Digital Matte Painting - Exercises, Project 1, 2 and final Project
Week 1-16
Jessica Tjoe / 0361482
Digital Matte Painting/ BDCM/ Institute of Innovation and
Technology
Exercises, Project 1,2 and final Project
Instructions
<iframe
src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aA_V06G9QS-HqVSAfqTlzsQVHdml6Xyg/preview"
width="640" height="480" allow="autoplay"></iframe>
Exercises
The exercises for this module are very similar to environment design so
some of the excersizes were reused for this module as well with a few
exceptions. 2.5D mattes weren't taught yet so as a result we didn't have to
do it and invisible set extension was part of our project 1. The following
is present below;
- Perspective
- Compositions
-Value studies
- Sky replacement
- Virtual Plain air
- 2.5D mattes (not included)
- Invisible set extensions (also not included)
Figure 0.1: Perspective studies
Figure 0.2: Composition studies
Figure 0.3: Value studies
Figure 0.4: Sky replacement
Figure 0.5: Virtual Plain airs
-End of Exercises-
Project 1 - Invisible Set Extensions (pre-production)
At first I was going to make this project linked with my environment design
module but considering that I needed realism and no stylization I had to scrap
my original plan. I had concepts for this wonderfully dystopic world with
bridges connecting city to city but unfortunately I wasn't allowed any freedom
to experiment with that but here is the pre-production anyway. It was fun
while it lasted.
Figure 1.1: Moodboards
The baseplates are the images that you'll edit. they are the main reference
for your matte. You want to create a set extension for
these.
Figure 1.2: Base plate Variations
Figure 1.3: Scrapped concept
This was the scrapped concept with the photo bash included, it was taken at a
later day compared to when I turned it in.
Figure 1.4: 9 Variation composition
I also had to redo this since the previous one was not sufficient, this
explores a look at the city that is being made.
Figure 1.5: Silhouette and Ambiance test
I actually had a lot of fun with this and it turned out pretty decent. I
really wanted that dystopian vibe to shine through.
Figure 1.6: photo bashing stage 1_ collection
This stage was somewhat hard to do because of the image hunting. I had to find
very specific references for the images used. I then somewhat messily cut them
up and bashed them together like this.
Figure 1.7: photo bashing stage 2_ shading
I added the texture needed for the stone bridges, painted the surroundings and
then gave it shadows using a watercolor brush to get a soft shade.
Figure 1.8: photo bashing stage 3_ rendering
Last but not least I rendered the sky and gave it some bounce light.
This was honestly the first photobash result that I was genuinely happy with,
but because we are dealing with realism I had to go back to the drawing board
and redo my whole plan. But second times the charm I guess this is what I came
up with;
Figure 1.9: New concepts
The first one is the farthest from my concept as it explores the night time street of modern day while the ones below are closer to what I initially had in mind.
The 3rd one (diagonal left)is currently a work in progress.
-End of Project 1-
Project 2
This project is probably going to be the longest of the whole blog. Out of the
three concepts that I came up with I tried making a photobash with all 3 but I
sadly could only manage 2. So from what had I chose was the first and third
one.
Process
Figure 2.1: sky replacement
First things first, I replaced the sky and changed the lighting that way I
could get a grasp on the type of atmosphere I want to create.
Figure 2.2: overlay
For the second one I decided to overlay it and used burn as a blending mode
creating this cool effect, however this was rejected and I opted to replace
the sky instead. If this was concept art I probably could use this but alas
this is digital matte painting.
Figure 2.3: adding more elements
To give this thing a nightlife feel I added some neon sign like Chinatown and
added soft shading on the lights as well as darken the sky.
Figure 2.4: Same with the above.
For the second one I decided to overlay it and used burn as a blending mode creating this cool effect, however this was rejected and I opted to replace the sky instead. If this was concept art I probably could use this but alas this is digital matte painting.
I then finished up the photo bashing and added some hand drawn elements to it to bring the concept to life. The feedback I got that day was that the city was too washed and that I didn’t need the filter
Figure 2.5: Added a factory
Figure 2.6: Final render
This ended being way better than the last time and I really like it.
Meanwhile the other one had to go through so many changes before the final
render.
Figure 2.7: after changes
I then turned the blend layer off, replaced the solid colour with a sky and placed factories everywhere. The feedback I got that day was that the city was still washed out and to get rid off it and the factories.
Figure 2.8: after changes
I Kept one of the factories. It looked a lot cleaner, however the feedback was to get rid off the factory completely. And shrink the new city for perspective. I might’ve forgotten to fix the perspective of the balcony, but to be fair I rushed to finish this an hour before class had started.
Figure 2.9: after changes
So far so good. I just needed to make the chimneys smaller so it fits on a human scale.
Figure 2.8: Final render.jpg
This was the one that ended up getting chosen.
Final Project
Now that everything was done all I have to do is shove it into after effects
and animate it. Since there weren't a lot of moving parts I figured I could
animate 2 things, the sky and the smoke. I then proceeded to spend half the
day like an idiot trying to figure out which layer goes where because I didn't
know that window's allows you to import all the layers as is.
Figure 3.1: Renaming layers
Once I re-imported everything it was only a matter of time. I used position to
shift the sky slightly to imitate the movement of clouds, It doesn't look like
its moving but it is since clouds tend to move slower to the point of you
won't be able to see it unless you observe it very carefully or speed up the
dang footage!
I then used the 3d function to move the smoke and position to keep it in
place. I though of using puppet tool at first but it didn't look good due to
the layer being cut so I used the Z rig to make it move from side to
side.
Figure 3.2: Animating the smoke
Final video.mp4
-End of Final Project-
Reflection
Experience
We all have our strengths and sadly digital matte painting is not mine. As much as I did enjoy the module, it really isn't my field of expertise. But hey we all gotta start somewhere I guess. The whole thing is a pain, to be honest. It's just painful for me because its a module that is so grounded in reality. But I did enjoy some bits in the end. Maybe its not all bad.
Findings
I really am not good at it probably since it is my first time and I think I did pretty good. On the bright side I found out this is how Riot games makes their league of legends splash arts. And now I have obtained the knowledge of the same techniques.
Observation
Finding images to photo bash are a pain. Though I do want to know is there an after effects alternative that could do the same things but free? not that I care much I have Live2D after all. I also get harsher critiques because I am not the best at it, I'm starting to develop a walnut for a head I suspect. But I'd rather not take this class again, it is what it is.
-End of Relection-
Comments
Post a Comment