Category: Development

A showreel showcasing a 3D model that has been composited into different environments, texture painted and posed appropriately.
Programs Used:
Blender
Substance Painter
Adobe Premier Pro

Credits:
Images:
Cristiana Bardeanu – Snow – https://www.flickr.com/photos/cristiana-bard/15853281933/in/photolist-q9Udp8-8YeDya-5PxF33-7ma9NK-pGgFVS-qWpSzS-5w2uTB-dNo8wT-97y36A-iw8MMh-bozNsD-dRvMEt-mPSPGB-jZyPXr-qh1hUn-Fu2b4W-jmGRmW-bFa5g-HjeReu-4DqhgA-e2jRUK-21m1avy-7owQ7N-e5Pko2-bya5vz-dVs1cX-dWu2YJ-9gp85f-rKnz4U-reks7z-957kPr-22gyLaQ-7AVLQR-eLGyzN-9pA7tJ-q8rMdV-7owMgU-bfxQWD-8X1Gzg-7ShsMA-8XyEYB-n5v6fU-7EetXW-aAyJfq-nQz7ik-bq3peF-5HWbyG-dKK6jN-qpjQco-dU4pDw

Free-Photos – Trees – https://pixabay.com/en/trees-forest-sunlight-woods-1030981/

Andym5855 – Sunset – https://www.flickr.com/photos/andym5855/16043493809/in/photolist-qrH6Le-9Em3YW-edYqb7-rojCtm-cuvkNb-dzutYb-aEgZ6F-aAiFss-bhyLFK-9DYj3a-aAfXwK-aAiD9C-212n2uL-5dgTxP-cKM7Ss-ffp96m-qZWHvW-d5UPAq-a8D1wH-nkg5q5-89v4oA-iq7Ay-cp6uV9-boZ5cs-ddSto9-aAg1ei-ab586g-c3wNau-a4Lu7u-ahnmha-9bGM1o-oQCY1v-75tR-cevWHw-8AjLa-riCueu-r7c2YL-ofcJHM-dt9EQX-4wCGLS-gs8FKY-r9PAmS-5ZMuqm-cJJpwN-WSujmg-Zaf2PY-6AEWbK-NgVcfK-YNcaC2-dzp3r6/

Prilfish – Desert – https://www.flickr.com/photos/silkebaron/2778696427/in/photolist-5exxD6-BhVtDE-2GGRzW-fgnpX-RSA8Mq-48n3iY-3gTuGh-8cCPed-7CFUnh-onJGa-5EYNsZ-9dtT6j-48n2Yy-oFg73-XhZgg6-q7j4qc-9ANgBi-f69c7K-7dbkzz-a4xhPN-aww9mQ-5CbDF2-6W1c9-VpC5Br-7himyA-c4wP8-49195x-6c37X1-W4R6UF-7Ww2y-5eBVJh-73WZfi-8JQ8tx-TaGwjt-U2TgFa-7STtoE-6bieHZ-5t6J8Y-7Ww3E-7SEob-rjgHJk-SoSS6V-rAWUx-7SEhT-8JT5Jh-dij4fH-gMN3bW-RPAL1X-zE5q9n-f3oU1v

Music:
Ambient Gourd by Canton – https://soundcloud.com/canton/ambient-gourd

Using the same principles as in the image compositing research, I managed to figure out how to do the same but with an animation. I followed the tutorial uploaded by ‘TheCuriousEngine’, with the only major change being the alteration of the render settings, rendering my work as an animation rather than an image. I also set the format to an 8-bit PNG with 0% compression. I then uploaded these images as an image strip in the video editor of a new Blender file, exporting this as a H.264 video file.

When I originally did this, my render outcome was not correct. The image above shows how my project was rendering, completely missing the background image and forgetting to hide the ground layer I created. I rewatched the tutorials a couple of times, and even restarted creating the project, however my outcome was still the same. I then consulted my tutor through emails and he suggested to check the following settings:

•  Make sure that transparent is ticked in the ‘film’ tab of the render panel.
• Make sure that both of your square shaped layer indicators are selected.
• Make sure you have put the objects you want rendering on the correct pass index.

After checking these settings and trying again, however, the result was still the same. I shared my file with my tutor, and he managed to rectify the problem which was down to one of the above options not registering as I had expected. Once this problem was solved, I was able to correctly render a my sequence.

When consulting my tutor, he also suggested changing the following to optimise my render settings:

• Reducing my output resolution to 1280x 720p.
• Taking the samples down.
• Switching demonising on. ( I thought I had already done this however I was incorrect.)
• Use CPU rendering instead of GPU.

The original Image:

[Image Credit: Prilfish – Desert – Link]

Here is a time-lapse of me composing my final animation:

The following images showcase the textures, masks, paint and grunge filters I used in each image/animation I created.

Image 1

Image 2

 

Image 3

 

Animation

To add final touches to my video, I decided to add some sound effects and a simple background track. To do so, I searched on Soundcloud through Creative Commons using terms such as ‘Ambient’ and genres with a more relaxed tone, as well as using FreeSound.org to get appropriate sound effects. I used Premier Pro to place the following items on top of my trailer.

Animation

The Footsteps:

 

Ambience:

 

Image 1

Ambience:

Image 2

Ambience:

 

 

 

 

Image 3

Ambience:

Backing Track:

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Sources:

– Soundcloud

– Freesound.org

During the texturing process of my project, I came across some struggles when deciding what textures and effects to use for my images. Although limiting, Substance Painter includes more than enough textures in its shelves, some that are versatile and can be used to create effects that it wasn’t initially created for. In some situations however, just simply adapting a preset to fit my model wasn’t enough, so I turned to the platform ‘Subastance Share’

What is Substance Share?

Substance Share is an online, free exchange platform for all Allgorithmic.com account holders. The website contains a library packed with content compatible with substance painter, all uploaded by the community, as well as Allgorithmic, and users can upload, download, rate and comment on other people creations. All assets uploaded to Substance Share are free of charge, and under the Creative Commons “Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International” license they are adaptable for any purpose, even commercially. (Allegorithmic, 2017).

Where did I use it?

When looking through assets on Substance Share, I found many useful items, but didn’t end up using them all. Because I am new to the software, I was unable to successfully upload certain assets, and others just simply weren’t as adaptable as I had hoped, causing me to scrap them and stick to the materials based on Substance Painter. Having said this, the following material found its way onto one of my final images.

 

In the future, I hoe to explore the world of substance sharer with more detail, and have the option to use some of the amazing content available.

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Sources:

– Allegorithmic. (2017). Substance Share. [online] Available at: https://www.allegorithmic.com/blog/substance-share [Accessed 15 Dec. 2017].