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    Unveiling Winter's Wonderland: A Journey Through Kv3D's Winning Masterpiece

    Unveiling Winter's Wonderland: A Journey Through Kv3D's Winning Masterpiece

    2024-03-18

    Trending

    Fox Renderfarm Interview

    Kv3D is a remarkable 20-year-old individual who secured 1st place in Kaizen's Winter Wonderland competition with his work "forgotten wonders in Winterland". Kv3D's outstanding entry captivated our attention with his splendid render, showcasing an enchanting ice castle amidst a snow-covered landscape. Fox Renderfarm as the industry's top cloud rendering service provider and leading render farm, sponsored this challenge and had the pleasure to interview Kv3D. As we delve into the intricacies of his journey, Kv3D reveals the initial idea behind his project, his resourceful approach to finding the perfect asset, and the inspiring process behind his creation process. Fox Renderfarm: Hi Kv3D! Thank you so much for accepting our interview! Please introduce yourself to our readers.Kv3D: Hi I am Kv3D and I'm a Dutch 3D artist. I'm 20 years old and studying to become a preschool teacher. I would like to make CG art into my job someday but for now it's just a hobby for me.Fox Renderfarm: Congratulations on winning 1st place in the Winter Wonderland competition! How do you feel about it?Kv3D: I found out about the challenge a little bit late and I noticed that there were a couple of prizes that you could win. I was one of the first ones to submit since I made it in one day and I found it really cool that everyone is so enthusiastic about it. Then other people started submitting and their submissions were really good as well, so I honestly thought that I wouldn't be able to win. Normally, I don't like my own renders that much so it's hard to judge them together with the other renders. I have participated in many other challenges as well but most times I don't win even though I think it looks good. However, this time it came out as the winning render and it was really surprising to me, it felt good to win.forgotten wonders in Winterland © Kv3DFox Renderfarm: What inspired the design of this castle, and how did you incorporate that inspiration into your work?Kv3D: When I participate in a challenge, I first think of a rough idea in my head. This time, I wanted to make an ice castle. Then I just started looking for an asset that I could incorporate into my render, in this case, I was looking for a castle. If I cant find a nice asset then I will go with a different idea. So I went through Sketchfab and came across this awesome castle model by matousekfoto, he made a 3D scan of this massive castle on the hill. This not only gave me the right model to work with but also inspired me because I used the shape of a real mountain to shape my own creation. In this case, I tried to make the castle from ice but it didn't work, so I went with a different idea with just a castle in the snow and that's basically how I got my inspiration.Castle of Loarre © matousekfotoFox Renderfarm: Could you please tell us about your pipeline for this work? And how long did it take you?Kv3D: For environmental pieces, I like to use just scans of natural assets. I used mega scans and they have some really nice rocks. To keep my project running smoothly and not too heavy I like to use four of them, duplicate and scatter them around the same piece so that the file size is not too big. In this case, I had to make snow on top of the environmental pieces because they didn't have snow straight out of the box. I always look for a main asset and work around that, and you have to change all the assets so that it looks cohesive instead of having multiple pieces: One from Megascans, one from Sketchfab, and one from Blender Market. To make them all work together, you must change the textures and materials a little so they can all work into one piece. Once I get all my pieces, I start laying them out and ensure that I have a rough idea of how the final image will look. I like to place my camera in a spot that I know would work and then work from the camera view. Once I have the final layout, I'll start adding some little details like snow and clouds. My workflow is pretty simple honestly, most people use a whole reference port but I don't like to do this because I like to work around a model that I find. Timewise it took one day, I would say about about six hours.Process using Snowify © Kv3DManual Placement of Objects © Kv3DFox Renderfarm: How did you achieve the realistic snow effect on the castle and the surrounding landscape? Can you explain the techniques you used?Kv3D: I tried to make my own shader and I also shared it with others in the challenge. Because it was about winter wonderland and snow is a big thing in the winter, so I made a node group where it looks at the model from the top since snow falls from the top. I would like all the snow to be top of something so I just applied that to everything and that's basically how I got the snow to look like it's falling from above. I used a snow material from Poly Haven, this is a website where you can get CC0 assets and sell them. I used it as the material for this node so that the snow looks realistic.Node Setup to Add Snow to Objects © Kv3DFox Renderfarm: How do you approach lighting in a scene like this to enhance the mood and depth of the environment?Kv3D: I like to start working with an HDRI. I always work with the same HDRI and it has lighting that's pretty even on all sides so you get a nice preview of how everything looks without sharp shadows. Once I am done with placing everything and I want to look at how to light it, I bring in a sky texture that I recently bought from a physical atmosphere add-on. I once got a tip from an architectural visualization artist, you want half of the building lid very well and the other half with a bit of shadow so that it feels more like a 3D object. So I tried to achieve that but I didn't want too harsh of a shadow because I want everything to be pretty detailed. I just tried to do that with the sky texture I have, so if you look at my piece you can see that the sun is coming from the right side and that's pretty nicely lit, and the left side has a little bit of shadow. It's not too dark but just dark enough that you can see the 3D shape of the building a little more and it provides a bit more color variation. That's usually what I like to do with every render in terms of lighting. Fox Renderfarm: How do you balance artistic creativity with technical constraints when working on a detailed scene like this one?Kv3D: I know a lot about the program, the assets, and how to change them to my liking. Before I start on a project, I know what my possibilities are, how much Blender I can handle, and what kind of assets I have at my disposal. I don't have unrealistic expectations of the program or anything so I don't run into technical limitations because I keep them in mind when working on a project.Fox Renderfarm: Are there any challenges that you encountered during the process of creation? If so, how did you overcome them?Kv3D: I used four environmental assets from Megascans, like the rocks and the ground, and I pieced them all together. When it came straight out of Blender, you could see that separate objects were overlapping. I could either go in and add many more assets or change them but I think that they were already laid down pretty well. What I do when I have my final image is to use Panes Software, in this case, Krita, which is also free, and you can just put in the render and start painting over it. I used the clone brush to clone parts that are overlapping and make it look like one object. In the end, I didn't hear any critiques about the overlap from Kaizen so I guess I did a good job. So whenever I encounter some difficulties I could either spend a lot of time and effort into changing or trying to fix it in a software. I would likely choose the painting software because it's faster and you don't have to rerun everything.Rendering of a Single Frame © Kv3DRaw Render © Kv3DRaw Render © Kv3DFox Renderfarm: Are there any moments you enjoyed during the creation process? And what was the most memorable?Kv3D: I really like to make the snow shader and I also worked a bit more later on it to improve, which is a shame because I would have liked to use that in this piece as well but that was too late. I like it because that was something new I had to figure out to create this render. There is also the castle scan where I needed some way to cut out the mountains but I still wanted to be able to use it as the shape of the final render so that it looked natural. So I found a way to cut that out nicely, basically just select the castle and use edit mode to give it a separate material. That way I could lower the alpha of the environment, basically make it disappear or be very slightly visible. Then, I could still use it as the layout for my scene and place my assets around the castle. Those were the two parts I had to problem-solve and I enjoyed this process.Fox Renderfarm: How did you become interested in 3D art and what has been your journey in developing your skills?Kv3D: I first started with game development because it seemed like you could easily make ideas come to life with it. However, I quickly found out that it wasn't as visual as I hoped. When I was working on a 3D game and I had to make some assets, everyone suggested Blender. So when I started using Blender, I never returned to game development. I just got more addicted each day. I normally use Blender to challenge myself, such as picking an object out of my room and giving myself one hour to try and re-create that object as quickly and nicely as possible. That's how I learned to work fast. I have participated about 50 times in 3D weekly challenges, and I have been doing 3D for about one and a half to two years, basically, my whole 3D career I've been participating in weekly challenges which made me improve. I've met a lot of like-minded people who can work together and help each other, which allowed me to improve to where I am now.Fox Renderfarm: Have you tried or heard about Fox Renderfarms services before? If so, how do you feel about Fox Renderfarms cloud rendering services? Kv3D: I have heard from a friend who got 3rd place in another challenge and he was interviewed by Fox Renderfarm as well. I think that's the first time Ive heard about it. I would like to use a render farm but I don't render animations that often. But when I'm going to work on a short film that takes a lot of time I would definitely use something like Fox Renderfarm.Fox Renderfarm: Do you have any ongoing projects or future plans at the moment?Kv3D: I want to win more weekly challenges, it sounds kind of stupid but that's kind of the the place where my fire for 3D started. So I really want to get more into it and start winning those. Once I get the hang of it and win a bit more I think I can leave that behind me and go on with some other stuff. I am also still studying to become a preschool teacher, and after I finish studying, I want to pursue this 3D dream of mine. So I'll give myself a half year to see where I can go with 3D to make something more out of it than a hobby hopefully. But for now, this whole year that I still have to study, I want to do just challenges and maybe make something like a little short film.Thanks again to Kv3D for accepting our interview! Wishing new heights in your professional career!Kv3Ds social media:Website: https://kv3design.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kv3design/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kv3d172/


    3DModels の SF工業地帯 3D チャレンジで 2 位受賞者、 プロ 3D アーティスト トドル・ヴラデフ へのインタビュー

    3DModels の SF工業地帯 3D チャレンジで 2 位受賞者、 プロ 3D アーティスト トドル・ヴラデフ へのインタビュー

    2024-03-15

    CG Challenges

    Fox Renderfarm Interview

    3DModels の SF工業地帯 3D チャレンジは、サイエンスフィクションと工業デザインをテーマに、参加者が未来的な設定を探求できるコンテストです。プロの 3D アーティストであるトドール・ヴラデフさんは、工業テーマの 3D アート作品制作の経験を活かして今回のコンテストで2位に入賞しました。トドールさん、おめでとうございます!Fox Renderfarm は、業界トップのクラウド レンダリング サービス プロバイダーおよびレンダー ファームとして、光栄なことにこのコンテストのスポンサーとなり、トドールさんにインタビューしました。このインタビューでは、トドールさんの素晴らしい 3D レンダリング作品『インタープラネタリー・パイオニア』の制作プロセスについて見ていきましょう。インタープラネタリー・パイオニア © Todor VladevFox Renderfarm: こんにちは、トドールさん!インタビューを受けていただき、誠にありがとうございます!まずは読者の皆様に自己紹介をお願いできますか?トドル: こんにちは、インタビューの機会をいただきありがとうございます。 トドールです。専門的にも個人的にも長い間 3D アートに携わっています。 時間がある時には、個人のプロジェクトに取り組んだり、自転車に乗ったりボルダリングなどのアウトドア活動を楽しんでいます。Fox Renderfarm: SF工業地帯 3D チャレンジで2 位入賞おめでとうございます!いかがお感じですか?トドル: 上位 3 位に入賞できてとても嬉しいです。私にとっては、それはアーティストの素晴らしいコミュニティの一員になることであり、私のアートが他の偉大な 3D アーティストの間で認められることです。Fox Renderfarm: 作品『インタープラネタリー・パイオニア』のインスピレーションについて教えていただけますか。どのようにしてこのアイデアを思いついたのですか?トドル: 最初、何を作りたいのかわかりませんでした。『インタープラネタリー・パイオニア』のインスピレーションは、『エイリアン』『プロメテウス』『スタートレック』などの SF 映画や、『クエイク 2』『ドゥーム 』『デッドスペース』などのSF アクション一人称シューティングゲームから来ています。汚くて、古くて使用感のある環境を作りたかったです。住まれていって、長い時間宇宙を漂っている宇宙ステーションです。また、SF映画のような映画的な雰囲気も作りたかったです。Fox Renderfarm: 作品におけるパイプラインについて教えていただけますか?それにかかった時間はどれくらいですかトドル: まず、私はアイデアを実現するためにインスピレーションを与える画像を調査し集めました。また、ライティングの例を研究してイメージのムードを決めました。まずは基本的なモデリングと予備的なライティングを行い、シーンの全体のムードを把握します。その後、アセットの詳細とテクスチャリングを進めながら、目指した雰囲気を実現するためにライティングを調整していきます。これらの作業が完了したら、仕上げの作業を行い、必要なライティングの調整を行い、最終イメージを完成させるためにポストプロダクションを行います。モデリングとシーンのセットアップ © Todor Vladevモデリングとシーンのセットアップ © Todor VladevFox Renderfarm: 作品中の金属の質感が非常にリアルですね!さまざまな複雑なテクスチャとディテールを実現するための方法について教えていただけますか?トドル: それは私にとってコンペティションにおいて、主なチャレンジでした。宇宙ステーションが非常に古く使われているような見た目と感じを再現する必要がありました。金属のテクスチャは、さまざまな素材をブレンドして作成し、ディテールを描いたり、サーフェスにデカールや汚れを追加したりして、目指した外観を実現しました。Substance 3d Painterでモデルをテクスチャリングする - 壁 © Todor VladevSubstance 3d Painterでモデルをテクスチャリングする - フロア © Todor VladevFox Renderfarm: 作品中にはいくつかの異なるキャラクターフィギュアが登場していますが、それらの配置や関係について教えていただけますか?トドル: 二人の主人公である宇宙パイロットに焦点を当てつつ、賑やかな雰囲気を作り出すことを目指しました。宇宙ステーションが活気に満ちていると感じられるようにしました。エンジニアが回廊や機器のメンテナンスをしていたり、パイプや金属板を溶接している作業員がいたり、昼食をとりながらおしゃべりをしている人々がいたり、新しいミッションが話し合われるブリーフィングルームがあったり、宇宙飛行士が宇宙ハンガーへ向かう様子が描かれています。惑星間パイオニア © Todor Vladev惑星間パイオニア © Todor VladevFox Renderfarm: 色や素材、照明の設定など、どのようにして作品全体の雰囲気を作り上げたのですか?トドル: 照明はこのイメージで非常に重要な役割を果たしました。ムーディーな宇宙環境を実現することは一定の挑戦がありました。例えば、照明が均一に分布している場合、シーンに奥行きや物語性が欠けます。適切なムードを伝えるために、宇宙ステーションの主要な特徴をハイライトしました。ブリーフィングルームから発せられる色や遠い回廊から発せられる色は、補助的な要素を強調しました。右側からの宇宙ハンガーからの主証明は、物語の重要な部分を強調し、同時に左からの照明は、賑やかな宇宙ステーションの通路を進む宇宙飛行士の進行を強調しました。この意図的な配置により、視聴者の注意は通路や回廊、ブリーフィングルーム、溶接作業を行う作業員などの補助的な要素に向けられました。ベースモデルとライティング © Todor Vladevベースモデルとライティング © Todor VladevFox Renderfarm: 制作過程で直面したチャレンジはありますか?もしある場合、どのように克服しましたか?トドル: あまりないですね。与えられた時間内に達成したい目標が明確でした。Fox Renderfarm: 制作過程で楽しかった瞬間はありますか?また、最も印象に残っていることは何ですか?トドル: あります。ライティングは私にとって最も楽しい制作プロセスの一部です。自由と創造性を提供し、数多くの可能性を広げてくれました。また、ポストプロダクションもとても楽しいです。Fox Renderfarm: 過去にも多くの工業テーマの作品を制作されていますが、なぜこのテーマを選んだのですか?シェアしたいお気に入りの作品はありますか?トドル: 私が工業の汚れた見た目や感じに引かれています。子供の頃、父親が造船所や船のエンジン室に連れて行ってくれました。私は自分が宇宙船の上にいるように、制御パネルや点滅するライトに囲まれ、エンジンオイルとグリースの匂いに浸っている自分を想像していました。そうした場所のムーディなライティングや活気ある雰囲気は、私に強い印象を残しました。夜食場 © Todor Vladevアウトポスト・プラネット © Todor Vladevミネルバへのミッション © Todor VladevFox Renderfarm: 最もインスピレーションを受けるアートワークやアーティストはありますか?トドル: 私のインスピレーションは、SF ゲームや映画のコンセプトアートから得られますが、特に Ian Hubert 氏の作品には感銘を受けています。彼の作品は素晴らしい SF やサイバーパンクの環境と、魅力的なアニメーションで構成されています。パーティー・タグ© Ian HubertFox Renderfarm: フォックスレンダーファームのクラウド レンダリング サービスを利用したことはありましたか?もしある場合、使用感はどうでしたか?トドル: 実際には 利用することはありませんが、大規模なプロジェクトや小規模なプロジェクトにとっても便利で優れたサービスだと知っています。Fox Renderfarm: 今後の何かの計画はありますか?トドル: 現時点ではありません。最近は Unreal Engine 5 を探求し始め、このプラットフォームを使用してさらに素晴らしい作品やアニメーションを作りたいと思っています。トドルのソーシャルメディア:インスタグラム: https://www.instagram.com/todorvladev/リンクトイン: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todor-vladev-5b496635/アートステーション: https://www.artstation.com/tvladev


    Blending Imagination and Mastery: Ramond’s 3D Lunar Visions Win Widespread Acclaim

    Blending Imagination and Mastery: Ramond’s 3D Lunar Visions Win Widespread Acclaim

    2024-03-13

    Trending

    Fox Renderfarm Interview

    Ramon, a 20-year-old Brazilian, is a creative force to be reckoned with because of his unwavering love for artistic expression in 3D, 2D, painting, and even video games. He made the decision to immerse himself in the field of 3D artistry less than a year ago in an effort to make his skills a career. His work "Research in Moon", won him an award in Kaizen's Lunar Landscape contest sponsored by Fox Renderfarm, a leading cloud rendering services provider and render farm in the industry. Ramon's hard work has already paid off spectacularly. The judges were amazed by this young Brazilian's ability to imagine and depict a fanciful lunar scenario with such detail and imagination. Discover the inspirations, techniques, and boundless creativity that enabled Ramon to craft such an impressive 3D lunar environment at just 20 years old.Fox Renderfarm: Hi Ramond! Thank you so much for accepting our interview! Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?Ramond: My name is Ramon, I'm 20 years old, I'm from Brazil and I'm kind of passionate about art. Be it 3D, 2D, painting, or even video games haha. Everything in the end is art. A little less than a year ago I decided to study 3D in depth and make it my profession.Fox Renderfarm: What made you want to join the Kaizens Lunar Landscape Challenge, and how did you feel when you found out "Research in Moon" won?Ramond: I really like Kaizen's content on YouTube and when I discovered that he had a discord server that had challenges, and it made me really want to participate. These types of challenges bring many good artists and at the same time that you compete against them, you learn a lot from them. Being there on the podium was incredible for me because I knew there were other incredible submissions, so "beating" them, in a way, was very rewarding.Fox Renderfarm: Could you briefly summarize the project you submitted for the Challenge?Research in Moon © RamondRamond: "Research in Moon" was an idea I had while searching for references on Pinterest and I ended up finding some official NASA photos. So I thought it could be great to go with this idea, trying to recreate something more real since it's the area I've been studying for a few months. He's basically a scientist who's doing research on the moon (ba dum ts), in a The Martian vibe.Fox Renderfarm: Can you walk us through your creative process in conceptualizing and executing "Research in Moon"? How did you start, and how did it evolve?© RamondRamond: Firstly, I wanted to define the style, more realistic, something cartoony or another style. Well, as I've been studying things about realism for almost a year, it makes a lot more sense to choose this for me. Then I went to Pinterest and simply typed in the challenge prompt: "lunar landscapes".I ended up finding official photos of the man on the moon, so I knew that would be my focus. Try to replicate the mood of those old photos. After having this defined, I focused on looking for official photos of NASA and ended up merging them with some that I thought could be imported into the landscape. Finally, I set up the reference board and started working. Then I followed my standard workflow. Blocking, testing the lighting, placing the official actors, and then testing even more to see what can be removed or changedImages sourced from NASAFox Renderfarm: What did you use to make the astronaut, rover, and moon look so real? Any techniques or tools?© RamondRamond: I have to thank his owner on Sketchfab hahaha for the astronaut, very well modeled and textured. Since I don't know much about characters, I had to resort to this. Having the rover wasn't my initial idea, but in some research, I ended up finding NASA's official 3D model website, official models used on expeditions. The texture wasn't the best, so I took advantage of the light I had already defined, as it wasn't a front light, it helped me. Obviously, there was also a lot of post-production, with bloom, lens flare, color adjustments, etc.Fox Renderfarm: How long did it take you to finish "Research in Moon", and what part of making it took the longest? What do you think made it take so long?© RamondRamond: It was quick, in less than 3 days I had finished everything. It wasn't a scene with many elements, of course. What took the longest were the details, positioning of the stones, black level, and post-production in which I messed around a lot until I found the result I wanted.Fox Renderfarm: What were the most significant challenges you faced in achieving such details, and how did you overcome them during the creation of your work?Ramond: To be honest, I didn't have any major challenges in creating the scene itself. The challenge was in the post, as I sent it well before the final date, anxiety started to set in when seeing the other submissions and knowing that there were so many good submissions. So I was in that paranoia: I could have done this, I could have done that to be better... but it happens. It's always normal hahaha.Fox Renderfarm: How did you show the connection between people and rovers exploring space in the context of lunar exploration through your artwork?© RamondRamond: At no other time in history has there been such a strong relationship between man and machine as we have now. Technology that both addicts and blinds us, helps us take important steps in agriculture, health and even exploring new places. In this case the moon. An inhospitable place and anything can kill us. Having a rover on an expedition like this is like having a dog when going hunting. Our ally, friend, our security. Basically what I tried to represent when I included it in the sceneFox Renderfarm: Were there specific AI tools that you used in the creation of your work to achieve such quality? How did these tools contribute to the final visual appeal of the artwork?Ramond: I only used AI tools to create initial ideas, typing the challenge prompt itself, but I didn't even use them in my referencesFox Renderfarm: Are there any moments you enjoyed during the creation process? And what was the most memorable?Ramond: Post-production, for sure. I made the entire scene aware that I would change it a lot even after the final rendering.Fox Renderfarm: Are there specific cultural or natural elements that consistently inspire your work? How do these influences impact your creations?Ramond: Natural elements do not. The artist I am is based on what I consume. Content from other artists, films, games, music, and everything that I think will add to my critical eyeFox Renderfarm: Have you had any experience with Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering services in the past? If you have, what is your opinion of our cloud rendering offerings? Ramond: I had no experience before but I knew the services. As my country's currency is devalued against the dollar, it has never been advantageous for me to buy credits for cloud rendering. But now it will be very useful, I already have a project that I'm working on, which I intend to use Fox to render.Fox Renderfarm: Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring 3D artists? Are there any key lessons or insights that you have learned along your journey?Ramond: It's training. It's about always practicing, studying new techniques, and entering the world of art, always consuming the best. To bring this baggage to our projectsThanks again to Ramond for accepting our interview! Wishing new heights in your professional career!! keep up with your great work.Ramonds instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naustilus/


    From Tamil Nadu to the Moon: The Artistic Journey of 3D Visionary Sanjay

    From Tamil Nadu to the Moon: The Artistic Journey of 3D Visionary Sanjay

    2024-03-12

    Trending

    Fox Renderfarm Interview

    Introducing Sanjay, a gifted and committed 3D artist from Tamil Nadu, India, whose love for VFX and animation has grown gradually since he found Blender in the tenth grade. After four years of creative experience at a prestigious art school, Sanjay has developed an amazing level of adaptability using state-of-the-art programs such as Unreal Engine 5, Houdini, and Maya. His award-winning "Lunar Landscape" piece for Kaizen's challenge, sponsored by Fox Renderfarm, a leading cloud rendering services provider and render farm in the industry, served as a recent showcase of his skill set. The way Sanjay brought his vivid imagination to life and created an amazing visual experience on the moon's surface mesmerized the judges. Discover the inspiration, methods, and inventive spirit behind this talented young artist's outstanding lunar depiction.Fox Renderfarm: Hello, Sanjay! We're grateful for your willingness to participate in our interview. Would you mind giving our readers a brief introduction about yourself?© SanjaySanjay: Hello everyone, I am Sanjay, a dedicated student hailing from Tamil Nadu, India, currently immersed in the dynamic realms of animation and VFX at an esteemed art school and having 4 years of experience in the creative field. My journey with Blender commenced in grade 10 as a mere hobby, evolving into a profound passion that has now become the focal point of my career aspirations.The transformation of my imaginative concepts into tangible visual experiences brings me immense joy and satisfaction as an artist. In addition to mastering Blender, I continually refine my skills in other cutting-edge software such as Unreal Engine 5, SideFX Houdini, and Autodesk Maya, ensuring a versatile and comprehensive skill set.I owe a debt of gratitude to my mother, whose unwavering support and encouragement have been a constant source of motivation during moments of self-doubt. Her positive influence has been instrumental in guiding me toward a path of success and achievement.Fox Renderfarm: Achieving recognition in the 'Kaizen's Lunar Landscape Challenge' represents a notable accomplishment. What inspired your involvement, and what were your emotions upon discovering that your efforts surpassed those of others?Sanjay: I have extensively immersed myself in the wealth of knowledge offered by Kaizen's YouTube videos, absorbing valuable insights that have significantly enriched my understanding. My journey with Kaizen extended beyond passive learning when I enthusiastically participated in the Salvaged Space Challenge, marking my inaugural entry into the competitive realm curated by Kaizen.Despite my initial disappointment in not securing a spot among the top nine entries, I embraced the constructive feedback provided by Kaizen, recognizing it as a crucial tool for growth. This feedback not only guided me in rectifying my errors but also served as an inspiration to eagerly take on the Lunar Landscape Challenge.The culmination of my efforts reached a pinnacle of joy when my render was announced as the third-place winner during the livestream. This recognition validated the dedication and hard work I invested in making my creation truly iconic. I am grateful for the learning experiences and the affirmations received from Kaizen's challenges, propelling me further along my artistic journey.Fox Renderfarm: Can you give a quick rundown of the project "Lunar Treat" you entered for the 'Kaizen's Lunar Landscape Challenge'?Sanjay: In the Lunar Landscape challenge, my objective was to craft a visually striking and unique scene. I envisioned an astronaut crew with a playful twist a dog on the moon's surface. Initially considering a bone as an element to place aside, but I opted for a more impactful choice by placing a spaghetti, injecting humor and interest into the composition. After conceptualizing, I sourced assets from Sketchfab and meticulously constructed the scene in Blender, ensuring a captivating and distinctive entry.Clay Render © SanjayFox Renderfarm: Can you walk us through the creative process behind your work, from conceptualization to final execution? Do you have any standard working pipeline?Sanjay: Conceptualization - Inspired by the desire for uniqueness, I envisioned a scenario where a dog, seamlessly integrated into the astronaut crew, traverses the moon's surface. To add a touch of humor and intrigue, I initially considered placing a bone beside the dog. However, after careful consideration, I realized that this element lacked the desired impact. This creative choice not only injected a sense of playfulness into the scene but also elevated the overall visual appeal.Opting for a more engaging and unexpected element, I introduced a whimsical twist by placing a spaghetti instead.Assets creation - Some of the objects needed to model and for the landscape Ive used Geogen which is one of the most powerful software for creating landscapes with multiple variants. The planets behind the moons surface are also created using geogen. I used Houdini to make a fluid simulation of a soup in spaghetti and imported it into a blender in an alembic format (.abc). Also, I sourced some of the assets in the marketplace and got some of them from sketchfab as per my desire.Staging - After getting the collection of all meshes I started to stage them in the scene so that there would be a visual balance to the scene.Assigning materials and textures - Even though the meshes downloaded from sketchfab have textures it is necessary to tweak some adjustments so that they can nicely blend into the scene and also have a proper impact when we add lighting to the scene. It's also very important to assign appropriate materials and textures to the meshes which we modeled and they should make sense with the scene.Lighting - For lighting the scene I used various lights such as key light, rim light, ambient light, fill light, and some point lights as well. It is completely up to our imagination how we enhance the scene with lights and also its utilization has a huge impact in enhancing the visuals.Rendering - Before rendering the scene I made some adjustments to the camera parameters in the blender like tweaking DOP (Depth of Field) values, Focal length, and rotations. I have also added some volumetric fog to create much depth to the scene. Then I rendered the scene in a PNG format in 4k resolution at a sample rate of 4090.Post-processing - This is where the magic takes place. I used Adobe Photoshop for color correction of the rendered output which enhances the art piece by making it look vibrant and attractive.Fluid Simulation (Particle Fluid) © SanjayFluid Simulation (Fluid Mesh) © SanjayViewport render (Solid Render) © SanjayRender Test © Sanjay(without post-process and fluid simulation)Final Output | Lunar Treat © SanjayFox Renderfarm: What inspired you to incorporate a dog into your depiction of lunar exploration in "Lunar Treat"?Sanjay: Upon learning about the "Lunar Landscape" challenge, my immediate inspiration drew from the poignant story of Laika, the Soviet space dog. Laika, a stray mongrel from Moscow, became one of the first animals in space and the first to orbit the Earth aboard Sputnik 2 on November 3, 1957. Struck by the sadness of her narrative, I aimed to recreate this historical incident in a positive light. Injecting humor and joy into the scene, my goal was to transform the somber tone into an engaging and interesting visual narrative with my creativity and imagination.Fox Renderfarm: Can you tell me how long it took to go from the initial idea to the finished product, and which part of the process took up the most time? What factors contributed to this time investment?Sanjay: It took me around Two days to Complete the Lunar Treat and usually the staging and rendering part takes more time to finish the final one.Fox Renderfarm: Were there any particular challenges you encountered while working on this piece, and if so, how did you overcome them?Sanjay: No, I have not encountered any challenges while working on this but sometimes we have to face challenges technically or mentally that make us disappointed. In those situations, we have to think positively and try to find the right solution that helps us overcome those challenges. Fox Renderfarm: The presence of the dog with a bowl of noodles adds a whimsical touch to the scene. Can you elaborate on the significance or symbolism behind this unexpected element?Sanjay: Initially considering a bone for the scene, I found the concept lacking visual impact and personal satisfaction. After contemplating for several hours, inspiration struck when I encountered a noodle advertisement on my mobile phone. This led to a creative breakthrough, prompting the substitution of the bone with a bowl of noodles. The revised concept not only addressed the visual impact issue but also infused the scene with a unique and engaging element, elevating the overall appeal of the entryFox Renderfarm: Did you utilize particular AI tools in crafting "Lunar Treat" to attain its acclaimed quality? How did the integration of these tools enhance the visual allure of the artwork's final rendition?Sanjay: I did not employ any Artificial Intelligence tools in crafting "Lunar Treat." As an artist, my approach is rooted in a personal creative process, and I hold reservations about utilizing AI-generated content. The essence of art, for me, lies in individual expression and the emotional connection embedded in the artist's work. While some AI tools may offer convenience, I prioritize the authenticity and originality that stem from my own creative endeavors, steering clear of relying on pre-existing works blended by AI algorithms.Fox Renderfarm: Can you share a specific breakthrough moment or discovery you had during the creation of "Lunar Treat" that significantly influenced the final outcome?Sanjay: Certainly, the pivotal decision to incorporate a dog in the lunar landscape scene, accompanied by a bowl of noodles, marked a breakthrough moment in the creation process. This strategic choice not only rendered my entry unique but also elevated its engagement factor significantly. The inclusion of the dog, coupled with the whimsical addition of noodles, injected a sense of humor and joy into the scene, fostering a vibrant and captivating environment. This deliberate creative decision aimed not only to stand out but also to resonate with viewers on an emotional and lighthearted levelFox Renderfarm: Can you share with us about your favorite projects or pieces you've worked on, and what made them particularly enjoyable or fulfilling for you?Top 100 3D Renders from the Internets Largest CG Challenge | YouTube © PwnisherSanjay: For me, one of the favorite projects I have worked on is Pwnishers Alternate Reality challenge this was my first ever community challenge in which I have participated. This challenge opened up a gateway to the 3D community and I have learned so much knowledge from it and also encountered a lot of challenges during the working process.Fox Renderfarm: Are there specific cultural or natural elements that consistently inspire your work? How do these influences manifest in your creations?Sanjay: Indeed, my creative process is profoundly influenced by nature, with a particular focus on animals. I find inspiration in the unique properties and behaviors of various species, often gleaning fresh ideas through careful observation. Additionally, my travels serve as a wellspring of inspiration, as I keenly observe the surrounding environment. This exploration helps me grasp the diverse habitats and cultures of different species, informing my understanding of their natural worlds.One of my creative techniques involves crafting imaginary stories from the photographs I capture during my travels. This approach not only enhances my storytelling abilities but also fuels the generation of creative ideas, allowing me to weave narratives inspired by the rich tapestry of the natural worldFox Renderfarm: Have you ever utilized Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering services previously? If so, what are your thoughts on the cloud rendering solutions they offer?Sanjay: While I haven't personally utilized Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering services yet, I've gained insights into their efficiency and benefits. Recognized as one of the most user-friendly platforms, it provides a seamless solution for rendering complex scenes that often demand extended processing time on local machines. The prospect of accelerating rendering times through this service is particularly appealing, promising a more efficient and productive workflow.In my upcoming projects, I intend to leverage Fox Renderfarm to streamline my rendering process. The convenience it offers is invaluable, ensuring the timely completion of rendering tasks and eliminating the risk of missing deadlines. This strategic integration into my workflow aligns with my commitment to optimizing efficiency and delivering high-quality results in a time-sensitive professional environmentFox Renderfarm: Finally, from your perspective, what emerging technologies or tools do you believe will have the most significant impact on the future of 3D art?Sanjay: Even Though I hate using AI tools in workflows, I think it will have a great impact in the future. Some of the AI tools are really handy for artists to complete tedious works but some might replace the artist's works like rotoscoping, tracking, concept art, and many more. It would be a great tool until we use it for pre-visualization purposes only, not for the final results.Thanks again to Sanjay for accepting our interview! Wishing new heights in your professional career! keep up with your great work.Sanjays social media:Linkedin : linkedin.com/in/sanjay-s-759145229Instagram: www.instagram.com/mss_animation


    Eddi Shin: The 3D Artist Who Preserves Nature's Magnificence

    Eddi Shin: The 3D Artist Who Preserves Nature's Magnificence

    2024-03-07

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    Fox Renderfarm Interview

    Get to know Eddi Shin, a 3D artist in South Korea, who has been nominated for the Viz Pro of the Year category in the CGArchitect 3D Awards 2023, which is sponsored by Fox Renderfarm, a leading cloud rendering services provider and render farm in the industry. He is the co-founder of EDDIVZ3D, a studio that specializes in creating realistic and immersive images of natural phenomena. His fascination with nature began when he was a child, and he has never stopped exploring and experimenting with different ways to express it in 3D. He believes that 3D art can evoke powerful emotions and connect with the viewers on a deeper level.Discover Eddi Shin's methods, sources of inspiration, and perspective on the direction of 3D art with us.Fox Renderfarm: Hi Eddi Shin! Thank you so much for accepting our interview! Could you please introduce yourself and your team to our readers?Eddi Shin: Hello. My name is Eddi Shin and I am working as a 3D Artist in South Korea. We founded EDDIVZ3D with art director Jin Park. We are very curious about all phenomena that occur in nature and constantly develop ways to express them in 3D so that they blend in with the viewer's emotions and create a deep impression. Jin Park, an architect and art director, oversees our concept, production, and quality, while I, a 3D Artist, am responsible for modeling, lookdev, and workflow improvement.Fox Renderfarm: It's fantastic to see your work recognized with a 'Viz Pro of the Year' nomination at the CGArchitect 3D Awards 2023! How does it feel to be celebrated for your achievements?Eddi Shin: Thank you for your congratulations. It was a very surprising and grateful thing for us. And I think it will be a great help in our future journey and CGArchitect and the Fox Renderfarm team for creating this interview opportunity.Fox Renderfarm: Could you give us a brief overview of the project that you brought to the CGArchitect 3D Awards 2023?Wooden Bridge © Eddi ShinEddi Shin: This is a wooden bridge designed by LUO Studio. First of all, We became interested in the fact that this bridge was made of natural wood rather than a concrete structure. The nature-friendly design, such as the roof and arch structure that takes into account the natural environment of this place, where there is a lot of precipitation and water transportation such as ferries, was a great inspiration to us.Fox Renderfarm: Could you please tell us about your pipeline for this work? And how long did it take you?Eddi Shin: Modeling© Eddi ShinWood Material© Eddi ShinTerrain & River© Eddi ShinVegetation© Eddi ShinLighting© Eddi Shin© Eddi ShinClay Rendering© Eddi ShinFox Renderfarm: The lighting in this artwork creates a very specific atmosphere. Can you talk about how you achieved this effect and what you wanted to evoke in the viewer?Eddi Shin: During the concept creation process, Jin Park presented the theme of peace and calm, and based on that, we began to develop a specific look using the sky and sun. I think the sky we see every day is a great reference, offering numerous variations by time of day and season. So we construct scenarios by observing characteristics that occur in nature to create a specific atmosphere.Fox Renderfarm: How did you ensure the wooden texture appeared realistic and detailed across such a large structure?Eddi Shin: I try to analyze and understand the original characteristics of wood, and I enjoy the process of developing a look based on references. Color matching, scratches, dirt, and edgewear were mixed without excessive use of Composite Node, and UV Unwrap was used for the lower arch wood.Fox Renderfarm: The reflection of the bridge on the water's surface is quite striking. What techniques did you use to render the water so realistically?Eddi Shin: Thank you. We tried to realistically express the depth, reflection, and wave shape of the water. In particular, Houdini's Ocean Spectrum was used to express the water spectrum reflected by the bridge on the water in the geometry.Fox Renderfarm: In what ways did this project push the boundaries of your skills or allow you to explore new techniques?Eddi Shin: We strive to expand our skills by exploring new technologies and incorporating them into our workflows. The terrain and river for this project were built using Houdini's Height Field and Ocean Spectrum, and this was our first time incorporating Houdini into our workflow. Although Houdini has a steep learning curve, I think it is software that offers many possibilities to 3D artists.Fox Renderfarm: Have you had any experience with Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering services in the past? If you have, what is your opinion of our cloud rendering offerings? Eddi Shin: Unfortunately not yet. I plan to use the render points from Fox Renderfarm, which I received as a prize from this CGArchitect Nominee, in my next project.Fox Renderfarm: Do you have any ongoing projects or future plans at the moment?Eddi Shin: We're currently working on a commercial project, so I'm not sure when, but we're planning an animation set in ancient Rome. Technically, we're trying to incorporate Houdini's Karma XPU into our workflow based on Pixar's USD.Fox Renderfarm: Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring 3D artists? Are there any key lessons or insights that you have learned along your journey?Eddi Shin: From the time I started doing 3D visualization until now, I have been getting a lot of information and help from watching the "Making of" of many seniors. This CGArchitect Noiminee was an opportunity for me to share my experience with other artists. If I had the chance, it would be nice to be able to give back what I had received. Thank you again to the Fox Renderfarm team for creating this opportunity and to Ellen for her specific and sincere questions.Thanks again to Eddi Shin for accepting our interview! Wishing new heights in your professional career!Eddi Shins social media:Website: https://eddiviz3d.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eddiviz3d/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eddiviz3dArtstation: https://www.artstation.com/eddivizBehance:https://www.behance.net/eddiviz3d


    Joshua Halford: The 3D Artist Who Breaks the Boundaries of Car Rendering

    Joshua Halford: The 3D Artist Who Breaks the Boundaries of Car Rendering

    2024-03-07

    Trending

    Fox Renderfarm Interview

    Discover more about Josh, a UK-based 3D artist with ten years of experience in the computer-generated imagery field. With his piece "Buggy Race", a clever and funny portrayal of a spider piloting a stick-built vehicle propelled by snails, he just won the Car Render Challenge 2023, which is sponsored by Fox Renderfarm, a leading cloud rendering services provider and render farm in the industry. His work was unique and innovative compared to the other entrants. His primary area of interest is product visualization, but he also likes working on side projects that test his creativity and abilities. He finds inspiration in the natural world and in films such as "Planet Earth".Join us in finding out more about Joshs background, his techniques, and his vision for the future of 3D art.Fox Renderfarm: Hi Joshua! Thank you so much for accepting our interview! Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?Joshua Halford: My name is Josh, originally from the UK, but currently residing in Amsterdam. I've been a professional 3D artist for about 10 years now, primarily specializing in product visualization. In my spare time, I indulge in personal projects like the one I did for the competition. Additionally, I enjoy woodworking, making furniture, playing video games, engaging with Lego sets, and playing board games. I also have a passion for going on bike rides around the Netherlands and, whenever possible, indulging in snowboarding, although opportunities are limited due to the absence of mountains in the vicinity.Fox Renderfarm: Winning first place in the Car Render Challenge 2023 is a significant achievement. What motivated you to participate, and how did you feel when you learned that "Buggy Race" had clinched the top spot? Buggy Race © Joshua HalfordThe Project Car © Joshua HalfordJoshua Halford: So, I actually entered the competition last year as well, but unfortunately, I didn't win anything. After seeing all the amazing entries that took the top spots, I realized that what I submitted might not have been creative enough. That's why I was determined to give it another shot this year, aiming for something quite different from what people might expect. Learning that I won was incredibly exciting because I genuinely had doubts about my entry being accepted, considering it was quite far-fetched for a car. So, it was a delightful surprise for me. A lot of effort went into it, so it was really gratifying to see that all that work paid off in the end.Fox Renderfarm: Can you walk us through the creative process behind "Buggy Race", from conceptualization to final execution, and how did you come up with the idea of arachnids/spider racing on a moonlit forest floor?Breakdown process of snail © Joshua HalfordJoshua Halford: After my submission last year, I decided that I wanted to create something quite different. I already had in mind that I wanted to incorporate natural elements because a car, by nature, is very artificial, and veering towards nature would be unexpected. I have a passion for macro-photography and anything related to the intricate details found in things, so I was drawn to the idea of portraying insects. Initially, I considered depicting a beetle driving a wooden car with regular wheels. However, while watching Planet Earth with my girlfriend, we came across a segment featuring Cuban racing snails with striking racing stripes and vibrant colors reminiscent of racing car decals. This inspired me to use snails to power the car. From there, I began conceptualizing ideas for the chassis. Although I initially wanted to utilize AI to assist with this, I found it challenging due to the lack of online references for such imagery. Instead, I turned to real buggy and tubular chassis designs used in motorsports. Using 3D Studio Max, I sketched out the dimensions and incorporated the snails in a naturalistic manner. Developing a workflow became essential. Originally, I planned to gather sticks from local forests, scan them, and deform them into shape, but realizing the enormity of the task, I explored using Houdini's procedural modeling capabilities. Despite being new to it, I found it to be a valuable tool and began experimenting with generating sticks from splines, leading to the evolution of the concept.Fox Renderfarm: Do you have some sort of standard working pipeline or procedures that help you to build and develop your work?Joshua Halford: With my personal projects, I'm quite free in how I approach them because I enjoy having an idea and striving to achieve the end result as closely as possible. However, there are often challenges along the way, things I don't know how to do or unexpected issues arise, requiring me to adapt my workflow frequently. This differs from my day job, where we follow a much stricter working pipeline. I appreciate this balance; while the structured pipeline ensures smooth operations at work, for my personal projects, I prefer to figure things out independently and develop my own workflow along the way. I find this approach beneficial as it exposes me to various techniques, even if some don't pan out as expected. Despite encountering failures, these experiences provide insight into potential future applications of those techniques. For this project, I extensively utilized custom HDAs and Python scripts in Houdini, skills that will undoubtedly prove useful in future endeavors. The process was quite fluid; I experimented with numerous approaches, many of which didn't succeed initially, but through iteration and adaptation, I eventually found solutions that worked. Overall, it was an enjoyable journey of exploration and discovery, albeit one that deviated from the conventional route.Fox Renderfarm: "Buggy Race" features a moonlit forest with glowing mushrooms and plants. How did you approach creating the atmosphere and lighting to convey the surreal and magical ambiance of the scene?Behind The Scene I Moonlit forest © Joshua HalfordJoshua Halford: The lighting setup in the scene is relatively straightforward, comprising only a physical sun, an HDRI of a forest, and a fill light on the right-hand side to soften shadows. Initially, I didn't plan for the moonlit foggy atmosphere, but during the rendering process, my girlfriend suggested adding fog, which sparked a significant shift in direction. Originally, I envisioned a photorealistic piece that was absurd enough to be obviously unreal, but midway through, it lacked excitement and felt clinical. Embracing her suggestion, I adjusted the color palette to a cooler tone, introduced glowing spores for contrast, and heavily relied on post-production, particularly in Nuke, to achieve the desired effect. This approach pushed the limits of what could be achieved solely in the rendering engine. Drawing from my experience with Nuke in my day job, I knew how to manipulate the raw renders to match my vision. Despite the deviation from the initial concept, the project took on a more mystical and magical quality, enhancing its overall impact. Also, I drew inspiration from a lot of Pixar's work while creating the project, contemplating how their talented artists would approach a similar task. Their films served as a significant source of inspiration for me during the creative process.Fox Renderfarm: The use of snails as the driving force behind the buggy is quite unique. What inspired you to choose snails, and how did you incorporate their characteristics into the design of the vehicles? Pimp My Ride © MTVJoshua Halford: As I mentioned earlier, the inspiration for the project came from watching Planet Earth and seeing the Cuban-painted snails. Their vibrant colors and unique appearance reminded me of the flashy style from the old 90s show "Pimp My Ride." Incorporating them into the car design added a touch of bling, and their vibrant colors would enhance the overall image. Additionally, using snails as wheels eliminated the need for a complex steering mechanism, allowing me to keep the chassis simple. The concept of snails autonomously moving the car, akin to a horse, which seemed plausible and added a humorous twist, considering snails are known for their slow pace. This idea allowed for a blend of imagination and humor, where a slow-moving animal became the driving force behind something resembling a racing car. Ultimately, this concept offered endless possibilities for creativity, with my imagination being the only limit.Behind The Scene I Snails as driving force © Joshua HalfordFox Renderfarm: Could you share the duration it took to bring this piece from concept to its final rendered form and highlight which aspect of the process consumed the most time? What contributed to this time investment?Behind The Scene I Creating process of spider © Joshua HalfordJoshua Halford: It took me a little over two months to complete the project, during which I dedicated a significant amount of time and effort. With a four-day working week, I utilized my days off to focus intensively on the project. Moreover, with the quiet winter season in the city, I devoted many hours during weekends and evenings to it as well. The most time-consuming aspect was creating the spider, mainly because it involved unfamiliar territory for me. Character work isn't something I typically do at my job, so it was a steep learning curve. While I had prior experience with Zbrush for personal projects, rigging and grooming the spider were entirely new to me. I drew a lot of inspiration from a Samsung advert featuring a brilliantly crafted spider from a couple of years ago, aiming to achieve a similar level of quality. This led me to invest a significant amount of time in watching grooming tutorials across various software packages, not just in Houdini. In hindsight, I may have gone a bit overboard with the details, but it was a part of the project that I thoroughly enjoyed. It presented a refreshing challenge compared to my past work, and I found myself deeply absorbed in it. Moreover, I'm also a stickler for details in my job, often spending perhaps a bit too much time on them, but it's something the clients appreciate, even if the producers sometimes don't. Over the two months I spent on this project, the rendering process was quite intensive. I rendered it at 5k resolution, which took approximately 12 hours, and some of the other passes rendered in around 30 minutes. However, rendering the volumetrics was extremely time-consuming, taking three to four days. I had to plan for this lengthy rendering time and conducted test renders along the way. Simultaneously, I worked on sorting out the post-production in Nuke, building scripts and deciding what additional elements I needed from Houdini to enhance the final result in Nuke. Initially, I started with lower-quality test renders overnight, but I was taken aback by how long the full-resolution rendering was taking, especially for the volumetric effects. There were moments when I worried it wouldn't finish in time, but fortunately, it all worked out in the end.Behind The Scene I Creating process of spider © Joshua HalfordFox Renderfarm: Samuel Winter praised the level of detail in every part of the image. What were the most significant challenges you faced in achieving such intricate detailing, and how did you overcome them during the creation of "Buggy Race"?Joshua Halford: The main challenge I encountered was managing memory usage. While Houdini offers an excellent instancing workflow that was incredibly useful, the numerous textures I used began to overwhelm the memory during rendering, all of which were in 4K resolution. I had to optimize as much as possible and streamline various aspects of the project. One compromise I had to make was with the sticks on the buggy. Initially, I used displacement maps, but due to memory constraints, I had to switch to bump maps. While this compromise wasn't significant, it still felt like a loss of detail, especially in high-resolution test renders. Additionally, I had to combine textures to reduce the number of texture files. Although the sticks were individually baked, I grouped them and arranged their UVs in a loop in Houdini to bake them into a single texture, resulting in 36 4K textures. This process involved a lot of back and forth, which was concerning given the time constraints, but necessary to ensure the project could be rendered successfully. Fortunately, I received advice from colleagues to render the scene in V-Ray standalone instead of Houdini to significantly reduce memory usage. Although it required some adjustments to the pipeline, primarily scripting to bake the scene out to a V-Ray file, it proved to be a worthwhile solution.Fox Renderfarm: The title "Buggy Race" suggests movement and action. How did you capture a sense of dynamic motion in a static digital rendering, and what techniques did you employ to convey the excitement of a race?Joshua Halford: Yeah, that was actually a challenging aspect because it was a still image, and I wanted it to convey a sense of speed, which added to the humor of the image with the snails appearing to move quickly. I experimented with a few approaches. Initially, I planned to incorporate motion blur into the image, but the memory constraints became an issue, preventing me from rendering motion blur directly. I considered adding it in post-production, but it didn't work well in Nuke and compromised the intricate details I had meticulously crafted. So, I decided against using motion blur in the end. Instead, I posed the car to simulate a drift, a visual cue associated with speed. I also utilized dramatic camera angles, with a low perspective and a short lens, to enhance the sense of scale and velocity. Additionally, I included subtle details like dust trails and debris flying off the snail, some of which had a hint of motion blur. Despite these efforts, achieving the desired sense of movement was challenging. As soon as I attempted to add blur, I realized it detracted from the painstaking work I had put into the details.Fox Renderfarm: Were there specific AI-powered rendering techniques or tools that you incorporated into the creation of "Buggy Race" to achieve the praised rendering quality? How did these tools contribute to the final visual appeal of the artwork?Volkswagen Beetle Car © VolkswagenJoshua Halford: I did utilize some AI tools initially for concepting, but they didn't quite meet my expectations. It could have been due to the prompts I provided not being precise enough. One amusing observation was that whenever I mentioned "car" and "bug" together, it would generate a Volkswagen Beetle consistently. This required me to be cautious with the language I used to describe my vision. Despite this, some of the generated images helped me refine certain aspects of my concept. However, I didn't rely on AI for rendering the final image. The only AI tool I used was Adobe Firefly to create the decal on the car's wing. Since I'm not proficient in illustration, I requested it to generate a hand-drawn shell spoof logo, which turned out quite well. The only drawback was that it struggled with text, often misspelling words, so I had to edit it manually later. Nonetheless, it saved me a significant amount of time, as illustrating a logo would have taken several hours.Although it may seem like a minor detail, it greatly enhanced the image. Overall, I find AI tools beneficial because they allow me to delegate tasks I'm not skilled at or interested in, freeing up more time for creativity. While there are certainly pros and cons, I believe the advantages outweigh the drawbacks, as they enable me to achieve decent results quickly, leaving room for more creative exploration.Fox Renderfarm: Can you share with us about your favorite projects or pieces you've worked on, and what made them particularly enjoyable or fulfilling for you?Joshua Halford: I really enjoyed working on this project; it's definitely one of my favorites, if not my absolute favorite. It went reasonably smoothly and came together in a good way. It was one of those projects where I felt genuinely excited to see the end result as I worked on it. Everything seemed to fall into place, and I never questioned my decisions or sanity, which was a relief. The whole process motivated me to reach the finish line eagerly anticipating how it would turn out.Lego Star Wars animation © Joshua HalfordRegarding my experience with Houdini, I'm fairly new, having used it for just over a year and a half. One of the first personal projects I took on was a Lego Star Wars animation, which I haven't finished yet due to this competition. I enjoyed it because I had to devise a way to build Lego geometry based on an input file, such as creating asteroids from rock geometry. It was a departure from traditional modeling, more like solving a puzzle, which I found engaging. Many techniques I developed for that project, like using Python scripts to copy lights to points, were applicable to the buggy race project. In Houdini, it's challenging to use multiple lights at an object level, so I had to write scripts to copy lights to points and drive their attributes, similar to what I did for the glowing spores in the buggy race.Lego Star Wars animation © Joshua HalfordWorking on personal projects allows me to learn unconventional techniques that I wouldn't explore within my job's strict pipeline. For instance, I experimented with creating atmospheric volumetric effects for the Lego animation, which I reused in the buggy race project. It's satisfying to develop tools and techniques that can be repurposed across different projects. I'm fortunate that I had already developed many of these tools before the competition, saving me time and effort during the project.Fox Renderfarm: Are there specific cultural or natural elements that consistently inspire your work? How do these influences manifest in your creations?Joshua Halford: I've always been intrigued by photography, especially macro photography, because it reveals the intricate details of nature that often go unnoticed. I follow numerous Instagram accounts dedicated to capturing macro shots of mushrooms and other subjects. This fascination with the hidden beauty in everyday scenes served as significant inspiration for my work. I was drawn to the idea that even the most mundane objects hold a wealth of captivating detail, waiting to be discovered.Nike I Air Max Kids © ManvsMachineRegarding artists who inspire me, ManvsMachine is undoubtedly at the top of my list. The artists there possess an exceptional eye for detail, creating works that are not only technically impressive but also artistically stunning. Their creations stand out as true art, blending technical prowess with creative brilliance. Additionally, as I've delved deeper into learning Houdini, I've gained a newfound appreciation for how mathematics and coding can be harnessed in art. While I was initially awestruck by the detailed work in programs like ZBrush, learning Houdini has shown me how mathematical concepts can be creatively applied to produce visually captivating results. Overall, I have a deep appreciation for various artists and art forms, but there are certainly a few that leave a lasting impression on me.Fox Renderfarm: Have you had any experience with Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering services in the past? If you have, what is your opinion of our cloud rendering offerings? Joshua Halford: I don't have any experience with your render service at the moment, but I certainly plan to use it since I now have some credits for my personal projects. I haven't used cloud rendering services much before because I typically render on my own computer, even though it can take a long time. Usually, there's no strict deadline, so it's manageable. In my studio, we sometimes resort to cloud rendering when our render farm is overloaded, but it's not a common practice. However, I do recognize that cloud rendering services are fantastic, especially when you need something rendered by a specific time.Using a cloud rendering service would be a significant advantage for me. One of the challenges I faced in this project was not so much rendering, but rather Houdini's process of building the geometry. To achieve all the intricate details, I had to adopt a workflow where I create a high-resolution mesh and then bake textures to a low-resolution mesh, similar to Zbrush. This process, done within Houdini, can become quite slow, especially when working with numerous nodes and loops, as you can see here. My computer would often take ages to complete tasks like caching and baking textures, sometimes even up to three days. Having access to a cloud rendering service would undoubtedly be a huge time-saver, especially for freelancers like me who often work with tight deadlines. Being able to push tasks overnight and knowing they'll be completed by morning would be incredibly beneficial.Fox Renderfarm: Finally, with the rapid advancement of technology, how do you envision the future trends in 3D art, especially considering your experience in winning the Car Render Challenge 2023?Joshua Halford: I think, as I mentioned before, AI is going to have a significant impact. The Pandora's box is already open, and we're witnessing drastic changes in the industry because of it. Some people might worry that there won't be any jobs in the future, but I don't believe that will be the case. Artists will always be needed; it's just a matter of the tools we use. One major benefit I see is the continuous release of new AI models almost daily. Many of these can greatly benefit people with limited experience or time, particularly in labor-intensive tasks like texturing and retopology. In my opinion, these tasks are less about creativity and more about technical execution, so AI can handle them, allowing artists to focus on creativity. Regarding any dreams or extra thoughts, I'd advise keeping up with current technology as it's advancing rapidly. Learning new programs, like how I ventured into Houdini alongside 3D Studio Max and Maya, can open up many opportunities. Each software platform has its strengths, so don't feel tied to just one. Embrace learning new things, even programming and scripting, as they can be creatively empowering. Writing Python scripts, for example, is a creative process in its own right, albeit not visually. As a professional, it's incredibly beneficial because it allows you to leverage the power of computers to work for you.Thanks again to Joshua Halford for accepting our interview! Wishing new heights in your professional career! keep up with your great work.Joshua Halfords social media:Behance: https://www.behance.net/joshhalford91Website: https://justjoshing91.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-halford-71a100116/


    The Young Genius of 3D Art: Haider Ali’s Story

    The Young Genius of 3D Art: Haider Ali’s Story

    2024-03-07

    Trending

    Fox Renderfarm Interview

    Meet 16-year-old 3D artist Haider Ali, who has only been using Blender for a year. With his piece "No Survivors," which depicts a dramatic and exciting scene of a robot searching for an astronaut inside a burning space station, he just won Kaizen's Salvaged Space Challenge, which is sponsored by Fox Renderfarm, a leading cloud rendering services provider and render farm in the industry. The judges were struck by the reality and intensity of his work. He learned on his own via YouTube tutorials and other internet resources, and he is passionate about making 3D art that represents chaos and devastation. Come discover more about the background, techniques, and goals of Haider Ali on the future of 3D art.Fox Renderfarm: Hi Haider! Thank you so much for accepting our interview! Could you please introduce yourself to our reader?Haider Ali: My name is Haider Ali, I'm 16 years old, and I've been using Blender for about a year now. I mainly learned through YouTube tutorials and other online resources, and I'm really enjoying it.Fox Renderfarm: Winning an award in the Kaizens Salvaged Space Challenge is a significant achievement. What motivated you to participate, and how did you feel when you learned that "No Survivors" had outperformed the others?Haider Ali: I've been following Kaizen for a little while now. I love their videos, and joining their Discord a few months ago has been a great experience. I've been fairly active in it since then. As soon as they announced the salvage space challenges, I participated in the first one, and every one since, and it's been great. The community is very nice, and even if you don't win, it's a good way to improve your skills and get feedback from someone as experienced as Kaizen. Of course, I was really happy when I found out that I got third place. This isn't the first time I've placed in the top three in one of his challenges, and also on their first monthly challenge. Overall, it's great. You get some really good feedback, and the prizes are great too. So yeah, it's fun.No Survivors © Haider AliFox Renderfarm: Can you summarize the project you entered in the Salvaged Space Challenge'?Behind The Scene I No Survivors © Haider AliHaider Ali: I envision this scene with a space guy, the first in space, maneuvering around a corridor. There's this intense sensation of burning cold, with an explosion erupting behind him. Out of the explosion emerges a massive robot. The scene is chaotic and intense, with shattered glass and burning debris scattered everywhere. The colors are vivid and contrasting, with striking orange and blue hues dominating the scene.Fox Renderfarm: Can you walk us through the creative process behind "No Survivors", from conceptualization to final execution? Do you have any standard working pipeline here?Haider Ali: I haven't settled on a perfect pipeline yet; I'm still exploring what works best for me. Typically, I start by opening Blender and experimenting to see what resonates with me. In this particular case, when I opened the project file, I noticed a figure floating in space. While some contestants interpreted it as floating in water, I immediately saw it as an astronaut in space. From there, I began adding various assets and experimenting to see what fit. For this project, I incorporated a lot of fire because I had limited time to complete the render. Using fire was the quickest way to fill out the scene. Behind the fire in the project file, there isn't much; it's mainly there to cover up what would otherwise be quite an empty file.Fox Renderfarm: What inspired you to create a piece that incorporates an AI robot and portrays a chaotic scenario? How do these elements interconnect and align with your artistic vision?Haider Ali: I think AI is on everyone's mind now, especially with tools like ChatGPT, and they represent a kind of scary future. So, I thought it was fitting for the challenge, including the requirement to incorporate the first character provided into the scene. However, the character in the window wasn't doing much, and I had to stick to its pose from the starter file, making it challenging to create dynamic action. I also needed to add a second character, perhaps an alien or a pet, to inject some action into my scene. For efficiency, I opted for robots as they are easier to work with due to their hard surface nature, avoiding the complexities of creating realistic organic shaders and the risk of encountering the uncanny valley effect. Choosing a robot also seemed appropriate given the current events and the overall theme of the challenge. Having a massive intimidating robot emerge from the fire felt more plausible than an organic creature, which might look cool but could be less realistic.Fox Renderfarm: Could you share the duration it took to bring this piece from concept to its final rendered form and highlight which aspect of the process consumed the most time? What contributed to this time investment?Haider Ali: So, I think the most crucial part for me is actually midway through the render when you've got the basic idea but you're not quite sure about the details. So, I quickly imported my astronaut and started placing some assets and rubble around. However, at this point, both the background and foreground of the scene were quite empty, and I wasn't sure what to add. The best thing I could do was to drag and drop assets from my library, placing random models and cubes around to see what might inspire me. But this approach wasn't very efficient, and I found that a lot of my time was spent just trying to figure out what would work in the foreground and where to position the robot. Another thing that can be quite time-consuming, and I think this is true for a lot of people, is lighting. I knew I wanted to create a big contrast between the orange fire and the blue from the astronaut's suit. However, integrating the robot into this color scheme was challenging because my initial thought was that the robot should be a deep red to signify that it's the enemy. But then, of course, this wouldn't work well with all the orange fire. In the end, I used the same colors as the astronaut for the robot, and I thought it worked quite well, even though it's not meant to be a friendly robot.Fox Renderfarm: What were the most significant challenges you faced in achieving such intricate detailing, and how did you overcome them during the creation of "No Survivors"?Behind The Scene I No Survivors © Haider AliHaider Ali: So, I would say the most challenging part is definitely dealing with the fire. It's essential to have all these details if you want to create a story that works. Initially, I thought about adding smashed circuit boards or computers to show the aftermath, but that would have taken too much time to create and texture. Instead, I decided to cover the entire scene with fire. If you have a good fire simulation, it's a really easy way to add lots of almost fake detail because it still looks nice, especially if the fire fits your scene. By doing this, you save a lot of time and effort in adding and monitoring all these details like the walls and computers, and even lighting to some extent. I have very few lights in my final scene because the fire does most of the lighting for you. So yeah, the way I got around introducing such details was just by setting everything on fire.I would say the most significant challenge I faced was getting the fire simulation done right because I knew it would be the most visible part of my scene. It's quite surprising that you say the most significant challenge you faced was with the fire. Initially, I thought it would be the robot because there's so much detail about it. Yeah, the robot was a bit challenging, but compared to some other things, like some sci-fi visuals and such, it's actually quite straightforward. I just put together the rough shape of a humanoid robot and then attached it to a rig that I downloaded from the internet. Blender has a built-in sci-fi panel generator as part of its landscape function, so I just selected sci-fi panels, stuck them together, and spent maybe half an hour in total on the robot. It's surprisingly not much, especially as the majority of the robot is covered in fire anyway. Since it's a fully lit scene, I didn't need to add lots of details like stickers or any writing. Otherwise, if I hadn't had the fire, I would have had to do that to keep the story flowing.Fox Renderfarm: Your work "No Survivors" shows that the astronaut is trying to escape from an AI robot. How did you capture a sense of dynamic motion in static digital rendering, and what techniques did you employ to convey the exciting context?Behind The Scene I No Survivors © Haider AliHaider Ali: Once again, fire seems to dominate the entire scene. None of us really see fire as a safe, calm thing most of the time anyway, and especially when it's engulfing the entire scene in this way, it immediately makes the scene very dramatic. Then, when you have this kind of robot launching out of it, it's like, what's this robot doing in the fire? Is it leaping towards the person? It's caught almost like mid-frame, and I think I even added some motion blur to the fire and to show this. Again, it's that sense of a snapshot right in the middle of the action that you get from that. This contrast really works well with the astronaut, who doesn't seem to be in any particular movement. He's just floating there, almost like he's frozen in time, inspecting something, or even just lying there idle and unconscious. So, contrasting that with this fierce fire and leaping robot really makes the scene feel more alive and more emotional, almost like a snapshot of chaos.Fox Renderfarm: Were there specific AI-powered rendering techniques or tools that you incorporated into the creation of "No Survivors" to achieve the praised rendering quality? How did these tools contribute to the final visual appeal of the artwork?Haider Ali: I just used Midjourney for some of my scenes. When I first started, I described the kind of scene I had in mind, like this astronaut floating there and this robot coming out of the back of the fire. It gave some really cool AI renders that I used as inspiration. It also didn't take elements to deform them, but they're really good for inspiration, especially when I got stuck later on what to put in the foreground and background. It's really good just to look at those to see what the AI did right and what made its AI render pretty good. Again, with texturing and adding grunge to the robot, it's really easy with Midjourney because Midjourney has a tile feature that lets you create tileable textures. So by just asking Midjourney for a grunge or dirt texture and making it tileable, I could get a really nice texture I could paint on top of the entire model to get all sorts of imperfections and add more detail.Fox Renderfarm: Can you describe a particularly memorable moment or breakthrough in the project's development? Behind The Scene I No Survivors © Haider AliHaider Ali: I think the biggest breakthrough was when I realized the power of Blender's Sci-fi panel generator and also when I decided to put the fire up close to the camera rather than just having this explosion in the distance. Blender's Sci-fi panel generator has this invaluable tool called an Arc Generator, and this has an option for Sci-fi panels and Sci-fi Grip. It's very basic, but by just creating these and adjusting the seed, you can get quick Sci-fi-looking panels that you can slap on all the walls of a corridor and really speed up the process. This meant that within the first half hour of making the scene, I was able just to lay out and cover all the walls with something, so there were no just bare walls from the start of our left. Then this is where those cables at the bottom and those grills come from next. The second biggest advancement, I think, is the decision to put fire in the foreground as well instead of just having the background and the middle ground being covered in fire and this explosion coming in from the back that the robot's emerging out of. But then I saw the problem of that, so I think adding detail to the foreground would just take me too much time. So when I came to the decision to just add some bubbles and set it up on fire, I think that really saved me from what could have been hours of work. It also helped create a contrast better between the blue astronaut and the orange fire. I think the contrast is something that's really poignant in something like this. That's why I keep coming back to it.Behind The Scene I No Survivors © Haider AliFox Renderfarm: Can you share with us about your favorite projects or pieces you've worked on, and what made them particularly enjoyable or fulfilling for you?Haider Ali: I love destruction and having things on fire in a scene. Anything that I can visualize being blown up or engulfed in flames, whether it's a wall revealing something behind it or even just something simpler like having a really nice high-quality simulation of a match being lit, is my favorite. So, I had this scene where there was fire swirling around an abandoned port in these ancient ruins, and I just thought that was like, I really enjoyed that. It's not something you'd be able to create naturally with that kind of ring of fire, but it's a really cool thing that you can do in CG, and it just looks really nice. I love scenes where it seems like the world is being blown up and all these smoke simulations, and I think that can be really cool and yeah.Fox Renderfarm: Are there specific cultural or natural elements that consistently inspire your work? How do these influences manifest in your creations?Haider Ali: There are some amazing real-life inspirations that I definitely incorporate into my work. A lot of the grunge used in my work is actually taken from real life. So, if I'm creating a darker, grimier scene, what I sometimes do is just go out and find some dirty concrete nearby. I'll go for a walk, maybe under a bridge, and take a photo on my phone. Then, I overlay that photo onto whatever I want to add grunge to in my scene. It quickly adds a realistic-looking detail because it's taken from a real photo. Nature is another thing that I often incorporate into my art. When I'm not creating destructive scenes, I'm creating active forests with beautiful lighting, like oak or aspen forests. Again, just going for a walk and being surrounded by nature before I start creating helps clear my mind.Image taken from Max Hay on InstagramOne particular source of inspiration I've been looking at a lot lately is Max Hay. He has a YouTube channel and an ArtStation profile with hundreds of artworks that are really inspiring. He breaks down a lot of them in his YouTube tutorials and shows how it's actually easy to create these good-looking artworks. He's definitely one of my favorites right now. Ian Hubert is another artist that a lot of people have heard of. His "lazy tutorials" series is quite good for making good-looking renders quickly. It shows that you don't have to spend a month on a scene or years on a short film to create something visually stunning. They're both definitely big inspirations for me.Fox Renderfarm: Have you had any experience with Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering services in the past? If you have, what is your opinion of our cloud rendering offerings? Haider Ali: I haven't actually had any experience with Fox Renderfarm before. I've heard good things about them and I've used other render farms before, but I've never actually used Fox Renderfarm. So, I'm excited to use it with the credits from the prize pool of the challenge.Fox Renderfarm: Finally, with the rapid advancement of technology, how do you envision the future trends in 3D art, especially considering your experience in winning the Kaizens Salvaged Space Challenge?Haider Ali: I mean, with all the AI advancements that have been happening recently, I think AI and 3D art are definitely going to become more intertwined in the future. Right now, there's a very clear line between 3D art and AI, but I believe that line will become more blurred. I still think there will be 3D artists and traditional artists, but many 3D artists have realized that it's not worth spending a month on a render when AI can do it much quicker. So, instead, they might create a basic render in a few days and then apply an AI filter on top. I think that's probably the direction that 3D art is heading now, with AI playing a significant role.Thanks again to Haider Ali for accepting our interview! Wishing new heights in your professional career! keep up with your great work.Haider Alis social media:Twitter: https://twitter.com/CG_HaiderInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/h3d_studio/Website: https://www.haider3d.com/


    From Student to Viz Pro: Bao Duy’s 10-Year Journey in the CGI Industry

    From Student to Viz Pro: Bao Duy’s 10-Year Journey in the CGI Industry

    2024-03-04

    Trending

    Fox Renderfarm Interview

    Having worked in the CGI business for ten years, Bao Duy is an architect and 3D artist at Refl Studio Vietnam. He recently received a nomination for the Viz Pro of the Year category in the CGArchitect 3D Awards 2023, which is sponsored by Fox Renderfarm, a leading cloud rendering services provider and render farm in the industry. His interest in this subject was sparked by a project he worked on in his fourth year at the University of Architecture in Da Nang, where he used 3ds Max to produce breathtaking and realistic photographs. He has since taken part in a number of projects that test his abilities and imagination.Lets discover more about Bao Duy's background, sources of inspiration, and outlook on the development of 3D art and architecture.Fox Renderfarm: Hi Bao Duy! Thank you so much for accepting our interview! Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?Bao Duy: My name is Bao, and I proudly serve as an architect and 3D artist at Refl Studio Vietnam. With a decade of experience in the CGI industry, every project has been a journey of growth and discovery.My initial exposure to this captivating field occurred during my fourth-year project at the University of Architecture in Da Nang. Back then, I utilized 3ds Max to breathe life into my ideas. Surprisingly, at that time, I never envisioned becoming a 3D artist; my aspirations leaned toward working as an engineer in urban planning after graduation. However, destiny had other plans for me. The pivotal moment came in 2014 while working at my first company. It was there that I realized my true passion for the art of crafting immersive experiences through 3D software. Since then, I've been enchanted by the enchanting process of transforming creative visions into tangible masterpieces.Fox Renderfarm: Congratulations on being nominated in the CGArchitect 3D Awards 2023 Viz Pro of the Year category! How do you feel about it?Bao Duy: First time, thank you very much for that. This achievement represents a significant milestone in my years of dedication to the field of visualization, marking a pivotal stage in the development of my skills and personal insights into this craft.Fox Renderfarm: Could you give us a brief overview of the project that you brought to the Viz Pro of the Year award?Cabin in the Sea © Bao DuyBao Duy: This project is in Norway. The images showcase a basic cabin perched on rocks with a view of the ocean in mild weather and dreamy lighting We focus on capturing peaceful moments throughout the day with warm, gentle lighting.Fox Renderfarm: Can you share what inspires your visualizations? Any favorite artists or references?Bao Duy: I always look up to artists like Bertrand Benoit, Zuliban, and Adán Martín as their works are a constant source of inspiration to me. Moreover, while working on a project, I make sure to use stock image websites like Shutterstock, Unsplash, etc. to find images that best align with the environment, lighting, and vegetation suitable for my project. It helps me ensure that my work is always top-notch and meets my high standards.Fox Renderfarm: Could you walk us through your creative process for this piece? How did you start, and how did it evolve?Bao Duy:© Bao DuyFirst, I will finalize the design process and finalize the model by modeling elements such as cladding, roofing, and terrace flooring, and etc.© Bao Duy© Bao DuyNext, I will select the camera and plan the overall layout of the project. As you can see, I have utilized a few basic human models to ensure that the scale and height of the terrain are appropriate, preventing the landscape from being too high or too low.© Bao DuyAfter selecting the appropriate camera, I will begin to make details for the landscape background. To create ground details, I use ZBrush along with various brushes. However, you may use any other sculpting software that works well for you.© Bao DuyWhen using huge Quixel libraries to enhance your environment, it's important to keep in mind that you can add, remove, edit or diversify them. However, it's crucial to choose or edit them based on reference images. This is to avoid any deviations in color or style from the intended project location.© Bao DuyAfter finishing the rock model, I proceeded to add vegetation to the landscape. Initially, I used Corona Scan to create moss patches on the foreground rocks, but upon rendering, I noticed that the detail was not satisfactory. Therefore, I utilized Speedtree to remodel the moss model Then, I used Itoo Forest to distribute the vegetation on the surface of the rocks, as well as in the crevices where weeds typically grow.© Bao DuyThen I continued to complete the trees, bushes, and grass around the house. You can use Itoo Forest to spread a forest background and add some key trees you like.© Bao DuyTo avoid processing large amounts of data by the CPU, you can separate the parts relevant to the simulation and vary the number of tests to achieve your desired image. This job takes a lot of my time.Finally, I will test lighting and mood again. You can change many types of light with HDRI or simply just Corona sun and Corona sky but make sure the brightness still follows the color tone you are focused on. Along with that, you check the materials and colors of everything because when changing the brightness, the color of the object will be changed but you only need to edit the objects that are important or too special in color. The rest you can edit with Photoshop if the image does not affect the overall image too muchFox Renderfarm: What innovative techniques or technologies did you employ in this project that set it apart from others?Bao Duy: There's nothing particularly unique about my project process - I tend to follow a standard approach. However, in this particular project, I utilized Chaos's Phoenix FD software to create the effect of ocean waves crashing against the cliffs. Perhaps the shape of the waves, combined with my efforts to accurately depict Norway's vegetation, helped to evoke a stronger emotional response from the viewer.Fox Renderfarm: Your textures for the leaves, rocks, water, and foliage are impressively lifelike. Could you walk us through your approach to crafting such detailed textures?Bao Duy:© Bao DuyI try to analyze their outstanding features such as stone veins, colors, forms, etc. The color of the water is quite difficult to achieve just by rendering so I created many color calibration layers in Photoshop.You can see I downloaded quite a few images of Norway's vegetation. I will then try to do simulations and material testing of them based on those images. Just like creating a first image and putting it in the inspiration section, we can easily compare the colors and differences between our photo and the actual image to easily edit it.Fox Renderfarm: How long did it take you to complete this piece from concept to final render, and which part was the most time-consuming? Why?Bao Duy: It took me approximately one week to come up with an idea and complete the product. The most time-consuming aspect was finding images from various sources and linking them together. After that, I had to experiment several times with different quantities to create the most effective wave applications that matched my desired outcome. Although it may not be perfect, I did the best I could.Fox Renderfarm: What were the most significant creative challenges you faced in this project, and how did you overcome them?Bao Duy: The most realistic way to create ocean waves using Phoenix requires multiple tests with various parameters, which can be quite time-consuming during simulation.Fox Renderfarm: Are there any moments you enjoyed during the creation process? And what was the most memorable?Bao Duy: The most exciting moment may be the final test when the seawater simulation is finished. then I'm still not satisfied with the foams and sponges made by Phoenix FD and they are quite heavy. So I continued to look for some tutorials online when using Tyflow to simulate them to suit my liking.© Bao DuyThe shape is good but you can see that the foam part is not beautiful and the moss part on the stone when using Corona scan will be flat. That's why I used tyflow to simulate sponges and used the model to spread on rocks.© Bao DuyIt is better for the next test.Fox Renderfarm: Are there any hidden details or Easter eggs in 'Cabin in the Sea' that viewers might not notice at first glance?Bao Duy: I tried to make more details with the materials for the house, but it's difficult to see the details in the overall image. Fox Renderfarm: How did you use visual storytelling to convey the architectural narrative of the project?Bao Duy: I will try to simulate the environment and foliage around the project so that when we look at it we can feel it close. Additionally, you can use lighting to make the picture look more vivid. The picture will be sad if all objects are frozen or do not have a specific state. Therefore, you can add elements such as the movement of trees, flags, water, or some motion effects and bokeh to create a more lively feeling in the photo.Fox Renderfarm: Have you had any experience with Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering services in the past? If you have, what is your opinion of our cloud rendering offerings? Bao Duy: I have not had the opportunity to experience Fox Renderfarm services. Maybe I will use the rewards I receive from you to continue personal projects in the future.Fox Renderfarm: Do you have any ongoing projects or future plans at the moment?Bao Duy: I have a personal project in the pipeline that will focus on visual effects and have a more cinematic feel. I hope everyone will enjoy it when it's released.Fox Renderfarm: Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring 3D artists? Are there any key lessons or insights that you have learned along your journey?Bao Duy: I hope that everyone strives to do their best and achieve their goals. When I was working on this project, I faced some difficulties, but it turned out to be a learning opportunity. I got to experience software that I had not used before.Thanks again to Bao Duy for accepting our interview! Wishing new heights in your professional career!Bao Duys social media:Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bao-doan-duy-798949b5/Behance: https://www.behance.net/BaoBiBo


    'Attack on Titan' in a Bottle: An Interview with Maxim Titov (Gindo70)

    'Attack on Titan' in a Bottle: An Interview with Maxim Titov (Gindo70)

    2024-02-19

    CG Challenges

    Fox Renderfarm Interview

    Maxim Titov (Gindo70), the first-place winner of the November "World in a Bottle" CGandWe Challenge, has astounded the digital art community with his impressive talent and creativity. Drawing inspiration from a pivotal scene in Attack on Titan's finale, Maxim's artwork captivates viewers with its visual homage. Delving into the thematic complexities of the anime series, Maxim skillfully portrays the juxtaposition of hope and tragedy. As the industry's top cloud rendering service provider and leading render farm, Fox Renderfarm is honored to interview Maxim. Lets dive in as Maxim shares his artistic process behind this amazing work.Fox Renderfarm: Hi Maxim! Thank you so much for accepting our interview! Please introduce yourself to our readers.Maxim: Hi, thank you for having me. My name is Maxim Titov, online most people know me as Gindo70. Im a hobby 3D and 2D Artist from Germany.Fox Renderfarm: Congratulations on winning 1st place in the November "World in a Bottle" CGandWe Challenge! How do you feel about it?Maxim: Great! Ive been taking part in the CGandWe challenges for a long time. I didn't make something every month, but I had quite a few submissions and this is the first one winning 1st place. I was very happy when I found out that I had won.Fox Renderfarm: How has the anime "Attack on Titan" influenced your artwork and what elements have you specifically drawn inspiration from?Maxim: The inside of the Bottle is visually inspired by a very important scene in the show's finale. I think anyone who watched "Attack on Titan" is gonna recognize the scene with the red scarf and the bird.Thematically, "Attack on Titan" is never black and white. There is hope in the darkest moments and tragedy in the most peaceful moments. I liked that theme, so I tried to capture it. The Wold in the Bottle is a quiet refuge in the dead outside world, but there are hints in the picture that it was once a place for two, and only one is left.Attack on Titan © Hajime IsayamaFox Renderfarm: What symbolism is intended by the action of the tree breaking open the bottle in your work?Maxim: It is meant to represent hope. No matter how dark the world outside gets, there are islands of hope that always find a way to break through to the outside. At first, I had planned to have more broken bottles in the background to make the world special, as if it were the only one left. But when I added the depth of field to make it look like a zoomed-in camera, the background became so blurry that I scrapped that idea. Some remnants of this plan can still be seen in the wireframe.Bottle Breakdown © Maxim TitovFox Renderfarm: Before diving into the visual design, how much planning and pre-production work do you typically do?Maxim: I usually take two or three days just for planning. Looking around on Pinterest or just thinking about it before going to sleep helps me visualize what I want to do. It was at that phase when I saw the final part of "Attack on Titan".Additionally, I started to research potential new techniques I could or want to incorporate. Fox Renderfarm: Could you please tell us about your pipeline for this work? And how long did it take you?Maxim: Now that I know what I want to do, I'm collecting reference images for everything I need. Pictures of bottles, anime-style landscapes, lake houses, and specifically for this case, frames from the scene that inspired me. At this point, I usually have a very clear idea of the scene I want to make in my head. In Blender, I start modeling the most central object(s), in this case, the bottle and the tree, and position it with the camera until I find something that matches my idea. Then, I create the shaders for the first objects, block out the rest of the scene, and set up the lighting.From here I work my way from large to small. I start with the grass field, move on to the house, and end with details like the character's clothes and the little leaves in the wind. Of course, not everything fits on the first try. It helps to ask someone for feedback and get several opinions. For example, the house was initially a stone house with a tiled roof and it was a friends feedback that made me change it to a wooden hut, giving it a much more cozy look.Now I iterate anything I don't like. At this point, it is important to realize what is it that I have to do in Blender such as the pose of the character and what can I simply fix in the post. There are many examples, but the most obvious is probably the hair. I was not satisfied with the way it looked and I could have gone into the Blender Hair Systems and kept iterating. Or just draw it on top. Hair Breakdown © Maxim TitovOnce I am happy with the render, I turn to Photoshop. I fixed the small problems that I didn't want to do in Blender, such as adjusting the colors, contrast, etc. to make it pop. It took me two weeks to create the piece, and I put some hours into it on some evenings. I believe it is important to take longer breaks if possible, and to look at it with a fresh mindset. So overall I worked about 20 hours on it.Fox Renderfarm: Can you describe the technical process you used to create the color and lighting effects within the scene?Maxim: The star of the process is the Shader to RGB node in Cycles. Just a simple node setup creates a powerful toon shader. It creates those nice hard shadows and vivid colors we know from more traditional animations. I used it for almost everything that was inside the bottle.Node Setup © Maxim TitovAdding a normal map and displacement textures allows it to effortlessly recreate any object you need in this style. Like I did for the logs of the cabin for example.Node Setup © Maxim TitovLog © Maxim TitovOr add a texture into the color of the diffuse to create patterns on the object, like I did for the skirt. Skirt © Maxim TitovA very important step to make the lighting of the scene stand out is to add glare and adjust the contrast. Im pretty sure, I could reach a very similar result with the blender compositor and the EEVEE bloom, but I am used to Photoshop so I do that there.For the Glare, I create two black and white copies of the image and layer it on top with color burn as the blend mode. This brings up the highlights of the render. I blur both copies with different strengths and screen them on top of the render to achieve the glare. The opacity of the blurred layers controls the glare strength.Fox Renderfarm: Are there any challenges that you encountered during the process of creation, such as the rendering speed? If so, how did you overcome them?Maxim: Yes, by far the biggest challenge was the ground plane on which the bottle rests. Since I was working with EEVEE to achieve the somewhat painterly look inside the bottle, I couldn't use displacement maps. EEVEE just doesn't support that yet. I knew from the beginning that this would be a problem, and my first plan was to render everything outside the world separately in Cycles. But combining the two scenes took more work than I thought. Especially because of the reflections.Luckily, I came across a YouTube video by CBaileyFilm that shows how to use displacement maps with the array modifier to achieve the same effect as in Cycles, saving me the trouble of separating the scene and merging the two scenes in post-production. It was much more computationally intensive but doable. I can't wait for the next big update of EEVEE when this problem will finally be solved.Fox Renderfarm: Are there any moments you enjoyed during the creation process? And what was the most memorable?Maxim: The most memorable for me is always the final day of the project. When the vision from the very start finally becomes real. I enjoy most of the creation process. What I enjoyed most this time was playing around with the color pallet. As the inside of the bottle is not Photoreal, many different color combinations seemed to work, giving the scene a colder, more autumny look. Ultimately, I went for a green summer look, but it was fun to go through the options.Fox Renderfarm: Can you describe the most rewarding project youve worked on so far?Maxim: My most rewarding (3D) project was probably the starting soon screen I animated for a Twitch streamer. I was very ambitious when I tackled the project and put a lot of effort into it. I was very relieved when I actually managed to deliver the promised result, and it was great to not only receive his gratitude but also the appreciation of the chatters when they saw it for the first time.Fox Renderfarm: Any artists or works that have influenced your style and approach?Maxim: Two artists changed my approach to art. First Thomas du Crest. He does magnificent-looking concept art with a mix of 3D and 2D techniques. His creation process opened my eyes to the fact that it doesn't just have to be one or the other. It might sound obvious, but nothing stops me from using some of my drawing strengths in my renders. Conversely, I've started using Blender to help with perspective and compositions during drawing. This has significantly improved my results in both fields. Snowstorm © Thomas du CrestThe second artist is Maxim Garipov, he makes YouTube videos (Channel: sketching in blender) and I really like his workflow. I have already learned a lot, but there is still a great deal I can learn from him.Guardian At The Gate © Maxim GaripovFox Renderfarm: Have you tried Fox Renderfarms services before? If so, how do you feel about Fox Renderfarms cloud rendering services? Maxim: I have not used them before. But with the voucher I won, I will certainly try it out.Fox Renderfarm: Do you have any ongoing projects or future plans at the moment?Maxim: There is the next CGandWE Monthly Challenge that I have started working on. I also wanted to remake one of my older pieces with my newly learned skills. Although I haven't decided which one yet.Maxims Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gindo70_ins/


    フラクタルオレンジ、「Into the Future」3D チャレンジで優勝!ハイスピードな世界でロボットの見事な表現

    フラクタルオレンジ、「Into the Future」3D チャレンジで優勝!ハイスピードな世界でロボットの見事な表現

    2024-01-24

    CG Challenges

    Fox Renderfarm Interview

    ハンナ・ローガリング(Hanna Loegering)として知られるフラクタルオレンジ(Fractal Orange)は、polygoniq の3Dチャレンジ「Into the Future」で見事に優勝しました!めまぐるしく変化する未来の世界における孤独なロボットの見事な描写で1位を獲得した。受賞作品は、CG タイムラプスを巧みに利用して、物語の痛ましさを強調しています。ハンナさん、おめでとうございます!業界トップのクラウドレンダリングサービスプロバイダーであり、レンダーファームでもあるFox Renderfarmは、コンテストのスポンサーとなり、ハンナさんにインタビューできたことを光栄に思っています。インタビューで、技術的に印象的なアートワークを作り上げるハンナさんの創造的な旅を探ってみましょう!Fox Renderfarm: ハンナさん、こんにちは!インタビューを受けていただき、誠にありがとうございます! 読者の皆様に自己紹介をお願いできますか?ハンナさん: インタビューしていただきありがとうございます。ハンナです。 2015 年以来、クリエイティブ業界で活動しており、好きなことを仕事にできてとても幸運です。コンピュータの前から離れると、スイングダンスを楽しんだり、聖書の勉強をしたり、サイス(Scythe) やトワイライト インペリウム(Twilight Imperium)などの複雑なボードゲームを友人や家族とプレイしたりしています。Fox Renderfarm: Polygoniqの3Dチャレンジ「Into the Future」で一位おめでとうございます!いかがですか?ハンナさん: ありがとうございます! 一位をいただけて光栄です。 いつも自分の作品を向上させるため努力しています。クレヨンを握っていただけだったら自分が、受賞ある今の私に成長するのを見るのは素晴らしいです。これからも続けていきたいと思っています。のようなコンテストが大好きです。同じテーマに対するさまざまなクリエイターのコンセプト、テクニック、芸術的スタイルを見ることはとてもインスピレーションを受けることができます。優勝作品 "Missing"© フラクタルオレンジFox Renderfarm: フラクタルオレンジ(Fractal Orange)を始めたきっかけを紹介していただけますか?名前にはどんな意味が込められていますか?ハンナさん: 大学卒業後、セレンディピタス・フィルムズ(Serendipitous Films)で働くために、テキサス州フォートワース(Fort Worth)という素晴らしい町に引っ越しました。セットで一緒に働いた多くのフリーランサーからフリーランスのアイデアを教えてもらいました。家族と一緒に暮らすために故郷のND州に戻ることに決めましたが、リモートのフリーランサーとして働くことでそれが可能になりました。キャッチーな名前が欲しかったので、適切な意味を持つ興味深い言葉を見つけるまで、2 つの異なる単語を組み合わせて見ました。「フラクタル」という言葉は、After Effects で常にフラクタルベースのエフェクトを使用しており、Blender でプロシージャルな素材を作成する際にもフラクタルノイズが必要となることが多いため、気に入っていました。また、フリーランスになっており、強烈で冒険心に満ちた機会を捉えるための決断を示す色として「オレンジ」を選びました。AIRER © フラクタルオレンジFox Renderfarm: 『Missing』のインスピレーションについて教えていただけますか?アイデアはどのようにして思いついたのですか?ハンナさん: どこから来たのかわかりません。 たぶん、雪と寒さが迫っていることに悲しみを感じていたから、ロボットも悲しんでしまったのだろう。pwnisher のレンダーチャレンジに参加したことがあり、1年前に『Moving Meditations Challenge』で5位に入賞したアナ(Anna)に圧倒された。素晴らしいタイムラプスを作り、私もそのテクニックを学びたいと思いました。ポリゴンのチャレンジにより、ついに試す機会が得られました。Moving Meditations Challenge © Annaダイナミックマシン - ガレージスタイル © フラクタルオレンジマイ・フレンド・ベア - ボス戦 © フラクタルオレンジFox Renderfarm: パイプラインについても教えていただけますか? また、どれくらいかかりましたか?ハンナさん: 時間を記録しませんでした (すべきだったかもしれないが)。 推測ではおおよそ 50 時間かかりました。 月の前半にアイデアを思いつきましたが、締め切りの 1 週間前まで作業できませんでした。 最終的なレンダリングは合計 4 時間 (各パスで 2 時間) かかりました。時間があまりなかったので、Kitbash 3D、Pollygonic、Mixamo のアセットを使用しました。 また、素晴らしいゴミモデル専門的に提供する Trash Kit も購入しました。Blender、After Effects、Auditionを使用しました。 また、Adobe Firefly を使用して少年のポスターイメージを生成し、Photoshop で修正しました。Fox Renderfarm: ロボットと背景のコントラストを作り出すために、どのようにタイムラプスを使ったのか教えていただけますか? ハンナさん: ロボットとタイムラプスの人々の動きには明らかに対照があります。 一時的には不自然です。 人々が速く動いているか、ロボットがゆっくりと動いているかのどちらかですが、ロボットに蹴った缶は、リアルタイムであるかのように転がります。それがアニメーションの素晴らしいところです。物理法則を打ち破れます!人々は、ロボットに孤独感を表示するためにタイムラプスされました。 悲しい小さなロボットを気にかけることなく、世界は忙しく動き続けています。Missing © フラクタルオレンジ Fox Renderfarm: 背景の人々を部分的に透明にしようと思ったのはなぜですか? また、このテクスチャをどのように作りましたか?ハンナさん: ロボットはショットの主役なので、群衆が気を取られることを避けたかったです。 最初はシャッタースピードを下げてモーションブラーを増やす試みをしましたが、それでもあまりにも目立ちました。アニメーションを 2 回レンダリングしました。1 回は群衆を含めて、もう 1 回は群衆を含まないものです。 一つに合成したら、群衆を部分的に透明にしました。 したがって、タイムラプスは物理的に正確ではありませんが、ストーリーをより良く伝えるのに役立つと思います。Fox Renderfarm: 色、素材、照明の設定などを通じて、全体の雰囲気をどのように実現しましたか?ハンナさん: それは難しいです。 プロセス全体を通して、いつもストーリーについて考え、より明確にするために、すべてのステップを微調整しました。サイバーパンク都市の雰囲気により、ライトの配置をもう少し自由にできるようになりました。 浮いているだけのポイントとスポットライトがいくつかありますが、ネオンサインや他の光源がたくさんありますので、その点を活用することができました。また、ポストで色調補正やエフェクトも少し行いました。Fox Renderfarm: 制作過程で直面した課題はありましたか?もしあれば、どのように克服しましたか?ハンナさん: 3D での作業で好きな部分の 1 つは、ライトとマテリアルを使用してシーンを設定し、すべてをブロックすることです。キャラクターアニメーションの方が難しいのですが、この作品ではロボットが歩くという要素がストーリーの一部として必要でした。 歩くサイクルを作るのが苦手なため、ロボットの足をけがさせることにしました。 この方法では、歩行が対称的かつ正確である必要はありません。 骨折しているので、歩くのが少しぎくしゃくするかもしれません。 また、『Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order』の BD-1 が足をけがしたまま歩くシーンの優れたリファレンスも見つけました。BD-1, Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order © Respawn EntertainmentFox Renderfarm: 制作過程で楽しかった瞬間はありますか? そして、最も思い出に残ったことは何ですか?ハンナさん: パイプラインの中でいくつかの瞬間を楽しんでいました。 正しい方向に進んでいることを確認するために、何度もテスト レンダリング (静止画またはシーケンス全体) を行いました。短い時間で全体がうまくまとまっているのを見るのは本当に嬉しかったです。お気に入りの部分の 1 つは、缶をアニメーション化することでした。 手作業でアニメーションを作成し、Z 軸にわずかなノイズモディファイアを使用して、ゴツゴツとした舗装を転がっているように見せました。そのような物理ベースの小さなアニメーションを作るのが好きです。 とにかく、転がるようにシミュレーションするのはとても手間がかかるため、私にとってはあまりにも難しいものでした。サウンドデザインも楽しかったです。 音楽トラックをテストしていたとき、思わず大声で笑ってしまいました。 トラックの 1 つはとても憂鬱なほどドラマチックで、ロボットがメFox Renderfarm: 好きな作品やアーティストはいますか?ハンナさん: 素晴らしいアニメーションや作品がたくさんありるので、難しいです。 すぐに思い浮かぶのは、映画『スパイダーバース』や『アルケイン』シリーズです。 コンセプトアーティストのセルジオ・カスタネダの作品も大好きです。スパイダーマン:アクロス・ザ・スパイダーバース © Marvelアルケイン © Riot GamesConcept Artist Sergio Castaneda's ArtstationFox Renderfarm: Fox Renderfarm のクラウド レンダリング サービスを試したことがありますか? もしそうなら、どう思いますか?ハンナさん: Fox Renderfarm やその他のレンダリング サービスを使用したことがありません。 かなり優れた GPU を頼りにしていますが、長尺のアニメーションを作るようになれば、パイプライン内でレンダーファーム サービスがより重要になる可能性があります。ハンナさん、インタビューへのご参加、ありがとうございました!素晴らしい作品を作り続け、ご活躍を心からお祈りしています!ハンナのソーシャルメディア:ウェブサイト: https://www.fractalorange.com/インスタグラム: https://www.instagram.com/fractal_orange/アートステーション: https://fractalorange.artstation.com/ヴィメオ:https://vimeo.com/fractalorangeリンクトイン:https://www.linkedin.com/in/hanna-loegering/


    Art Unleashed: The Creative World of Deepak Jain

    Art Unleashed: The Creative World of Deepak Jain

    2024-01-22

    Trending

    Fox Renderfarm Interview

    Discover the journey of Deepak Jain, a Creative Director at Brick Visual in Budapest, who has been in the 3D industry for over 16 years. He recently won second place in the professional category of the FGT3D New Adventure Challenge, a competition hosted by Fox Renderfarm, a leading cloud rendering services provider and render farm in the industry. Starting as a 3D automobile designer, he later transitioned to the world of architectural visualization. Despite his years in the field, he still feels the same enthusiasm he had during childhood sketching when he creates new artwork. In his free time, he crafts conceptual images and weaves stories that resonate with viewers.Join us in exploring the unique qualities that distinguish Deepak from the rest and uncover his impact on the 3D industry.Fox Renderfarm: Hi Deepak Jain! Thank you so much for accepting our interview! Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?Deepak Jain: Hello! I'm Deepak Jain, born and brought up in India. With 16 years of industry experience, I currently working as a Creative Director at Brick Visual in Budapest. My journey began with a childhood passion for drawings and toon comics, evolving into a fulfilling career in the 3D industry.Starting as a meticulous 3D automobile designer, I later embraced the captivating world of architectural visualization. Despite the years in this field, sitting in front of my computer with a new artwork still fills me with the same enthusiasm I had during childhood sketching.In my free time, I craft conceptual images, weaving stories that resonate with viewers. Beyond my professional pursuits, I find joy in immersing myself in the world of Mortal Kombat a game that can captivate me for an entire day!Fox Renderfarm: Congratulations on winning second place in the FGT3D New Adventure Challenge, professional category! How do you feel about it?Deepak Jain: What a thrilling moment it was to receive the email from Fox Renderfarm announcing my second-place win in the professional category! Another prestigious feather added to my hat, leaving me both excited and pleasantly shocked.Fox Renderfarm: Could you give us a brief overview of the project that you brought to the FGT3D New Adventure Challenge?An Unforgettable Adventure © Deepak JainDeepak Jain: The topic "New Adventure" challenge was brilliantly creative. Underwater diving had always been a dream, a desire to explore the underwater life and unearth its hidden treasures. When I finally had the chance to dive, it became an unforgettable adventure. Capturing and sharing that real-time experience in this challenge was my way of reliving that mesmerizing journey.Fox Renderfarm: What inspired you to participate in the FGT3D New Adventure Challenge, and how did you come up with the idea for your winning entry?Deepak Jain: Fox Renderfarm's challenges are among my top favorites. Fox Renderfarm is a big name in the domain and consistently brings forth unique, creative topics. I would like to tell the readers that winning the Fox Renderfarm Explorer Challenge with 1st place was a proud moment for me. My entry for this challenge was inspired by the same passion I have explained before.Hard Time © Deepak Jain | 1st Place of Professional Category in Fox Renderfarm Explorer ChallengeFox Renderfarm: The scene you created is full of vibrant colors and intricate details. How did you go about creating the textures and lighting for the scene, and what was your creative process like? Quick Sketch © Deepak JainDeepak Jain: In my artistic process, storytelling is key. Before diving into any artwork, I delve deep into brainstorming concepts and ideas. The image should naturally narrate its own story, so I begin with crafting that tale in my mind. Gathering references for mood and color palette follows suit, solidifying the vision. A quick basic sketch helps capture the essence of my initial idea, ensuring I encapsulate the concept.The foundation takes shape with basic modeling and arrangement of elements, setting the scene's composition. Exploring various camera angles is pivotalI meticulously sift through options to lock down the most compelling camera angles. Texturing and lighting step in, guided by the pre-selected references, setting the mood and tone.Refinement is where the magic happensadding props, detailing objects, and enriching with vegetationall intricately woven into the scene. Testing the render at lower resolutions is a strategic move to conserve time before committing to the final high-resolution rendering, often left overnight.Post-production is the final touch, adding that last dash of finesse to elevate the renders. This meticulous process culminates in a visual narrative that speaks volumes on its own.Creative and Production Process © Deepak JainGreyscale & Wire Render © Deepak JainFox Renderfarm: Underwater scenes often require attention to small details. Were there specific tools or features in your chosen rendering software that proved particularly useful in adding fine details to elements like coral textures and fish scales?Deepak Jain: I crafted this image using a blend of tools3ds Max, iToo Forest Pack, V-Ray, and Photoshop. Employing iToo Forest Pack Pro, I scattered fishes and petite plants, while personally modeling and painting textures, even crafting displacement maps for the vibrant coral reefs.Fox Renderfarm: The coral reef and fish in the scene contribute to its vibrant and dynamic nature. Could you discuss the techniques you employed to portray the diversity and movement of marine life in a way that feels natural and immersive? Color Palette and Lighting Mood Board from GoogleDeepak Jain: Texturing and color themes, guided by carefully chosen color palettes, are pivotal in achieving a harmonious balance of hues for small objects and props. Embracing the principles of color theoryexploring primary, secondary, and tertiary colorscan effortlessly enhance your creative process. A quick Google search on color theory will unveil a wealth of insights to elevate your design aesthetic.Fox Renderfarm: How long did it take you to complete this piece from concept to final render, and which part was the most time-consuming? Why?Deepak Jain: The most time-consuming aspect? Undoubtedly, conceptualizing a story that truly embodies the challenge themeNew Adventure. Navigating through intricate details and texturing proved a bit tricky. Interestingly, time seemed to fade away during the creative process. I don't tackle images in one continuous flow; instead, I embrace a bit-by-bit approach. If the mood isn't right, I step back. Working with a free mind brings me joy, allowing the creation of storytelling images that resonate with happiness.Fox Renderfarm: The underwater scene you've described is vivid and detailed. Can you elaborate on the specific challenges you faced in creating the realistic effects of crystal-clear water and the interplay of sunlight in a 3D environment?Work breakdown © Deepak JainDeepak Jain: Implementing volumetric lighting, rich reflections for water, and intricate fog effects within a 3D environment demands significant time, particularly during rendering. Creating these effects inevitably skyrockets rendering times and can be cumbersome during testing. Yet, achieving exceptional results necessitates patience, unwavering motivation, and a focus on the ultimate, breathtaking outcome.Fox Renderfarm: Are there any moments you enjoyed during the creation process? And what was the most memorable?Deepak Jain: The journey of detailing and texturing in this artwork was initially challenging, but once I captured the essence, it became a love affair. I recall a moment when I devoted an entire night, continuously refining the scene. The enthusiasm and dedication fueled me till the early hours, marking a memorable creative spree.During the creation of this scene, my 6-year-old son wandered near my workstation. He found a yellow fish captivating and named it 'Cukkoo'! His little moments of joy make this project even more special for me.Fox Renderfarm: Are there any hidden details or Easter eggs in 'An Unforgettable Adventure' that viewers might not notice at first glance?Deepak Jain: The true treasure of this artwork lies in its hidden emotions, woven into the image.Fox Renderfarm: Have you had any experience with Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering services in the past? If you have, what is your opinion of our cloud rendering offerings? Deepak Jain: I haven't had the chance to experience Fox Renderfarm's service yet, but I'm definitely looking forward to trying out your cloud rendering soon!Fox Renderfarm: Do you have any ongoing projects or future plans at the moment?Deepak Jain: Absolutely! I'm currently immersed in creating another conceptual artwork, filled with excitement and enthusiasm. I can't wait to share it with you and the readers soon. As I mentioned before, crafting these storytelling images during my free time is a continuous and joyful endeavor for me. Fox Renderfarm: Finally, what advice would you give to aspiring 3D artists? Are there any key lessons or insights that you have learned along your journey?Deepak Jain: An artist's true power lies in talent, creativity, and passionnot in software. With a keen visual sense and imagination, any 3D tool becomes a canvas for incredible art. In the world of 3D, hard work and dedication are the keys to success; there are no shortcuts. This industry fuels dreams, allowing artists to express emotions and imagination globally. For veterans, perpetual learning and networking are vital for long-term success. Keep creating and connectingit's the artist's journey to flourish.Thanks again to Deepak Jain for accepting our interview! Wishing new heights in your professional career!Deepak Jains social media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deepakjain3d/Behance: https://www.behance.net/deepakjain0757LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepak-jain-7a306786/?originalSubdomain=huFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002118716224


    An Interview with Chungkang College of Cultural Industries, the Creative Masterminds Behind "CURATOR"

    An Interview with Chungkang College of Cultural Industries, the Creative Masterminds Behind "CURATOR"

    2024-01-19

    Fox Renderfarm Projects

    Fox Renderfarm Interview

    "CURATOR" is an awe-inspiring animation film that has captured the hearts and imaginations of numerous viewers. Created by Team C :GC, a group of talented students at Chungkang College of Cultural Industries. Founded in Icheon, South Korea, Chungkang stands tall as a respected institution dedicated to nurturing budding talents across a range of content departments. Fox Renderfarm as the industry's top cloud rendering service provider and render farm, was honored to sponsor project "CURATOR" and interview the director Park ju-hee. Thank you for using our cloud rendering service! Stay tuned as we delve deeper into the artistic minds of Chungkang's animation department in this interview, uncovering the secrets that have propelled their creative endeavors to new heights.CURATOR © Team C :GCFox Renderfarm: Hi Team C:GC! Thank you so much for accepting our interview! Please introduce yourself and your school Chungkang to our readers.Team C :GC:Hello, everyone! I'm Park ju-hee, the director of "CURATOR". It's a pleasure meeting you! I am a senior student at Chungkang graduating this year. Chungkang College of Cultural Industries, located in South Korea, is a school that cultivates creative talents with various content departments such as animation, games, comics, and performance arts. The animation department where I study has always been a popular place for students, gathering young people who love all genres of animation, including 3D, 2D, and stop-motion animation🔥Fox Renderfarm: Could you provide us with an overview of the animation program offered at your school?Team C :GC:"CURATOR" Graduation Exhibition in Seoul © ChungkangOur school pays a lot of attention to the fundamental courses for making animated films. That's why we have established sculpture, body painting, 3D fundamentals, directing, and storytelling courses in our freshman year. At the end of our sophomore year, we apply what we have learned in the second semester of our second year to plan and create semester assignments. Through making animation with our own hands, we learn to work together in a teamwork pipeline, and at the end of each semester we share our learning through assignments, screenings, and graduation exhibitions. By the final year in school, students utilize the skills honed over the past two years and the knowledge gained through various team activities for in-depth courses and a year-long graduation design project.Chungkang University In-house Graduation Screening CKAS 2024 © ChungkangThe process of creating a piece of work with classmates in three short years has not been easy, and there have been many moments of unease, but those emotional days of seeing the final piece at the screening are still fresh in my mind.Fox Renderfarm: Can you tell us about the inspiration behind your work "CURATOR"? How did you come up with this idea?Team C :GC:Early Conceptual Art | Conceptual Art © Park ju-heeI loved nature since I was a kid and I aspired to the wide open sky. I also love teen manga where the main character grows up against all odds, so one of the things on my wish list is to make an animation of a teenager growing up. So when I put my favorite things together, I started to think, "I want to draw a boy running on a grass field under a big blue sky!" and then I started fleshing it out one by one :)Fox Renderfarm: What do you hope the viewers will take away from watching this video, and what message or feeling do you want to leave them with?Team C :GC:CURATOR 쿠라토"In a tribe, living with huge birds, a boy called 'CURATOR' meets a girl who changes his fate."CURATOR © ChungkangYunta, the main character, is a child who never thinks for himself. He is forced to accept his destiny and has no time to think about who he is. When Yunta meets Halla, who is living her own life, he thinks for the first time about what he likes. With a dream in his heart, Yunta gathers courage and decides to live his own life in the future.CURATOR © ChungkangWhat I want to convey is that although knowing what you like and dreaming about your future is a common thing, the power it contains is very strong. I hope that those who see Yunta grow can feel this courage as well!Fox Renderfarm: Were there any specific films, books, artworks, or real-life events that inspired the story and the characters?Team C :GC:I think a lot of it comes from personal experience and my own growth. First of all, "CURATOR" contains what I wanted to say to myself as a child. I created this to tell people to not worry about what other people think, instead, have the courage to face their true selves.And I really liked the movie Avatar, and I think I got a lot of inspiration from it!Avatar © 20th Century StudiosFox Renderfarm: How did your team approach the character design? Can you walk us through your creative process and the steps you take to bring a character to life?Team C :GC:Early Stage Yunta and Halla | Concept Art © Jeong Da-inInitially, the story is set up with Yunta and Halla being childhood friends destined to compete for the position of the tribal chief. Unlike Halla, who is trusted by the tribe, Yunta is ignored by the tribe. We ended up revising the plot and after changing the main character Yunta to a living god, I felt that the two felt less like childhood friends. So we created something in common: shackles and crutches, and we also created a situation where the two are outside the tribe, even though they have very different positions. I thought that if I could meet these two, these two characters would naturally lead the story plot.Yunta and Halla | Concept Art © Jeong Da-inIn the design, we made a big difference in the direction of the fundamental shapes according to the character's personality growth: the angular Yunta and the mellow and lively Halla. The unique tribal clothes were also designed separately. Such as the difference between Yunta's unique clothing and Halla's slightly worn clothes.Fox Renderfarm: How did you use colors, materials, and lighting setup to achieve the atmosphere in your work?Team C :GC:Since the story is set in a primitive tribe with its own culture, we tried to convey the dangerous and mysterious atmosphere of the tribe by keeping the saturation of primary colors in each scene.Screenshots of "CURATOR" Scenes © ChungkangThe first scenes are shown in blue to create a dim and mysterious atmosphere, when Yunta and Halla become friends, they are shown in warm yellow. In the ritual scene, a dangerous red and cold indigo is used overall. The final departure scene is shown mainly in pink, creating a bright and hopeful atmosphere. Because of the limited length, I think a clear delineation of primary colors based on the mood of the scene helps convey the story.Fox Renderfarm: Could you please tell us about your pipeline for this work? And how long did it take you?Team C :GC:Baby Pamula | Concept Art © Jeong Da-inCreating an animation involves going through three production stages: pre-production (storyboard, concept art), main production (modeling, texturing, binding, animation, lighting, special effects), and post-production (compositing, sound, editing). Among them, I'll briefly introduce the model mapping part of the main production process.It's not shown in the artwork, but it's a cute baby Pamula. The Pamula is a huge bird with a body made up of scales. When they are babies, they have black scales, and when they molt and become adults, they turn into bright colors (blue, green, purple, etc.). After drawing and completing the concept along with the setup, we moved on to the next model.Baby Pamula Model | Modeling © Yang Seung-hyunIn modeling, we focus on creating 3D shapes and even surfaces. Face management in modeling is a factor that determines the rendering time. This is designed to be very important as it is directly related to the likelihood of completing the job. Once the modeling is complete, texturing is performed to color the gray polygon. Here we give it material representation, color, and life details.Mapped Baby Pamela | Mapping © Yang Seung-hyunThe super cute baby Pamula is born!During this process, the modeler, concept artist, and director looked at the work together and compared it to an adult Pamula, discussed the points they wanted to show, and exchanged feedback and improvements. If the color is not harmonious when it is put into the scene in the later stage, it will be improved in different ways in the early stage. Except for the textured parts that were modeled, everything else went through a similar workflow.Each team has a slightly different process for each production, and because our team was dealing with a raw tribe of creatives, it was difficult for us to visualize the vibe of the production at first. To make this happen, the lighting/compositing portion of post-production worked together from low-poly modeling to set the tone from the beginning. We then uploaded the project to the team community and worked together to familiarize ourselves with the vibe of the piece. Because of this, the realism of the piece grew over time and we were able to capture the unique atmosphere of the Gavia tribe!Fox Renderfarm: Are there any challenges that you encountered during the process of creation? If so, how did you overcome them?Team C :GC: The longest and heaviest scene - Maya © ChungkangOne of the problems the team has been facing frequently is the lack of time. With the entire production cycle limited to 11 months, even if a great idea was presented after completing the first round of production, there was no additional time to implement it. Due to the nature of 3D work, the schedule must always be adjusted with the rendering time in mind, making our schedule even tighter. So, to reduce the render time, I was supported by Fox Renderfarm, which gave me an extra month of free time! This is a feat indeed.Composition Job-Nuke © ChungkangAs a result, I was able to focus on each part and had time to challenge myself until the end. Thanks to all of you, I was able to complete a wonderful piece of work without any regrets.Fox Renderfarm: Are there any moments you enjoyed during the creation process? And what was the most memorable?Team C :GC:Yunta brought to life © ChungkangFloor murals and figures created by team members © ChungkangI enjoyed every moment, especially when Yunta's rigging was done and when it was possible to move his face and body, it felt like a new life was born! I remember it fondly because at that moment I felt like I was really making animation.There is an animation studio on campus called CCRC. It is a place where teams can come in and work. There, I often worked all night with my team members, and I remember having fun while sharing ideas, eating together, and sometimes even dancing. It was hard work and exhausting, but now I look back on it as a precious memory that I may never experience again.Fox Renderfarm: Technically and management-wise, how did you optimize efficiency in the production process as a team?Team C :GC:Animation Feedback Site © ChungkangLighting Feedback Site © ChungkangVoice Actor Recording Site © ChungkangOur team consists of 18 members. There used to be a wide variety of work to be done daily, but to have a smooth exchange of ideas, we held weekly department meetings and bi-weekly meetings for all to create time to share our work process. We also created a community to upload work and share feedback in real-time.I remember that we all participated enthusiastically in every meeting, whenever we lost our way, we gathered together to think. Because of this, we were able to move forward in the general direction of our work. The animation meetings in particular were very long, averaging 6 to 10 hours a week, but everyone persevered and created such amazing animations!Fox Renderfarm: Have you tried or heard about Fox Renderfarms services before? If so, how do you feel about Fox Renderfarms cloud rendering services? Team C :GC:Fox Renderfarm User InterfaceFox Renderfarm is a rendering service that we decided to use from the planning stage to complete our work. Our team is made up of students, so we don't have enough computers for rendering other than our personal work computers. Therefore, by using the Fox, we can achieve excellent time efficiency by keeping our personal computers up to speed and at the same time securing working hours.This was a large-scale job, and for detailed composition, we wanted to adjust the render times by splitting each clip into many render layers. However, we were concerned that the large number of cuts would be difficult to manage. But thanks to the ability to divide render areas in Fox Renderfarm, it was very convenient to render in multiple areas of multiple layers simultaneously!When rendering, many unexpected errors often occur. Situations such as clothes suddenly disappearing, and textures not being visible can cause quite a headache. In Fox Renderfarm, we were able to prevent many of these errors by using the first frame/middle frame/end frame test rendering feature to check the results using the preview window before fully rendering. Especially when re-rendering (for Maya), having to open the file, find the frame and render is such a pain, so it's nice to be able to easily render it in Fox Renderfarm using the re-render button. It's also very important to set the file paths correctly when working. Half of the errors happen with wrong paths. When using the Fox Renderfarm client platform, the work progresses quite easily thanks to the feature that automatically recognizes the path without having to upload the file.Fox Renderfarm: Do you have any ongoing projects or future plans at the moment? Would you collaborate again as a team?Team C :GC:These days, whenever I'm sitting around the house with nothing to do, I always feel like I should be working at this time and I can't believe that I'm taking a break! Making animations is sometimes difficult because it takes up so much of my time, but I really enjoy the process. So after this project, I decided to take some time off! But I find myself always coming up with new ideas without even realizing it, and I'm in the middle of planning a new project right now. I don't know what's going to happen this time, but I'm excited to be running again!I hope you guys enjoyed reading this and I hope everyone who reads this can soar like Yunta and Halla!P.S. C :GC team worked hard! Thank you for your efforts, I love you and I hope you all can soar no matter where you are!Team C :GCs Social Media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/curator_ckas2024/


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