This unit will enable us to develop skills in collaborating with different disciplines, rapid idea generation, iteration and testing. The aim of the unit is to collaborate and work in a team on a self-guided project. The team can include members from outside your course group (for example other students in the MIDA Programme) and look to other subject areas outside our usual area of practice.
We were given be given example project briefs, which we can choose from, or have the option to create our own project brief.
Approaching the collaboration:
I am mainly interested in collaborating with other Masters focused on visual projects and art direction (2D/3D Animation, Virtual Reality). However, I am not limited to a specific role/project.
My area of interest is Visual Effects and Compositing. I hope to work on a project that will allow me to create an animation/virtual space that is visually appealing and immersive. I would like to try working with Houdini, textures and lighting.
My main goal, however, is to learn about other Majors and study their workflows. I would like to see if there are other career paths I might be interested in or ways to incorporate visual effects into different software.
22/23 Meet and Greet Padlet Board
Subject: From static inspirations to dynamic projects
Email: m.kowalska0620221@arts.ac.uk Course: MA Visual Effects Website: https://www.artstation.com/cervesna
I am interested in analysing traditional places/objects, such as art galleries and paintings, and transforming them into three-dimensional, dynamic spaces. It would be an attempt to visualise them and explore their themes in a new way. I would like to try using and combining some of the following techniques: conceptual work, 2D animation, 3D modelling and VFX.
At first, when joining the course I was solely interested in the compositing/matte painting position. I love creating complex backgrounds and seamlessly merging real footage with created assets/illustrations. It reminds me of concept art and painting and allows me to focus on details, assembling immersive environments.
Compositor Artist (VFX)
Job Description
References:
Compositor (2023) Available at: https://www.unionvfx.com/careers/compositor/ (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
Compositor (VFX) (2023) Available at: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/visual-effects-vfx/compositing/compositor-visual-effects-vfx/ (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
Entry roles for compositing:
Roto artist
Roto artists work closely with compositors, as the mattes which roto artists produce serve as important layers for compositors to work with. Roto artists work on the areas of live-action frames where computer-generated (CG) images or other live-action images will overlap or interact with the live image.
If the live-action camera is not moving within a shot, rotoscoping might involve only one frame. If the camera’s moving, roto artists trace the relevant areas of every frame within the shot so that CG can be combined accurately with the live-action. Roto artists need to have a keen eye and patience to complete this meticulous and repetitive work. In addition to rotoscoping, roto artists assist in the preparation of material for compositing.
Role & responsibilities of a roto artist in the film industry:
Use Silhouette, and Nuke to create and track roto shapes and lines for various elements within a shot.
Create roto mattes for Compositors and foreground mattes for Animators with a comprehensive understanding of how these mattes will be used.
Shape creation/editing; shape animation by hand and with trackers; shape compositing, fill modes and opacity settings.
Maintaining consistency of visuals and style throughout the production.
Basic green and blue screen compositing.
What software and tools do roto artists use?
Silhouette FX
Nuke
Mocha Pro
Digital fusion
Maya
Further research:
Nuke Rotoscoping Tutorial – Introduction to Roto Node
References:
Roto artist (2023) Available at: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/visual-effects-vfx/compositing/roto-artist/ (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
What does a roto artist do? (2023) Available at: https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/roto-artist (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
Prep artist
Prep artists clean up the backgrounds of live-action footage ready for the effects to be layered onto it by the compositor. The shots they work on, known as plates, either moving or still, don’t have foreground action or players included.
Prep artists use specialist VFX software to clean plates. There are many processes used to do this cleaning. They remove any unwanted dust and scratches from the frame. They sort out dropped frames, where a camera has been unable to capture all the frames in a given time resulting in little jerks in the action. They remove any unwanted items such as boom microphones or electric pylons.
Further research:
Junior Roto / Paint Cleanup Artist – Compositing, Roto and Plate Prep Reel (VFX)
References:
Prep artist (2023) Available at: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/visual-effects-vfx/compositing/prep-artist/ (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
Other:
Matte Painter
Matte Painters digitally paint elements, work with live-action footage, digital still photography and rendered CG elements to create photo-real matte-painted environments that are to be seamlessly integrated into the film. They are responsible for creating photo-real painted environments to be used as backdrops, set extensions/fixes and for 2.5D/3D projections.
Along with being able to paint realistic backgrounds and environments, digital matte painters must have at least a basic knowledge of modelling, layout, lighting, rendering, and compositing, as well as a strong understanding of all facets of CG production including colour theory and LUT.
Tasks:
Produce multiple iteration concept illustrations of key sets & environments to help inform the director’s creative vision.
Do necessary research on the period, character, props and locations.
Management and clean up of a large database of source imagery.
Will attend dailies, can interpret critical feedback and execute desired changes.
Continuous and efficient communication across departments particularly Compositing and Lighting to ensure that all elements are up to date and in sync.
Work in partnership with the production coordinator to ensure that matte painting assets are on schedule.
Experience working with shoot data; including photographic and reference data, HDRIs, and photogrammetry.
Setup, image re-projection, and apply atmospherics and light effects.
Job Description
This position combines/draws from all the roles I have explored before. This is by far the most difficult role to get and will not be possible at the beginning of my professional career. At the same time, it is the role that interests me the most and I am trying to reach this position in the future. I hope that other roles/career paths will allow me to acquire the necessary skills to one day become a Digital Matte Painter.
Term 2 collaborative project has allowed me to work more in-depth on textures. I had fun learning the new software (Substance 3D Painter) and focusing on the details of the models. I am interested in how Texture Artists make 3D models look believable and realistic. They often add imperfections to give the item an extra dimension. Their job is to maintain texture diversity and avoid repetitive contributions to the production they are working on. This is a more specialised role, however, it is an entry position and can be linked to the Lighting/Look dev roles.
Texture Artist
I have already worked with many software used in the industry such as Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Maya, Substance Painter and Quixel. I would like to use more Mari, Mudbox, Blender, Substance Designer and ZBrush in the future.
Further research:
Texture Maps Explained – Essential for All Texture Artists
Texturing Theory 101 – Understanding Texture Maps and Channels
References:
How To Become a Texture Artist (2023) Available at: https://www.productionbase.co.uk/blog/2019/07/30/become-texture-artist/ (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
Mon, S. (2017) Texture Painting for Action Films. Available at: https://magazine.artstation.com/2017/08/texture-painting-action-films/ (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
What does a texture artist do? (2023) Available at: https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/texture-artist (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
Texture artist (2023) Available at: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/visual-effects-vfx/computer-generated/texture-artist/ (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
After learning more about VFX during Term 1 and Term I became interested in the role of a Lighting Artist. It fascinates me how using a set of 3D lighting software has the power to draw attention to specific parts of a scene, set the tone, support the movie’s narrative, and elicit particular emotions among viewers. It can depict the time, day, and even climate of a scene using a combination of 3D lighting programs.
Lighting Artist (VFX)
I realise this is not an entry-level job and I will need to learn more about setting up different light sources to illuminate a 3D scene or sequence in a way that supports the story and generate highly detailed, realistic images. I should also be working with high-end render engines work to produce high-quality ambient lighting. Two of the most commonly used light effects in 3D animation are Global Illumination (a lighting effect that is closest to real-life lighting, obtained by using global illumination algorithms that calculate the light that travels throughout the shot) and Skydome (the light effect which illuminates the dome above the shot – just like the sun illuminates everything in the world from the sky).
Job Description
I should also consider software/hardware constraints, and I plan to research the lighting techniques used in various programs (for both games and movies). I am particularly interested in lighting/particle systems for Unreal Engine, Unity, Nuke (Katana) and Maya (Arnold). Also, I would like to at least explore other lighting software used in the industry such as Octane, V-Ray, RenderMan, Cinema 4D, KeyShot, Redshift, Houdini, AGI 32, Calculus, Lumion, Radiance, Microlux, LightCalc, etc. These programs offer wind effects, texturing, lighting, shading, shadow mapping, etc., to achieve the most true-to-life results.
Further research:
Why Lighting Animated Movies Is So Complicated | Movies Insider | Insider
How to set up a live-action shot for VFX lighting:
Katatikarn, J. (2023) 3D Lighting Software: 23 Tools You Need in 2023. Available at: https://academyofanimatedart.com/3d-lighting-software/ (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
Lighting artist (VFX) (2023) Available at: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/visual-effects-vfx/computer-generated/lighting-artist-visual-effects-vfx/ (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
What does a 3D lighting artist do? (2023) Available at: https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/vfx-lighting-artist (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
Alternative roles:
Look Development Artist
Look development artists (look devs) define the look of computer-generated creatures or objects to ensure all the art in the film or TV programme is consistent. They work with closely VFX artists from the other VFX production departments, lighting and texture artists, compositors and shader development TDs to establish the different looks, balancing the processes of texturing, lighting and rendering to match reference images and real footage. All the artists in their VFX pipeline then use these looks when they create their assets. This ensures consistency and quality. Some VFX companies or studios may only have a lighting TD role, and not a look dev one. In this case, the responsibilities of the look dev would be covered by a lighting artist.
What’s a look development artist good at?
Have the strong artistic ability, a good understanding of form, colour and texture, and know how these elements work together.
Understand colour, space and the scientific principles behind creating realistic lighting and have a strong knowledge of lighting techniques.
Work within the production schedule, manage files and meet deadlines.
References:
Look development artist (2023) Available at: https://www.screenskills.com/job-profiles/browse/visual-effects-vfx/computer-generated/look-development-artist/ (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
Junior VFX Artist (Generalist)
The Junior VFX Artist (Generalist) needs a thorough understanding of 3D camera principles such as lenses, distortion and parallax. The Junior VFX Artists (Generalist) work out the coordinates and the movement of the physical camera and/or objects in a live-action shot; they must be able to track cameras and objects quickly and effectively. They may also support other artists with their tracking tasks and be required to work on visualising complex scenes in a 3D animation (pre-viz, the 3D equivalent of a storyboard) before moving on to the more detailed parts of the process. The motion files/assets created (camera, object or body track) need to be integrated into the VFX workflow pipeline and within the organisational requirements for organising, storing and retrieving assets.
Occupation duties:
Assess the requirements set by the client or supervisor brief for the requested VFX. Prepare to create the VFX assets identifying and deciding which tools and techniques best meet the required creative, narrative and technical demands of the production.
Create VFX assets in line with production requirements, ensuring the output meets the requirements for the workflow process.
Manage own VFX assets through the workflow (pipeline) in line with production requirements for organising, storing and retrieving assets.
Work autonomously and with clients or customers in the visual effects (VFX) industry, collaborating with other departments as required to ensure that the CG elements are delivered to meet agreed production requirements.
Improve own knowledge and performance in visual effects (VFX) by seeking out information about an emerging practice in the visual effects (VFX) industry such as new tools, software, data and other related technology.
Select and use appropriate technology to render VFX assets for pre-rendered or real-time productions.
Evaluate VFX assets in line with feedback to ensure production requirements are met and own practice continuously improves.
Use innovative approaches to solve problems and ensure VFX assets are delivered in line with production requirements.
Track cameras, markers and objects to meet production requirements.
Deliver assets to meet production requirements.
References:
Junior vfx artist (generalist) (2023) Available at: https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/junior-vfx-artist-generalist-v1-0 (Accessed: 22 February 2023).
