FEATURING...
MADAGASCAR 2:
MY LAST CHANCE AT L’AMOUR VRAI
Come visit with the people who visually realized the further adventures of our favorite four zoosters. The talent behind the sequel to the 2005 animated hit discuss the trials and tribulations of having to top yourself cinematically. An extended Q&A session with Kendal Cronkhite offers insights into what it means to be a Production Designer.
By Jim Hankins
BLOWING THINGS UP FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE
Sheena Duggal, VFX Supervisor for Body of Lies, talks about working with Director Ridley Scott to bring his vision to the screen using digital effects combined with live footage shot on location in Morocco.
By Briar Lee Mitchell
REAL WORLD PRODUCTION SERIES, PART 5:
MILK AND CHOCOLATE
See how to create a 22-second TV commercial about a milk and chocolate cream for kids, using 3D content with live action plates. Adding RealFlow to your 3D arsenal allows you to deliver a better job faster.
By Gregory “T.Rex” Glezakos
OTHER DIMENSIONS, PART 2:
CREATING 2½D DIGITAL MATTE PAINTING FX
The realm of 2½D Digital & Visual FX can help you achieve stunning Visual FX in a fraction of the time. Jump in and actually create a 2½D (or 2.5D) digital matte painting and camera move from scratch.
By Jon Gress
SEVEN DEADLY JOB SEARCH SINS
Learn some of the common mistakes made while searching for a CG job—and some ways to avoid them.
By William “Proton” Vaughan
SNAKES IN THE PIPES
This tutorial focuses on sharing application data over a network with Python (a scripting language often included with VFX packages). Starting with basic networking concepts, you’ll be able to build up to syncing camera data between applications.
By Kevin MacPhail
INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC, MATTE PAINTINGS:
A RETROSPECTIVE
Richard Bluff, Yusei Uesugi, Paul Huston, and Barry Williams—four premiere matte painters from ILM’s Digimatte Department—discuss their transition from traditional to digital painting techniques. They candidly disclose some of their trials and tribulations along with successes encountered along the way.
By Briar Lee Mitchell
MODELING OVER THERE AND BACK AGAIN
Using the power of Bones, Dynamics, and other powerful tools in Layout, you’ll learn how to greatly expand your modeling tool set. The next time you model yourself into a corner of Modeler, use these techniques and see if the solution to your problem is sitting next door in Layout.
By William “Proton” Vaughan
ZEN AND THE ART OF ZBRUSH
Too often in the world of Visual Effects, artists let technical details slow them down and hinder the creative process, especially in a production environment where tight deadlines and software issues can easily affect the quality of work. Learn how to look past the technical restrictions of your job and think like an artist again.
By Gabriel Cassata
GATOR WRANGLING, PART 2:
APPLIED ATTRIBUTE TRANSFER USING SOFTIMAGE|XSI
Second of a three-part tutorial series on the GATOR feature in Softimage|XSI, this article looks at several different ways that GATOR can be used and explains many of its option settings.
By Thomas Kang
WAX DROPPINGS:
MONKEY MADNESS
Toy Sculptor Rocco Tartamella shows how to use a character modeled in 3D to create a hand sculpted figure. From the basics to the finalized piece, you’ll find out the materials used in making a clay sculpture, as well as some key hand sculpting tips.
By Rocco Tartamella
FUEL THE FLAME
Learn how to capture the vibrant color and motion of a realistic flame using particles and Hypervoxels.
By Tony Stranges
KOOSHLINGS
By Dariush Derakhshani
FINAL RENDER
By Andrea Carvey
XSI CORNER
By Raffael Dickreuter