November 6, 2015 : Halloween: Obscure-Cancelled-TV-Show Style

I’m not adverse to Halloween costumes that most people don’t recognize. This year was no exception, and the theme was Arrested Development (the cancelled-too-soon FOX Show). While I dressed up as Lindsay Funke, I was joined by Tobias and Gob.

Seeing as how the show was cancelled almost a decade ago, it wasn’t too surprising that few people got our costumes. While it didn’t bother me, I was expecting a little better of a reception. The show has garnered a cult following sine its initial run – so much so that Netflix produced a new season back in 2013 (although, for the record, I couldn’t get past the second episode) – so I assumed there would be more recognition. Instead, Tobias was assumed to be a Smurf, Gob an ordinary magician, and I was a prostitute.

Despite this, I was still pleased with the final outcome. I’ve done plenty of themes that aren’t very mainstream so I’m used to it. Plus, the few people who got our costumes did appreciate them. The other great thing that came out of the night: we have a solid idea for next year’s theme.

posted by Pi Visuals at 1:46 pm

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October 29, 2015 : Nodes, Nodes, Nodes!

Over the last few weeks, I’ve spent time delving into DP Kit. Effectively using these Displacement nodes requires a solid understanding of the Node Editor, something I did not previously possess.

Between reading the Lightwave Manual, reviewing online tutorials, and doing a whole lot of messing around within the program, I have a much better handle on the Node Editor. I am no expert, but it has allowed me to create some powerful node structures necessary to use DP Kit. Below are a few screenshots:

DP Kit has many powerful nodes, and I feel like I’ve just scratched the surface. I’m still trying to understand the basic functionality. It is a time consuming process, requiring a lot of trial and error. Sadly, there are not a lot of tutorials on DP Kit, and the documentation is even less thorough. Scouring the forums has proven somewhat helpful (I’ve even posted a question or two – something I haven’t done in years).

Despite all this time and effort, I believe it’s worth it. The more I learn about DP Kit, the more cool things I see it can do and create. If only Tim Albee wrote a book covering it…

posted by Pi Visuals at 3:31 pm

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October 13, 2015 : Multi-Pass Rendering In Lightwave (and After Effects)

After realizing Ambient Occlusion/ Global Illumination wasn’t going to cut it for animations, I turned to Multi-Pass Rendering with area lights. The idea of using some form of GI appealed to me because I wanted to composite a shadow layer on top of the main render. While this would require an extra step in my pipeline, I believe the additional control would result in an improved final render.

My next step was determining if Multi-Pass Rendering does improve the final render, thus justifying the additional work. While testing out AO, I noticed the shadow pixelation/ flickering was less noticeable for the darker gray uniform of the Walrus object. To make sure the object wasn’t inherently hiding any problems, I brightened the object’s surfaces – making it lighter and more colorful. I used these surfaces for the Multi-Pass Renders.

After making an Area-Lights-Only render, I used the Compositing Buffer Export in Lightwave to create multiple buffer renders. These were imported into After Effects to composite the final render. I then spent some trial-and-error time tweaking the Opacity and Blending Modes for the various buffers. Below is a shot of the Layer Panel, showing the settings I ended on:

Once I got things to look pretty decent, I made a video doing a side-by-side comparison between the Area-Lights-Only and Multi-Pass Renders:

For easier viewing, below is a single frame of the video:

The Multi-Pass Render is definitely more dynamic. I want to get a better handle on the Opacity and Blending Mode settings for each render pass, but I am convinced that the Multi-Pass Render provides the additional control and improved render quality I was targeting.

posted by Pi Visuals at 12:37 am

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October 8, 2015 : Ambient Occlusion And Animations Don’t Mix (At Least In Lightwave)

My quest to achieve an acceptable Ambient Occlusion Render seems to have ended… and not how I would have liked. I have learned a great deal about the topic, but I am at an impasse.

Over the past few weeks, I have tried many different techniques and iterations for the effect… oh boy have I tried many. This includes Lightwave’s build-in shader, the DP Dome plug-in, the DP Kit plug-in, the DP Filter effect, a Final Gather render (via Urbanexile.net), a Monte Carlo render, and even a Backdrop Only render.

On their, most of the renders looked nice. They would all be viable options for a static image. However, for an animated clip, there were issues with the shadow pixels ‘jumping’ or ‘flickering’. This occurred when the character was stationary but became more noticeable when he moved, and was even worse when the camera zoomed in.

At this point, I have concluded that Lightwave cannot produce a sufficient animated sequence with Ambient Occlusion (or any type of Global Illumination for that matter). In the meantime, I have already figured out a method that should get what I want. I will save this for another post, but the topic is Multi-Pass Rendering with Area Lights.

posted by Pi Visuals at 1:39 am

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September 30, 2015 : The Iron Giant’s New Blu-Ray Release

Filed ‘yet another reason for me to finally get a Blu-Ray player’, Warner Bros. confirmed the rumors that The Iron Giant will get a new Blu-Ray release. The release date for The Iron Giant: Signature Edition has not been announced. However, it will include the two new scenes that are part of this week’s limited theatrical release as well as a yet-to-be-made documentary about the making of the film.

For those that cannot wait, the movie will be available digitally this fall. As for me, I will be watching the movie on the big screen Sunday and plan on getting the Blu-Ray (whenever it comes out). I have gotten plenty of mileage out of my DVD so I’m ready for the upgrade. Now all I need is the equipment to play it on.

posted by Pi Visuals at 3:38 pm

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September 23, 2015 : Solid (And Lengthy) Genndy Interview

Cartoon Brew interviewed the force that is Genndy Tartakovsky. It’s pretty long, which in this example is great. He talks about plenty – including Samurai Jack and Sym-Bionic Titan (sniff, sniff). You can read it here.

It’s interesting to hear his usual optimism interwoven with subtle frustration. Personally, I appreciate both his passion and his humility. However, I’ll still continue to hold my breath about any reboot/ revival of Samurai Jack, but you never know. After all, Reboot is making a comeback (sorta).

posted by Pi Visuals at 3:09 pm

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September 17, 2015 : Ambient Occlusion Testing

Over the past week, I’ve had some time to work on one of my recently set Lightwave goals – Ambient Occlusion Rendering. I’m still in the early phases, but progress has been made.

Most of my time has been spent researching techniques for Ambient Occlusion. I want to find a method where quality meets practicality. I have found a few promising ones; but while doing so, I realized that I will need a render that will satisfy animations (as opposed to still shots).

As such, I am creating a short animated sequence (on the order of three or four seconds) that includes an object moving as well as a camera zoom. Below is a screenshot of who I will be using as my test object:

As if there was any doubt that I was going to use a ninja! Actually, I originally set up a file with one of the characters from Taking Shape, but then I found it to be a poor choice due to the rather simplistic/ orthogonal geometry.

I am still working on the animated sequence, but I have done a few preliminary test renders for one AO technique. Below is a render with settings that I was happy with:

I haven’t put anything into After Effects for compositing. I intend on working through a few AO methods in LW before I export the renders. I believe this will be the best way for me to do a side-by-side comparison of the end results.

posted by Pi Visuals at 12:22 am

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September 9, 2015 : New (Long Term) Lightwave Goals

I have been using Lightwave for over 11 years (!?). Most of my projects are in a particular style; and while I try to learn a new technique with each one, they still fit within a certain genre and thus are somewhat limited. Since Lightwave has so much capability that I pretty much ignore, I’ve set two goals to add to my arsenal:

  1. Occlusion Rendering and Compositing
  2. Understanding/ Utilizing DP Kit

Most of my projects tend to be cel-shaded, and so I have had little need for realistic renders. However, cartoon-like shows can’t still have refined renders (see just about any 3D animated movie or TV show these days). Being able to create a solid Ambient Occlusion render and compositing it (via After Effects) would be a cool technique to possess.

As for DP Kit, I stumbled across this free plug-in a few weeks back (although I have yet to install it on my machine). It is a collection of additional nodes for the Node Editor; and from the videos I’ve seen, it can help in creating some cool animated effects and motion graphics in Layout. Below is an example of some of its power:

Understanding and utilizing DP Kit will actually help me in two ways. First, it can allow me to create some cool effects and animations, but it will also force me to get a better understanding of the Node Editor – which is something I don’t know nearly as well as I should.

Both of these goals are longer term, and neither of them are for any specific upcoming projects. My hope is to improve and expand my abilities in Lightwave. This means work on them might take a back seat at times, but I’m okay with that.

posted by Pi Visuals at 11:55 pm

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August 31, 2015 : Incredible Futurama CGI Video

Prior to its original FOX cancellation, few shows were better than Futurama. Between the solid writing, great character development, and seamless interplay of 2D and 3D animation; I was definitely a fan. Plus, it made me forget how far The Simpsons had slipped in quality.

Anyway, I came across this awesome 3D Futurama video. It’s not very long, which makes me want more.

Needless to say… wow! I am not sure if this was just a pet project nor how long it took, but it is impressive (and then some). There is also a cool making-of video that is linked in the video’s description.

posted by Pi Visuals at 12:34 am

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August 18, 2015 : Toonami’s Intruder 2: Details Revealed

Early last year, Toonami announced a sequel to its 2000 miniseries, Intruder. Details were vague, only mentioning a release sometime in 2015. The amount of content for the new special was to be determined based off of the social media response (via #intruder2).

Since then, not much has been said about it. However, back in late May at MomoCon (Atlanta’s main fan convention), Toonami revealed more details… along with a sneak peek.

In addition to the cool preview, Toonami stated that Intruder 2 will premiere in October (although no specific date was set). It is expected to span approximately 5 weeks, and there will be 20-25 minutes of footage.

While the lack of specifics is a bit annoying (albeit not surprising), I am stoked about it. A follow up to the first miniseries is long overdue. Plus, anytime I get to see Spike Spiegel in action, it’s a good day.

posted by Pi Visuals at 10:40 pm

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