theFake.Guru Ganz Ramalingam’s Post

Chroma 0127 - In Which You Might Be Better Off Going to School to Study VFX - Part 1 Accelerated Artistic Development When diving into the world of visual effects, you're stepping into a realm where photorealism is king. In a studio, every artist is on a quest to create images that are indistinguishable from reality. But here's the catch: while many can spot when CGI falls short, not everyone can pinpoint what needs fixing to enhance its believability. This is where the expertise of a good school comes into play. A seasoned instructor can dissect reality into understandable chunks, guiding you through the nuances that breathe life into your work. The journey to mastering photorealism is a marathon, not a sprint. It's about sharpening your observational skills, a process that can span years. I've observed students who rely heavily on online tutorials, attempting to mimic them step by step. They might follow a guide to create a CG car, meticulously adding lights and shaders, only to find the final render lacking that spark of authenticity. This is where a professional's approach diverges. They invest time in understanding how light interacts with surfaces, delving into the why's and how's of material reactions to light, leading to a deeper comprehension of the real world and its replication in the digital realm. So, if you're considering a path in VFX, think about the value an experienced instructor brings to the table. Someone who has honed their skills over the years, either in a school setting or in production, and is now eager to pass on that wealth of knowledge to you. The guidance of such a mentor will be a catalyst in your artistic journey, propelling you towards creating work that's not just good, but photoreal. * That's an old render of mine! Looks real, doesn't it? 💬#AlphaChromatica #Chroma #HeyGanz #GotoAGoodSchool

Chroma 0268 - In Which Lincoln Dupree Tumbles! - Part 2 Here's another update on our Deep Compositing project. This time, Lincoln Dupree has delivered the first version of the scene, complete with rough geometry, shaders, blocking, animation, and simulations. We’re at an exciting juncture now. The pieces are in place, and the next step is having another round of discussions with senior compositor and comp extraordinaire, Kate L.. Kate will be instrumental in guiding us on the specific passes and holdouts needed for her demos. Her expertise is invaluable, ensuring that the scene not only meets but exceeds its educational purpose. On top of that, I’m tapping into the insights of one of my FX buddies to explore how we can further enhance this shot. Their perspective will be key as we refine the scene. Here’s the thing - our goal isn’t to create the most photorealistic scene, nor is this a shot meant for a demo reel. This is a learning exercise, designed to help students tackle the real, everyday challenges of deep compositing. It’s all about giving them the practical experience they need to navigate the common issues they’ll face in the industry. What makes this project truly impactful is its purpose: to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and the messy, unpredictable reality of production work. We’re not just teaching students to press buttons; we’re teaching them to problem-solve, adapt, and deliver under real-world conditions. Stay tuned as we continue to develop this project with Lincoln Dupree at the helm. We’re just getting started, and there’s so much more to come. Read Part 1 Here - https://lnkd.in/gh6pM95u P.S. For those of you who’ve tackled deep compositing before, what’s one lesson you wish you’d learned sooner? 💬 #AlphaChromatica #Chroma #HeyGanz #DeepCompositing #LincolnDupree #VFXEducation

For the final 8 weeks of our first school year at Games | Breda University of Applied Sciences, our VFX class had to create a full CG environment based off of a green screen plate given to us. We had full creative freedom, apart from being restricted by the original plate. I was assigned the lead role for this project, which mostly meant I was in charge of creative decisions. I was also the person assembling the scene and implementing all the work from our team. I also did most of the texturing and shading work. The scene was assembled and rendered using Blender Cycles, but we also used other software like Maya, Houdini, Substance Painter and Mari to create our work. Nuke was used for compositing. The Team: Mark Rijs - Creative Lead, 3D Scene Assembly, Texture and Shader Artist Hugo van Keulen - 3D Modelling, Tech Artist Niek van Wijk - 3D Modelling Tijmen van Menen - Tech Artist, Lighting Artist Daniela Luniova - Animation, Matte Painting Alp Eren Özbay - Compositing I am very proud of what our team has achieved, especially for a first year project. #Maya #Mari #Blender #Blender3D #Cycles #Nuke #Substance #Foundry #SideFX #Houdini #VFX #3DModelling #3DArt #VFX #Film #Texturing #Shaders #Procedural #TechArt #Lighting #Compositing #Realism

🎓 𝐄𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐒𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩! For our 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐕𝐅𝐗 & 𝐂𝐆, we have 3 days to teach you the basics… and a comprehensive list of technical terms awaits you! Don’t worry, we’ll cover these topics step by step: • Nuke interface • The logic of nodal compositing • Assemble render layers with the merge nodes • Input and output images from Nuke • Color correction in Nuke • Channels, Alpha and AOVs • Rotoscopy • 2D Tracking 𝐉𝐨𝐢𝐧 Florian Girardot 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩 “𝐈𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐕𝐅𝐗 & 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐆”, 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟓-𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬-𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠! Sign up today and take advantage of the early bird price: €̵1̵3̵9̵9̵ €499 There are only 4 of the 8 bootcamp seats left! https://lnkd.in/eVZwVi3Z And you, what skills and techniques do you already know? What's your favorite thing about compositing? 🔥 Don’t miss the opportunity to master these skills and kickstart your career in VFX and Compositing. Reserve your place at the initiation bootcamp and take the first step towards becoming a Compositing Artist! #VFX #compositing #bootcamp #nuke #visualeffects #cgi #meetyourlegend

Chroma 0244 - In Which Lincoln Dupree Tumbles! - Part 1 We are diving into an exciting Deep Compositing project right now. Kate T.C. L. a Senior Compositor (our former student), nudged us in this direction. She believes we should be teaching deep compositing, and she's spot on. Here's the thing: there aren't many educational resources out there on Deep Compositing, especially ones that tackle the real issues compositors face daily with deep passes. So, we decided to create them ourselves. Enter Lincoln who crafted this scene entirely in Houdini. It's still in its early stages, and he is going to add foliage, dirt, dust, and maybe even some fog to bring it to life. Training students to be ready for VFX studios is no small feat. Most junior tasks are being outsourced, and many small to mid-sized studios don't offer any real training except for maybe a company wiki. This leaves educational institutions like ours with the hefty responsibility of preparing students to seamlessly integrate into ongoing production environments. Despite doing my best with limited resources in the past, Deep Compositing has been my Achilles heel. In the past, we rarely had the opportunity to work on comps that required deep passes. It was challenging to iterate on older machines, and we couldn't just request more RAM, as we weren't server-based. Each student had their own frankensteined big box PC. But now, with students using their own machines chock full of RAM, we might finally be able to say, "Yes, our students know deep compositing too." A huge shoutout to SideFX Software for sponsoring Houdini licenses to help us develop valuable educational content for the community. This support is a game-changer. P.S. What's been your biggest challenge in learning deep compositing? 💬#AlphaChromatica #Chroma #HeyGanz #DeepCompositing #LincolnDupree

🚀 𝐕𝐅𝐗 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧: 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫 🚀 Hey all! I recently shared a study I completed, inspired by one of my favorite films, Interstellar, however, I thought of creating a nice breakdown to demonstrate the thought process of it all. 🌌✨ In this project, I selected a few shots from the movie and replaced the characters with CGI models, meticulously matching the original lighting and mood. Here’s a breakdown of my process: 𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬: - I studied the original lighting setups, paying close attention to light sources, direction, color temperature, and intensity. - This involved deconstructing the key light, fill light, rim light, and ambient light to understand how they contribute to the overall mood. 𝐂𝐆𝐈 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: - With a pre-made model (credited in the original post), I carefully positioned the camera with an approximate configuration as seen in the movie (roughly a 35mm or IMAX 75mm in some shots). - Using Maya as my DCC and Renderman, I recreated the lighting to match the original as closely as possible. - Nuke helped fine-tune the integration, adjusting for color grading. 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬: - One major challenge was replicating the subtle interplay of light and shadow, especially in the highly reflective surfaces of the chosen CG model. - Another was achieving the ambient lighting without the original set HDRI. This had to be done in a very unorthodox way. Utilizing AI, I removed the character from the original shot and used that as a makeshift ambient projected onto geometries around the CG model. Lighting is crucial in storytelling; even minor adjustments can significantly impact the feel of a scene. Attention to detail in matching the lighting and mood can make CGI characters blend seamlessly into live-action footage. I’m always eager to connect with fellow artists and enthusiasts. Currently, I am open to work and excited for my next opportunity in the VFX industry. Feel free to reach out for discussions, collaborations, or job opportunities! #VFX #Lighting #Compositing #CGI #Interstellar #FilmStudy #VisualEffects

Hello Fellow Artists, . So here i tried remaking my most favourite VFX shot from Kong: Skull island, When i saw this shot for the first time, i was very impressed with it. That's what inspired me to create this shot from scratch. . Hence i used the Kong model from online and made the environment in Maya, i Used arnold for rendering and NukeX for Compositing, for this shot i have used DEEP Compositing method so i can comp the Volume interactively and copy/readjust the positioning also the kong is interacting with the lake water so it won't give me trouble in comping, i also did the CampFire lighting in Compositing process, as i didn't wanted to make my render take more time. It took me more than 400+ Hours to render from Maya (excluding the test renders) Funny but i felt burntout on the rendering days but i had to do this as i committed to myself. For Compositing it took me 10 Days to comp and average 3-4 hours a day working on this shot. While making the 3D scene it took me somewhat around 10 days as i was researching about the environment & customized the kong model according to my preferences. This shot was much more challenging than i expected, but i learned lot while making this. . Let me know what you guys think about this shot, i will be very happy to hear from you, feedbacks are always welcome : ) . Project Working time :- 25 Days Render time :- 400+ Hours . HD - https://lnkd.in/dYtA3phX . #vfx #visualeffects #compositing #deepcompositing #cgi

Over the last month I have been learning Nuke. Compositing was a part of video creation which I never really dug deep into. I thought the process of the creation of an appealing image was mainly what was going on on the "3D" side, and didn't pay much attention to the weight compositing carries. That changed in this last month. The amount of little tweaks I didn't know were even possible to do was big. Big thanks to the incredible teaching by Alex Hanneman at Compositing Academy which made it super enjoyable and interesting to learn. Smoke FX - made in Houdini by me Texturing and Rendering - made in Painter and Blender by me Mustang Model - made by Demonic Arts on Sketchfab Background music - RAF NITE #cgi #cg #blender3d #nuke #houdini #compositing #FX #cgintegration #animation #tracking #3d

(NSFW warning for Blood and Gore)Diving Deep into the Art of Visual Effects with Iste's Latest Dead Body Simulation! 🎨💡 In a recent LinkedIn showcase, Iste reveals the intricacies of creating a chillingly realistic dead body simulation, blending the boundaries between 3D and 2D art. This compelling demonstration not only showcases Iste's mastery over the tools of the trade but also offers a peek into innovative techniques that can elevate visual storytelling in filmmaking and VFX. Starting with custom-painted blood PNGs in Photoshop, Iste takes us through the process of importing these as planes into Blender, using custom AOVs to cleverly manage the alpha of the blood within the shader, and ultimately achieving a stark, impactful effect that is both simple and profound. The method cleverly utilizes a Transparent Shader for material output, aiming for a striking contrast without complicating the final render. The journey doesn't stop at Blender. By integrating the project into After Effects and employing a luma matte technique against a black background, Iste animates the blood in a way that mimics the natural movement of a body, adding an extra layer of realism to the simulation. This technique opens up a world of possibilities, from animating blood drips and slime to adjusting the opacity of cobwebs and smoke cards in post-production. Moreover, Iste's project demonstrates the potential to use this approach for more detailed character modifications, such as adding bruises or changing textures dynamically over time. This is showcased further with the movement of the simulated body's ribs, which, despite being poorly weighted, added an unexpected level of dynamism to the animation, making the shirt move in a more realistic manner. The "meat" part of the simulation was sculpted with attention to detail, emphasizing the importance of going the extra mile to achieve a certain level of realism and depth in the scene. Iste's work is a brilliant example of how creativity, when combined with a deep understanding of both 3D and 2D tools, can push the boundaries of what's possible in visual effects, offering new techniques and insights for artists and filmmakers alike. #VisualEffects #3DArt #AfterEffects #InnovationInArt #DigitalArtistry

🤖 I was not an expert in compositing before taking the VFX for motion course, and I still am not, but I received a collection of techniques in this course that I wouldn't have received in such a short amount of time anywhere else. 🐣 This exercise is quite basic.  I was asked to add graffiti to buildings and objects displayed in a shot, where each object brings complexity. There might be several shots here that could have been created more realistically, but the world I live in is not a world of perfection but a world of speed. If the shot is convincing enough and conveys the message, then it's probably good. The truth? There's something quite enjoyable about it. 🌹 In any case, I was happy to expand my toolkit and bring some compositing into my motion design world.