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After the release of "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" last year, the young superhero Miles Morales once again appeared in the public eye and the film received widespread acclaim. Miles becoming a superhero as a teenager is something very cool in the eyes of his peers. As a young Spider-Man, does he have other worries besides fighting evil? In reality, he does, but they may be shown less in the movies. Teamed up with Kevin Love Fund, Sony Pictures released the short film "The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story," in which you can see how Miles feels under pressure and how he deals with it.Image from Sony Pictures Entertainment"The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story" was created and produced during the first year of the Leading and Empowering New Storytellers (LENS) program, initiated by Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Imageworks. It is directed by Jarelle Dampier, written by Khailia Amazan, and produced by LENS program creators Michelle Raimo-Kouyate and David Schulenburg.Image from Sony Pictures EntertainmentIn "The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story," Miles grapples with the delicate balance between his roles as a teenager, friend, and student, all while donning the mantle of Brooklyn's beloved Spider-Man. Amidst the complexities of his daily life, Miles finds himself confronting the weight of his responsibilities, culminating in a harrowing panic attack. Through this ordeal, he must confront the manifestations of his anxiety, discovering that seeking support is just as courageous as defending his city against nefarious forces.Watch the short film here:Source: Sony Pictures EntertainmentIf you're interested in animation and visual effects, you might want to check out Fox Renderfarm - the leading cloud rendering services provider and render farm in the CG industry. Fox Renderfarm has provided cloud rendering services to countless visual effects and animation studios, allowing them to get the best quality results in the shortest time. A $25 free trial is available to let you speed up the rendering of your 3D projects.

As we navigate through 2024, the art of animation continues to undergo transformative changes, driven by technological advancements and shifting audience preferences. We're observing significant shifts in animation trends 2024, with creativity being pushed to new heights.One of the key animation trends of 2024 is the increasingly widespread use of 3D animation. Previously a novel concept, 3D animation has now become a mainstream technique across various media. This growth in 3D animation is attributed to its prowess in creating detailed, immersive environments, transcending traditional boundaries and enhancing viewer engagement with its depth and detail.Image via MarvelMoreover, the blending of 2D and 3D animation techniques is one of the standout hybrid techniques gaining momentum. This innovative approach merges the nostalgic allure of 2D animation with the dynamic realism of 3D. These hybrid techniques offer a distinct aesthetic, providing creators with new opportunities to experiment with textures and perspectives. Movies such as "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" and "The Mitchells vs. The Machines" are excellent examples of this trend, showcasing the possibilities of these hybrid animation techniques.Image via NetflixLinking to 'Oni: Thunder God's Tale' - A Netflix Series Showcase The Netflix series "Oni: Thunder God's Tale" exemplifies these emerging animation trends 2024, blending various styles and techniques in a contemporary setting. The series is a visual celebration of hybrid techniques in animation, merging traditional methods with modern digital tools.Image via NetflixThe creators of "Oni," in collaboration with Megalis VFX and other studios, have pushed the envelope in combining stop-motion and CG environments. Their advanced approach in hybrid techniques, which involved using deep images and compositing tricks, has set a new benchmark in animation, blurring the lines between traditional techniques and modern digital tools. The result is a visually captivating series that respects traditional animation while embracing the advancements of modern technology. Fox Renderfarm: Powering the Future of Animation This seamless integration of different animation styles in "Oni: Thunder God's Tale" highlights the importance of powerful rendering solutions, and that's where Fox Renderfarm comes into play. As a leading render farm in the CG industry, Fox Renderfarm offers cloud rendering services that are crucial for projects like "Oni." Fox Renderfarm plays a pivotal role in realizing projects like "Oni: Thunder God's Tale" that epitomize the animation trends of 2024. As a leading render farm, Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering services are essential for handling complex, hybrid techniques in animation. Their infrastructure ensures precision and efficiency in rendering, making them an invaluable asset in the animation industry's journey towards a more technologically advanced future.The success of "Oni: Thunder God's Tale" and the integral role of Fox Renderfarm in cloud rendering services underscore the evolution of animation trends in 2024. As we continue to witness groundbreaking developments in hybrid techniques and other innovations, Fox Renderfarm stands as a key enabler, powering the creative visions of animators across the globe.Fox Renderfarm's Customers' WorkSome other Fox Renderfarm’s key benefits include:Rapid Rendering: Minimize delays in production with faster rendering capabilities.Batch Rendering: Handle large volumes of rendering tasks simultaneously.Cost-Effectiveness: Reduce expenses compared to maintaining local render farms.24/7 Service: Constant availability to keep projects on schedule.Expert Technical Support: Professional assistance to ensure smooth operations.TPN-Accredited Vendor: Guarantees top-tier security and data protection.In conclusion, as we delve into the fascinating world of animation in 2024, it is clear that the industry is moving towards a more integrated and technologically advanced future. The success of series like "Oni: Thunder God's Tale" and the pivotal role of cloud rendering services like those offered by Fox Renderfarm are testaments to this evolution. As we continue to explore new horizons in animation, Fox Renderfarm stands as a beacon, powering the dreams and aspirations of animators worldwide.

CGKatha Studios has created a stunning 3D animation for Impact Mints to show cricket enthusiasts the limited edition cricket themed mints. According to CGKatha Studios, the animation was created entirely in Blender and they chose Fox Renderfarm as the high-speed cloud rendering solution. Without excellent work from each team, it is impossible to turn this concept into reality.Check out the Impact Mints limited edition cricket:As a leading cloud rendering services provider and render farm, Fox Renderfarm has always provided our users with fast and seamless rendering services, including individual artists, small studios, large animation companies, film and television special effects &x26; advertising industry, and architecture industry, etc.Thanks again to CGKatha Studios for choosing Fox Renderfarm to deliver this impressive 3D animation!CGKatha Studios: https://www.instagram.com/cgkatha_studios/

Veggie Go Round is a collaborative animated short film created by an Illustration and Digital Animation student team - Salad Bowl Studios, for their final year graduation project at The One Academy. It’s an action-packed comedy about a young boy who imagines the veggies on his plate as live monsters, merrily inspired by the universal childhood experience of growing up as a picky eater.Watch Veggie Go RoundAs a leading render farm and partner of The One Academy, Fox Renderfarm has provided the cloud rendering service to the team and helped make this animated short film a reality. We’re honored to have Violet Lee, the Director of Salad Bowl Studios here and made an exclusive interview with her. Let’s look behind the scenes of Veggie Go Round through this interview.Fox Renderfarm: Hi Violet, thank you so much for accepting our interview. First of all, please introduce yourself and your team to us.Violet: Hello, thank you for the precious opportunity! I’m Violet Lee, the Director of Salad Bowl Studios. We are a team of twenty-eight 2D and 3D artists who created a short film Veggie Go Round that was released earlier this year in June 2023.Fox Renderfarm: Why did you call yourself Salad Bowl Studios? Is it a combination of all kinds of CG talent?Violet: That’s right! Salad Bowl Studios consists of various students majoring in Illustration, 3D Animation and 3D Modeling in The One Academy, Malaysia. The concept of a Salad Bowl is indeed our way of describing the bright mixture of CG talents that contributed to this short film about vegetables.Fox Renderfarm: Could you tell us more about this short? And what was the inspiration?Violet: Veggie Go Round is a cute and light-hearted comedy portraying the adventures of a young picky eater as he imagines himself being chased by vegetable monsters. When creating this story, we took inspiration from our own childhood memories of disliking veggies, as we’ve found that many people around the world can relate to this experience.Our head writer, Metta Soegiharto, is the main lead this pitch is accredited to, as she had worked tirelessly to bring us the full development and visual flow of the script alongside co-writer Chi Hang and line producer Ly-Ann. To add a fun fact: we had originally imagined our film to have an eerie and sinister style like Cuphead! However, we ultimately decided on a cute short that’s safe and friendly for young audiences.Our initial idea was thought to have a darker art style. © Studio MDHRThe final execution ended up cute and funny. Meet the vegetable monsters! © Salad Bowl StudiosFox Renderfarm: How did you design the characters of the little boy and vegetables? Were there any references?Violet: To approach each of our character designs, we start with describing a prompt of the character. For example, our boy is a “small mischievous boy, ginger hair with a hat”. Then our illustrators begin compiling a variety of references to develop design concepts around this prompt.Prompt: small mischievous boy, ginger hair with a hat.A collection of sketches by our character artist team that captures the boy best. © Salad Bowl StudiosOnce the most suitable idea was established, our lead character artist Erina Sufian proceeded with the final version of the boy’s design.Boy character sheet by Erina Sufian. © Salad Bowl StudiosUp next is the adaptation of 2D design into 3D model, executed and rigged by our lead modeler Hsin Wei.Boy sculpt by Hsin Wei. © Salad Bowl StudiosCompleted 3D model, rigged and textured by Hsin Wei. © Salad Bowl StudiosDemo of our boy’s personality, animated by lead animator Ardelia Tiffany Yoga. © Salad Bowl StudiosAs for the rest of the cast, it is a slightly different process where we narrow down our selection of iconic vegetables to make the prompt, before creating cute and charming designs from the unique shapes. Under the guidance of art director Ting Wei, here are some key points of our veggie development.Studying the silhouettes of existing food characters for inspiration. © Salad Bowl StudiosOriginally, we were sketching out eccentric and creepy veggie monsters for the thrilling chase scene. Later on however, it became clear that cute rounded designs were more visually appealing for general audiences, especially when viewed and animated from different angles. And that’s how our adorable and energetic cast was born!Three different render styles for our character cast explored by Hui Ching, Joel Chong and Natasha Ng. © Salad Bowl StudiosDiscovering the “personalities” of each veggie: illustrated by Ainsley Phua, Hui Ching, Natasha and Ting Wei. © Salad Bowl StudiosDemo of our veggie character lineup in 3D with distinct silhouettes and unique behaviors. The execution was a collaborative effort - modeled by Hsin Wei, Donovan and Nicholas, rigged by Alex and Vincent, and finally animated by Ardelia Tiffany Yoga, Ammar Syahiran, Violet Lee, Chloe Loh and JoJo Chan.Fox Renderfarm: Could you introduce the pipeline/workflow of this project? What software or plug-ins did you use? And how long did it take you to finish the short?Violet: To keep track of our progress and scheduling, we referenced the classic animation production pipeline to divide our workload across pre-production, production and post-production stages. Below is an illustrated example of how each task may be split.Image © "3D Animation Essentials" by Andy Beane.In the case of our film, we referred to this timeline with some minor deviations depending on the completion status of each phase. Pre-production is largely focused on developing the story, character and environment designs in 2D so that the 3D team can begin sculpting and building the previsualization scene. An efficient workflow ensures that all the look development plus 3D blocking is completed before moving onto the production stage — which focuses on polishing the animation, finalizing the model textures, and fixing any rigging issues that subsequently arise. Lastly, post-production is dedicated to lighting, rendering and compositing as this process can take longer than expected to tweak and troubleshoot. This is also the stage for us to prepare promotional materials for official release on various platforms.Once the film’s individual scenes have been stitched together with music, sound effects, visual adjustments and special effects, that’s when we know our film is complete and ready.Example of environment blocking in the pre-production stage, modeled by lead environment artist Nicholas. © Salad Bowl StudiosRender of a scene in production stage with refined textures and lighting. © Salad Bowl StudiosFinal result upon release, after compositing and VFX. © Salad Bowl StudiosThe main software of choice for our production is Autodesk Maya, and relevant supplementary work was done in ZBrush, Adobe Photoshop, After Effects and Premiere Pro. Our line producers Ly-Ann and Chloe Loh collaborated to manage the timeline and arrange the task distribution for each team member.It took us exactly a year from May 2022 to May 2023 to complete our 4-minute short film, and we managed to speed things up by having processes run concurrently such as the 2D team finalizing the visual design whilst the 3D team constructing the previs at the same time. The benefit of having a team of diverse talents is that you don’t have to wait for one task to be complete before starting the other — you can have multiple sectors simultaneously working on separate fragments to be combined later on.Fox Renderfarm: The little boy has rich facial expressions and various movements. How did you achieve this cute style through animation? Were the animators observing the behaviors of children or taking reference videos before?Violet: I’m very happy to hear that! Yes, to capture the cute vibe of the character, we began by compiling funny clips of children reacting to eating vegetables. However, as we proceeded to the 3D animation stage, we found that there were many references that needed further refinement before they could be translated into our workflow. That was when we started recording our own facial expressions and movements to match the emotional progression of our boy under the direction of our lead animator, Ardelia Tiffany Yoga.Here is an example of using our own recordings to refine body language and timing, acted by Vincent Yeoh and translated to animation by Filbert Yohanes Sulivan. © Salad Bowl StudiosAnother example acted and animated by Ammar Syahiran with more emphasis on pose-silhouette and emotions. © Salad Bowl StudiosA difficulty that we faced at this point was realizing how hard it was to transfer movement information from a properly-proportioned reference to a small character with tiny limbs — the boy needed to run more little steps compared to our one big step. Therefore, we referenced the stylized animation movements of ‘Coin Operated’ and the TinyTAN series to better match the small body proportions of our boy.An inspiring short film with a bouncy character. (Two Ghosts Films "Coin Operated", Nicholas Arioli 2018.)Chibi animation of BTS members. (TinyTAN “Dream ON”, Big Hit Ent 2021.)Fox Renderfarm: Did you guys run into any obstacles? How were they resolved?Violet: Working in 3D, technical troubles come pretty frequently. Most of the obstacles we met were related to rigging and the occasional bug in the software (Maya), but with the guidance of our lecturers, we managed to learn the necessary solutions to resolve them.Unwanted mesh deformations can appear haunted in nature.Eye constraints that bugged out due to a conflicting namespace.Whenever we encounter an issue with a rig, we first consult our lead rigger Hsin Wei to see if the problem lies with the rigging process, the model topology, or the animator’s settings. If the rig’s structure looks fine in the Outliner, we test the rig to gauge how the mesh deforms with skin weights and blendshapes.We’ll also check the animator’s rig settings to see if they may have used an older version of the rig or accidentally tweaked an attribute without knowing. However, sometimes the solution is as simple as making sure everyone is using the same version across the board. When we began production we started with Maya 2022.3, but when we upgraded to 2022.4 a few months later, some parts of the rig needed to be redone to accommodate the transition. Our veggie rigs in particular required a lot of manual re-rigging from scratch due to the stylistic proportions that can’t be replicated with automated rigging tools. Although necessary, it definitely caused delays when our animators needed to re-animate parts of the rig that were affected during the update.Fox Renderfarm: This work is rich in color and goes well together. How did you consider the color palette for different scenes? Please give one or two examples.Violet: I’m glad you think so. While refining the story beats, we were considering the color progression to match the emotional state of the boy throughout his journey. Regarding the kitchen scenes, we wanted to give a safe homely vibe like ‘Wallace &x26; Gromit’ and ‘Bao’.Semi-realistic warm tone of a comfy kitchen, designed by Revvathy and modeled by Nicholas and Donovan. © Salad Bowl StudiosHowever, the Veggie Land has a more stylized approach influenced by the films ‘Trolls’ and ‘Blue Curry’. To capture the childlike disgust for vegetables, our illustrators took the initiative to explore crafts with an emphasis on color and textures.Mood and texture experiments created by our illustrators. © Salad Bowl StudiosColor-focused explorations painted by Patrick Ch’ng, Shun Cheng, Revvathy, Ker Er and Ting Wei. © Salad Bowl StudiosAfter these explorations, we optimized our research into a cohesive color script that the lighters and compositors can refer to. Starting from a bright imaginative wonder, the colors slowly turn more eerie and dark as the boy delves deeper into his adventure.Color script as the story progresses, compiled with the guidance of Metta Soegiharto. © Salad Bowl StudiosComparison of 2D key art and 3D execution. © Salad Bowl StudiosFox Renderfarm: What are the future plans for Salad Bowl Studios? Are there any ongoing projects?Violet: Thank you for your interest! For the time being, we have no further projects scheduled under Salad Bowl Studios as our members are either focused on personal projects or have begun working in local CG production industries (Malaysia and Indonesia). As we are a student-run group, there is still much to learn when it comes to creating art in a professional environment. I’m proud to say that many of my teammates are working hard to gain creative experience and/or progressing in their careers within their preferred specialization.Salad Bowl Studios: an array of talents covering illustration, animation, modeling and rigging.In addition, I’d like to add that many of us are individually open to contract work and freelance. If you are interested in hiring our members for your vision or project, please email an enquiry to saladbowlstudiostoa@gmail.com or connect with us through Instagram via @veggiegoround.Fox Renderfarm: On top of that, we’d like to know more about you, our director. How did you encounter CG?Violet: As a kid, I was always a big fan of cartoons that aired regularly on TV. Animating stories was my dream and learning about how technology has advanced to develop 3D productions was very inspiring and humbling at the same time.For example, when you’re young, you think that greenscreens are magical enchanted backdrops. Only when you’re older, do you start to realize how the necessary special effects that contribute to the film’s commercial success were manually created and layered by artists over months of hard work. For a perfect result, creative people are willing to go to extreme lengths to tell stories and break conventional limits. Although I’m most familiar with CG creations through Disney and Pixar storytelling, it’s amazing to realize just how much the work of CG artists across animation, modeling and VFX actually make up the backbone of most films we see today.Fox Renderfarm: Any artist or artwork that inspires you the most?Violet: Admittedly it's not easy for me to name specific persons, as many of the films I enjoy are created by a large team of highly skilled artists and creators that combine their unique strengths to produce a fantastic result. However, I find that some examples of CG work I’ve been awed by lately are the immersive character-centric animation shorts produced by Blizzard and Riot Games, as well as the revolutionary experimental style of the Spider-Verse movie series.A screenshot from one of the first game-animated shorts I watched a few years ago. The prospect of expanding in-game character lore through CG animation really took my breath away. (Overwatch “Alive”, Blizzard Ent 2016.)A music video with fantastic execution, animated by French studio Fortiche Prod. Although these are in-game characters, the production team did wonderful bringing them to life. (K/DA “POP/STARS”, Riot Games 2018.)A series with beautifully-stylized art direction, produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Animation. The dedication to wit and detail in the film left an unforgettable impression. (Spider-Man “Into the Spider-Verse”, Marvel Ent 2018.)Fox Renderfarm: Veggie Go Round was rendered with Fox Renderfarm. How do you feel about the cloud rendering services of Fox Renderfarm?Violet: I recommend it for both personal and team-based projects! Fox Renderfarm has been a very helpful asset in the making of ‘Veggie Go Round’, especially when our release date was just around the corner. Although I would consider our scenes less resource-intensive than many other 3D projects, we did have some shots with dynamic lighting and shadows that required at least a day or two to render with our best computers. However, Fox Renderfarm’s service managed to render these shots within a matter of hours — it was so satisfying. Implementing it into our workflow has sped up production and given our compositors more opportunity to polish up the film’s outcome.Once your settings are established and ready to go, I definitely suggest trying out Fox Renderfarm to complete your rendering. A scene that takes an hour to render by laptop can be completed within seconds, and that extra time you save can be dedicated to making adjustments for refinement. I think all CG artists should get familiar with cloud-based rendering, and Fox Renderfarm is a good introductory service thanks to their helpful and proactive staff.The render settings for our project file on Fox Renderfarm.Fox Renderfarm: What would you like to say or share with the CG enthusiasts who support your works?Violet: I think the message I would like to leave most for fellow CG enthusiasts is to extend more appreciation to your own creations and others. If we take a moment to truly appreciate the incredible privilege we have in being able to create and immerse ourselves in the world of CG, we will realize how behind every project lies countless hours of dedication and creativity.It's essential to remember that we're not just crafting images; we're giving life to our ideas and passions. In this ever-evolving field, flexibility and adaptability are becoming increasingly valuable. Embrace the opportunity to diversify your skill set, but never forget the profound joy of creating something uniquely your own! Let's continue to support and inspire each other, nurturing our love for CG and pushing the boundaries of what's possible. Our shared journey is a testament to the beauty of human creativity.

Leonstudio has shared their latest animation project, C'Atelier, which was produced completely by themselves. In the animation, they mixed their two favorite styles, character animation with a bit of stop motion look and photoreal jewelry.C'Atelier was created by Leonstudio from look dev to production, including production design, technical direction and simulation, modeling, rigging, animation, lighting and rendering, compositing, and sound design.C'Atelier © Leonstudio C'Atelier © Leonstudio C'Atelier © Leonstudio Check out Leonstudio's new project:Leonstudio is a CG and animation studio established in Spain, in 2006. They specialize in animation, character development, and set design, as well as having passion for stop motion, handmade, and miniature look. Learn more about Leonstudio's C'Atelier.We are honored that Leonstudio used Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering service to render this amazing animation!One of the best solutions for accelerating CGI animation rendering is cloud rendering. Fox Renderfarm has been providing secure and fast cloud rendering services to our customers since 2011.What is cloud rendering?Cloud rendering is the process of using the Internet to upload the files you need to render to the cloud, and then taking advantage of the huge clusters of computers built on the cloud platform to assist you with the rendering jobs. By using cloud rendering, you can free up local resources and get your work done faster.As a leading render farm in the CG industry, Fox Renderfarm will continue to provide rapid and reliable cloud rendering services to our users in the future.

Kay John Yim, an architect by day, CGI artist by night, again created an amazing CGI animation, Fiery, which is the September featured entry in our FGT Art Campaign.In John's Fiery, adorned in a fiery kimono, Kitsune and her feline companion journey through the ethereal realm beyond the torii gate, where they discover a radiant landscape of vibrant Ginkgo trees, and their path softly illuminated by a carpet of fallen leaves.Final StillFinal StillFinal StillIn creating this beautiful animation, he used Houdini, Axiom Solver, Redshift, Marvelous Designer, CharacterCreator, iClone, Premiere, Rhino and rendered with Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering service to speed up the animation rendering to get the final image.BreakdownBreakdownWIP (Rhino)WIP (Houdini Vellum + Axiom Solver)WIP (Axiom Solver)WIP (Redshift)WIP (Houdini Axiom Solver)WIP (Houdini)Final Still Clay RenderFinal Still Clay RenderFinal Still Clay RenderJohn has posted a YouTube video showing the animation and how it was made in detail.In the production of 3D animation, for complex scenes, it may take several weeks to render using your local computer, such as John's 3D animation. However, with resources of a render farm, which owns hundreds of computers rendering the 3D animation simultaneously, the final render results can be obtained in a few hours. This is why many famous CGI animation studios choose to use cloud rendering to accelerate their rendering process.The fast and secure cloud rendering service shortens the animation production cycle, accelerating the creation of works and providing opportunities to modify the final images. Since 2011, Fox Renderfarm has been committed to providing the best cloud rendering service, working together with our users to create excellent works.Learn more about John: John's personal site, Instagram, Artstation.

The making of “Metamorphosis” was wrote by Kay John Yim, who is an architect by day, CGI artist by night. As an architect, although he is busy with his daily work, he always carries his passion for CG and insists on self-learning in his free time, which leads to the creation of many wonderful CG artworks.Kay John YimChartered Architect & CGI ArtistKay John Yim's personal site: https://johnyim.com/ArtStation: https://www.artstation.com/johnyimAs the leading cloud rendering service provider and render farm in the CG industry, Fox Renderfarm is committed to supporting the development of CG artists. Now let's take a look at how John created this masterpiece "Metamorphosis".OPENINGProject "Metamorphosis" came into being while I was exploring more efficient ways to model existing architecture as well as faster workflows to create heavy motion graphics.It is a 40-second slow motion CGI animation that depicts a solitary figure in the grandiose setting of a Neo-Gothic rotunda; as she waves her arms and twists her legs, golden branching patterns gradually reveal themselves on her dress and on the ceiling of the rotunda, creating a harmonic spectacle of light and motion.At its core, the golden patterns that gradually appear on the dress and the ceiling symbolize the interconnectedness and interdependence of all things, akin to how "Metamorphosis" was inspired by my visit to "Tribune" at Strawberry Hill House - a Gothic Revival Villa in London constructed 3 centuries ago. It highlights my appreciation for Neo-Gothic architecture, as well as the passage of time and the fleeting nature of existence.This article is a making-of journal that details everything I discovered and learned since "Ballerina" &x26; "Kagura". While this is not meant to be a beginner-friendly tutorial, I will provide links to external tutorials or resources wherever possible.WORKFLOW OVERVIEWThe software's and workflow that I used throughout every stage of the project could be summarized as follows:1. MODELINGPolycam > Rhino > Moment of Inspiration (MOI) > Cinema4D (C4D) > Redshift2. CHARACTERCharacter Creator 4.1 (CC) > iCone 8.1 (iC) > Houdini (for retime) > C4D > Redshift3. CLOTH SIMULATIONMarvelous Designer (MD) > Houdini / C4D4. CLOAK GROWTH ANIMATIONC4D > Redshift5. DRESS GROWTH ANIMATIONHoudini > C4D > Redshift6. CEILING ANIMATIONRhino > MOI > Houdini > C4D > Redshift7. RENDERINGRedshift > Neat Video (for denoising) > Premiere Pro (Magic Bullet Looks)1. MODELINGThe scene was modeled based on the interior of Strawberry Hill House, a Gothic Revival villa in Twickenham, London built in the 1800s. I was inspired by the "Tribune" rotunda, with its elaborate decorations. Since there were limited references for modeling the space, I visited the house in person and used Polycam's Lidar mode to photoscan the rotunda. The scanned model served as a reference for my modeling in Houdini and Rhino.Processing photoscan in PolycamOnce I exported the .obj model from Polycam, I opened it up in Houdini and used "Clip" node to extract parts that I wanted to focus on at a time while modeling, which were then brought into Rhino.My modeling process could be summarized as follows:Using Polycam's "Lidar" mode to photoscan the room;clipping 1/8 of the model in Houdini with the "Clip" node;extracting the 3D silhouette of the model by manually selecting group edges and using "Edge Group to Lines";using Rhino to trace and resample curves, creating the base geometry of the room with "Loft";flattening the ceiling into a plane using "Flow Along Surface", tracing the ornaments, and using "Sweep" to create a 3D model;conforming the plane back to the ceiling 3D geometry with "Flow Along Surface";exporting the model as .3dm, importing it into MOI, and saving as .FBX;importing .FBX into C4D;duplicate and mirror the model 8 times to form the entirety of the rotunda;Houdini model clippingRhino modelingfrom Rhino to C4D The modeling process took around 4 days, but without the Polycam model as a reference, it could have taken twice as long.2. CHARACTERWhile my female character was originally created for "Ballerina" using CC3, I have since adopted CC4 and Redshift's Randomwalk Subsurface Scattering (SSS) to speed up my CG character rendering workflow. CC4's integrated "Skin-gen" allows for faster generation of realistic skin textures without using additional displacement maps from Texturing XYZ. My character texturing workflow has been simplified to a drag-and-drop process, with textures automatically exported when exporting to .FBX.While the character creation process has become a lot easier in CC4, creating a convincing character out of imagination is still very much impossible for me. I use the 2 websites below as my go-to reference while adjusting character bone structures, face silhouettes and skin textures:Stability AIDaniel BoschungThe first website generates a non-existent person's face using AI every time the page is refreshed, while the latter has a collection of high-resolution (16k+) face photographs with good lighting.The character was first posed in CC4 with a PureRef reference overlay, which I then brought over to iC and used "Edit Motion Layer" to add subtle animation to the arms and legs - essentially 2 keyed poses automatically blended together.Posing with reference in CC4iClone Edit Motion LayerI then brought the character and the textures into C4D Redshift.Redshift's Randomwalk SSS (since v3.5.06) offers a more realistic model without sacrificing rendering speed. Randomwalk SSS simplifies skin material setup and produces better results under various lighting conditions. Previously, Redshift's ray-traced SSS required multiple texture layers and manual tweaking to achieve decent skin material, which made character preparation time-consuming and required constant adjustments for animation sequences with drastic light changes. Randomwalk SSS has been available in Arnold Renderer for years, but the Redshift update makes Randomwalk SSS much more efficient and therefore more feasible for animation.I use Redshift's "Standard" material for the skin materials, applying the CC textures straightforwardly - Diffuse map goes to the diffuse slot, roughness map to the reflection roughness slot, etc. I set "Reflection Weight" to 0.5 and "Reflection IOR" to 1.38; for the "Coat", I set the "Weight" to 0.3 and the "Roughness" to 0.6.Under "Subsurface," I use the Skin Diffuse map from CC as the color and set "Radius" to a salmon color (similar to the color of one's underskin when viewed under direct illumination). I set "Scale" to 0.1 to represent the thickness of the skin, and use "Random Walk" mode with "Include Mode" set to "All Objects."Redshift material graph3. CLOTH SIMULATIONI used Marvelous Designer(MD) for garment creation and simulations. Despite improvements in C4D and Houdini's cloth simulations, MD still offers the most control and the best quality, with the downside of being prone to crashing. To prevent accidental progress loss, I follow these rules when using MD:always save the scene without the avatar (heavier scenes are more likely to crash)delete unwanted simulations before saving or exportingavoid using GPU simulation, which frequently fails (likely due to VRAM allocation) and requires relaunching MDimport only the character's body (no hair, eyes, etc.) for cloth sim, using Houdini or C4D to delete hair, eyes, limbs etc.My garment is based on fishtail wedding dresses. I gathered existing sewing patterns mostly from fashion magazines and Etsy, and placed them on the 2D plane in MD. I then traced them out, sewed them in 3D space, and altered and modified the patterns to fit my character.Throughout the garment creation process, I kept my character in either an "A" or "T" pose, which would later be replaced with the animated character exported from iC for cloth simulation.I kept most of the default simulation settings, but changed a few for better performance: I set garment's "Particle Distance" to 15, material's "Internal Damping" to 100, and material's "Friction" to 99. This eliminated jittering and improved simulation speed.MD settingsMD simThe simulated cloth was then exported as Alembic and brought into Houdini.4. CLOAK GROWTH ANIMATIONThe cloak growth animation is an improved version of the "Hakama Transformation" using "PolyFX" in C4D. I added noise to the polygon movement using "Target" and "Random Field" for a more organic aesthetic.My Mograph setup includes:making "PolyFX" a child of the cloak;applying a "Plain" effector to "PolyFX" to affect the scale of individual polygons;adding a "Random Field (1)" to the Falloff of the "Plain" effector;applying another "Plain" effector to "PolyFX" to affect the position of individual polygons, using the same "Random Field (1)" for Falloff;adding a "Target" effector and creating a new "Random Field (2)" as the target;disconnecting all polygons of the cloak and adding a Vertex Weight tag to the cloak set to using Fields, with "Random Field (1) as input;exporting as Alembic and applying Redshift material, using "RS Vertex Attribute" node with the cloak's Vertex Weight tag to drive Emission.C4D mograph setupCloak growth iterationsCineversity has a great tutorial "Dissolve Effect Using PolyFX and Mograph Tools", which goes more in-depth and explains every step to achieve the effect in great details.5. DRESS GROWTH ANIMATIONThe dress pattern is generated within Houdini with "findshortestpath" and animated with "carve", which can be broken down as follow:bringing the MD simulated dress into Houdini using "Alembic" node;using "timeshift" to freeze dress at first frame;creating a point group named "start", and selecting points where the growth path will start;creating another point group named "end", and selecting points where the growth path will end;using "findshortestpath" node and assigning the created groups above to the "Start Points" and "End Points", the dress pattern will be almost instantly generated at this point;assigning a "smooth" node after "findshortestpath" to make the pattern look more organic;assigning a "carve" node and animate "second U" - this will animate the dress patterns;assigning "ray" and "pointdeform" to project the animated dress pattern from the frozen dress back to the animated dress;using a "sweep" node to create geometry out of the dress pattern curves;using a "Transform" node to scale final geometry 10X and export as AlembicHoudini Node GraphHoudiniI highly recommend checking out Junichiro Horikawa's tutorial video on "Shortest Path Growth", where he covered everything about shortest path growth from basics to advanced:Note: Houdini's default unit is "meters" while C4D's default is "centimeters", hence exchanging geometry across the 2 DCCs has to be scaled accordingly every time; I do not recommend changing the default units since Redshift lighting and many other parameters only work correctly with the default units.6. CEILING ANIMATIONThe ceiling animation - in theory - could be achieved using C4D's "PolyFX", but C4D's inability to handle high poly meshes made it impractical. Instead, I used Houdini and MOPS to replicate "PolyFX".MOPs (Motion Operators for Houdini) is an open source Houdini toolkit that introduces a set of versatile nodes into Houdini, that allows one to quickly iterate motion graphics, much like Cinema4D's Mograph tools. For anyone who has not used MOPs I recommend watching the following introductory video:There are many ways to optimize the geometry before animating it using MOPs, the primary steps I took are detailed as follow:converting the meshes to VDBs and converting it back to meshes to get evenly distributed polygons with "polygon to VDB" and "convert VDB" respectively;using a "Divide" node to further divide the polygons into triangular or hexagonal patterns;using "Facet" after "Divide", check "unique points", turn on "rotate to template";assigning an "Attribute Wrangle" node and input the following:addpoint(0, @P);removeprim(0, @primnum, 1):this adds a point at the position of each primitive(polygon), then removes the primitive and all points connected to it;assigning a "MOPs_Shape_Falloff", which adds a falloff to control scale and position of polygons, similar to the "Plain" effector in C4D;animating the falloff;assigning a "MOPs_Noise_Modifier", which adds an additional layer of noise to the animation;assigning a "Primitive", check "Do Transformation", then plugin the first slot with geometry from "facet" node and second slot with "MOPs_Noise_Modifier".The animation is essentially complete at this point, subject to a lot of additional tweaking. I also added an "attributetransfer" to transfer the "Cd" from "MOPs_Transform_Modifier" to the animated geometry, which I used later on in Redshift with "RS Vertex Attribute" to add emission.Houdini Node GraphHoudini TimelapseI highly recommend checking Liam's "Professionally Incorrect" Youtube channel, where I learned how to create this particular effect in addition to a lot of effects that replicate C4D's Mograph tools in a more efficient manner:7. RENDERING"Metamorphosis" had the heaviest scene of all my animation projects, with the architecture model totaling 4GB and alembic files over 1TB. To reduce geometry loading times while rendering, I exported each alembic frame into RS Proxies, cutting loading time to seconds. I also used a single GI Irradiance Cache file for each sequence to further optimize rendering time. This "GI Trick" only applies to sequences with slow animation and camera movement, a common technique I use for architectural visualization:set render frame to the first frame of the sequence;set "Motion Blur" > "Transformation Steps" set to 16;set "Frame Duration" to "total number of frames in sequence X 2", for instance I would input 240 for a a 120-frame sequence;set "Start" to 0;set "Global Illumination" > Mode set to "Rebuild (Prepass Only), set to single file;render.Motion Blur settings for preparing IPCOnce the IPC is rendered following the steps above, I would then "Load" the IPC file in my "Irradiance Point Cloud" and render out the sequence with just that single IPC file.For the final renders I use all the default settings, with the exception of setting the Automatic Sampling Threshold to 0.03.This resulted in relatively noisy renders, which I then imported as sequences into Premiere Pro and used Neat Video 5 for denoising.I kept most Neat Video settings as default and "automatic", the only thing that one has to pay attention to is to right click on the Premiere Pro's viewport and to make sure that the "Playback Resolution" is set to "Full" - this would prevent Neat Video from sampling the final renders at full resolution otherwise. Neat Video's UI is fairly straightforward but I recommend everyone to check out their official tutorials to take full advantage of it.Premiere Pro "Playback Resolution"Neat VideoWith the render sequences denoised, I used Red Giant Magic Bullet Looks in Premiere Pro to add imperfections - imperfections that one would find in video footage/films - to the final animation, which included primarily chromatic aberration, Halation and digital noise/film grain. This helped make the final animation appear more “cinematic” and nostalgic.Magic Bullet LooksNote: At the time of writing, a persistent NVIDIA driver issue caused Redshift to crash on long sequence renders. One of long discussion threads around the NVIDIA driver issue linked below: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RedshiftRender/posts/1504427980006407/?mibextid=6NoCDWWhile some artists found that downgrading to NVIDIA driver 462.59 worked, the only fix for me was disabling half of my GPUs.CONCLUSION"Metamorphosis" was created amid the rise of text-to-image AI, a time when many artists, including myself, were anxious about the future of visual arts. With AI able to produce beautiful images quickly and efficiently, I questioned the value of creating art manually.This project allowed me to clear my mind and explore new techniques. It took over three months and thousands of iterations to complete, during which I developed a deeper appreciation for Neo-Gothic architecture and fashion design. Perhaps more importantly, I came to realize the value of the creative journey and my intention behind creating CG art. Unlike AI generated images, every pixel in my work - including "Metamorphosis" - was carefully considered and designed deliberately to express my passion for architecture, fashion and fantasy.I hope this project will inspire others to pursue their own artistic endeavors and express themselves with CG, despite the rise of AI. I hope it will remind them that the process of creating art is a uniquely human experience, and that the journey is often more important than the end result.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors" is a very interesting anime produced by the Corridor team based on AI. The anime tells the story of twin brothers fighting for control of the kingdom through a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. You may laugh due to the twin brothers' actions and mental activities.Watch the "Anime Rock, Paper, Scissors":The Corridor team has shared the VFX reveal of this short animation, and after watching it you may be fascinated by their excellent technique.© Corridor Digital© Corridor Digital© Corridor DigitalCheck out the VFX reveal of "Anime Rock, Paper, Scissors":Tips:Fox Renderfarm is a leading cloud rendering service provider and render farm in the CG industry. We offer a free $25 trial for every new user. Thanks for reading!Source: Corridor Digital

Turma da Mônica, a série amada pelo povo brasileiro, já é parte da cultura brasileira, e ninguém desde crianças até adultos não conhece a adorável Mônica e seus amigos.Vamos Brincar com a Turma da Mônica é a primeira série de desenho animado em 3D da Turma da Mônica, e é produzida por Mauricio de Sousa Produções (MSP), com animação da Hype Animation e sonorização da Ultrassom Music Ideas.© Mauricio de Sousa Produções© Mauricio de Sousa ProduçõesA série foi lançada no Giga Gloob a partir de 12 de outubro de 2022, com 52 episódios no total, e o primeiro episódio está agora disponível no YouTube em 6 de fevereiro de 2023. Essa série se concentra em histórias para crianças, mas quem pode resistir ao charme da adorável Mônica?Assista ao primeiro episódio:Dicas:Fox Renderfarm é um popular oferecedor de serviços de cloud rendering e render farm na indústria de CG. Estamos oferecendo um teste grátis de $25 para os novos usuários registrados. Abraços!Fonte: Mauricio de Sousa Produções

Monica and Friends (Turma da Mônica), a series beloved by the Brazilian people, is already a part of Brazilian culture, and no one from children to adults doesn't know the lovely Monica and her friends.Let's Play with Monica and Friends (Vamos Brincar com a Turma da Mônica) is the first 3D cartoon series of Monica and Friends, produced by Mauricio de Sousa Produções (MSP), with animation by Hype Animation and sound by Ultrassom Music Ideas.© Mauricio de Sousa Produções© Mauricio de Sousa ProduçõesThe series was released on Giga Gloob from October 12, 2022, with 52 episodes, and the first episode is now available on YouTube from February 6, 2023. This series focuses on stories for the children, but who can say no to the lovely Monica?Watch the first episode:Tips:Fox Renderfarm is a leading cloud rendering service provider and render farm in the CG industry. We offer a free $25 trial for every new user. Thanks for reading!Source: Mauricio de Sousa Produções

Disney Junior released a "Me &x26; Mickey" short to celebrate the Indian festival, Diwali.Image via Disney Junior"Me &x26; Mickey" is a series of vlog-style video shorts launched by Disney Junior, starring Mickey Mouse, who invites preschoolers to laugh and play together about familiar everyday topics in their lives, as well as engage in small games and challenges.In this short , Mickey shares with the kids what Diwali is, how to celebrate it, and wishes everyone a happy Diwali!Image via Disney JuniorWatch the video and celebrate Diwali with Mickey:Tips:As an industry-leading cloud rendering service provider and render farm, Fox Renderfarm also provides a Diwali Special Offer for Indian users! दिवाली की हार्दिक शुभकामनाएं!Source: Disney Junior

「そのウィッシュを大声で言え！」ほとんどの人が子供の頃「ドラゴンボール」を見たことがあるが、主人公の孫悟空は、願いが叶えられる7つの「ドラゴンボール」を集めるために、世界を旅するというストーリーだ。2021年公開されたCGアニメのコメディ映画『ウィッシュ・ドラゴン』では、7つのドラゴンボールを集めなくても、ピンクの毛むくじゃらのドラゴンを手に入れることできる！Fox Renderfarmでレンダリングされた『ウィッシュ・ドラゴン』は、2021年1月15日に中国で劇場公開され、年内にはNetflixで海外公開される予定だ。Chris Appelhansが脚本と監督を手がけ、ジャッキー・チェンが主演を務めるこの映画は、大きな夢を持ちながらも経済的には恵まれていない大学生のディンと、皮肉屋だが願いを叶える力を持つドラゴンのロン（ジャッキー・チェン）が2人で、ディンの行方不明になった幼なじみを探すために、現代の上海で行った冒険物語となっている。1月19日、Fox Renderfarmは、SNSで「ファンへのウィッシュ・ドラゴン無料チケット」プレゼントキャンペーンを開催した。多くの方が、この作品への愛と期待を込めたコメントを残した。目を引くチャイナ－要素『ウィッシュ・ドラゴン』における中国要素は、多くの中国人観客の心を打つ。また、世界中の観客に中国を紹介する内容にもなっている。監督のChris Eberhansさんは幼少の頃、上海で性格の似た同い年の友達に出会ったそうだ。そのため、Chris Eberhans監督は幼少期の思い出を映画の中に取り入れようと、背景を中国の上海に設定したという。石庫門、南浦大橋、東方明珠ラジオ＆テレビ塔のほか、柔らかくてかわいいドラゴンや急須のデザインには、中国の伝統文化の特徴を全面的に出している。また、ドラゴンはエビ味のチップスが大好きで、テレビや飛行機、エアコンなど、見たこともないものには興味津々だ。 300万本の毛を持つピンクのドラゴン中国要素だけでなく、ピンクのドラゴンにもかなり印象的だった。しかし、この役を作るにあたって、クリエイティブ・チームは数多くの困難と挑戦を乗り越えてきたのだという。1つは、実際に参照できるものがないため、最終姿を決めるにあたって、アニメーションチームはドラゴンの全原画や近年のアニメーション作品をすべて参照したそうだ。ドラゴンの動きをより俊敏かつ優雅に見せるため、モデリングやリギング中に300万本の毛を入れ、体に1000以上のコントローラーを作り上げている。おかげでドラゴンは柔軟に動けるだけでなく、自身を四角や丸などの形に変えることもできるのだ。そのほか、ジャッキー・チェンの吹き替えや武術のシーンも、この映画の見所となっている。Fox Renderfarmは、ウィッシュ・ドラゴンのクラウドレンダリングパートナーとして、CG業界向けに高品質のクラウドレンダリングサービスを提供し続けている。Fox Renderfarmは、技術の進化を遂げ続けていくとともに、『ウィッシュ・ドラゴン』のように、中国要素を取り入れた作品がこれからも中国の伝統文化や物語を世界中に向けて発信することを願うばかりである。映画『ウィッシュ・ドラゴン』はただ今公開中！ご家族や大切な方と一緒に願いを見つけましょう！参考http://www.xinhuanet.com/ent/2021-01/19/c_1126997486.htm