Advices for learning path

[lazza79]

Hi guys,

 

I am trying to realize my dream to become a cinema VFX artist.

In particular I would like to become an FX TD.

I started following some courses on Digital Tutors and CGSociety and acquired (a few) modeling skills modeling in maya and I am continuing studiyng fluid simulations and destructions in Houdini.

 

I know this is a difficult question, but what should be the right approach to become an FX TD?

 

Right now I have to start to create my reel in order to apply for a job. What do you suggest? I mean, what I could use to create my reel? I saw some showreels on vimeo and I think I also need to know about rigging and shading...

 

Any suggestions? What I should do?

 

Cheers!

Lazza79

[fencer]

Pass through top companies, examine what/how they do and what do they want to see from FX TD in vacancy description.
You will see something like:

- Proven experience in producing effects such as smoke, fire, clouds, water, steam and explosions, plus experience with particle and voxel based rendering

- Design, create, and implement photo-real effects (water, dust, fire, smoke, explosions, debris, clouds, etc.) and systems that meet all technical and aesthetic standards for the project

- Experience with rigid body and particle dynamics, volume modeling and rendering, procedural geometry generation and fluid dynamics an asset

- Familiarity with one or more coding/scripting languages an asset (e.g. Python, Mel)

- Linux and scripting ability in relevant languages including MEL, Perl and Python

- A working knowledge of at least one compositing application (e.g. Nuke) and a solid understanding of the compositing process

.... 

it must help you to prioritize and find the right direction

[lazza79]

Thank you very much for your reply.

 

Let's say that I would like to do a showreel with a destruction of a building involved.

How you would proceed?

 

I mean, after you did the model and destroyed it, how you can make it look real and merge it in a real environment?

Should I study texturing, shaders and compositing?

Edited January 5, 2016 by lazza79

[Sierra62]

I honestly would recommend against doing a shot of that scale.  I have found that a lot of people learning FX tend to do effects that are too advanced and they end up looking mediocre at best.  I personally recommend doing smaller scale effects and making sure that they are photo real. 

 

As an FX TD you will need to know how to composite. 

[lazza79]

What you mean by smaller scale effect? What do you suggest?

 

Thank you for your advices...

[Sierra62]

I would recommend trying something that requires two different effects working together, like a bottle of wine breaking.  You would have the rbd sim of the glass and a then the flip sim of the wine.  I shot of this scale is great because it is challenging to get photo real, but being of a smaller scale it lets you do faster iterations.  One of the nicer student shots I saw was a molotov cocktail being thrown against the wall, it was great seeing the rbd, flip, and pyro all working together.

 

There are lots of options, and if you need ideas I would look through the youtube channel slow mo guys.  They have a wide variety of tests that would be great for a demo reel. 

 

One thing to keep in mind when putting together your demo reel, it is a pass or fail.  Either your shot works or doesn't, employers don't care that you tried something big if in the end it didn't look great.

[lazza79]

Awesome! I love the molotov idea!

Maybe smashed by a bullet... I'll think about something!

 

Thanks a lot!

[Sierra62]

The only other bit of advice I have for you is in regards to putting together a demo reel.   A common mistake I see a lot of beginers make is padding their demo reel with sub-par work.  Always assume that your reel is being judged by your worst piece, so putting in tests or flipbook renders in your reel is generally a bad idea.   The last thing I will mention is with regards to breakdowns.  If you want to add a breakdown for your shot, make sure that it actually is needed.  Too often I get demo reels that have breakdowns that are just a flipbook of the final shot, not only is not adding to your reel, but you are wasting my time watching it, however, if you put a lot of effort into your breakdown then go for it.  An example of good breakdowns would be showing render passes, or a different angle (rendered, not flipbook) of your effect.  One of the better breakdown examples I have seen is for Stalingrad.

[lazza79]

Yes, a friend of mine already warned me about it. That's why I asked for advices on what to focus to enhance my shot(s).

Let's say that I go for the molotov against a wall, I have to make the rbd, flip, and pyro simulations and then, to make it realistic I should study the shader?

As I said, I am working hard in order to realize my dream, I just need a bit of "guidance"

 

As far as I know, basically, what will "sell" the shot will be the shader/rendering and a good integration in a real environment. Am I right?

[Sierra62]

Lighting and rendering will really help make it look real.  Being able to light, render and comp is usually a big part of being an FX TD.  Initially I would work on getting the elements to feel right before hand.

 

As for approaching this shot, I would probably shoot a plate to work with first. 

With a good model for the bottle I would put a lot of work getting the prefracture to be great.  Getting broken glass to look right is a great challenge in itself.

Then you have 2 options to either animate the bottle being thrown, or use a sim to get the motion down.  

I personally would then focus on getting RBD fracture sim to look great.

When your fracture is looking good I would then bring in the flip sim and try and get that looking good using the rbd sim as a collision.  With that working I would try and push it further and have the flip also effect broken glass pieces.

With all of that working, then comes the fire.  In my experience, small detail fire is often more difficult to look right than a big explosion.  This will take a lot of work getting the flip sim to work as a fuel source.

 

Now comes the lighting and shading,

To get the shot to look great, I would shoot an HDR map to use at the same time while filming the plate to use.  Having an HDR will make getting a realistic look much easier.

Since the fire will also be acting as a light, I personally would start with getting the fire to look great.

Then it is up to whether to tackle the water or glass next.  both can be very difficult to get all of the refraction, and reflections, but thankfully the odforce community can help you with any problems.

When rendering there are a couple things to add to really help it sell.  First is adding a shadow map to use on the plate, and secondly would be a light map of the fire as it will also light up the wall.

 

Then comes the compositing,

I will be honest and say that I am not the strongest compositor, but there are some great tutorials for it.

 

As for tutorials, personally I have found cgworkshop tutorials are the best, then FXPHD, then CMIVFX, and lastly Digital Tutors.  I would also go through a bunch of peter quint's tutorials on vimeo, they are very helpful.

 

If you have any questions or need some feedback on your work feel free to send me a message and I will try and help you as best I can.