2 (February) - Facultatea de Textile Pielarie si Management

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T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R D I G I TA L C O N T E N T C R E AT I O N A N D P R O D U C T I O N
WORLD
®
February 2006 www.cgw.com
Music
for the
Eyes
Animated shorts hit a
high note with viewers
At Your Service
Service providers bring
3D scanning to studios
The Race Is On
Project Gotham Racing 3
revs up gaming
Hanging A Shingle
The ‘hidden costs’ of
opening your own shop
Forward
COMPUTER
GRAPHICS WORLD
to a friend!
®
$4.95 USA
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Previous Page Contents Zoom In Zoom Out Front Cover Search Issue Next Page EMaGS
F
Maya® 7, the latest release of the award-winning 3D software, is packed with innovative new
features allowing you to realize your creative vision faster and more easily than ever before.
Capitalizing on Alias MotionBuilder® technology, Maya 7 makes character animation
easier and more accurate. Other improvements such as advanced render layering and
new modeling, texturing and effects tools help you achieve more with Maya.
To find out how the new and innovative features of Maya are changing the face of 3D,
visit www.alias.com/maya7.
Image created by Meats Meier (www.3dartspace.com)
© Copyright 2005 Alias Systems Corp. All rights reserved.
Alias, the swirl logo, Maya and MotionBuilder are registered trademarks and the Maya logo is a trademark of Alias Systems Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
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Computer
February 2006 • Volume 29 • Number 2
T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R D I G I TA L C O N T E N T C R E AT I O N A N D P R O D U C T I O N
Also see www.cgw.com for computer graphics news,
special surveys and reports, and the online gallery.
WORLD
10
30
20
D e p a r t m e nt s
26
Editor’s Note 2
Fe at ur e s
French Inspiration
Cover story
France has always been known for art,
and today, the country has carried over
that tradition to the CG realm, teaching
and inspiring digital artists to pursue
their passions and dreams.
Short and Sweet
10
ANIMATION | Artists and filmmakers test
new styles, equipment, and ideas with
animated short films, some of which may
end up on this year’s Oscar short list.
Spotlight 4
By Barbara Robertson
Products
Point Person
Silhouette FX’s Silhouette Paint
NEW @ c g w.c o m
20
SCANNING | 3D scanning technology
is proving itself as an important studio
modeling tool, and service providers are
helping the facilities get this job done.
Autodesk’s Discreet Combustion 4
for the Mac
Dosch Design’s Viz-Image series
Video Viewpoint 6
The Fast Track
Portfolio 34
By Karen Moltenbrey
26
GAMING | Bizarre Creations revs up
its Project Gotham Racing 3 franchise,
injecting the title with film-like effects
running on the new Xbox 360 engine.
Integration is Key
Jiri Adamec
Starting a Small Studio
Digital Training 36
30
BUSINESS TRENDS | Ready to hang
A wide range of virtual tutoring
and training options allow artists to
master software at their own pace.
your own shingle? Don’t forget the
importance of location. Some other
things to consider: planning for expenses,
finding clients, and pricing your work.
Reviews 38
Bauhaus’s Mirage 1.5
By William “Proton” Vaughan
The French Student
Revolution
E-Magiciens in Valenciennes, France,
showcases animation from some of the
most creative students in the country.
See the winning entries from this
annual event.
By Debra Kaufman
Adobe’s Suite Production
As video turns digital, a host of new
applications are becoming available.
With its Production Suite, Adobe is
ready to help users migrate to these
new markets.
Web story exclusives:
At Autodesk University in Orlando, Florida,
the crowds were big, but the emphasis
on “keeping it digital throughout the
production pipeline” was even bigger.
Iomega’s REV Drive
Backs It Up
Check out this firsthand look at the
Iomega REV 35GB /90GB drive, a low-cost,
portable backup device that redefines
the way data is archived and shared.
See www.cgw.com for a more
On the cover:
in-depth version of this article.
Pixar’s “music men” told the story of the
Band” with music, not words. See pg. 10.
© 2006 Pixar.
studio’s animated short film “One Man
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Computer Graphics World | 1
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editor’snote
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Kelly Dove
Editor-in-Chief
French Inspiration
KELLY DOVE : Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
KAREN MOLTENBREY: Executive Editor
[email protected]
Lively, captivating, and often dark, French animation continues to inspire
artists worldwide. And, in Valenciennes, France, art is more than pretty pictures;
it is a way of life—even for the local government.
On a recent trip to Lille and Valenciennes, two cosmopolitan towns near
Paris, I was introduced to a new way of teaching and inspiring artists to pur-
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS:
Jenny Donelan, Audrey Doyle,
Evan Marc Hirsch, George Maestri,
Martin McEachern, Stephen Porter,
Barbara Robertson
SUZANNE HEISER: Art Director
[email protected]
sue their passions while helping them to “achieve the dream.”
It all starts in the schools, where artists are put through rigorous testing to prove their
talents long before they are accepted into an art program. One such school, Supinfocom,
DAN RODD: Senior Illustrator
[email protected]
BARBARA ANN BURGESS: Production Manager
which I visited in Valenciennes, requires students to work on a project, such as a brand
[email protected]
identifier for a mock company, creating a unique artistic treatment based on a strict list
CHRISTINE WARD: Ad Traffic Manager
of criteria. This type of project is a pre-qualifier for admittance, and only a handful of
[email protected]
students will make the cut—space is limited, and only the crème de la crème students
SUSAN HUGHES: Marketing Communications Manager
will be fortunate enough to add the school to their resume. While it would certainly be
easy for the school to expand and admit students who have more promise (and money)
[email protected]
MICHELLE BLAKE: Circulation Manager
michelleb@pennwell
than talent, it’s pretty obvious the school’s leaders value a solid reputation more than a
hefty bank account. Also at Supinfocom is SupinfoGames, which offers similarly structured admittance requirements, but with a focus on game creation and development.
During the first and second year, students at Supinfocom focus on design and animation using programs such as After Effects. Teamwork becomes vital in the third year
as groups of three and four students are challenged to use the latest 3D modeling and
MARK FINKELSTEIN: Vice President,
Computers & Electronics Group
[email protected]
COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD
Executive and Editorial Offices:
98 Spit Brook Rd.
Nashua, NH 03062-5737
(603)891-0123; FAX:(603)891-0539
animation software to create animated projects. Team-based learning is certainly not a
new concept. The challenge for the small team of students is to work together to create
CGW ONLINE: www.cgw.com
For customer service and subscription inquiries only:
an animated short—from start to finish—and compete against other classmates and stu-
[email protected] TEL: (847) 559-7500 FAX: (847) 291-4816
dents from other schools at E-Magiciens, a small trade show and conference similar to
Graphics World, P.O. Box 3296, Northbrook, IL 60065
SIGGRAPH in the early days, only with an enormous animation festival/competition.
While there are certainly many training facilities in the US that offer team-based learning, most are focused on instructor-driven projects and ideas that utilize large groups of
students to produce an animated project. At Supinfocom, the average team size is three
students, and everyone is involved in each phase of the production
Pretty pictures
help launch
POSTMASTER: Send change of address form to Computer
We make portions of our subscriber list available to
carefully screened companies that offer products and
services that may be important for your work. If you do
not want to receive those offers and/or information,
please let us know by contacting us at List Services,
Computer Graphics World, 98 Spit Brook Road,
Nashua, NH 03062.
pipeline—from modeling and animation to compositing and editing of the final project. Clearly, as the teams establish a rhythm, the
individual strengths of the team members are identified, and the
small business
team divides and conquers to meet their deadline. The ultimate
in France.
goal for the students is to be on the winning team at E-Magiciens;
winners are quickly recruited to join top studios.
ROBERT F. BIOLCHINI
President and Chief Executive Officer
ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY DIVISION
GLORIA S. ADAMS
Vice President Audience Development
Perhaps the most inspirational part of my trip was realized while visiting with The
Valenciennes Chamber of Commerce, and seeing firsthand its commitment to the DCC
ATD PUBLISHING DEPARTMENTS
MEG FUSCHETTI
ATD Art Director
community. The Chamber funds a business incubator with self-contained offices, where
content creators can move right in and get right to business, utilizing their talent without worrying about overhead, business equipment, etc. The incubator has everything
you need—a boardroom, a small television studio, and even a cafeteria—to get business
off the ground. But the gravy train doesn’t last forever. There is a three-year time limit to
MARI RODRIGUEZ
ATD Production Director
PRINTED IN THE USA
GST No. 126813153
Publications Mail Agreement No. 40052420
get established, and once companies are successful, they must move on to allow for new
businesses to incubate. It’s a commitment to the DCC community that cities in the States
should consider adopting to help more small studio owners “achieve the dream.”
2
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spotlight
Your resource for products, user applications, news, and market research
PRODUCTS
EFFECTS TOOLS
Silhouette FX Introduces Nondestructive Painting
Silhouette Paint from Silhouette FX
erase, blemish, mosaic, and grain
matically matchmoved. Blemishes, for
example, can be automatically erased
offers a nondestructive motion-sta-
brushes to 8-bit, 16-bit, and floating-
bilized paint tool for image resto-
point clips. To match a foreground ele-
over time. Silhouette Paint is priced at
ration, dust busting, and wire and
ment, paint sources can be transformed
$495 and Silhouette Roto sells for $595.
rig removal that the company says
on the fly by rotation, corner pinning,
can handle the demands of motion-
and scaling in addition to being offset
picture and television visual effects.
in time or XY space. Four independent
The product is available as an add-on
clone sources are maintained simulta-
to Silhouette’s Roto application, a stand-
neously for added flexibility.
Silhouette Paint can be integrated
alone tool, or a plug-in for Adobe’s Final
with Silhouette Roto’s Shape tool for
Cut Pro and After Effects.
In addition to multi-layered match-
motion tracking, variable-edge soft-
moving capabilities, Silhouette Paint
ness, and realistic motion blur. Brushes
can nondestructively apply color, tint,
can be applied to shape layers and auto-
IMAGE LIBRARIES
Ready for Combustion
4 on the Mac?
Autodesk Media and Entertainment’s Discreet Combus-
PRODUCTS
PRODUCTS
VISUAL EFFECTS
tion 4 visual effects software is now available for the
4
See the Forest, the
Trees, and the Signs
Dosch Design has introduced five new collections in
its Dosch Viz-Images series, offering everything from
Mac OS. The latest release offers vector paint, particles,
road signs and streetlamps to plants and trees. Three
effects animation, and 3D compositing for use in the cre-
new Road Sign libraries each have 500 images that
ation of motion
include hazard, right-of-way, speed limit, construc-
pictures, episodic
tion and tour-
television shows,
ism signs and
and commercials.
symbols
New features in
JPEG format.
Combustion 4 in-
The
Forest
collec-
in
clude a diamond
Trees
keyer, time warp,
tion features
B-spline
vector
100 trees, and the Urban Features collection includes
shapes and group
benches, hydrants, streetlamps, mailboxes, and more.
pointing, custom
The images in these two collections are supplied in
capsules, an optimized Gaussian Blur, merge operator,
uncompressed TIFF, PSD, and JPEG formats. All col-
and enhanced paint tools. Combustion 4 for the Mac is
lections support CAD, 3D design, and image-process-
priced at $995.
ing programs, and are priced at $79 each.
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Inspire
You are the creator. You look for inspiration
everywhere. You want your work to inspire others.
You constantly desire something that will take
your designs to the next level, keep you competitive.
Productive. You want to lead, not follow.
Something great is here now.
Introducing
The Powerful, Approachable, Complete 3D Solution
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experience it at eovia.com
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Video
viewpoint
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Adobe’s Suite Production
By Kathleen Maher
Someday video might replace
newspapers, e-mail, and even
magazines. Not that this would
necessarily be a good thing, but
video is becoming a significant
form of mass communication.
And, as video goes digital, it becomes a
more fluid medium, moving from the TV,
to the PC, to handheld devices. And it will
have to shape-shift accordingly. Adobe’s
latest lineup of video tools and utilities
is designed to keep up
with new applications for
video and to simplify the
lives of Adobe’s customers, which is not a simple
task by any stretch of the
imagination.
Kathleen Maher
is a senior analyst at
Jon Peddie Research,
a Tiburon, CA-based
consultancy specializing
in graphics and multimedia,
and editor in chief of
JPR’s “TechWatch.”
She can be reached at
[email protected].
Adobe
revamps
its video
products and
There are plenty of
contenders for the attention of video professionals, including Avid’s
Production Studio’s Bridge component is a centralized file browser with media management
capabilities, allowing users to find and work with all files related to projects within any of
the Production Suite modules.
Adobe has a long history in digital video with its Premiere and After Effects software and, in piling it all into one box, the company is trying to give its customers what
Pinnacle line of products,
they want—true compatibility between the different modules of the Production Studio,
Sony’s Vegas+ DVD suite
better tools for collaboration, new presets for After Effects, more and better templates,
and a swarm of upstarts
enhanced ease of use for DVD creation, and fundamental improvements in Audition.
led by Sonic and Ulead,
Adobe appears to be aim-
The Pieces of the Production
ing directly at Apple.
Adobe’s newest release of Production Studio is available in two versions: Standard,
Yet, Adobe is exploiting
which includes After Effects 7.0, Premiere Pro 2.0, and Photoshop CS2 ($1199) and
several advantages—its
Premium, which adds Audition 2.0, Encore DVD 2.0, and Illustrator CS2 ($1,699).
ownership of creative
One of the guiding principles for Adobe’s development is that the use of Photoshop
tools such as Photoshop
and Illustrator is almost universal among creative professionals, making back-and-
and Illustrator (which are
forth compatibility a built-in advantage for Production Studio users right from the
ubiquitous in the indus-
start. Expanding on this, Adobe has created consistently similar environments for
try), its possession of PDF
Premiere Pro, After Effects, and Audition.
(the de facto standard
for document exchange),
Taking intercommunication between the software programs even further, Adobe
has added Dynamic Link, which enables users to work smoothly within modules with-
takes aim
and its acquisition of
out having to perform intermediate rendering. I talked to people who were already
Macromedia’s Flash, a
using the Production Suite as beta testers for Adobe and they universally tipped their
leading format for small
hat to the power of Dynamic Link.
at Apple.
form animation used
For example, Michael Kolowich of Diginovations in Concord, Massachusetts, works
widely in phones and
with Adobe’s video products to create corporate videos for the area’s universities
on the Web.
and museums. He notes that the freedom of working interchangeably with Premiere
6 | Computer Graphics World
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Chris Randall of Edit 1 Media specializes in wedding videos and corporate videos. In fact, he finds that one business
often feeds the other. Most of the time, Randall and his team
will shoot the video while Randall’s wife takes over the editing
tasks. Randall favors the new multicam features in Premiere
Pro to simultaneously view and work with multiple sources,
since the workloads at small production houses can be staggering. In fact, he recently was editing 15 video projects simultaneously. Randall notes anything that helps make his job easier
and reduce editing time goes straight to his bottom line.
Videographers are also coming to grips with the transition to HD. Interestingly, video producers are fi nding that
Encore DVD’s flowchart simplifies organization when creating interactive
menus, multiple audio tracks, subtitle tracks, and more.
even their wedding clients are becoming interested in HD
video because they’re buying high-def large screen TVs
and looking ahead. Corporate clients are likewise moving
Pro and After Effects is “incalculable.”
to HD, and, of course, the broadcast industry is racing to get to HD. But the other
Interoperability, notes Kolowich, actually
reality of video is that it’s big and demanding. Luckily, hardware manufacturers
makes the programs more powerful than
are coming to the rescue. To keep up with the trend, Adobe has added support for
they would be on their own. For example,
the Aja Xena HS and also native support for HDV. In addition, Adobe’s support for
he says that one of the aspects of video
OpenGL gives hardware graphics boards the ability to accelerate processes. One
that separates professionals from amateurs
of the most obvious advantages will be support for high dynamic range imagery,
is the skillful use of animated titles. He
thanks to OpenGL, and also support for effects and plug-ins.
has been able to take advantage of Adobe’s
Adobe was among the first to spawn a plug-in community with its SDK for Photoshop
inclusion of text animation and presets in
After Effects since the last introduction of
Adobe’s Production Suite, but now feels
like it is an embedded utility. “It’s like the
Adobe Titler on steroids,” he says.
Other work flow improvements in
the Production Suite include Bridge,
Adobe’s name for its centralized file
browser with media management that
helps users find and work with all the
files related to projects within any of the
Production Suite modules. Also, Adobe
has added DVD creation to its Premiere
Pro program, recognizing that users
may need to quickly output a DVD with
good-looking menus rather than go to
Encore to create a professional-level DVD
designed for distribution.
Adobe’s attention to work flow issues
speaks to some of the challenges its customers face. A large part of the video
professional market is made up of small
__________
studios—owners are very often the creative director, the videographer, and the
IT person. For the small house, work
flow and communication can be particularly challenging because it involves the
shooting and editing of sound and video,
delivery, client input, and so on.
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and, later, for After Effects. It is continu-
Kolowich is encour-
ing the effort by reaching outto third-party
aged by the potential
partners in video hardware, such as Aja,
of the wide-ranging
for example, and also audio hardware
hosts for video and the
partners, third-party software developers,
merger between Adobe
training program developers, and expert
and Macromedia. As a
support. The evolution of OpenGL and
former executive with
Adobe’s enthusiastic exploitation of the
Lotus and publisher at
API definitely opens up new opportunities
Ziff-Davis. Kolowich
for hardware and software developers.
is also a veteran of the
Adobe has made several significant
vast changes in work
improvements to Audition and, as a
habits caused by digi-
result, believes many customers will be
tal technology and the
able to work totally within Audition, and
arrival of the Internet.
not rely on additional products for audio
In his work with college marketing he sees giant change coming as kids who grew
work. Features, such as support for ASIO
up swimming in digital media reach college and the workplace. “It’s a tsunami,” he
Audition’s Spectral View can be used to apply effects or edits to
select frequencies of a particular time span.
(Audio Stream Input/Output) for multi-
says of the change in media that’s on the way. As a video producer, he sees that radi-
channel hardware, puts Audition more
cal new ways of working will have to be developed to create content suitable for HD
firmly within the realm of professional
and content that can be sent to mobile phones, media players, and online. Kids, he
audio products, and Frequency Space
believes, will treat video just like they treat words, pictures, and music.
Editing lets users zero in on a particular
With Production Studio, Adobe is concentrating on the professional side of the
sound, or frequency, to actually see the
equation but with key technologies in video and communications, Adobe is well
area that needs work.
positioned to ride the wave as it changes our concept of media.
The Bottom Line
As always, it’s not about the pieces, it’s
about the whole. Much of the Adobe
Production Studio has been evolving to
this point—some of the features, such
as presets, titles, frequency space editing for Audition, and so on, were actually included in earlier versions of the
software. Nor are these features unique,
but they are necessary. Apple’s Final Cut
Pro, for example, has multi-cam features,
Apple introduced Motion to compete with
After Effects, and Apple has very strong
audio editing tools. What’s most important is the way the pieces fit together and
the way in which they enable people to
work with each other creatively. Perhaps
one of the most revolutionary additions
to the Creative Suite Production Studio
won’t even be realized until the product is used in the creative community. Adobe has enhanced its Acrobat
PDF format to work with video content,
allowing collaborators and customers to
attach notes for items such as sequence
__________
fi xes, additions, deletions, etc.
And, some of the real changes in
the use of video are just taking shape.
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CW
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Animation
Sweet
dictable outcome, one or two characters,
and one environment. With this list in
mind, they developed three stories: one
from Andrews, one from Jimenez, and a
third, which became “One Man Band.”
“We’re both musicians, so we wondered what we could do with music,”
says Andrews. “That’s how we came up
with the image of a one-man band.”
Then, they added a second character.
“Our idea was to have one character
who is good at something (but doesn’t try
very hard) challenged by someone younger
and better,” says Jimenez. “We showed
CG shorts enable digital filmmakers to explore
the ideas to John [Lasseter, the executive
novel styles, stories, and techniques
He said, ‘I can see Andy in that character
producer] and he lasered in on this one.
[Treble] and Mark in the other one [Bass].”
At first, the directors sketched storyboards that had the musicians perform-
One Man Band
Pixar rarely enters its short films in com-
ing for a crowd. Eventually, the crowd
began to shrink until the audience comfilms exercise new talents. This film gave
prised a mother and a little girl, and then,
petition these days. Instead, the Oscar-
several artists, from lead animator Angus
only the child. One reason for the change
winning studio releases a short with each
MacLane to the directors, their first supervi-
was the budget. “The short-film directors
feature film and showcases the films at
sory opportunities. “Our biggest gain on this
learn to work within creative boundar-
festivals, albeit out of competition. To
film is that we had new people in every lead-
ies,” says Shurer. “There are per-charac-
qualify for this Oscar race, the studio qui-
ership role,” says producer Osnat Shurer.
ter costs and set costs.”
etly screened its “One Man Band” in a
The film originated as a challenge from
commercial theater. The short’s world pre-
Ed Catmull, Pixar’s founder and presi-
miere, though, was at Annecy, and its US
dent, to Andrews and Jimenez.
premiere during the December opening
The pair had followed
of the Pixar exhibition of artwork at the
director Brad Bird to
Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
the studio to create
Adds Andrews: “We had to focus on
the center and go for that, and work
with economies of time and
emotion.”
Once the crowd
shrank,
the
story
Directed by Mark Andrews and Andrew
storyboards for The
changed. “When we
Jimenez, “One Man Band” takes place
Incredibles. Before
got rid of the crowd,
in an old-world piazza. There, a peasant
that, both had
it gave the film
child about to toss a coin into a fountain
worked on Bird’s
heart,” says Jimenez.
becomes the focus of a musical sparring
The Iron Giant.
of Catmull’s challenge.
r.
short,” says Andrews
lar, has his arms filled with an accordion,
ing.”
6
Bass, the piazza’s one-man band regu-
just two guys fightxa
Pi
we’d l i ke to do a
20
0
“He asked if
lar and a charming, flashy new performer.
“Before that, it was
©
match between a tired, tune-making regu-
Because the “dialog”
in the story is the music
drum, tuba, clarinet, cymbals, and a few
“So, we did lunch and
played by the two per-
horns. Treble, the energetic upstart, wields
tried to come up with an
formers, the directors
the other in turn, but soon the compe-
The character Tinny holds the
coin that prompted a battle of
idea. But we kept coming the one-man bands in Pixar
up with ideas for features. Animation Studios’ latest short.
tition for the little girl’s coin turns into a
We had to define the
cacophony, with both musicians playing at
parameters for a short.” In addition to
the same time, one on each side of the girl,
length, they listed the following: a single
two themes that escalate and then over-
until she . . . well, that would be a spoiler.
idea that an audience can get in 10 to 15
lap when the one-man bands play simul-
Sometimes Pixar creates short films to
seconds, variations on that idea which
taneously. An orchestra of 38 musicians
exercise new technology; sometimes the
predict an outcome, a twist on the pre-
played the music.
bows and piccolos. At first, each upstages
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....
needed a musical score
before they started production. Michael Giacchino,
who scored The Incredibles, composed
FEBRUARY 2006
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Animation
“[Lasseter] said it had to sound like
live music,” notes Jimenez, “like real
people were playing it. So, we recorded
the sounds of fingers sliding on metal.”
Although the animators sometimes
had the characters accurately play the
notes from the sound track, the two
one-man bands don’t have enough
fingers to match the music through- The “One Man Band” musicians Treble (at left) and Bass (at right) were modeled after directors
out the film. Instead, judicious use of
© 2006 Pixar.
Andy Jimenez and Mark Andrews, respectively. Each character required several hundred shaders.
close-up shots of fingers on strings and cheeks puffed out to
blow horns convince the audience that the characters are creating the complex sounds.
“A savvy CG person will see that it’s a parts kit, but the average viewer will probably see a city,” says Polson.
The crew also used matte paintings in the background and
The number of instruments became an interesting challenge
in the foreground. “If you see shrubbery, that’s a matte painting,”
for the technical team: Each character had many surfaces. “Each
says Polson. “Our rule is that if we model a building, that’s how
surface needs a shader, a texture map, and application space,”
we make a building, and we’ll use it all the way into the back-
says Bill Polson, supervising technical director. “You’d open up
ground for continuity. If it’s too heavy, we’ll decimate it. We don’t
a character, and the list of shaders would scroll up and down
have near buildings one way and far ones another way, because
the page—10 kinds of brass, the felt on the keys for the trum-
then we’d have to worry about matching.” There is one exception:
pet plungers, 10 kinds of wood...it goes on and on.” Although
The tile roofs on distant buildings were rendered onto cards.
the studio has built an infrastructure to handle that complexity
For lighting, the directors made a painterly choice. “The
for the upcoming feature Cars, that infrastructure didn’t exist for
Zen of lighting was that we had light over dark over light over
Finding Nemo or for “One Man Band.”
dark,” says Polson. That is, they’d place a brightly lit character
“Our pipeline at that point hadn’t handled characters with 400
in front of something dark, such as a building, and that building
or 500 shaders attached to them—it’s not like a fish that has four
would be in front of something bright, which would be in front
or five,” Lucas says, “so we just carried around big data files.”
of something dark. To make this lighting seem logical, they cre-
To create the city surrounding the piazza, the team began
ated a cloudy day, which made it possible to place the characters
with six buildings. “If you look at a building from one angle,
in pools of light. Haze filters softened any brightly lit buildings.
you see one arrangement of windows and doors,” says Polson.
Pixar uses its own RenderMan for rendering, outputting the
“If you turn it 180 degrees, you see a different arrangement.” So,
scenes in numerous layers, which were composited in Apple’s Shake.
by rotating the six buildings, they created 12 variations. Five
“With this film, we had a wonderful opportunity to work
different roofs and three types of shutters randomly placed in
with an existing, stable pipeline rather than the latest, greatest
open and closed positions created additional variations, as did
stuff,” says Polson. “I’m becoming a real advocate for that in the
a mixture of shaders.
studio.” —Barbara Robertson
The Mysterious Geographic Explorations
of Jasper Morello
Australian animator Anthony Lucas of
“It’s a ‘steampunk adventure,’” says
stop-motion characters, the stars of this
3-D Films turned 2D cutouts, stop-
Lucas. “William Gibson did a steam-
film are silhouettes: 2D cutouts. “The
motion animation, and 3D backgrounds
punk book set within an alternate uni-
adventure takes place in an alternate uni-
into a 28-minute Gothic horror/mystery/
verse in Victorian times. It doesn’t come
verse where light doesn’t reflect,” Lucas
adventure that has taken the festivals by
from that, but having fi nished the fi lm,
explains. “That’s why the characters are
storm. It’s a science-fiction film set in
I fi nd myself in that genre.” Instead,
silhouettes. Also, I like the look of it. I
the past and filled with Victorian Rube
Lucas was inspired by writers Edgar
guess I worked out a reason for why this
Goldberg
Allan Poe and Jules Verne.
world is like it is.”
machines—steam-powered
computers and iron airships.
CW
Although Lucas typically works with
FEBRUARY 2006
The film is set in the clouds; there is
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Animation
no ground. The star, Jasper Morello, is an
junk, like car engines and hubcaps, and
Maya particles. Compositors then com-
aerial navigator who embarks on a dan-
made the backgrounds out of that in
bined all these images in Autodesk’s
gerous voyage and, along the way, must
[Adobe’s] Photoshop,” says Lucas. “Then
Discreet Combustion, and added glows
take desperate measures to save his wife.
we put proxies of our characters over these
and color tints to the scene. “We put a tint
Lucas started with a script and story-
backgrounds to create new storyboards.
throughout the film, and the tint changes,”
boards—600 drawings by storyboard
As the scenes came up, I’d print the pages
says Lucas. “Because this is an alternate
artist David Cook. From those, the crew
and throw them in front of the animators.”
universe that echoes Victorian times, or
created animatics. Then, they redid the
The animators used those poses—cre-
maybe even longer ago because there’s
storyboards. “We photographed bits of
ated for about every 12 frames—to com-
still a plague, we wanted a sepia look all
plete the animation. Animators worked
the way through. But, we changed the tint
with CelAction’s CelAction2D software
to echo locations.” Jungles are green, for
to create the characters, animating them
example; ice is cool blue.
For “Jasper Morello,” director Anthony Lucas
created an environment using photographs
and 3D clouds, made 3D machines, and then
placed animated 2D “cutout” characters into
the environment.
on white backgrounds as if they were live-
The characters, however, are always
action actors on greenscreen stages. “You
black. “I didn’t want the characters to look
make a figure as a 2D object, and hinge
like normal CG things,” Lucas says. “I
it like a puppet,” explains Lucas. “It’s
adore Pixar films. As a short filmmaker, I
classic cutout animation. We give it a 3D
loved ‘Boundin’.’ My kid loved ‘Boundin’.’
spin—they look 3D when they turn their
Anything with hope in that abundance
should be promoted. But we aren’t Pixar.
heads, but they’re not.”
© 2004 3D Films / AFC / SBSi / Film Victoria.
Because the characters are always sil-
This is an independent film. We were
houetted, they’re always jet-black, although
going for a graphic style. If you do cheap,
the flat planes have a bit of texture to cre-
low-level 3D, it’s not very sexy.”
ate such detail as buttons. The posed sil-
At 28 minutes, Lucas’s short anima-
houettes are output as Photoshop files. “We
tion is rather long, yet its cinematic quality
slide the Photoshop files on top of each
has caused reviewers to ask for more. And,
other to make it look like the characters
Lucas has begun working on ways to con-
turn around,” explains Lucas.
tinue the story—with more half-hour seg-
To create the iron flyingships that float
ments and, perhaps, as a feature.
through the sky, the crew used Autodesk
It certainly sounds like hope has
Media and Entertainment’s 3ds Max; to
found its way to this animation studio in
create the clouds, they used (Autodesk)
Australia, too. —Barbara Robertson
The Moon and the Son
Film historian, author, teacher, animator, and director of the
Canemaker’s “most personal work ever—and his most brilliant.”
animation program at New York University’s Tisch School of
Canemaker writes, “I made this film to resolve long-stand-
the Arts, John Canemaker created a 28-minute animated imagi-
ing emotional issues I have with my late father. I wanted to find
nary conversation with his father that recently won the Fabrizio
answers to our difficult relationship, to understand the reasons
Bellocchio Prize for Best Social Content at the I Castelli Animati
he was always a feared figure in my childhood, why he was
animation festival in Genzano, Italy. Film historian Leonard
always angry and defensive, verbally and physically abusive,
Maltin calls the animation, titled “The Moon and the Son,”
and often in trouble with the law.”
Images courtesy John Canemaker.
Animator John
Canemaker uses
drawings to personify emotions
on the screen and
make what’s in
the mind become
alive in his film.
CW
FEBRUARY 2006
“The Moon and the Son,” which features the voices of actors
Eli Wallach and John Turturro as father and son, respectively,
was traditionally drawn.
Even so, the film was cut and sound effects were added
with an Avid system; the composure used Apple’s Logic Pro
to compose, print, and mix the music, and Adobe’s Photoshop
to scan and edit three of the scenes. Apple’s Final Cut Pro
helped the team put it all together. —Barbara Robertson
______
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Animation
Imago
Created by Cédric Babouche of Sacrebleu
The fi lmmaker started with a hand-
Productions in Paris, “Imago” tells the
drawn storyboard, which he scanned
story of Antoine, who lost his father in a
into Photoshop to work on the lighting.
plane crash. “He loved his father so much,”
“It’s really important for me to show what
says Babouche, “that he created his own
the light will look like as soon as I can,”
world to share secret moments with him.
he says.
reality comes from fairy tales. So, he
transforms the special moments he spent
with his father into metaphorical dreams.
Because they spent a lot of time near a
tree at the seaside, the tree became a symbol, and when it disappears in a storm, he
understands that he has to grow up.”
The inspiration for this film came from
Babouche also created nearly 100
Image courtesy Cédric Babouche.
Because he is a child, his perception of
backgrounds by hand. He started with
a 2B pencil on paper, colored the drawings with watercolors and ink, and then
scanned them into Photoshop. He composited the sequences in Combustion using
For “Imago,” French animator Cédric
Babouche placed hand-drawn animated
characters on 3D and painted backgrounds.
Hayao Miyazaki’s film Porco Rosso, in
that software program’s Particle Illusions
for effects. “Compositing was the most
important step because of the mix of 2D
and 3D,” says Babouche. “I didn’t want to
which a plane crashes into a tree. “When I saw that beautiful pic-
use any 3D lighting, which is colder than 2D lights, so I drew all
ture of the plane crash, I said I would like to use the spirit of that
the shadows and lights with masks in After Effects.”
image for a project,” Babouche says. “Also, my father is a very
Babouche began working on the script in October 2003, and
special person who I don’t see a lot and don’t really know. So this
began production in July 2004. He finished the following April.
film talks about the feeling of missing somebody and the way we
He now plans to use the same process to create a feature film for
can create our own world to fill loneliness.”
which he’s nearly completed a script.
The characters in “Imago” are 2D; the backgrounds, 3D.
“I don’t want to use only 3D because I like the freedom water-
Babouche used Crater Software’s CTP software for the 2D ani-
color offers,” Babouche says. “I want my future projects to look
mation line tests, Adobe’s Photoshop for painting the scanned
like illustrations.”
drawings, Cambridge Animation Systems’ Animo for timing,
Autodesk Media and Entertainment’s 3ds Max and the com-
Barbara Robertson is an award-winning journalist and a contrib-
pany’s Maya for 3D, and Adobe’s After Effects and Autodesk’s
uting editor for Computer Graphics World. She can be reached at
Discreet Combustion for compositing.
[email protected].
9
The junkyard world inhabited by the lit- “9” numerous awards—including Best in
Workshop. He started out with a bit of a
tle burlap-covered characters of Shane
Show at SIGGRAPH’s 2005 Electronic
handicap, however: His background was
Acker’s short film, “9,” is a large and scary
Theater—making it eligible as an Oscar
in drawing and 2D animation, and “9”
one. Though it offers the characters plenty
contender in the short-film category. The
marked his first exposure to 3D. Thus, it
of opportunities for scavenging—which
nine-minute CG film has attracted so
was a case of baptism by fire.
seems to be their principal occupation—
much attention, in fact, that it is going
“I bit off more than I could chew with
it’s also home to a malevolent predator
to be developed into a feature film, with
‘9,’” Acker admits. In fact, the film proved
that hunts them relentlessly. How the main
Acker directing and Tim Burton and oth-
so difficult and time-consuming that
character, 9, responds to this challenge is a
ers aboard as producers.
Acker ended up taking periodic breaks
triumph of reason over instinct, or brain over
brawn. Or, just possibly, good over evil.
A thoughtful plot, with edge-of-your-
Success of this magnitude seemed
from it (including a stint working on The
worlds away during the four and a half
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King for
years that Acker spent working on “9.”
Weta Digital) in order to earn a living.
seat action and richly detailed and origi-
He began the film as his thesis project
One thing that kept Acker going over
nal modeling and animation have earned
while a student at UCLA’s Animation
the years was the strength of his original
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where companies dream in hypercolor.
Business is busting at the seams for Orlando’s digital
media sector. Home to top-notch studios like Electronic
Arts, specialized higher-ed training programs, and the
world’s largest concentration of simulation developers,
it’s no wonder companies around here are so animated.
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Animation
concept. “I had the idea of these little rag
anchor for the film: Since he had to work
was somewhat painterly. In fact, there are
doll creatures that would pick through
on it between paying gigs, it was good for
quite a few large matte paintings used in
their environment,” he explains. That
him to be able to have the animatic as a
the film. To composite the imagery, the
environment would be more or less post-
guide so he wouldn’t lose focus.
filmmaker used Adobe’s After Effects.
apocalyptic, and the rag dolls would rep-
Acker employed keyframing for all the
Since “9” has no dialog, the characters’
resent the beginning of a new civilization.
animation in the film. The cat-beast and its
actions must tell the story. And though
In a rough parallel to the way life might
movements are among the achievements
the main plot is simple enough in scope,
have been for our primitive hunter-gath-
in the film of which Acker is proudest. The
the film is full of many small and telling
erer ancestors, the rag doll characters look
character is made of cat bones, including a
details—actions that seem random at the
fairly helpless, but they get by using their
cat skull, that are interlaced with a metal
time but turn out to have great significance
wits. “They’re diminutive in scale,” says
armature. The cat-beast moves with a cat’s
later on. Moreover, there are some little
Acker, “and they’re living in an oppressive
sense of purpose, but there is something a
jokes throughout the film. The cat-beast,
world, yet they’re sort of good-natured.”
Another source of inspiration for Acker
was stop-motion animation, especially the
surreal and sometimes downright creepy
works of artists such as the Brothers Quay,
Jan Svankmajer, and the Lauenstein brothers. Acker admired their style, but viewed
it as a jumping-off point.
Acker began work on “9” with the story
itself—an 18-panel storyboard that started
Image courtesy Shane Acker.
with the main action scene, in which 9 is
pursued by the film’s villain, a mechanical cat-beast. At that point, Acker decided
that a lot more setup was required in order
to invest viewers in the action, so he added
another character—a mentor, called 5—
and also a flashback scene that would help
explain the challenges and motivations of
the film’s hero, 9.
Then, Acker created an animatic that
Like the characters he created for “9,” filmmaker Shane Acker himself became a scavenger
of sorts, collecting various textures for the bleak setting of his animated short.
bit reptilian about it as well. Like the rag
for example, hunts for nine characters, or
doll creatures, the beast is a scavenger, but
nine lives. And there is the almost requisite
also collects living things, and has a grue-
Pixar-type lamp, albeit a rusty version.
was so highly detailed, “it was almost a
some way of using them literally to add
All in all, though, says Acker, he is
true 2D film—or something in between a
onto itself. Whatever the creature’s moti-
happy with the decayed, down-and-out
traditional animatic and a 2D film.”
vations, it clearly wants something that the
look and feel of the film. “It’s hyper-
rag dolls have. “It recognizes their souls
detailed, but it’s also stylized and paint-
modeling and animation tools—albeit while
in them, and is attempting to become like
erly,” he says. Certainly his attention to
he was creating the film. Acker maintains
them,” explains Acker.
the grit and grime of urban decay has paid
The next step was learning to use 3D
that “drawing is at the heart” of his film,
In order to create the variety of tex-
though he very much wanted to make use
tures that are an important part of
of CG animation to suggest the stop-motion
Acker’s artistic achievement, he became
In the end, the hero’s brains, and his
look he admired. The filmmaker estimates
a scavenger himself. He collected items
use of tools, win the day. The 9 character
that he spent about two and a half years
with interesting textures that he could
rescues the souls of his predecessors, and
in the preproduction phase of the movie,
photograph, scan, and then manipu-
in the final scene, seems to be leaving his
doing modeling, rigging, matte paintings,
late in Adobe’s Photoshop. He also pho-
bleak world, traveling alone. It’s a hope-
and so forth, all the while learning to use
tographed broken-down parts of Los
ful scene, and it also sets him up for fur-
Autodesk Media and Entertainment’s Maya.
Angeles that would add interest to his CG
ther adventures that just could happen in
environment of urban decay.
the forthcoming feature film.
When it was finally time for anima-
off in that despite its bleakness, there’s a
lot to see in this junkyard world.
tion, that original animatic proved invalu-
Acker employed Maya for lighting and
able. Acker used it as a kind of road map,
rendering. “I didn’t use a lot of raytrac-
replacing the 2D animation with 3D. In
ing,” he says, explaining that he was aim-
for Computer Graphics World. She can be
fact, he notes, the animatic was a kind of
ing at a less-than-real environment that
reached at [email protected].
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FEBRUARY 2006
Jenny Donelan is a contributing editor
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Scanning
Point
Person
S e r v i c e p r ov i d e r s g i ve s t u d i o s
Image
e a sy a cce ss t o 3 D sc a n n i n g
esy G
court
entle
By D e bra Kauf m a n
Giant.
A
lthough modeling and anima-
sculpting machine that measured the
The US Air Force was one of the first
tion software—and the images
human face accurately and quickly,” says
groups to identify the value of digital scan-
they create—tend to be the
Cyberware vice president Steve Addleman,
ning outside the entertainment realm. The
Air Force worked with physical anthropol-
stars of the computer graphics industry,
another son of the inventor. “The device
3D scanning plays a quiet but integral
was hooked to a computer-controlled mill-
ogists to achieve precise measurements of
role in the origin of many digital mod-
ing machine that would carve an image
the human body, to arrive at standards
els, from props and maquettes to celeb-
of what was scanned.” A head scan took
for helmets and suits. To achieve this goal,
rities and stunt actors. Initially, the CG
17 seconds, and the resulting carved foam
the military branch provided the money
industry had been fairly slow to embrace
bust could be completed in a few hours.
for Cyberware to develop a full-body scan-
the technology. Today, however, the use
What started as a small venture aimed
ner that could get the job done quickly—
of 3D scanning is prevalent throughout
at artists and sculptors took a huge leap
“a person can only stand still for 15 to 20
the entertainment realm, and new appli-
forward thanks to powerful Silicon
cations continue to emerge.
Graphics computers, which, for the first
The resulting full-body scanner com-
Cyber-scanning technology was devel-
time, enabled the scanned data to be ren-
prised a precise motion system and four
oped over two decades ago by Cyberware
dered as a surface. “You could actually see
scan heads mounted onto horizontal
(Monterrey, CA) as a family hobby,
the data,” recalls Addleman. Soon after,
arms on tall towers. The new device also
the brainchild of a retired aero-
Hollywood came knocking—in the form of
scanned color and, per the Air Force’s
space engineer, his artist
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home in 1986. For
requirement, was “portable” (large trucks
a special effects scene in which the heads
could transport it).
Service
wife, and their computer
provider Genprogrammer son.
tle Giant used its
“My dad wanted
Cyberware systems
to acquire scanned data
to make a
of actor Michael Caine (top
kind of
of page) for the effects in the
Austin Powers movie Goldmember.
CW
seconds,” Addleman points out.
of the bridge crew rolled out of the fog, a
With its focus on designing new 3D
seamless look required computer graphics,
scanners, Cyberware transitioned from
and the project began with scans of the
a service provider to a scanning equip-
Star Trek crew’s heads. After that success-
ment manufacturer; the company
ful experience, Hollywood became a fairly
continues to sell customized
frequent client of 3D scanning.
scanners for a wide range
FEBRUARY 2006
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Scanning
of uses, from archaeology to industrial
point,” explains Addleman. “Now, high-
often sculpt a perfect likeness [of an
design and the military. The company’s
res systems have 16 times the number of
object], take it into the studio for approval,
and they’d say, ‘Great, but it needs to be 10
products include the original head scan-
color values, and they’re located on and
ners, small- and large-object scanners,
in between every X, Y, Z location, which
percent larger,’’’ recalls Steve Chapman,
and the whole-body scanner, all priced
enables the image to bear much closer
vice president of technology. “And we’d
between $20,000 and $400,000.
inspection. But it’s still not enough.”
have to resculpt the entire thing by hand.
Dedicated to Service
value of 3D scanning, other companies
digitally scan [the model] and then out-
According to Addleman, there is a rea-
in recent years have fostered the technol-
put it on a 3D printer (rapid-prototyping
son why Hollywood film-production
ogy’s growth and usage, particularly in
machine), that problem would be solved.”
companies and computer game devel-
the entertainment industry, by offering
opers utilize scanning services, rather
scanning services.
While Cyberware proved the initial
Then it occurred to us that if we could
In 1997, Gentle Giant bought a Cyberware scanner, and soon after, started
than purchasing scanners themselves.
Upping the ante is researcher Paul
“The scanners are very productive, so it’s
Debevec at the Institute for Creative Tech-
more efficient for clients to buy the time
nologies in Marina del Rey, California,
rather than the scanner,” he says. A film,
where an image-based lighting technique
investing in more 3D scanners and more
printers. And, business boomed.
Whereas
many
scanning
service
bureaus serve several industries, 99 per-
game, or TV commercial can take advan-
is being applied to the human face. This
cent of Gentle Giant’s business is from
tage of the specialized skills of a service
process enables the capture of the human
visual effects facilities serving the motion-
bureau’s experienced staff without incur-
face from every direction that light can
picture industry. According to Chapman,
ring the cost of the equipment. They can
pass, which results in a perfect-fidelity
Gentle Giant’s work sometimes begins in
also benefit from the latest technology
image of the face. Debevec’s latest appli-
the preproduction phase of a project, with
developments and customized solutions.
cation enables the capture of the human
the creation of designs and sculptures
Some of the recent advancements in
face from arbitrary camera viewpoints
for characters; other times, the group
the technology include increased reso-
and in performance, which Sony Pictures
becomes involved in the production phase,
lution and higher-quality texture maps.
Imageworks used to generate digital faces
scanning actors and props on set.
Increasing the measured points on a sur-
in Spider-Man 2 and Weta Digital used for
face provides more detail—for instance,
Naomi Watts’s face in King Kong.
How the team provides the resulting
datasets to the VFX companies depends
the valley of a wrinkle or the break of a
Debevec says that although typical 3D
on the client. “[Industrial Light & Magic],
lip. Visual effects clients also want high-
scanning does indeed result in texture
for example, has an intrinsic work flow
quality texture maps with a full range
maps for the face and body, it imposes lim-
for dealing with scanned data, so we give
of colors. “The original systems had one
itations. “If you map a person’s face onto
them raw data,” says Chapman. “Other
color value for every X, Y, Z location, or
nicely scanned geometry, you’ve wrapped
companies may not have the employees to
a photo around the face,” he
process the data from raw points to some-
says. “You can only change
thing animatable, so we’ll do it for them.”
Below shows actress
Jessica Vallot while she
is scanned in “Light
Stage 2” at USC’s
Institute for Creative
Technologies. Right is
the virtual image of
Vallot’s face.
....
that by editing out the
Rhythm & Hues recently had Gentle
effects of lighting and then
Giant scan actors, maquettes, and props
resimulating them, which is
for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the
difficult. This method cap-
Witch and the Wardrobe. “We probably did
tures shading that tells us
100 cyber scans for the film,” recounts Bill
how the face responds to
Westenhofer, the studio’s visual effects
light, independent of
supervisor. “They did a lot of the polygon
the illumination
cleanup, and we got a high-res scan. Then
it’s captured in.”
we created a low-res model that’s specific
to our needs for animation.
Gentle Giant
Pictur
es co
ur tesy
Paul D
eb
evec.
Founded in 1995,
Gentle Giant (Bur-
turning it into ordered polygons. “You ide-
bank, CA) got its
ally want to keep everything,” Chapman
start sculpting physi-
says, “but there are ways to make it more
cal maquettes for ani-
manageable, such as using displacement
mation studios and toy
maps instead of polygons to define
manufacturers. “We’d
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Processing the data is a simple matter of taking a random triangle layout and
texture and bump maps.”
FEBRUARY 2006
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Scanning
According to Chapman, the benefits of a production studio using 3D scanning go far beyond those
of the film’s basic completion. “When Warner Bros.
creates a Harry Potter, it’s not just creating a movie, but a marketing franchise that includes other ancillary products,” he says. “The
same data used to animate Harry for the movie is also used for the
video game as well as for the related toys and products.” For a VFX
Pictures courtesy Eyetronics.
facility, though, the focus is on the job at hand. So it’s hardly surprising then, that even though Rhythm & Hues is a major effects studio,
the company has no interest in bringing high-res scanning in-house,
comments Westenhofer. “The meat of our work is effects,” he says.
“There isn’t enough scanning [needs] for us to amortize the costs.”
Sony has also relied on Gentle Giant for scans the studio used
while creating effects in Spider-Man, The Polar Express, Spider-Man 2,
and, now, Spider-Man 3. Digital effects supervisor Peter Nofz reports
that Gentle Giant usually delivers the data as high-res polygonal
Eyetronics used its ShapeCam device (inset) to capture the digital
data of a pelican for the talking-animal film Racing Stripes. Other
recent work includes scans for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
tries as disparate as games and medical, providing systems rather
meshes in three formats, “to make sure that whomever needs it will
than services. Eyetronics sold its software, which calibrated the
have it.” He also requests the raw scan for cross-reference.
X, Y, Z positioning of a projected grid, while users bought their
Nofz is enthused about what he calls “the next leap” in 3D scan-
own camera and slide projector. But the number of different cam-
ning: instant photographic scans. “These photographic scanners
eras made that business model difficult to support, and the com-
will get the information and provide much more accurate meshes
pany subsequently switched to providing 3D scanning services.
instantaneously,” he says. “I hoped we would see it for Spider-Man 3
but now it’s [likely we’ll have it for] Spider-Man 4.”
In 2001, Eyetronics built a housing for the actual grid that
contained just one camera—currently an 8.3 megapixel Canon
EOS 20D that uses a flash that gives a 12-in. depth of field; a
Eyetronics
secondary flash provides a texture map. “It’s not a black box,”
Like Cyberware, Belgium-based Eyetronics—founded in 1998—
explains Tesi. “The hardware is an open system that allows us
manufactures digital scanners. Infrascan, a body-scanning
to bring in new technology as it becomes available.”
solution, derives a 3D model from a single image. To accom-
According to most vendors and users, the biggest challenge
plish this, a person is placed in the da Vinci pose (standing with
to using digital scanning is the postprocessing of the data. In the
legs and arms fully spread), and a pattern is projected onto the
case of Eyetronics, it uses computers sporting 3
subject while a camera takes a snapshot. Meanwhile, software
Nvidia Quadro FX cards, and 2GB of RAM. The end result is pro-
automatically calculates polygonal data based on the pattern
vided to a client as a file in any chosen 3D animation software,
GHz
processors,
deformations on the person. The total scanning process takes
such as Autodesk Media and Entertainment’s 3ds Max or Maya
less than five seconds, and measurements are calculated within
format. Delivering a 3D model that has a 4K color map and is ready
30 seconds. With the company’s Facesnatcher, designed for cap-
for animation makes the technology an easy sell to movie studios
turing face and hair details, two cameras take images while a
and game developers.
beam projects multiple patterns onto the subject’s face.
The three markets that Eyetronics serves are films, games,
When Eyetronics opened its Redondo Beach, California, office
and broadcast. Recent film work includes Batman Begins, Racing
in 2000, vice president of operations Nick Tesi pursued indus-
Stripes, and The Legend of Zorro. Tesi notes that Eyetronics has
Image courtesy Sony Pictures. © 2005 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.
Spider-Man character ® and © 2005 Marvel Characters, Inc.
recently seen an increase in business on the computer gaming side
as a result of the increased quality demands of next-gen gaming.
Continuing to raise the bar in digital scanning and the technology’s profile in the marketplace, Eyetronics has developed a
system for facial performance capture, which was used by Café
FX to create the Invisible Man in The League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen and by VFX supervisor Jeff Okun to generate a digital
stunt double of Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai. Also, the Motion
Picture Company utilized the system to create multiples of actor
Deep Roy for the oompa loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory (see “Eye Candy,” August 2005, pg. 16).
Gentle Giant provided Sony Pictures Imageworks with digital scans
for the studio’s effects work on Spider-Man 2.
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FEBRUARY 2006
At Café FX, technical animation supervisor Domenic Di
Giorgio recalls that, to create the Invisible Man, the group first
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Scanning
tested marker-based face-capture techniques but found
they didn’t give the level of detail needed to faithfully
Image © 2005 Universal Studios.
portray the actors’ mannerisms. “After testing with a
marker-based facial capture system, they ran the same
test with an Eyetronics scan, and we saw the level of
detail they could achieve,” he says. “It was our only
alternative, and Eyetronics worked closely with us to
refine its technology to meet our needs.”
Since then, Café FX has used Eyetronics-scanned
XYZ RGB provides scanned data in a number of formats and resolutions,
including 2K, which is ideal for its work on films like King Kong.
assets for work on Zathura and Blade: Trinity. “The
pg. 16). The first model of the ape contained six million poly-
meshes are clean,” says Di Giorgio. “And they can dial the reso-
gons; the last one, for Weta Digital, had 28 million polygons (split
lution up or down, which is handy for rigging and animation.”
into four chunks of seven million polys, perfectly registered and
Another new Eyetronics device captures full-body, low-res
spaced). Additional film work includes the hero creatures for
scans of real actors to create a large number of digital back-
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, a CG Halle Berry
ground actors. Tesi notes that the rotating device takes 1.5 min-
for Catwoman, and other virtual characters for Aeon Flux and
utes to scan each character, complete with texture maps. “We’re
Batman Begins. Movie projects currently in the pipeline for XYZ
constantly looking for ways to make the technology better and
RGB are Skinwalkers, Super Ex-Girlfriend, and 300.
faster, and the results more realistic,” says Tesi.
XYZ RGB’s 3D scanning output can be generated as NURBS,
polygons, subdivision surfaces, or solids, and at resolutions from
XYZ RGB
video to 2K with what Kongl describes as “near-microscopic resolu-
Fifteen years ago, the National Research Council of Canada devel-
tion.” Though VFX companies were the first clients, more recently,
oped 3D scanning based on auto-synchronous laser technology.
says Kongl, gaming companies have shown stronger interest; work
Originally created for museums and scientific applications, the
in that genre includes Fight Night Round 3 from Electronic Arts,
technology also fell into the hands of Helmut Kongl who, in 2001,
in addition to titles from Sony and Psygnosis. At Electronic Arts’s
founded XYZ RGB in Ottawa, Canada. And like many scanning
Worldwide Visualization Group, Borshukov has contracted XYZ
companies, it, too, focused on the entertainment industry.
RGB to scan R&D prototypes for advanced gaming techniques.
The company’s first scanning job was for ESC Entertainment’s
“We get the raw data and then extract normal and displacement
The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, but it has only
maps,” he says, explaining that the iterative R&D process makes
been recently that computer power has reached a point where it
raw data imperative. But take scanning in-house? No way, says
can support the newer scanning capabilities. George Borshukov,
Borshukov. “It makes a lot of sense for us to keep this expertise out
now a computer graphics supervisor at Electronic Arts, worked
of house so we can focus on day-to-day operations,” he says.
Indeed, the gaming industry was slow to pick up on the technology, but with the next-generation consoles, you’ll be able to
Images courtesy Electronic Arts Worldwide Visualizations Group.
Electronic Arts, with the help of XYZ RGB scans, generated these CG
models for the computer game Fight Night Round 3.
push so much data and detail through a pipeline that the developers won’t be able to create that kind of detail by hand anymore, Kongl maintains. Kongl has also seen an increased use of
scanning for TV commercials and music videos.
XYZ RGB now uses nine different scanners, such as the very
high resolution model, which, at 10 tons, is the in-house system
for maquettes and inanimate objects. For off-site work, the company uses a lower-resolution, structured light scanner, which
projects a pattern of light (from a 50-watt halogen source) onto
the face that is recorded from two points of view and resolved
into a 3D shape. PixelLock is the company’s proprietary system
for achieving accurate pixel-to-object registration.
with XYZ RGB on the two Matrix movies. “At the time, we got
Yet, choosing the proper scanner is only part of the solution.
high-res scans of maquettes, and it was really novel—you take
“I’ve seen people do exceptional work with medium to low-end
risks when you’re doing innovative work,” he says. “Yet, we
scanners because they know the limitations of the technology and
knew that without detail in our facial scan, we wouldn’t have
get the most out of it,” he says. “I’ve also seen people do the exact
been able to produce the necessary images.”
opposite. Even the best scanner technology will only get you 70
Three years ago, XYZ RGB began work on King Kong, which
percent of the way there, and you can make or break any project in
features a digital gorilla (see “Long Live the King,” January 2006,
that last 30 percent. It’s about process, software, and experience.”
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Cyber F/X
Since we have this kind of technology available, there’s no need
Cyber F/X established its scanning business in Burbank during
to model the human form in the likeness of an actor; we could
1992, first with a head scanner and later with a model scanner for
have spent six to 10 weeks just coming up with the textures.”
reverse engineering. The original idea behind the business, which
Other recent jobs include animal digital doubles for Underdog
was first called Cyberscan, was the creation of miniature bride
and Air Buddies, Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ Déjà vu and National
and groom dolls for atop wedding cakes, says president/founder
Treasure, FOX Television’s American Idol, and work for Nintendo
Dick Cavdek. When the firm’s scanner provider, Cyberware, said
and Midway Games, recently scanning Dwayne “The Rock”
it would send Hollywood clients Cyber F/X’s way, Cavdek was
Johnson for the upcoming SpyHunter: Nowhere To Run title,
skeptical. “Lo and behold, they were serious,” he says.
using its RealCapture System.
....
When the producers of Batman & Robin came calling, Cavdek
was ready: He had just designed a milling machine that could
Scanning the Horizon
hold a block of polyurethane big enough to cut an object the size
Scanning has certainly developed over the last 10 years from an
of a human being. Cyberware scanned Arnold Schwarzenegger
exotic and not-always reliable service to a commodity business.
(Mr. Freeze), and Cyber F/X created the resulting lifecast model
Now, with a range of high-quality scanners to choose from, ser-
used to design the character’s costumes without the actor hav-
vice bureaus distinguish themselves by their quality of service
ing to be present at all the fittings. “Now I scan actors weekly,”
as well as by the quality of their scans.
Cavdek says. “We’ve worked on hundreds of movies.”
One area of Cyber F/X’s business is to create mannequins for a
movie’s wardrobe department, such as those representing Angelina
Jolie and Brad Pitt in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. The rest of the work is for
visual effects facilities, including Digital Domain, ILM, and Pixar,
among others. According to Cavdek, nearly every feature film
needs some actor or prop scanned. “People should scan actors as
insurance for bond completion,” he says. “Just imagine how much
a dataset of Marilyn Monroe or Elvis would be worth today.”
Recently, Cyber F/X purchased an ATOS II from German com-
tions, the ATOS II uses a 64-bit computer to process the data and
can be operated with a notebook computer via FireWire.
Realscan 3D
Founded in 2004, Realscan 3D relies on a blend of proprietary
Image courtesy Realscan 3D.
pany GOM for high-resolution and highly textured/colored scanning of static objects. More generally used for industrial applica-
Using its proprietary structured light scanning solution, Realscan 3D
generated this CG model of its signature Samurai Girl.
pipeline and hardware and software developments for its own
structured light 3D scanning solution. Founders Joel Thornton
So, what does the future hold for 3D scanning? At Gentle Giant,
and Frank De Marco came from a background in structured
Chapman predicts it will be a meld of scanning and motion cap-
light scanning and wanted to create their own solution.
ture. “A lot of new VFX-driven movies are having the actors do
To this end, the Los Angeles-based company offers a por-
their performance statically, standing still so just their faces are
table Realscan bundle that can be assembled in 20 minutes
captured, and then applying that to a moving 3D model,” he says.
and broken down in 15 minutes, for fast work on a television or
“The key difference is that you’re not just getting key points of
movie set. An 8 megapixel color capture system and high-reso-
data to drive the model; you’re getting a 3D model for every frame
lution geometry enables accurate data and texture-map acquisi-
of film with the actor’s precise expression.”
tion. The Realscan scanning hardware and pipeline eliminates
And everyone is looking down the pike to see how to make
baked-in specular highlights for better capture of difficult mate-
their services better and faster. Whereas visual effects-driven
rials such as metals and other reflective surfaces.
movies have always propelled scanning services forward, that
Recent work using Realscan’s solution includes 11 digitized
might change with the next-generation game platforms, as every-
models for Asylum VFX’s work on Sky High, including those of
one in the scanning service industry knows that the Xbox 360
actors Kurt Russell and Kelly Preston. All the actors and props
and PlayStation 3 may create a powerful new trend of 3D scan-
were captured on set.
ning for games—a prospect the companies are ready for.
“We saved a lot of time in texturing and modeling,” says
Asylum VFX visual effects supervisor Mitch Drain. “We not only
Debra Kaufman is a freelance writer in the entertainment industry.
got an animation-ready model, but full-surface textures as well.
She can be reached at [email protected].
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By Karen Moltenbrey
FAST
TRACK
B i z a r re C re a t i o n s re v s u p
g a m i n g w h i l e t e st -d r i v i n g
t h e X b o x 3 6 0 co n so l e
PART 2
In Part 1 of this two-part
series, we examined the
When Bizarre Creations got behind the
world—London, Tokyo, New York, and Las
wheel of Microsoft’s new Xbox develop-
Vegas—as well as the world-famous race
ment kit, the developer did an abrupt
circuit, the Nurburgring in Germany.
“360,” which put the group on the road to
technology behind
Microsoft’s new Xbox 360
game console. In Part 2, we
look at how one developer,
Bizarre Creations, utilized
this new horsepower to
deliver a breakthrough title.
more exciting computerized gaming.
Two years ago, when Bizarre entered
how the player drives as it is winning the
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 race to deliver a
races. “You are awarded kudos for racing
release-day title for the console, it chose
in impressive and skillful ways, with your
the road less traveled; in fact, the road
driving prowess helping you to progress
didn’t yet exist. And although the soft-
in the game,” he explains. “You can play
ware developer experienced its share of
how you want—online or offline—with
bumps en route to next-generation gam-
user-defined gaming modes. And through
ing, the trip—which ended with the
the unique Gotham TV feature, you can
release of its Project Gotham Racing 3
tune in online to ‘spectate’ or challenge
(PGR3) title—appears to have been worth
others as the world watches.”
going the extra mile to produce.
PGR3, the latest entry in the award-
Utilizing the powerful technology
within the Xbox 360, Bizarre
Creations developed a high-octane
game, Project Gotham Racing 3,
injecting the title with Hollywoodstyle effects.
According to Roe, when it comes to
PGR3’s road rules, it’s as much about
Focus on Detailing
winning franchise, expands the features
Without question, the Xbox 360 packs an
and gameplay that race fans experienced
unprecedented amount of horsepower
on the second-generation gaming system.
under the console hood. And Bizarre set
The title allows players to create a ros-
out to harness that power within a break-
ter of the hottest supercars in existence,
through game by redefining the level of
introduces them to the high-definition
detail and realism for the cities and the cars
era, and drops them into
in the racing series. To this end, the artists
a racing world where
focused on increasing the texture detail and
style rules the road.
the multiple texture layers, particularly for
“PGR3 takes all areas
the cities, where every building is unique.
of the game a big step for-
In fact, just streaming in this type of detail
ward, making the most of
has been a technical leap over anything the
the new Xbox 360 tech-
group had done previously.
nology,” says Peter Roe,
“The biggest technical hurdle we faced
technical artist at Bizarre.
on the art side was getting all of the data
“In this iteration, you can
for each city to stream in as the player
race the fastest and most
races through the city,” Roe says. “We have
exotic vehicles in four
something like 15,000 unique textures in
landmark cities across the
Tokyo alone, with around 10 million poly-
Images © 2005 Bizarre Creations.
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Gaming
gons (with the instance mesh included) in
Model Shop
the city, and they all have to stream into
In PGR3, the car models comprise between
the group was frequently exceeding the
the memory from a DVD. To put that into
80,000 and 120,000 polygons, with approx-
2GB limit allowed by a 32-bit application.
perspective, in PGR2, we only had around
imately 40,000 of those used on the fully
To overcome this issue, the tools team at
1500 textures in Yokohama, and 700,000
functioning dashboard and lavish interi-
Bizarre created codes that made the data
ors, which are featured in the in-car view.
management easier to handle and control.
polys for the whole city.”
Yet, the group knew that raw polygon
pushing alone wasn’t going to make the
the city scenes were extremely large, and
In comparison, the cars for PGR2 sported
only 8000 to 10,000 polygons.
To build the virtual cityscapes, the artists first blocked in each building with
PGR3 gaming world look believable. “We
Similarly, the city buildings contain
the correct dimensions but no detail, this
didn’t just want to throw more polygons
far more detail than those in PGR2. And,
based on reference photographs the group
at the screen, and it wasn’t just about
the city sizes are expanded: Las Vegas
took during its many research trips. Once
increased detail,” says Roe. “Rather, we
is 2.4 miles long, which is nearly three
the city artists placed all the objects, they
set out to create a greater sense of immer-
times the size of Sydney, one of the larg-
began turning the many thousands of pho-
sion, and that meant improving the qual-
est areas in the previous title. “I dare not
tographs into diffuse, specular, and bump-
ity of the render, the little nuances that
think about the actual data size,” says
mapped textures, which they applied to
make players believe that they are really
Roe. “We have one server that is used
the simple objects. Then, they textured
driving around the cities.”
just for the texture photos—20,000 pho-
the objects and added windows and col-
tos and about 10 hours of video per city.”
umns, slowing fleshing out each location.
The team of artists focused on the
quality of those polygons and
As this construction was
textures, and that meant look-
happening, other artists were
ing at how light interacts with
making and placing lamp-
objects, how materials for
posts, phone boxes, traffic
items like wood, metal, con-
lights, and other extraneous
crete, and paint are defined,
“city” objects. The team also
how the world gets exposed
modeled and textured the road
through camera lenses, and
surface, adding cracks, dirt,
how natural phenomena that
oil stains, and road markings
lenses create—depth of field,
for added realism. After the
vignetting, motion blur, expo-
road surface was in place, the
sure—are
introduced.
And,
according to Roe, the artists
were able to achieve all of
barriers for each route were
The quality of the car and city models and textures, as well as the
lighting, was a prime focus of the artists while creating the graphics.
those effects with the Xbox
360 and still have the imagery running
added, along with the crowds,
grandstands, and other “racification” details. “It was a long
For modeling the majority of the vehi-
and labor-intensive process, but it was a
cles, the artists used blueprints and CAD
real pleasure when we saw the final cit-
“Now that we’re on the Xbox 360,
reference models provided by the car
ies in the game,” says Roe.
we’ve been able to develop a dynamic ren-
manufacturers. The group also incor-
in real time.
derer for PGR3, allowing us to accomplish
porated detailed and specific photo ref-
X-ceptional Capabilities
things like per-pixel motion blur, high
erences, gathered by the group or by
Without question, the group was able
dynamic range lighting and reflections,
Microsoft, the game’s publisher. All this
to shift PGR3 into high gear by taking
simulated lens exposure, vignetting, and
extra detail, however, was expensive: An
advantage of the new graphics capabili-
other cool post effects such as glows and
artist spent between six and eight weeks
ties enabled by the Xbox 360. For example,
color grading,” says Roe of game’s techni-
modeling and texturing each car. This
the new pixel shaders allowed the artists
cal innovations. “The motion blur is the
task was done using Softimage’s XSI soft-
to create complex and realistic materials
most realistic to ever appear in a game,
ware, while texturing for the vehicles, as
for all the in-game objects. Each build-
mainly because we don’t use any cheap
well as for the crowds and cityscape, was
ing is affected not only by diffuse, bump,
tricks that other titles have employed
done within Adobe’s Photoshop program.
specular, and reflection maps, but also by
while running on previous hardware.
To model and animate the crowds, the
textures that define (in the pixel shader)
Each pixel has 2D motion vector infor-
artists employed XSI; for the cities, they
the type of material used to construct
mation that correctly blurs the image
used Autodesk Media and Entertainment’s
each building. Wood, metal, brick, plas-
depending on angle and depth. It makes
Maya and in-house tools. Roe notes that
tic, and glass are all rendered with their
the game look natural and realistic.”
toward the end of the game’s development,
own distinct material properties that
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affect the sun, horizon, and environment speculars, as well as
Going The Distance
the reflective and specular fresnel falloff, roughness, and gloss.
So, how does PGR3 push game graphics to a new level? According
What this means to the game is that the cities in PGR3 react real-
to Roe, the realistic motion blur especially stands out. “I think it’s
istically to the sun and the camera viewing angle.
the first game to do it so realistically,” he says. “The HDR exposure
“The lighting tool that we developed for the Xbox 360, with
control is unique too, with only Valve’s Half-Life 2: Lost Coast demo
fully occluded bounce light maps, gives amazing depth and vol-
using similar technology.” He also points to the detail in the cars
ume to the cities,” explains Roe. The lighting tool, which was
and cities, plus the amount of textures, as other graphic highlights.
multi-threaded, utilized most of the office computers at night to
“We’ve done things with this game that are usually associated with
churn out a whole city in just over two hours. In comparison, it
Hollywood-style effects: large crowds that react dynamically to in-
took 14 hours to process the lighting for a city in PGR2, and that
game events, complex lighting and materials, and extremely high-
involved just vertex-based lighting.
resolution geometry on the cars and cities,” Roe notes.
Bizarre did, however, make good use of some of the powerful
Roe says the team tried to take all the best elements of PGR2
vertex shaders for the Xbox 360 in the imagery and effects. “The
and build on them. “The fast cars, beautiful cities, well-adjusted
crowds are all fully animated, with two bones per weighted vertex
[vehicle] handling, and the compelling single and online experi-
and with thousands of animated crowd characters—which are indi-
ence are all present and correct in PGR3,” he says. Also, the crew
vidually made from our ‘mix-n-match’ modeling system,” he says.
added new features such as improved integration of the Xbox
Moreover, the group created all the barriers in PGR3 as deform-
Project Gotham Racing 3
features some of the world’s
fastest cars, which were
realistically re-created. To
accomplish this, the artists used
manufacturers’ blueprints and
CAD models as references, and
added photographic textures to
their Softimage XSI imagery.
able instances that use bones to deform
Live feature into the single-player experience and a custom routecreation tool that adds to the longevity of the PGR3 experience.
their shape. As a result, the artists applied
“The three cores of the Xbox 360 have allowed us to develop
sections of barrier fence and instanced
and enhance the racing genre with more intense sound effects,
them all around the track, using bones
graphics, and physics. The level of immersion afforded by this
to deform the barriers around the cor-
extra detail can’t be underestimated; you really start to feel like
ners. According to Roe, this saved lots of
you’re at a real racing event in a real city with real cars and com-
vertex data memory; this was key, since
petitors,” says Roe. “And with the possibility of tens of thousands
there are roughly 7.8 million triangles in
of spectators watching [Xbox] Live games, the gameplay will be
the barriers within Tokyo alone.
so much more intense. It will be interesting to see how players
react to it all.”
The game also sports a freeform camera/picture
Photo Mode that can be accessed at any time in any
race. “We have made a lot of the effects available for
the player to adjust for themselves in Photo Mode,”
says Roe. By controlling the camera like any real
camera, the player can alter the shutter speed, aper-
ture, focal length, and exposure, as well as other
post effects like color, brightness, contrast, and
sepia tinting, to take photos of the cars and the cit-
ies. Photo Mode shows the length we’ve gone to in
making the game look and feel as real as possible.”
This realism becomes especially clear, as the
game—as are all 360 titles—is in high definition.
“Rendering those extra pixels lets players see all the
detail that we put into the game, but it also shows
flaws,” says Roe. “So we spent a long time bug-fixing the cities and the cars, because errors like gaps
in the mesh or texture stretching issues that weren’t
apparent on standard-definition TVs became glaringly obvious on large LCD displays in HD.”
So, buckle up. It appears that next-gen gaming is
going to be an amazing ride.
Karen Moltenbrey is the executive editor at Computer
Graphics World.
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When it happens in the World of Electronic Media, it happens here first.
A Conference Program of
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[
P a r t Tw o o f a Tw o -P a r t S e r i e s
]
In Part One of this two-part series concerning starting a small
studio, we covered making the commitment, finding the partners, and creating a business plan. The next course of action is
finding a location.
It may seem straightforward, but picking a place to do busi-
You’ve put the business plan in
place, and are ready to go.
Before you pull the trigger, don’t
ness, without going bankrupt, is where many small companies
fail to plan. You could easily rent the finest office space in town
to impress your clients, but doing so could lock you into high
overhead and devour your profits long before your business gets
off the ground. The alternative is to keep it at home—many successful studios have been launched from a kitchen table or inside
a garage. In the beginning, it’s about desire, not geography.
forget location, expenses, finding
Kurt Larsen, co-founder of Six Foot Studios in Houston, Texas
launched his company from a spare bedroom in his home, where
clients, and pricing your work.
he also landed the company’s first major account, Halliburton.
Once the business was under way, Six Foot moved the production component to Austin, working out of an office attached to
By William “Proton” Vaughan
horse stables. As strange as the location may seem, Larsen
says it got the company closer to new accounts in Austin,
was rent- free, and clients actually seemed to enjoy making the trip through the Texas Hill Country. However, Six Foot
Studios didn’t stay by the stables for long. Six months later, business was booming, and the production facility moved into an
office space that fit within its budget. By carefully charting a
course, and not getting buried with overhead, Larsen says no
one on the staff missed a paycheck.
“It was important to me that our
staff could depend on us to cover
their salaries even during slow
months,” explains Larsen. “Not
rushing into choosing an office
space allowed us to take our time
and find the perfect location.”
Soho VFX, a visual effects facility in
© William Vaughan and Alejandro Parrilla.
Toronto, now in its fourth year of operation,
has approximately 35 employees and a staff
that fluctuates in size during peak production
cycles. After acquiring the visual effects division from a studio in Toronto, where all the
owners previously worked, the newcompany
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you keep an open mind. By keeping your
and its staff of four set up shop in a decom-
the office space in New York City. However,
missioned elevator shaft. Now the team
once he had an established client list, Zeff
office costs and overhead to a minimum,
works in a hip loft-type studio, which is
said good-bye to the late nights in the city
your dream studio will be within reach
large enough to accommodate the addi-
and two-hour commutes, and moved his
much sooner. However, make sure that the
tional freelancers and contractors during
business to a five-room studio less than a
location will not be a detrimental factor to
heavy workloads.
mile from his house.
the type of clients you are working with.
Yet, sometimes the most prominent
Many studio owners warn of the
addresses in the world aren’t enticing
major pitfalls that come with working out
What’s In Your Wallet?
enough to keep you from starting your
of your home. You have to be extremely
So now you’ve got partners, a business
own business. Joe Zeff, of Joe Zeff Design
disciplined and treat it like you are in an
plan, and the kitchen table, but where do
in Montclair, New Jersey, spent the first
office, otherwise, you can easily get dis-
you find the cash to operate? Whether you
decade of his career as a newspaper-
tracted. “Separating work from your home
plan to apply for a small business loan,
man, starting as a reporter in Surf City,
life becomes close to impossible at times,”
borrow money from family, max out your
New Jersey, and altering his career path
credit cards, or pull from your own per-
to that of presentation editor at The New
sonal savings, be aware that money will
York Times. When he made the switch
need to change hands in the beginning—
from words to graphics, he brought with
there are “hidden” costs.
him the storytelling craft that initially
Your staff/contractor salaries and over-
launched his career in journalism. Zeff
head will be your number one priority
made the switch in 1996, joining Time
each month. Bear in mind that most cli-
magazine as an art director, where he was
ents take 30 to 60 days to pay an invoice,
eventually promoted to graphics director,
and the occasional deadbeat doesn’t pay at
supervising a staff of artists and research-
all. “What if the phone just doesn’t ring?”
ers, and producing some of the best infor-
prompts Zeff. “Opening your own studio
mation graphics in the industry.
is a gamble, plain and simple. Minimize
“As my own work became more
the risks by getting assurances from pro-
dynamic, the phone began to ring with
spective clients before leaving your job.
freelance assignments,” explains Zeff.
Seek out contract work that ensures some
“Before long, I was working 50 hours a
guaranteed income. And make sure you
week at Time and the entire weekend
have enough start-up capital to withstand
at home, creating cover illustrations for
several months of struggle.”
magazines like Sports Illustrated and
What about equipment? Something
Entertainment Weekly. I found the hands-
as simple as Adobe Photoshop on three
on creativity of digital illustration more
warns Larsen. “One solution is to make
systems can get costly. Before you race
invigorating than the daily routines of
sure you get dressed for work, drive down
out and splurge on hardware and soft-
managing a department.”
the road for coffee or juice, and then drive
ware, remember that your fi rst big con-
In 2000, Zeff traded his comfortable
office in Rockefeller Center and his art
back ready to work.”
tract will pay for a lot of the equipment.
But what if you don’t have a spare
Do as much as you can initially without
director title at Time for the attic in his
room in your house, generous friends
spending money; hardware and software
New Jersey home and a career as a free-
with horse stables, or inexpensive decom-
are constantly evolving, and you can find
lance illustrator. Since then, not much has
missioned elevator shafts in your area?
yourself perpetually upgrading your sys-
changed other than his work address. “I
Instead, try finding a company with spare
tems. Animation studios also need to fac-
lasted six months in my attic before claus-
office space that you could rent or sub-
tor in equipment expenses for render-
trophobia set in,” says Zeff. “So I moved
lease, a solution that may also provide
ing, and everyone will need high-speed
the studio into Manhattan, squeezing
access to a conference room, kitchen, and
Internet access to transfer files back and
several computers and cameras into a
other large-office extras. It can also create
forth to clients. “You can’t do this type of
the illusion that your company is larger
work on a dial-up AOL account,” remarks
and more established than it really is,
Deuce Bennet, co-founder of Creative
‘shoe box’ near Central Park.”
Zeff agrees that being in Manhattan
helped give his business credibility to
potential clients. For two years, he kept
which can be good for business.
Imagineering, near Dallas, founded by
Any location can become an office if
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effects for films in the late ’60s. Their shift to CGI happened
numerous contacts, which could eventually lead to clients. Many
slowly over two years—during the time they were doing physi-
studios do “pro-bono” work for high-profile, non profit organiza-
cal effects on Walker, Texas Ranger. The CGI was “on-screen”
tions to help introduce their work to larger companies in the area.
graphics as well as a few CGI VFX shots. From there, legal
When starting out, be open to all types of work—yes, even flying
graphics and some re-enactments for lawyer usage started. “We
logos and corporate presentations. These types of jobs may not be
found that as our hardware and software needs grew, so did
glamorous, but they could be the steady work your studio needs.
our electric bill,” comments Bennet. “This was something we
Remember, it’s imperative that you distinguish your studio
from the competition. All studios have similar capabilities; you
didn’t plan for.”
Moreover, don’t forget about the ancillary expenses like
need to find a way to be different or more appealing to prospec-
business cards, stationery, pens, and so on. “When we started
tive clients. “Based on your strengths, define your niche in the
our studio, reality slapped us in the face when we started look-
marketplace. Know your competition, and determine how you
ing for a stapler, copy machine, or even when we had to send
differ. Identify your potential clients, and let them know how to
our first fax,” remarks Six Foot’s Larsen. “You grow accustomed
find you,” explains Zeff.
to those items just being there when you work for someone else.”
You won’t always have to go looking for clients, however, if
And, not all your clients will end up being “down the road,” so
you make it easy for them to find you. “I get my work by advertis-
plan for FedEx and traveling expenses. Want to wine and dine
ing in as many places as possible,” says Henk Dawson, co-owner
potential clients? That can get very pricey, but at the same time,
of Dawson 3D near Seattle. “A great Web presence, e-mail news-
it is a very good way to keep clientele happy.
letters, and commercial portfolio sites are some of the things that
And, don’t forget about your good friend Uncle Sam. The gov-
I do to get work. It is an ongoing thing.”
ernment will be knocking on your door, wanting its share of the
Developing and maintaining a solid reputation is critical. Most
pie as you start making money. If you’re not working closely with
companies don’t like to work with an unknown studio; it’s just too
an accountant, make sure you are saving enough for quarterly
risky. “Word of mouth is very powerful, more so than the post-
or yearly federal taxes. Also, keep all your receipts and research
cards and e-mails that I’ve sent out through the years,” comments
expenses—these may qualify as a business expenses.
Zeff. “Every completed assignment is a marketing opportunity—a
Staying organized and spending wisely can help keep your
studio alive. Thorough financial records are a necessity for any
successful studio, and Uncle Sam likes them, too.
major magazine cover lands on the desk of hundreds of art directors who could potentially call with your next assignment.”
Once you have a healthy list of clients, keep them satisfied,
deliver on time and on budget, and chances are good you will
Hunting for Clients
have a repeat customer. Maintain contact with clients through
A studio needs a healthy client list to be
periodic correspondence such as phone calls, e-mails, and mail-
successful. Therefore, it is wise to find and
ings—the more creative, the better. “Earlier
keep several clients in your pipeline on a
this year, I sent bobble- head dolls
consistent basis. “Don’t put all your eggs in
to many of my clients, just to keep
one basket,” warns Larsen. “If you have one
my name fresh in their minds,”
client who is keeping you afloat, the day may
notes Zeff.
Allan Magled, co-founder of
come when the person pulls out, and you’re
left with no support to keep your doors open.”
Soho VFX in Toronto, understands
So where are these “good clients?” It’s really
that going the extra mile pays off.
“Take good care of your staff and
hard to start a business without an existing network or previous work in your portfolio to show
clients. Everything else falls into
prospective clients. It truly is a mixture of
place,” he advises.
luck, timing, karma, voodoo, and accident.
“I remember lamenting several times, ‘if
The Price is Right!
we could just get someone to give us
Strangely, one of the biggest obsta-
a shot, we could show what we can
cles you will face in business is pricing
do.’ It’s the ‘getting that chance to
your work. Learning how to estimate
shine’ that is the hardest part about
and price a project can be challenging.
starting a studio,” adds Bennet.
“We tried to find out what other studios
Get out there and network, net-
and individuals charged for their work
work, network. Joining local orga-
and found that it’s easier to get secrets
nizations such as the Chamber of
out of the Pentagon than to have some-
Commerce, can open the door to
one tell you what they charge,” explains
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Business Trends
....
Out of Our Minds Studio
The epitome of a successful small studio, Out of Our
them. The agencies were hesitant at first to believe
an ongoing problem—clients believing the tools make
Minds has created some terrific animated short films
that we were no longer competing with them for busi-
the project and not the talent. Turnaround times are
also shrinking—clients need projects completed on
such as “Dear Sweet Emma,” “Joyride,” and “Fly
ness. But, eventually, many of the agencies we were
Away.” I caught up with founder Danny Oakley to get
competing with before started hiring us for their illus-
tight timelines. I liked it back when you had to think
his feedback on what it takes to start a small studio.
tration and animation work. Sometimes their corpo-
about if a change in the project was actually worth mak-
How did your company get started and how
rate clients would contact us directly, and we would
ing. Now you tend to see 20 versions of something just
many people did you have on staff?
just tell them we would work with them through their
because you can, not because you should.
We began as a graphic design/ad agency consisting of
agency. That helped solidify the trust the others agen-
What are your top three suggestions to some-
six people. We were different from most agencies in
cies had, and business really started to soar.
one wanting to start a small studio?
that we did all our own illustration and photography.
What are the top three challenges for
Look for your own path. Just because that’s how someone else did it doesn’t mean that’s how you should do
Before long, we started playing around with Topaz, an
anyone ready to make the leap?
old 3D program that ran on DOS and one of the first
Setting yourself apart from the competition can be
it. Also, don’t pigeonhole yourself into one type of
versions of Animation Master, and we started doing
extremely challenging, but vital to success. Sell a client
work. Offer a broad range of work—not all custom-
more with these programs for illustration and anima-
on your services. Help them understand that 3D mod-
ers are going to want spaceships or hyper real spokes-
tion. We eventually migrated to Newtek’s LightWave
eling and animation, for example, is not limited to car-
models. Finally, really listen to your clients—some-
3D back in the 5.0 days. Slowly, the animation work
toons and movies. Always try to think of different solu-
times they actually have good ideas. It ultimately
started taking hold over the print work.
tions to help your clients. If they know you are going the
takes patience and knowing it’s definitely
When you started as Out of Our Minds Studio,
extra mile, they will keep coming back.
going to be a bumpy ride along the path to
how did you go about getting your clients?
How long has your company been in busi-
success.
In our arena, there are a lot of small ad and design
ness? What has changed over the years?
agencies. In 2000, we dropped all the corporate cli-
We’ve been in business as Out of Our Minds Studio
ents we had and let everyone know that we were no
since 2000. Before that, our group operated as a design
longer their competition, but wanted to work with
agency for 15 years. We found that, over time, we faced
Bennet. “And we’re not telling [how we found out] either.”
someone else first—get a job in a working studio. This will pro-
You really have to research the market, your customers, and
vide you with experience, a body of work to serve as a portfolio,
your competition to determine your own pricing structure. Some
and a possible network of people and clients. Going into busi-
clients will be open with their budgets; however, it is more com-
ness armed with the knowledge and insight of others who have
mon for them to keep their actual budget a mystery. If you price
already made the journey can help prevent unnecessary worry
too high, you could quickly find yourself out of the running. But if
about whether or not you made the right decision.
you price the job too low, you stand to lose a lot of money. “It’s the
Remember don’t get hung up on the location of your stu-
hardest part of the job. But at times, it’s best to turn down a paying
dio—be open to alternative locations. Watch your budget, and
gig if it just doesn’t pay enough to cover your expenses,” explains
offer your services at a competitive rate; it will keep you funded
Zeff. “When saying ‘no,’ explain your reasons in a straightforward
longer and your clients coming back for more. Most importantly,
way. Oftentimes, fees can be negotiated upward.”
research the market and your competition. Determine how you
Dawson suggests that you make two lists. The first list should
will compete, and differentiate your studio from the others.
have everything that you enjoy doing and are good at; the sec-
Thousands of studios are currently thriving and profitable,
ond should include all the profitable services that relate to your
and they all had to start somewhere. Bookstores have an end-
skills. In a perfect world, you would pursue things that are on
less array of reference materials to help you start, market, and
both lists. The reality is that the lists will probably never cross
maintain a successful studio. But sometimes, it’s stepping into
over, but it is a good way to ensure that your passion for art and
the shoes of the people who have walked down the path already
business remains profitable.
that will offer the most valuable knowledge. Dawson says it best,
“Aim high, and work hard. But don’t work too much. One of the
All Wrapped Up
biggest reasons for businesses going under is burnout.”
As mentioned earlier, starting your own studio can be a very
challenging and rewarding endeavor. “When your name is on
William “Proton” Vaughan inspires and motivates students at The
the door, your reputation rides on every job, and [when] you
DAVE School in Orlando, Fla., where he continues to push the
succeed, there is no sensation nearly as sweet,” notes Zeff.
limits of 3D art and animation. He can be reached by e-mail at
Many successful studio owners suggest that you go work for
[email protected].
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Jiri Adamec
Portfolio
Clockwise from top left:
Most digital fine artists begin crafting their artwork within the traditional realm, and later
Peugot 307 Using 3ds Max, the artist re-created this image of his
family’s car as a technical exercise.
apply those concepts to a virtual canvas. However, for Jiri Adamec of the Czech Republic,
Cernoch Final Adamec created this image more than two years
ago within 3ds Max and Shag:Hair. As the artist points out, this was
one of his first “proper” (realistic) human characters, and he has
documented the creation process in a tutorial that can be found on
his Web page (www.a-stil.com).
software, not paints and brushes. In another unusual twist, Adamec didn’t take this step
his first foray into the art world—which occurred five years ago—involved a computer and
with typical 3D digital content-creation software; instead, his first modeling/painting tool
was Quake 3 Radiant, a mainstream editor for Quake 3 Arena technology games.
“[The tool] inspired me, but it was not any easy way to work,” says Adamec. “So, soon there-
Fantasy Life Inspired by a 2D illustration by Stephen Hickman,
Adamec created this landscape in 3ds Max.
after, I turned to [Autodesk’s] 3ds Max and began applying universal procedures of art creation.”
Shade Adamec used 3ds Max to craft this image, to help him
perfect lighting and shading techniques.
job as a professional 3D graphic designer. Currently, he works as a freelancer, with a specialty
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A quick study, Adamec honed his artistic skills for two years as a hobbyist before finding a
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in generating real-time characters, although he also crafts cartoons, cars, and architecture. So
Clockwise from top left:
what makes Adamec’s digital art unique? “It’s mainly my characters,” he says. “I am still at
Dowager Using 3ds Max, Softimage XSI, and Shag:Hair, the artist
recently spent four days creating this human figure depicting a wealthy
widow. He spent a good deal of time trying to capture the proper
expression that would characterize her in just the right way. The image
is simple, pure, and exquisite, and the character nearly comes alive in
the digital portrait.
the beginning of the learning experience, and I like to learn by studying Old Masters to understand the reflectivity of light in productions, the temper of an image, its style, color, and more.
But I also believe I have my own style, and I plan to continue to evolve it.”
Currently, Adamec uses 3ds Max, Softimage XSI, and Pixologic’s ZBrush as his 3D software packages of choice, along with Adobe’s Photoshop and Right Hemisphere’s Deep Paint.
Some of Adamec’s art has appeared on Web galleries, and a number of his images
have been featured in coffee-table art books. Some examples of Adamec’s work are highlighted on these two pages. —Karen Moltenbrey
Luky So many human CG figures are of women, so the artist decided
to create a 3D image of a man. Thus, he generated this portrait of his
best friend, using 3ds Max, Softimage XSI, and Ornatrix.
Skretdite Generated in 3ds Max, Softimage XSI, and Shag:Hair, this
image originated as a test image of a child with the character Skret.
The artist spent approximately four hours completing the piece.
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Digital
Training
to Challenge the Brain
Everyone loves a challenge, but
sometimes learning the intricacies of
a software program can stymie even
the most talented artists. Digital
tutors and training solutions can
help remove the learning roadblocks
with detailed instructions from the
industry’s most notable artists. These
programs are designed to help you
master your CG software, at a pace
that fits your lifestyle. The companies
below offer a variety of training alternatives for all types of software, from
3ds Max, Maya, Softimage, Houdini,
and LightWave 3D, to After Effects,
Shake, Nuke, Zbrush, and RealFlow.
3D Garage
www.3dgarage.com
3D Garage’s courseware focuses on basic and
advanced modeling and animation techniques
for LightWave 3D.
LightWave 3D
LightWave 8 Signature ($189), LightWave 7.5
($189), LightWave 7.5 Advanced ($189)
Digital-Tutors
www.digitaltutors.com
Digital-Tutors offers training videos for Maya,
Softimage XSI, ZBrush, RealFlow, and Apple,
and Adobe products, focusing on digital
content creation, 3D graphics and animation,
game development, visual effects, and more.
Maya
Maya Beginner Bundle ($320), Introduction to
Maya, Second Edition ($46), Introduction to
Maya: Hypershade Basics ($46), Introduction
to 3D MEL Basics ($46), Maya Basics ($46),
Maya Basics: Introduction to Paint Effects
($46), Fundamentals of Maya: Polygon and
Sub-D Modeling ($56), Fundamentals of Maya:
Mastering Render Nodes ($56), Fundamentals
of Maya: UV Layout ($56), Fundamentals
of Mental Ray ($56), Fundamentals of
Photoshop/Maya: 3D Texturing ($56),
Fundamentals of Maya Dynamics: Particles/
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Fields ($56), Fundamentals of Maya Dynamics:
Soft/Rigid Bodies ($56), Essentials: Character
Binding and Skinning in Maya ($30), Essentials:
Character Rigging in Maya ($30), Maya
Character Animation Bundle ($48), Maya
Unlimited Bundle ($180), RealFlow and
Maya Integration ($70), Photorealistic Car
Modeling ($70), Female Android Kit ($70),
Maya Production Series Vol.1: Pre-Production
($56), Maya Production Series Vol. 2 ($56),
Maya Production Series Vol. 3: Advanced
Texturing ($56), Maya Production Series Vol.
4: Advanced Rigging ($56), Maya Production
Series Vol. 5: Fundamentals of Animation
($56), Building Advanced Shading Networks
($60), Ultimate Fluids ($60)
Softimage XSI
XSI Extreme Bundle ($200), Introduction to
XSI 4.2 ($46), Introduction to XSI Render Tree
($46), Fundamentals of Mental Ray in XSI
($56), Fundamentals of Soft and Rigid Bodies
in XSI ($56), Particles and Forces in XSI ($56)
ZBrush
ZBrush Basics ($46)
RealFlow
Introduction to RealFlow ($46), RealFlow and
Maya Integration ($70)
Adobe
Photoshop Basics ($46), Fundamentals
of Photoshop/Maya: 3D Texturing ($56),
Principles of Photoshop CS ($20), Essentials:
After Effects ($40)
Apple
Fundamentals of Apple Motion ($46)
FEBRUARY 2006
DV Garage
www.dvgarage.com
The DV Garage series of DVDs focus on
the intricate details of creating CG and
compositing video.
Brain Dump Series
RealViz Stitcher ($39), Photogrammetry ($59),
QuickTime Pro ($29)
3D Development
3D Toolkit 2.5 ($99), Maya Lab 1 and 2 ($59
each), Camera Mapping Lab ($99), Multi-Pass
Rendering Lab ($79)
Compositing
DVMatte Blast ($99), DVMatte Pro: FCP/FCE
($199), DVMatte Pro AE ($199), Composite
Toolkit ($199), CTK Companion ($39)
Surfacing
The Surface Suite ($279), Surface Toolkit
($99), Reflection Toolkit ($129), Graffiti
Collection ($99), Aircraft Parts ($99), Water
Damage ($99), Terrain Toolkit ($129)
The Gnomon Workshop
www.thegnomonworkshop.com
Offering a library of more than 125 videos,
the Gnomon digital tutorials cover design,
modeling, effects, animation, storytelling,
and matte painting. The company’s newest
training offerings include:
Maya Modeling, Work Flow,
Texturing, Rendering
Introduction to Maya ($25), Head Modeling
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for Games ($59), Body Modeling for Games
($59), UV Mapping for Games ($59), NURBS
Modeling 1: Basics ($49), NURBS Modeling
2: Surfacing ($49), NURBS Modeling 3: GTP
Racecar ($59), Polygon Modeling 101 ($49),
Creature Head Modeling ($59), Humanoid
Modeling ($59), Organic Modeling 101: Head
Surfacing ($59), Organic Modeling 2: Head
Patching ($59), Design, Modeling, and Camera
($69), Lighting and Texturing ($69), Rendering
and Compositing ($69), 3D Image-Based
Terrain ($69), Digital Environment Work Flow
($69), Texture Painting: Fundamentals ($59),
Texture Painting: Weathered Surfaces ($59), UV
Mapping 101 ($49), Character UV Mapping
($59), Mental Ray: Fundamentals ($59), Mental
Ray Lighting and Shaders ($59), Mental
Ray: Global Illumination ($59), Rendering 2:
Shadows ($49), Rendering 3: Light Effects
($49), Rendering 4: Light Fog ($49)
Maya Animation, Paint Effects,
Character Rigging
Deformers 1: Clusters, Blendshape ($49),
Deformers 2: Lattice, Sculpt, Wrap ($49),
Deformers 3: Wire, Jiggle ($49), Paint
Effects 101 ($49), Paint Effects: Polygons
and Dynamics ($59), Kinematics 1: Skeleton
($49), Kinematics 2: Forward Kinematics
($49), Kinematics 3: Inverse Kinematics
($49), Kinematics 4: Arms and Legs ($49),
Skinning 1: Smooth Skinning ($49), Skinning
2: Weighting ($49), Skinning 3: Head ($49),
Skinning 4: Influence Objects ($49), Character
Animation 1: Fundamentals ($59), Character
Animation 2: Animating Bipeds ($59),
Character Animation 3: Your First Scene ($59),
Constraints 1: Object Interaction ($49)
Maya Effects, Fluids, and MEL
Expressions 1: Intro ($59), Expressions 2: In
Depth ($59), Dynamics 1: Create Emitter ($49),
Dynamics 2: Emit from Object ($49), Dynamics
4: Rigid Bodies ($49), Dynamics 5: Fields ($49),
Dynamics 6: Goals ($49), Dynamics 7: Instancer
($49), Dynamics 8: Intro to Softbodies ($49),
Dynamics 9: Softbody Effects ($49), Dynamics
10: Lattices and Curves ($49), Dynamics 11:
Spring Effects ($49), Dynamics 12: Hardware
Rendering ($49), Dynamics 13: Sprite
Rendering ($59), Dynamics 14: Advanced
Sprites ($59), Maya Fluid Effects: Fundamentals
($49), Maya Particle Integration ($59), Maya
Pyrotechnics ($59), MEL 101: Fundamentals
($69), MEL for Character Animators ($69), MEL
for Effects Artists ($69)
ZBrush
Intro to ZBrush ($49), ZBrush Production
Pipeline ($59), Digital Sculpting: Human
Anatomy ($59), Head Sculpting and Texturing
($69), Detailing Characters: ZBrush Alpha
Library ($69), ZBrush for Illustrators ($69)
RealViz
Spherical Panoramic Photography ($59),
Image-Based Modeling Essentials ($59),
Image-Based Modeling: Advanced ($69)
Softimage XSI
Creature Design with Aaron Sims: Volume
1 ($59), Creature Design with Aaron Sims:
Volume 2 ($59)
Shake
Visual Effects Compositing Fundamentals
($49), Shake 101: Interface and Work Flow
($49), Shake: Expressions, Scripting, and
Macros ($59), Shake: Color Correction
and Layers ($59), Shake: Effective Keying
Techniques ($59), Shake: Tracking and
Transforms ($59), Shake Bundle ($300)
Nuke
Introduction to Nuke Compositing ($49),
Nuke Compositing in Production ($59)
Houdini
Houdini 101: Interface and Workflow ($49)
3ds Max
Global Illumination: Exteriors ($59), Global
Illumination: Interiors ($59)
Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop for Digital Production ($59)
Hollywood Camera Work
www.hollywoodcamerawork.us
The Master Course in High-End
Blocking and Staging ($479)
This course is designed to teach effective blocking of shots with high production value. It features network-quality directing, master blocking techniques, camera and actor movement,
effective and cohesive blocking with fewer
steps, how to get better production value,
using the dolly and crane, blocking scenes from
scratch, creating complex scenes without line
issues and editing problems, and more.
Visual Effects for Directors
Currently in development, this series will cover
what directors should know about visual
effects, with a focus on how to direct other
people creating visual effects, and using them
creatively in a movie.
Kurv Studios
www.kurvstudios.com
Kurv Studios offers training solutions for
LightWave 3D, 3ds Max, Body Paint 3D 2,
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Photoshop, ZBrush, Silo, and Fusion. Kurv also
offers virtual one-on-one training, phone
training, and custom videos.
LightWave 3D
Vehicle Modeling ($34.95), IK Booster
($24.95), Bone Tools ($24.95), Sasquatch
Lite ($29.95), 3D Print and Illustration for 2D
Artists: Volume I ($39.95), Dynamics Training
($39.95), Lighting and Shading ($39.95), Tips
and Tricks Series ($24.95 to $44.95), Spline
Modeling ($34.95), Displacements and
Endomorphs ($34.95), Sasquatch ($34.95),
From the Beginning ($39.95)
3ds Max
Get Into 3ds Max ($34.95), Procedural
Texturing in 3ds Max ($44.95)
Body Paint 3D 2
Get Into Body Paint 3D 2 ($34.95)
Photoshop
Photoshop CS Advanced Texturing ($39.95),
Photoshop Fundamentals ($29.95), Get into
Photoshop ($29.95)
ZBrush 2
Get into ZBrush 2 ($39.95)
Silo
Get into Silo ($39.95), Silo II: Modeling a
Head ($44.95)
Online Training
Academy of Art University
School of Computer Arts, New Media
www.academyart.edu
Online courses in advertising, animation,
visual effects, computer arts, fine arts,
fashion, foundations, graphic design,
interior design and architecture, industrial
design, illustration, 2D illustration, motion
pictures and television, and photography.
Graduate courses are also offered.
3DTraining.com
www.3dtraining.com
A 12-week course where students assume the
role of junior animator and the instructor plays
the role of animation director. Mock clients
assign projects for the class to complete as a
team under the guidance of the instructor. The
course consists of three assignments covering
motion graphics, 3D product modeling, and
character animation using popular 3D animation programs. In the online sessions, students
are engaged in one-on-one sessions with the
instructor to accomplish the course work.
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CHARACTER
ANIMATION
Bauhaus Mirage 1.5
One big step for paperless animation,
one giant leap for digital 2D animators
By Mike de la Flor
Animation studios and many
independent
animators
have
for a two-display setup.
During testing, I found
struggled to keep 2D animation
the software to be some-
alive in the competitive digital world,
what quirky. For exam-
but unfortunately 2D animation has not
ple, each time the appli-
had the software variability that 3D ani-
cation opened, it asked
mation has enjoyed. Digital 2D animators
for document specs (I dis-
have been largely limited to the vector-look
covered at least one docu-
produced by applications such as Flash and
ment must be open at all
Toon Boom Studio, or had to work in time-
times to prevent this from
Mirage’s set of special effects and filters can be applied
to a single frame or an entire video.
consuming hybrid environments where the
happening). However, the Mirage inter-
pipeline starts with traditional drawings
face and work flow is straightforward and
and ends with digital painting and compos-
customizable.
Mirage’s set of natural-media and ani-
iting—that is, until now.
line that supports multiple layers.
Barring a modest learning curve,
Mirage’s animation tools are readily
accessible to anyone. If you are a tradi-
Embracing the adage “If you build it,
mated brushes for special effects, and
tional 2D animator moving to digital ani-
they will come,” San Antonio, Texas-based
tools for creating custom brushes are the
mation, the transition should be rela-
Bauhaus Software has filled the digital
best features of the software. Mirage’s
tively painless. If you are a 3D artist or
2D animation void with its flagship prod-
brush tools are, in many ways, very sim-
animator wanting to dabble in 2D ani-
uct Mirage, a painting, animation, effects,
ilar to the brush features in Photoshop
mation you can transfer your 3D anima-
and composting suite. Combining many of
and Painter, with comparable blending
tion experience and begin animating in
the tools needed for 2D animation into one
modes, effects, and brush controls. But,
Mirage with ease (which is the case of
application, Mirage provides users with
unlike the brushes in Painter or Photo-
this reviewer). And if you are new to ani-
traditional 2D animation tools in a digital
shop, Mirage’s brushes can be fully ani-
mation altogether with a bit of patience
format, along with a familiar environment
mated to produce interesting effects.
and effort, you will be animating with
in which to create 2D animation without
When coupled with a Wacom Intuos
Mirage in no time.
the need for paper, cels, ink, or paint.
or Graphire drawing tablet, Mirage’s
Though not included with Mirage, the
While the Mirage interface probably
brushes can digitally produce the hand-
Animator’s Toolbar is a must-have add-on
won’t win any awards for usability, if you
drawn look of traditional 2D animation,
that further facilitates animation work by
are experienced in other 2D programs such
providing the user with a near-endless
providing tools to clean up sketches, man-
as Flash, Photoshop, or Final Cut Pro, you
assortment of brush styles.
age animation, and create special effects.
In traditional 2D animation, anima-
It is also possible to composite live
Mirage suffers from a common problem
tors work at a specialized light table to
video footage and/or 3D animation
found in many animation applications—
sketch, draw and register the frames of
footage with 2D animation and special
numerous windows and palettes that beg
an animation or paint the final artwork.
effects. So if you ever thought about cre-
Mirage’s animation work space
ating your own version of Dick Van Dyke
38
Price: $895
Minimum System Requirements:
Windows XP or 2000, Intel P3 or
higher processor, 256MB RAM (512MB
recommended), 2GB hard disk.
Apple OS X 10.3 or higher, G4
processor, 256MB RAM (512MB
recommended) 2GB hard disk.
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Mirage 1.5
Bauhaus Software
www.bauhaussoftware.com
will be able to comprehend the interface.
FEBRUARY 2006
is analogous in that the anima-
dancing with CG penguins, then Mirage
tor works at a virtual light table
is the way to go. Mirage can import just
to sketch, draw, and paint, and
about all standard video formats, and fea-
keep everything registered with
tures a modest set of video tools.
tools such as, digital onionskin-
Mirage ships with an extensive array
ning. Mirage has frame-based,
of special-effects filters which can be
keyframed, and spline-based
applied to a single frame or across an
path animation, which is cho-
entire animated sequence. Most notable
reographed in a no-frills time-
to this reviewer is Mirage’s particle sys-
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tem, which comes with the program (usually particles are add-ons).
With Mirage’s particle system, it’s a snap to create convincing effects
such as fire, sparks, water, and smoke. Mirage’s particle system also
allows the use of custom sprites, providing a way to create swarms
or crowds. Another favorite is the volumetric light effect, which
makes it possible to create mood or animate different types of backlighting, light cones, light burst, and more.
Though not so much a special-effects program as it is a very
useful utility for LightWave 3D users, Mirage can paint and map
textures for 3D models in real time with the UV texture viewer. It
would be nice if this were possible with every 3D application, not
just LightWave 3D.
So, you may still be wondering what software category Mirage
fits into. It is a paint program with animation and compositing
________
tools, and it is an animation program with killer paint tools. However, Mirage’s main impact may be in jump-starting digital 2D animation. 2D animators now have a powerful, professional-level tool
that they can call their own, and they can begin to take back some
of the ground lost to the now-ubiquitous 3D animation.
Mike de la Flor is a medical illustrator, CG instructor, and author of
The Carrara 5 Pro Handbook published by Charles River Media.
The whole Earth and nothing but the Earth...
down to 15-meter resolution; immediate delivery.
®
Global
Satellite
Imagery
®
Digital Terrain
________
www.truearth.com
TerraMetrics, Inc., Littleton, Colorado, USA 1-888-44 TRUEARTH +1-303-979-5255
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index to advertisers
advertiser
phone or web
page
Alienware
www.alienware.com/creative
Autodesk Media & Entertainment
www.autodesk.com/
mediaandentertainment
C2
Blackmagic Design
www.blackmagic-design.com
15
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13
BOXX Technologies
www.boxxtech.com
3
Dell, Inc.
www.dell.com/smb/dccsolutions
C3
Dimension Printing
www.dimensionprinting.com/cg
23
eovia
www.eovia.com
5
Game Developers Conference
www.gdconf.com
8
IBM
www.ibm.com
7, 9
Isilon
www.isilon.com
19
Metro Orlando Economic Development
www.orlandoedc.com
advertising sales offices
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Senior VP
Computer &
Electronics
Mark Finkelstein
TEL: 603-891-9133
FAX: 603-891-9297
E-MAIL: mark@
pennwell.com
Associate
Publisher
Randy Jeter
1150 Lakeway Dr.
Ste. 217
Austin, TX 78734
TEL: 512-261-1998
FAX: 512-261-7915
E-MAIL: randyj@
pennwell.com
Reprints
PARS International Corp.
TEL: 212-221-9595
Web: www.magreprints.com
E-MAIL: [email protected]
United Kingdom
Amanda Loftus
TEL: 44-1793-641571
FAX: 44-1793-610001
France
Luis Matutano
TEL: 33-1-39-66-16-87
FAX: 33-1-39-23-84-18
17
NAB2006
www.nabshow.com
29
New York University
www.scps.nyu.edu/x94
C4
NVIDIA Corporation
www.nvidia.com
7, 9
Okino Computer Graphics, Inc.
www.okino.com
39
SIGGRAPH2006
www.siggraph.org/s2006
39
TerraMetrics, Inc.
www.truearth.com
39
Germany
Holger Gerisch
and
Johann Bylek
TEL: 49-89-904-80-144
FAX: 49-89-904-80-145
India
Rajan Sharma
TEL: 91-11-2686113/14/
26865103/26861758/
268617666861113
FAX: 91-11-26861112
E-MAIL:
[email protected]
Korea
Paek Kwon
Tel: 82-2-420-1293
Fax: 82-2-420-1294
Japan
Akiyoshi Kojima
TEL: 81-3-3261-4591
Fax: 81-3-3261-6126
E-MAIL:
[email protected]
Taiwan
Teresa Fu
TEL: 886-2-8771-9388
ext. 240
FAX: 886-2-8773-7066
E-MAIL: Teresa_Fu@acertwp.
com.tw
Hong Kong & China
Adonis Mak
TEL: 852-2-838-6298
FAX: 852-2-838-2766
E-MAIL:
[email protected]
Singapore
Joanna Wong-Monis
Tel: 65-6836 2272
Fax: 65-6735 9653
E-MAIL:
[email protected]
Internet Sales
Shaun Shen
TEL: 916-419-1481
FAX: 916-419-1474
Director,
Internet Services
Tom Cintorino
TEL: 603-579-9002
FAX: 603-579-9030
List Rental
Bob Dromgoole
98 Spit Brook Rd.
Nashua, NH 03062-5737
TEL: 603-891-9128
FAX: 603-891-9341
The ad index is published as a service. The publisher does not assume any liability for errors or omissions.
February 2006, Volume 29, Number 2: COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD (USPS 665-250) (ISSN-0271-4159) is published monthly (12 issues) by PennWell Corporation.
Editorial & Production offices at 98 Spit Brook Rd., Nashua, NH 03062-5737. Corporate officers are Frank T. Lauinger, Chairman; Robert F. Biolchini, President & CEO; and
Mark C. Wilmoth, CFO. Corporate offices: 1421 South Sheridan Road, Tulsa, OK 74112, Tel: 918-835-3161; FAX: 918-831-9497; Web Address: http://www.pennwell.com.
Periodicals postage paid at Tulsa, OK 74112 & additional other mailing offices. COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD is distributed worldwide. Annual subscription prices are $55,
USA; $75, Canada & Mexico; $115 International airfreight. To order subscriptions, call 847-559-7500.
© 2006 CGW by PennWell Corporation. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without permission. Microfilm copies are available through University Microfilms
Inc., Ann Arbor, MI 48106, Tel: 313-761-4700. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by
Computer Graphics World, ISSN-0271-4159, provided that the appropriate fee is paid directly to Copyright Clearance Center Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923
USA 508-750-8400. Prior to photocopying items for educational classroom use, please contact Copyright Clearance Center Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 USA
508-750-8400. For further information check Copyright Clearance Center Inc. online at: http://www.copyright.com. The COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD fee code for users
of the Transactional Reporting Services is 0271-4159/96 $1.00 + .35.
POSTMASTER: Send change of address form to COMPUTER GRAPHICS WORLD, P.O. Box 3296, Northbrook, IL 60065.
RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO: P.O. Box 122, Niagara Falls, ON L2E 6S4
40
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Small Business
I’VE ALWAYS HAD A CREATIVE VISION.
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WORKSTATION THAT
CAN BRING IT TO LIFE.
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• 128MB ATI FireGL™ V3100 PCI Express™ x16 Graphics Card
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• 14.1" SXGA+ Active Matrix Display
• 512MB DDR2 SDRAM; 60GB* (5400 RPM) Hard Drive
• ATI Mobility™ FireGL™ V3100 64MB PCI Express™ OpenGL Graphics
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and optional PCI Express x16 2-D and 3-D graphics cards,
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effects. Best of all, Adobe® offers a range of Dell™ ISVcertified software options, including the comprehensive
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E-VALUE Code: 07115-S40118m
Adobe Video Collection Standard
Software, documentation or
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Dell™ recommends Adobe® software with Dell Precision™ workstations.
Adobe® Photoshop® CS2
Adobe® After Effects® 6.5
Adobe® Premiere® Pro 1.5
Operate with powerful, nextgeneration digital imaging features
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Add stunning 2D and 3D
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Adobe® Video Collection 2.5 Standard
• Package includes Adobe
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dell.com/SMB/DCCSolutions
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589
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Call: M-F 7a-8p Sat 8a-5p, CT *Pricing/Availability: Pricing, specifications, availability, and terms of offer may change without notice. Taxes, fees, shipping, handling and any applicable restocking charges extra, vary and are not
subject to discount. Offers may be combined with other select offers or discounts. U.S. Dell Small Business new purchases only. LIMIT 5 DISCOUNTED OR PROMOTIONAL ITEMS PER CUSTOMER. In case of customers leasing under these
promotions, please note that items leased will be subject to applicable end-of-lease options or requirements. Dell cannot be responsible for pricing or other errors, and reserves the right to cancel orders arising from such errors. Adobe
Video Collection 2.5 Standard Offer: Offer valid only with purchase of Dell Precision™ 380, 470, 670, M20 or M70 system. Offer excludes n-series systems. Limited Warranty: For a copy of our Guarantees or Limited Warranties, write
Dell USA L.P., Attn: Warranties, One Dell Way, Round Rock, Texas 78682. For more information, visit http://www.dell.com/warranty. Dual-Channel Memory: Dual-channel memory requires 2 each of the same capacity memory DIMMs.
On-Site Service: Service may be provided by third-party. Technician will be dispatched, if necessary, following phone-based troubleshooting. Subject to parts availability, geographical restrictions and terms of service contract. Service
timing dependent upon time of day call placed to Dell. Leasing: Monthly payment based on 48-Month Fair Market Value (“FMV”) QuickLease and does not include taxes, fees, shipping and handling charges. Your monthly payment may
vary, depending on your creditworthiness. QuickLease arranged by Dell Financial Services L.P. (“DFS”), an independent entity, to qualified Small Business customers. Minimum transaction size of $500 required. At the end of the FMV
QuickLease, you can: purchase the equipment for the then FMV, renew the lease or return the equipment to DFS. Please contact your DFS representative for further details. All terms subject to credit approval and availability, and are
subject to change without notice. CompleteCare Accidental Damage Service: CompleteCare service excludes theft, loss, and damage due to fire, flood or other acts of nature, or intentional damage. CompleteCare not available in
all states. Customer may be required to return unit to Dell. For complete details, visit www.dell.com/servicecontracts. Hard Drive: GB means 1 billion bytes and TB equals 1 trillion bytes; actual capacity varies with preloaded material
and operating environment and will be less. Trademark/Copyright Notices: Dell, the stylized E logo, E-Value, UltraSharp, CompleteCare and Dell Precision are trademarks of Dell Inc. Intel, Intel Centrino, Intel Xeon and Pentium are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Microsoft and Windows are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or
other countries. Adobe, the Adobe Logo and Acrobat are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. ©2006 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
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CUTTINGEDGE
ART AND BUSINESS
MEET HERE.
“THAT’S WHY I GO TO NYU.”
Graduate Programs:
Digital Imaging and Design
Graphic Communications Management
and Technology
NYU’s Programs in Design, Digital Arts, and Film
A new world of art and technology has given visual artists a palette without limit.
NYU’s Programs in Design, Digital Arts, and Film are “hands on” – from working
on state-of-the-art equipment, to forming professional-level teams with instructors
Professional Certificates include:
and fellow students. Our unique courses and programs in animation, television, and
Animation, Modeling
film; digital design; graphic design; and much more combine your creativity with
Directing, Cinematography
real-world experience. Discover why so many of our students and graduates find
Motion Graphics and Broadcast Design
places at top studios and are on the leading-edge of new opportunities in the field.
Video Game Design
Visit our website to view a gallery of student work.
Noncredit Courses include:
3-D Modeling and Animation
Web Design
Digital Video Production
Flash: Advanced Intensive
1-800-FIND NYU, ext.94
www.scps.nyu.edu/x94
Digital Medical Illustration
Video Game Design
CW
New York University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution. ©2006 New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies
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