we have tracked before as you can see in my blogs, here Dom was going through tracking again and giving extra tips on improving tracking for CG
this is the clip we will be using for adding CG to for our assignment
Things learned in this call
research further into matchmove it puts you ahead as a VFX artist in the industry
track this composition yourself for the assignment and make sure i understand how to matchmove properly and move projects and cameras from 3DE to maya and nuke
Always resize tracing squares when using tracking markers they often mistake other markers for the one your trying to track
break tracking down into areas – start with the ground and move to walls
he went through legacy view again
try and match horizon to ground
To match horizons go -> view – side view – select camera – rotate camera to flat – snap to origin – the shot should now be level.
alternatively go -> edit – align 3 points to – XY Plane
always put way to many points in the – the more the better always, you will need to remove some of them almost every time. if all your bad points are on the wall and you need to turn them of the result will be substandard. MORE POINTS BETTER RESULT
ideally always have a good foreground mid ground and background tracking
wherever you plan to add CG you need at least 5 or 6 trackers (for example if you were adding a window to this shot)
always use JPEGS when exporting into other projects
To begin the design process i drew out some sketches taking inspiration from my references.
Couch Concepts
Chosen Design
Geometric shape to stay consistent with style
metallic and leather
sharp edges
rust
divots and extrusions
Table Chosen Design
metallic base
octagon style cut outs
glass layer on top with angled corners
two legs following octagon cut out theme
The Designs i have chosen are rough although i wanted to create a general design to show my group, that they could approve of before i started modelling.
our group came up with a “Padlet” page that works as a mood board. This is important as it allows us to ensure that everyone is aiming for a similar theme in order for all the models to be consistent with each other.
Group Mood board
My assigned references
These are some quick references that i was given by Tim and Daniel, they are designed to help me conceptualize what is needed and help me with my brain storming for the model.
Whilst these references are helpful they are really the bare minimum. I am going to create my own mood board.
Our group for the Collaborative project was originally going to be quite small although we instead had our class move to having two big groups rather than one small third one.
I was quite happy with this decision due to the fact that my new group had a strong vision for what they wanted to achieve.
I was assigned the role as a “Look Dev Artist” and Modeler.
although we are not just modelling but orchestrating the overall look of assets and the final result
For this project we are required to take footage assigned to us from our course leader of a rather empty room and make and assets and designs to a moving image.
For Example
Original (screenshot from video)
Reworked (screenshot from video)
this process requires
very strong tracking
cohesive assets
a strong theme
modelers must have cohesive goals
compositors with attention to detail
a group with a strong common understanding of the goal
Camera tracking object tracking rotomation, use with lidars.
3DE Proces
Set up of camera and lens
Track scene
Lens distortion
3D orientation
Check sticks with markers
3D Equalizer r7/r6
This was the first time i had used 3D equalizer, In the beginning we just started the process of basic movement around the program and ensuring that we had the right setting set up to start tracking the project properly.
After importing the footage as different frames, i was able to select the exact amount of frames that i wanted to track in this project.
Following this we color corrected the footage, this was important as more contrast was needed in order for the trackers to have a better understanding and grip on the points that were being placed.
color controls enabled and adjusted
image controls were enabled
curves were enabled aswell
first tracker was set on the frist frames, and then tracked by hitting “track” in the middle of the screen. (this screenshot was taken whilst tracking so the button says “stop” instead.
I began to place more trackers, it was now becoming clear why this program is so important. It has very strong tracking capabilities and when configured correctly tracked accurately quickly and efficiently. the process was actually quite enjoyable as it was working quite well. I have struggled with tracking being very erratic and messy in other programs such as Nuke and After Effects.
I learned how to not only track forward into the image but also to track backwards into the image. which was very useful especially for tracking elements that were not within the shot the entire time.
Elements that went out of frame or started out of frame were ended at the beginning or the end using the shortcut “E” depending on whether i was tracking forwards or backwards.
Here you can see an example of the tracking line. I have tracked the inner left corner of the M, i decided to use this spot on this occasion because of the high contrast between the black and the light beige paint within the graffiti.
the point was selected and the inside square was stretched to fall over the contrasting colors, with the outside square giving more information to where it was on the wall.
This was a successful track.
This is a similar track using a shadow on a cup, shadows are a good source for tracking as again they offer high contrast on objects especially in natural sunlight like in this project.
Dom made sure we were to avoid tracking objects that amy move such as
water
people
shadows of people
objects that may be moved by wind
clouds
Here is a graph of the movement being tracked. At this point i had set approximately 30+ trackers to objects within the project. This graph shows the movement of the camera and allows us to see if there are an anomalies and where the tracking may be inaccurate as a whole rather than having to look at individual trackers.
Here we can see another viewing option within 3D equalizer. this one shows the movement of the camera in comparison to the plane that is the image, you can see the movement is quite smooth therefore the tracking is accurate to how the video was shot. Some up down and side to side movement is visible meaning the tracking is accurate to the handheld footage.
F2 – tracking
F5- horizon lines #
F6 – 3D camera
Export file into maya
After exporting the file with the tracking installed to it the project was able to be opened up in Maya. The trackers will now allow me to add object throughout the image and have them move as if they were really there.
1
2
Object tracked.
Here i have to different frames showing the cylindrical obejct being tracked to the same position throughout the project.
i have placed two screenshots in to show its consistency with the tracking
I plan to add a more intricate object that looks more realistic, without tracking marks and isn’t just wire-frame.
I am now beginning the process of colouring and choosing what presets i wanted the different shapes to have in my animation.
I went with a shade of dark green for the taurus and chose a “jade” preset as i wanted the shape to have a nice reflection as this will add to the animation and make it look better.
on the first ball that squeezes through i went with a copper colour which looked okay but i wanted tot render out the design before making any change, so i had something done at this point
On the second ball i went with a bubble preset and tinted it blue to stick to the pallet.
trying to stick to the original colour pallet i had set out for my self i aimed to give the rest of the shapes a shade of blue.
I began attempting to create a light source, although my light source provided very little for my Arnold viewer to work with so i decided i would have to figure out a different way of lighting up the animation.
I wanted to make sure that my animation was bright and had a clear consistent colours.
Screenshot from Arnold Render View
I added a skylight which gave a much more intense and bright look and made the bubble really stand out.
Apply airbag preset in order to give sphere a bounce
Add collision thickness to shapes
Create camera
use specific presets to make the sphere squeeze through in a satisfying manner
add more subdivisons in order to make the squeeze look more natural and “squishy”
After trying a few different presets such as “beachball” and “waterballoon” although Using the “airbag” preset to add movement looked the best.
after adding a camera i chose the “1k square” resolution as this was the most commonly used aspect ratio from what i had sen in other dopamine animations.
I also chose this considering it wold fit well on social media on apps like tiktok and instagram as this is where the majority of these sorts of animations end up.
