New stuff part 3......

So here is the final for the project I was working on in the last 2 posts.

I know I initially wanted to have a good composition but I'd have to roto/paint out all of the cables, tripods and window reflections to achieve that. The footage was initially shot as a test so I didn't take that information into account and I should have. I think the composite came out well though so not all negatives right?

New Stuff Part 2...

I've decided to put up a fill frame for you guys to get a more clear idea on what I am working on exactly. Short post I know but its Part 2... When has there ever been a good sequel?

Frame 57 now with playing card and specular highlights... yay...

New stuff...

I have been working on a bunch of new stuff all compositing related. I know its been a while since I've posted but hey who reads this crap anyway right? So the goal is to get some new animated stuff out there composited with live action footage shot with the EX1. I've got some filming planned out at an industrial site where a bridge near by was built years ago and I have some shots I've done in the house just for simple things. I'll post a little render on what I'm working but no composites yet... Don't wanna ruin the fun too too much... Anyways take a look below.

Just the CG plate ;) no footage comped for this post. Probably next time though!

HDRI stuff...

YES! I have something to post about... I've been working on a few HDRI studio domes for a friend back at school and I made a few different ones. He needed something to use to show off his car models and I figured I could help him out a bit. They're not completely finished but the renders aren't going to change much with the test scene I created so I'll just post the renders made with them below. I'll probably share the HDRI's as well. Just ask for them.

Attic

Check it out, its an attic... I haven't posted something in a while so I decided to show you this since its part of a larger project but I can't tell you what it is cause its not finished yet. And yes I know its not fully textured...

Teapot on fire...

Everyone likes to set the teapot on fire so I decided to pay tribute to the burning of the teapot on the water. Neatooooooo... The End

Depth of Fieldnessssssssss

Hey so I was trying some new things out I haven't really touched yet in CG and DOF came to mind so I decided to give it a go. I tried several different things out first like DOF nodes out of maya renderer and DOF nodes out of Mental Ray but I don't really want to sit here for years while they render out SO I decided to give z depth a chance. I found several different articles and tutorials on it and probably 18 miles worth of threads on CGTalk so I knew the material was there for me to learn I just needed to apply it. I decided to go with the crappy way of doing it... I setup a ramp with a projection map and made a separate render layer so I could gain more control over my depth of field. I know this isn't the right way of doing it but it was the fastest and allowed for more control so I didn't have to do a whole lot of nonsense compositing for animated DOF and focal point shifting. Ill be posting 2 renders along with an animation I put together with what Ive cooked up in Maya and Nuke. I know the DOF animation isn't realistic it's just there to prove I understand the concept and make Robert laugh at me.

I wish I could post my photos in the correct order but whatever this one is the z depth composite that took 1 minute to render the beauty pass, 5 seconds to render the z depth pass and like no seconds to render the composite out of nuke.

This is the mia_lens_bokeh render that took like hmm 20+ hours to render and theres STILL crap on the lens (noise).

The move, The room, and Other Adventures...

Its been a while but I've also been really busy. I took a leave of absence from school for a few months for financial reasons and I've headed back to Louisiana but I've taken advantage of the free time and have been hard a work learning and expanding my portfolio. I have decided to put away the project I had posted about in my last blog post because I didn't feel I was ready to take on such a complex project all on my own. I scaled my focus down a bit and it has really paid off. Sometimes simplifying something makes all the difference. My current ArchViz project consists of a simple square room with some furniture, windows, rug, etc. I'm hoping to add motion with the window curtains so I can fit it into the theme I have come up with for my reel. I want to evoke an emotion and a feeling with the works that goes beyond just a simple "good job". I want to eventually do three scenes, the one I just mentioned, another in the UK during WWII in the 1930's, and finish with the project I had mentioned last post.

Ill post below some of the things I've been working on and the renders of the room I mentioned in this post.