This is another excellent tutorial from Small W Studio with a Halloween slant, because the topic this time is Film Noir. He covers a number of different aspects of the CGI 3D animation process, but the two I got the most out of were resources and techniques for building the set, and using lighting to set the mood. The later is particularly important for Noir, since it is all black and white, and what is in the spotlight or in the shadows helps advance the story, not just create the atmosphere. This particular tutorial was created for the Reallusion iClone software suite, but the principles and most of the resources will work with any 3D modelling and animation package you have. That includes free projects like Blender and DAZ, so don’t think you have to pay an arm and a leg to get creative and make your movie.
I wish I had permission to post the winner’s images here, because they created some amazing places. You will have to visit E-On Stoftware’s 3D Environment Competition Winners 2014 to see them, but they are worth your time to check out. They were all created using VUE Infinite, the professional environment creation software suite from E-On. When I say professional, I am not kidding; check out their 2013 customer showcase video below to see just how many times you watched their product in a movie that year. But while their top of the line software is a bit pricy they have a full range of VUE 3D creation products including versions that range from VUE Pioneer priced at FREE up to versions priced to $500 for those of us not trying to create a feature film. And even the free version comes with full support including an active community, also priced at free.
3D printing is some amazing technology, usually done using some pre-processed plastic as your source material, but it doesn’t have to only use that media. Here is what one guy created using the basic principles but a different set of tools and sand as his source material. What source material would you select, and what would you create out of it?
What would Doctor Who have been like if it was done in America? Sam Vestey took a stab at answering that question, using Final Cut Pro X and Adobe After Effects CS5 to build his own little 50th anniversary tribute. I think he did an excellent job on the audio/video production, and made some great choices about which video clips to present for each actor. He was inspired by SmugMode’s photo mashup of The First 8 Doctors and The Modern Doctors.
The folks over at Cornucopia3D are holding a Game of Thrones Fan Art Contest all this month, until June 30th. Create a landscape, city, hamlet, or castle from Westeros. Or you can illustrate an event from the George R.R. Martin book series or the TV show they made from it, such as a coronation, treaty negotiation, battle, or assassination. Of course, you can not use any copyright images from either source, you will have to create your own original artwork inspired by the series. There are a few other rules, which you can get from their web site, along with a list of the prizes. If you don’t feel like entering the contest but want to show off some of your artwork they have a ton of non-contest galleries you can upload to as well.
They also have some software and 3D modeling resources you might find useful, including a free copy of Vue 2014 Pioneer. If you haven’t used Vue before, it is one of the best 3D modeling programs available for easily creating terrains and landscapes, from a single scene to an entire mountain range or planet. The Pioneer version is a full product, not crippleware or a limited time trial, but it is their entry-level version. There are modules you can buy to upgrade it to some of the functionality of the other versions, such as 3D model importing with bone rigging and texture/bump mapping, but it is a great way to get started on creating your own worlds.
There is an Indie Game Maker Contest that starts today and runs to the end of June, and the software to build your game is available dirt cheap this week only. The grand prize is $10,000, and the development system and the games run on Steam, for the best in online game play. To get your game development software hit the Humble Bundle site and pay what you think is fair for the package. They have tiers for those who exceed a certain minimum, with more content added as various levels are passed, but those amounts are very small. In addition, every project Humble Bundle has on offer is tied to a couple of charities, and you can select who gets what percentage of your purchase/donation. This is another variation on crowd funding, and one that I have been really impressed with, since it allows you to access some excellent stuff (including a Book selection for those of us addicted to reading) for not a lot of money. Their offerings change every week, which does put you under something of a time constraint, so you might want to consider joining their mailing list to be reminded each time new stuff comes out. I should also mention that Steam also provides the Steam Workshop, where you can learn how to create, and then upload and share your own game content for games like Duke Nukem 3D, Lords of Football, Skyrim, Legend of Grimrock, Left 4 Dead II, and a few hundred others. Any of these projects is worth checking out; all of them together? That’s a no-brainer in my book.