in the industry you might need to live in a place flooded with tax credits so the entry jobs are plentiful. That’s why I went to Sheridan for a year first because I got a work permit out of it. Canada currently pays 50% of vfx artists and animators salaries (68% in some provinces) so it’s one of the best places to start a career. Australia and England also have tax credit schemes going on. Ccs fucked around with this message at 01:11 on Oct 28, 2018 |
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Oct 28, 2018 01:00
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Ccs posted:Good info. Thanks. I appreciate the information. Now I have question about opinions on mesh optimization. Feel free to laugh at what I'm doing if warranted. I'm practicing hard surface without using booleans because I want to learn how to properly make clean meshes and booleans don't seem conducive to that. So here's an image of a panel I'm working on. Is it worth it to go through all the trouble to minimize the number of edges that run out to the perimiter (this will be a flat panel with a short edge) or is all of this completely unnecessary and running these edges out is fine?  e: I guess I should mention this is mostly practice to avoid n-gons and tris. Oldstench fucked around with this message at 18:08 on Oct 28, 2018 |
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Oct 28, 2018 18:05
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A few things: 1) Booleans are perfectly fine if you use them correctly. I use them all the time, and I couldn't imagine trying to model without them. 2) Run those edges out to the borders. 3) Your topology is a bit baffling, to be honest. If you're just modeling a high poly sub D panel, you can make that a lot cleaner. That said, for flat surfaces, topology doesn't really matter much. I highly recommend watching this video, it does a great job of showing and explaining hard surface fundamentals: https://vimeo.com/10941211
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Oct 28, 2018 18:37
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Gearman posted:A few things: Gearman posted:2) Run those edges out to the borders. Gearman posted:3) Your topology is a bit baffling, to be honest. If you're just modeling a high poly sub D panel, you can make that a lot cleaner. That said, for flat surfaces, topology doesn't really matter much. If you're talking about this crap:  Yeah - I'm basing this off of the idea that I didn't want a bunch of edges running to the border. Obviously I'm wrong, so I'll get rid of all that over-optimization. I'll clean that up.
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Oct 28, 2018 18:46
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Just to give you an example of 'how to use Booleans correctly' I posted this tutorial a while ago. While this was for a lower poly assets, the process is pretty much the same for a high poly sub division asset. https://m.imgur.com/a/34tlT
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Oct 28, 2018 18:56
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So, do you feel that n-gons are OK as long as it's a perfectly flat surface, or do always aim for quads?
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Oct 28, 2018 20:57
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Someone asked a while back about hard surface design and stuff, this dudes tutorials are dope. https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Klvxr
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Oct 28, 2018 21:16
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Oldstench posted:So, do you feel that n-gons are OK as long as it's a perfectly flat surface, or do always aim for quads? Ngons are perfectly fine on flat surfaces. If you're doing subdivision, you'll just have to make sure it looks fine after subdivision and with a slightly specular material. More than likely it will look just fine, though.
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Oct 29, 2018 01:38
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Gearman posted:Ngons are perfectly fine on flat surfaces. If you're doing subdivision, you'll just have to make sure it looks fine after subdivision and with a slightly specular material. More than likely it will look just fine, though. They're fine but I usually try and resolve them into tris if they're going to be subdivided and it's not going to take forever Sometimes ngons are just weird further down the pipe, unwrapping, exporting etc. so I just triangulate them all out most of the time
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Oct 29, 2018 01:43
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EoinCannon posted:They're fine but I usually try and resolve them into tris if they're going to be subdivided and it's not going to take forever All great points. More often than not I'll just resolve them to tris out of habit.
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Oct 29, 2018 01:47
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In Blender specifically (and presumably other software but I can only guess) it's generally advisable to stick to quads where possible because tris and ngons screw with edge loops and other tools in ways that make the model harder to work on.
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Oct 29, 2018 01:53
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No its true of 3d modelling generally everywhere.
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Oct 29, 2018 02:04
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I remember being amazed that Maya could even handle tris and ngons, cause if you tried that in Lightwave the model wouldn't be able to show a smooth preview without going mad.
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Oct 29, 2018 03:08
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Environment artist for games here and you can have my tris and ngons when you pry them from my cold dead hands.
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Oct 29, 2018 04:08
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 finally got to 100 small greebs after being busy as gently caress for the week lol
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Oct 29, 2018 09:06
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Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but.. I'm trying to model a DeadMau5 helmet in Fusion 360. I have all the dimensions, but I have no idea how to work in a spherical workspace. I've figured out how to go from line length to degrees of arc, but bringing it all together is baffling me. To be honest, I'm not sure this is even the right program to do this in. I'd like it to be as accurate as possible, as I'll be 3D printing this after.
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Oct 30, 2018 20:47
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Personally I'd just simplify everything to linear dimensions and relative offsets. Don't bother with trying to build in a polar coordinate system or anything. Start by revolving the sphere(oid) for the head, find its centroid, locate other parts relative to that point. Don't think of the eye as being on the surface of the sphere, but displaced from the centroid by some X, Y and Z translation. Fusion should work just fine for that model -- it's a relatively simple shape. How far are you right now?
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Oct 31, 2018 00:28
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TwystNeko posted:Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but.. I'm trying to model a DeadMau5 helmet in Fusion 360. I have all the dimensions, but I have no idea how to work in a spherical workspace. I've figured out how to go from line length to degrees of arc, but bringing it all together is baffling me. To be honest, I'm not sure this is even the right program to do this in. I'd like it to be as accurate as possible, as I'll be 3D printing this after. Fusion360 is more than capable of creating the model. Unfortunately I've never used it for more than 5 minutes so I have no idea how to help you actually use it As you're looking to 3d print you do have the option of working in polys instead of parametrically so you could use a sculpting or poly modeling package like blender if you wanted. It will be more challenging to get the accuracy this way though
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Oct 31, 2018 00:28
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well, the dimensions I have are all for a 14" sphere. I'm only working on the head, as the ears are pretty trivial. Here's the dimensions, in the form of imgur links: http://i.imgur.com/oToxj.jpg http://i.imgur.com/o4BS1.jpg http://i.imgur.com/XnHqo.jpg I really haven't gotten any further than creating a sphere, creating a second one inside it, making it hollow, chopping the bottom off, and putting a couple construction planes in. So not really far at all. 
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Oct 31, 2018 05:14
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quote:Ex-IGDA head Kate Edwards now convinced game devs need unions anyway, support Game Workers Unite! https://www.gameworkersunite.org/
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Oct 31, 2018 13:07
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Huh I spoke with a friend who works at IBM and he super discouraged me from the whole "learning to model in 3d thing" Apparently, between 3d scanners for real life stuff and guys in China doing it for pennies a day, it's not even going to be worth my time It's just a hobby but huh, are things really that bad in the future? He's in automation and machine learning and also says accountants are loving obsolete in like 10 years, along with QA testers and a bunch of other jobs
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Nov 1, 2018 05:53
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He's partly correct. You cant 3d scan your brain though. I mean figuratively. You could plop your brain on a scanner just fine. Modelling what you see though thats the (currently) special part.
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Nov 1, 2018 06:01
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If you're looking at modeling things that exist and are able to be scanned then probably it'll be increasingly difficult to make money doing that So much of the work is creative interpretation/extrapolation of some vague sketch or concept art or art directors brain fart though. And even with existing objects directors have a habit of asking for it to be a bit more this or less that or could it have 3 eyes and 7 arms or could it just be a bit more dynamic
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Nov 1, 2018 06:08
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If there's one thing that machine learning/AI people are always right about, it's how effective their software is and how it's totally going to replace all human labor in like six months, yes sireeeee
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Nov 1, 2018 07:32
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The industries are certainly changing, but they always have been. 10 years ago we box modeled and painted textures in Photoshop. Now we 3d sculpt and roll procedural textures in Substance Designer. Somehow there keeps needing to be folks turning the knobs at some point in the process. Edit: The real question imo is not "will there be any 3d jobs in 10 years?" but "what will the 3d jobs look like in 10 years and will they have evolved into something I'm no longer interested in?" Like how animation jobs now look very different from animation jobs in the 90s, for example. mutata fucked around with this message at 08:03 on Nov 1, 2018 |
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Nov 1, 2018 07:52
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Comfy Fleece Sweater posted:Huh IBM? What does he know about the 3D industry? It's been like 30 years since IBM was relevant.
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Nov 1, 2018 09:09
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Sagebrush posted:If there's one thing that machine learning/AI people are always right about, it's how effective their software is and how it's totally going to replace all human labor in like six months, yes sireeeee You forgot how we are also going to leverage the block chain to synergize efficiency paradigms in the virtual reality influencer sphere. I got a copy of a construction trade magazine, National Roofing Contractors Association, with a cover story about the block chain in contracting.
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Nov 1, 2018 12:38
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 working on blocking out a ship to use my greebles with. it's meant to be corellian, sort of a halfway between the blockade runner and millennium falcon
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Nov 1, 2018 12:57
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mutata posted:The industries are certainly changing, but they always have been. 10 years ago we box modeled and painted textures in Photoshop. Now we 3d sculpt and roll procedural textures in Substance Designer. Somehow there keeps needing to be folks turning the knobs at some point in the process. From a shading artist standpoint, I’m super excited about what the future will bring! Painter and Designer have been the biggest game changers for my field, and I have high hopes for Alchemist being a good additional tool. I’d like to see an update to UDIMs/UVing, personally. Something like PTex but better, I guess, where the actual unwrapping step is unnecessary. I will say it took me longer than I’d have liked to unlearn box modeling/nurbs as the way to make things. I still have nightmares about making heads from lofting nurb curves (http://www.3drender.com/jbirn/ea/HeadModel.html), I’m pretty sure I could still draw the curves accurately with my eyes closed, lol. Also, some news from the VFX front: - Strange Angel was renewed for season 2, though not sure if we’ll be involved. Had fun on the first one and it’s a story I’d like to see to the end, but we’ve got a big production already ongoing so we’ll see. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/strange-angel-renewed-season-2-at-cbs-all-access-1155935 - NYT has a great article about the title sequence Barnstorm did for The Good Fight. While I didn’t work on that, I’m super proud for the team that did, as having the NYT say it’s the best show title is cool af. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/07/23/arts/good-fight-title-sequence.html - Hollywood reporter has a good article about the growing relevance of Man in the High Castle Season 3. This one is very important to me; I have Jewish family members that live in Pittsburgh, so this past weekend was one of the worst of my life. I was upset, confused, and felt like my job was contributing to the divisiveness by offering neo nazis beautiful imagery to idolize. Regardless of authorial intent, some people will see the Volkshalle or the blood and soil rally or all the nazified cities and see it as something to strive to. This article reminded me that the show has moved beyond its “horror escapism”, and is now holding a mirror up to the country and saying “so, this is what you want, huh?”. And while assholes will enthusiastically idolize it, the rest of the country will hopefully glean some knowledge from the show, namely that vigilance is the only way to prevent this. If you don’t take a stand, no matter how “strong” your convictions, the horrors will become normalized and you won’t even see the point where you go from “just trying to live” to “nazi sympathizer”. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/bastard-machine/critics-notebook-man-high-castle-is-good-now-because-real-now-1156620
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Nov 1, 2018 15:11
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Comfy Fleece Sweater posted:Huh Howdy, much of my work over the past few years has been to try to figure out how to create accurate 3D models of millions of real products. Before that, I spent a decade in the gaming space, and I still regularly attend events such as GDC and SIGGRAPH. I'd like to imagine I have a pretty good eye for the current state of 3D modeling is and where it's going. In short: Your friend is both right, and wrong. The role of the traditional 3D artist is changing. In a general sense, it's moving more towards art direction and away from long hours of vertex and pixel pushing. This is definitely a good thing! On the subject of tools and outsourcing: In past you'd spend hours or even days meticulously modeling something like a car and then spending even more time unwrapping and texturing. It could take you weeks for a single asset. Now with outsourcing you can hire a pretty good modeler overseas to model it for you for price of a lunch. You can use automated tools to UV the asset in an instant. With Substance designer you can iterate through thousands of different material combinations at the click of a button. Instead of getting a very specific car, you can get a hundred cars. Or if your project changes, you can quickly iterate to get a car that matches the new aesthetic. On the topic of scanning: Scanning technology of all varieties (photogrammetry, photometric stereo, projected light, laser, etc) have come a long way. If you want an exact replica of something, you can get pretty close to it with one of those technologies. But there are some drawbacks. Any one scanning process is not perfect. Photogrammetry fails when it comes to highly reflective or transparent object. It also fails if you have poor lighting or miss shots. It also requires unique features (flat plain surfaces don't scan very well). Laser scanning can be incredibly laborious and the best and most accurate of them still require a person to manually scan the object. There is still manual cleanup needed to make the scanned meshes usable, and to make additional textures to match the real properties of the object. More importantly, you need access to the thing you want to scan in the first place. So there is still a lot of room for 3D artists even for scan-based asset production. Machine learning and AI generated content: There is a lot of excitement around using neural networks, GANs, and general machine trained networks to generate 3D content. In theory it sounds great, but in practice the results still fall very short. I can't go in to too much detail for NDA reasons here, but right now, even the best networks produce 3D models that would only really be passable in Minecraft. AI generated 3D models of any decent fidelity are still years away, and longer still for quality that would be passable in a AAA game or feature film. AI & machine learning will no doubt bring many benefits to the CG world, but usable 3D assets is one that is still many years away. TL;DR: There is really no better time than now to start learning 3D. Blender is free and amazing with tons of tutorials available online. Max/Maya have very reasonable monthly fees. Zbrush makes creating high poly models incredibly fast and easy (once you learn how to use it). Substance Designer and Painter provide unparalleled power to create millions of combinations of textures or materials. Marvelous Designer makes creating highly realistic cloth incredibly quick and easy. Houdini gives anyone the power to simulate realistic FX, and do all sorts of amazing procedurally based modeling and FX. Unreal and Unity are free, giving you access to some of the best real-time rendering engines in the industry. All of these tools enable humans to make better artistic decisions about the content they want to create, rather than the content they are forced to create due to shortcomings in tools. And that sort of thing isn't something that outsourcing or AI is going to be replacing any time soon.
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Nov 1, 2018 15:21
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Comfy Fleece Sweater posted:He's in automation and machine learning and also says accountants are loving obsolete in like 10 years, along with QA testers and a bunch of other jobs Machine learning/AI geeks have literally been saying this exact poo poo since at least the 70s.
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Nov 1, 2018 16:06
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The Gasmask posted:
As an industrial designer who works almost exclusively with NURBS, it's hilarious how every suggestion in this article is the exact opposite of what you should be doing in my industry. I know that animation in 1998 is very different from CAID in 2018 but lol I'd just outright fail a student for making an entire model out of a single lofted surface.
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Nov 1, 2018 17:01
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Gearman posted:In short: Your friend is both right, and wrong. The role of the traditional 3D artist is changing. In a general sense, it's moving more towards art direction and away from long hours of vertex and pixel pushing. This is definitely a good thing! I feel like this is the biggest issue though. If you're starting out in the industry you're not going to have art director credentials. What training would get you to the point where you can be the guy telling the cheaper labor what to do? Would you study 3d or would you study concept-art?
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Nov 1, 2018 18:28
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