2022-11-01 3D World

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INTERVIEW

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Steven Shapiro, CTO, discusses
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#291

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REMASTER YOUR OLD FANTASY ART AR CLOTHING
ISSUE291 BLENDER SCENES SOFTWARE REVIEWS AND MORE!



Konstantin Chulanov WELCOME

ZBrush, Marmoset Toolbag, If, as we hope, you get inspired
Photoshop by our cover art, you are in for a
treat this issue. The artist has
written a fantastic tutorial, so
you can follow along and learn
some new techniques to use in
your own projects. Also inside,
we bring you an insightful
guide showcasing a typical
workflow for creating sci-fi
concept art.

For more of a hit of
inspiration we take you behind
the scenes at Aardman, looking
at some of the new tech they’ve
been developing. Nobody can
have missed Netflix’s Love
Death + Robots; discover the
lighting secrets behind the
debut episode from legend
David Fincher.

Plus, we have our regular
showcase of the best new art
and fix your CG woes.

Rob Redman, Editor
[email protected]

3D WORLD 3

3D WORLD ISSUE 291

CONTENTS

ARTIST SHOWCASE THE PIPELINE 42

6 The Gallery 42 Design a fashionable, THE MAIN IDEA WAS TO
semi-stylised sculpt SHOW THE CONNECTION
Discover the best digital art BETWEEN THE VEHICLE
from the CG community Our incredible cover artist AND ITS OWNER
Konstantin Chulanov details his
64 Tech Focus: character creation process
Character likeness study
50 Remaster a female
Check out this incredibly realistic fantasy character
re-creation by Milen Piskuliyski
Learn how to upgrade your older
FEATURES renders to a higher artistic and
technical standard
20 Aardman’s New Tech
50
We interview CTO Steven
Shapiro to learn how the 58 Create sci-fi city
animation studio is embracing concept art
new technology and styles
Christos Marmeris provides a
30 Crafting creatures of step-by-step guide to the key
the clouds in Nope elements of quality concept art

Explore how the creatures of this
sci-fi horror film were realised

30

36 The Past, Present and ARTIST Q&A
Future of the Metaverse
66 Your CG problems solved
How ever-evolving tech is making
Our panel of pro artists tackle
vast virtual universes a reality your CG queries

20

4 3D WORLD

SIGN UP! 66 xTHE HUB

For content direct to your 76 Hope Bubbles to the surface
inbox, subscribe to our
weekly newsletter at: Parkour across a post-apocalyptic
Tokyo in the beautiful Netflix
bit.ly/3dworldnews anime film Bubble

76 80 Horrors of the deep

Behind the scenes on the Love,
Death + Robots episode Bad
Travelling and how lighting
delivered the dark atmosphere

84 Pro thoughts

Learn how an innovative AR app
is tackling the problems with
waste in the fashion industry

86 Day in the life

Chris Jestico, Head of Capture at
Goodbye Kansas, breaks down
his day and offers pro advice

xREVIEWS

80 90 V-Ray 6 for 3ds Max

We take a look at the new
features of this latest release

92 Houdini 19.5

What does this “quality of life”
release have to offer?

94 Redshift 3.5

We discuss the benefits of
Redshift’s new CPU capabilities

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3D WORLD 5

CG art to inspire

The best digital art from
the CG community

I ALWAYS TRY TO STRIKE
THE RIGHT BALANCE

BETWEEN CHALLENGING
AND ENJOYING MYSELF

CG art to inspire

A PLACE TO HAVE FUN skills and artistic creativity.
Given the rapid technological
I had the idea for this project business and create something advancements, achieving a ARTIST
when I came across Þrídrangar perfectly suited to my liking. At realistic image is the least of what Hossein Yadollahpour
lighthouse photos on the internet the same time, personal projects is expected from a good archviz SOFTWARE
and I was immediately impressed are a great opportunity to either work today. What separates a 3ds Max, Corona
by its pristine area. I wanted to showcase specific skill sets or seek good from a great work is then Renderer, ZBrush,
create a place to have fun and out new challenges and improve mostly creative thinking and Phoenix FD,
tried to design a small house by in additional areas. Therefore, artistic ability. The importance Marvelous Designer,
myself that can have everything at I always try to strike the right of aesthetic principles such as Photoshop
my fingertips. balance between challenging and photography and composition
enjoying myself. techniques, harmony and colour,
Personal projects allow me storytelling devices and more will
to move away from the limited, A good archviz image is only increase in the future.
sometimes even boring world of the combination of technical
hosseinyadollahpour.com

3D WORLD 07

CG art to inspire

CG art to inspire

LOUDER: MILES MORALES

Pop culture is a fun way to move onto my other ideas. I’ve wardrobe fits, then import the ARTIST
connect with lots of different found the most flexibility using character in pose as a Morph Mike Heath
viewers. Spidey has always been a ZBrush sculpts that I pose and Target and voila! From there I like SOFTWARE
favourite of mine and it’s so cool to light many different ways until I to add graphical shapes, texture ZBrush, Cinema
see some diversity in the character find a piece of artwork. and other elements to ‘muddy’ up 4D, Octane Render,
with Miles Morales. the all-too-perfect render. Marvelous Designer,
To quickly pose your Marvelous Photoshop
As an artist I’m always looking Designer wardrobes, import your artstation.com/magnuscreative
to create quickly so that I can A-pose character, make sure the

3D WORLD 09

CG art to inspire

FUGITIVE

ORIGINAL CONCEPT BY CHAO TENG ZHAO
(artstation.com/chaoteng8812)

ARTIST
Dinara Fatkhutdinova
SOFTWARE
ZBrush, Blender, Substance
3D Painter, Marmoset Toolbag
For the Fugitive, based on
Chao Teng Zhao’s work of the
same name, the challenge was
to convey the character’s
personality and pose,
which is quite static,
but the tension in his
arms tells you he’s ready
to fight, which is what
caught my interest.
I really enjoyed
working with the shapes
and silhouettes, trying
to get the feel of the
character to fit the
original concept.
And while creating
a good sculpt is very
important, lighting is
just as important of a
part because it is the one
that reveals the volume.
So I tried to give a lot of
attention to the lighting
in this project.
artstation.com/dinarish

10 3D WORLD



GERALT
OF RIVIA

ARTIST
Vishwesh Taskar
SOFTWARE
ZBrush, Houdini, Maya,
Substance Painter & Designer,
Mari, Nuke

Henry Cavill as ‘Geralt of Rivia’.
What started off as just a small
likeness practice evolved into an
incredibly interesting project filled
with opportunities to try out new
techniques and upgrade my workflow.
I got my first few kicks of inspiration
to start this one while re-watching
The Witcher. Once I dived into it, I
kept asking myself every step along
the way: “How can I do this in a
different manner and find ways to do
it faster?” So rather than just racing
for the finish, I took it slow to do a bit
of R&D using Houdini, Substance and
RenderMan after the likeness was
achieved. Houdini’s scattering and
groom toolsets enabled me to take
on many non-destructive procedural
approaches as opposed to the linear,
traditional ones, especially while
working on the snow-covered cloak.
This also proved to be the perfect
chance to try out some cinematic
lighting and comp.

vishtaskar.artstation.com

CG art to inspire

HOUDINI’S
SCATTERING AND
GROOM TOOLSETS
ENABLED ME TO
TAKE ON MANY
NON-DESTRUCTIVE

PROCEDURAL
APPROACHES

3D WORLD 13

CG art to inspire

ORIENTALPUNK

BAKHOOR

ARTIST
Milad Ghiasi
SOFTWARE
Maya, ZBrush, Marvelous
Designer, Arnold Renderer
OrientalPunk is an IP I started
working on, which is simply
about combining steampunk
and Middle Eastern fiction with
elements of fantasy.
Bakhoor is a tradition in the
Middle East where the scented
wood chips will be burned for
scenting the house and clothing,
and I wanted to create a deity
inspired by that.
I started by working on the
body, then separated it into
different pieces and finally added
ornaments and extra details.
I tried to maintain a level of
stylisation, which required some
back and forth in order to find
the right balance.
The 3D model was made in
ZBrush, fabrics in Marvelous
Designer, assembled in Maya and
rendered in Arnold Renderer.
miladghiasi.com

14 3D WORLD

CG art to inspire

CHAIMONGKOL I didn’t use any special techniques; there was only ARTIST
a love of work and a great determination to create Jeerawut
I am from Thailand, and the patterns in this this piece. Completing this work was a precious Boonchuaynampon
work are called ‘Lai Thai’. Thai art is adapted from time, and it is a feeling that will be remembered for SOFTWARE
nature such as vines, trees and rivers according to a lifetime. This piece will be made into metal under ZBrush, KeyShot
Buddhist beliefs. The story is based on the history the supervision of the Raluk Foundry.
of Buddha before his enlightenment, moreover 3D WORLD 15
the belief that Mother Earth squeezed her hair to facebook.com/gbravol.artist
create a river to purify evil spirits.

This artwork took eight months to sculpt.

CG art to inspire

CREATING XGEN HAIR…
DEMANDS PATIENCE AND
A METICULOUS EYE, SO DO

NOT RUSH IT

16 3D WORLD

CG art to inspire

OLD MAN

ARTIST
Carlos Eduardo Soares
SOFTWARE
ZBrush, Blender, Maya,
Marvelous Designer,
Substance Painter,
Unreal Engine 5

My goal with this project was
to learn how to create XGen hair
and apply it to Unreal Engine
5. The process is simple, but it
takes a long time to define the
small details and the randomness

real hair requires. It demands
patience and a meticulous
eye, so do not rush it in
your own projects. I
have created hair using
cards in the past, and
I loved it, but I think
this workflow gives me
more possibilities while
allowing a better result.
But know this: it is resource

demanding and it will not work
for most in-game characters for
the time being.

The main software was Maya.
For the rest of the objects, it
was the usual suite: ZBrush for
sculpting, Maya and Blender for
poly modelling/UVs, Marvelous
Designer for the shirt, Substance
Painter for textures, and Unreal
for the final scene and render.

My conclusion from this
project is that using XGen for
hair is very doable, although
very resource intensive. There
is a steep learning curve at the
beginning, but once you get past
it, it becomes an excellent tool to
have in your arsenal.

carlos_soares.artstation.com

3D WORLD 17

The Rookies

ROYAL GUARD OF
THE JOSEON DYNASTY

ORIGINAL CONCEPT BY CHOONG YEOL (artstation.com/tiwad)

SOFTWARE ZBrush, Marvelous Designer, Substance Painter, Maya,
Marmoset Toolbag 4 YEAR CREATED 2021

I am very passionate about being ARTIST Sain-Sain Thao
able to create diverse characters LOCATION Canada
for representation in games, so I I am a character artist for
was very excited to work on an games. I previously worked in
Asian female soldier. I also loved marketing and management
the contrast between the innocent but, in 2021, I decided to change
face of the character and the career and studied at Think Tank
strong armour outfit. Her outfit is online to become an artist.
not very common for a medieval www.therookies.co
soldier, but historically accurate /u/sainsainthao
from the Korean Joseon Dynasty.
Since I love realistic adventure
games, I thought it was great
to have a historically accurate
character in my portfolio.

18 3D WORLD

The Rookies is a platform to help
digital artists get discovered
without having to compete with
professionals for attention. You’ll
get to the front page of those
sites one day, but for now, we’ve
got your back and want to help
turn your passion for creative
media into a successful career.

WWW.THEROOKIES.CO

3D WORLD 19

Wallace and Gromit point
the way for Aardman as it
embraces new platforms
to take its animated
characters and work to
new audiences and venues

20 3D WORLD

Steven Shapiro, chief technology officer at Aardman,
discusses new and emerging developments at the studio

A ardman, an employee-owned
company, based in Bristol

(UK) and co-founded in 1976

by Peter Lord and David Sproxton,

is an independent, award-winning studio

that occupies a space at the centre of

the animation industry and animation

culture. In 2022, the studio finds itself at

an exciting moment as media platforms

continue to develop and evolve and offer

new outlets and formats for storytelling

and interactive entertainment.

3D WORLD 21

Aardman’s New Tech

Images courtesy of Aardman Steven Shapiro comments on
established and emerging styles
of animation at Aardman

“In Robin Robin for example, it’s not
a massive departure but it’s enough
to give you a view into an evolving
style. The stop-motion short is very
clearly still in line with Aardman’s
creative style, but it’s still evolving
in ways that are both familiar and
new and interesting. We have a great
opportunity to use the same style
but still branch out. Even within the
same project we can take a different
approach for different sequences. Our
job on the technology side is to enable
our creatives to realise the vision that
they have. But also, in some cases, our
creatives can be inspired by seeing
what’s possible with the technology.”

A recent, new arrival at the technologies that we particularly Top right: In large feature film, but to do that
studio is its chief technology need to develop and evolve,” he addition to its feature and focus on several other things,
officer Steven Shapiro, and explains. “A lot of my role here projects, Aardman that’s something that oftentimes
3D World recently had the is really to bring together teams produces short films is an afterthought. One of the
opportunity to talk with him that are solving some of those such as this award- things that I’m looking to bring
about his role, the changing challenges collectively, to create a winning project, The here to Aardman is that we should
dynamics of the studio, and technology team that can do more Bear and the Squirrel, think and talk about all of that at
opportunities to be embraced. than the individual parts.” created for the theme the earliest development stage:
park market what does that look like, does the
Our conversation begins with Shapiro is keen to articulate story lend itself to the platform
Shapiro explaining his role at the the holistic approach to the Above: Robin Robin and pathways we’re looking to
studio. “There’s a high importance process of making an animated takes Aardman’s take it? That’s something that
on the physical aspect of what we project; whether for television, aesthetic into new everyone here has been thinking
do (stop-frame animation) and, animated features, or newer areas of visual of and changing the mindset on.
therefore, the unique challenges and emerging platforms. “It’s presentation We have a lot of rich IP to draw
in melding that to the digital challenging enough to make a

22 3D WORLD

Aardman’s New Tech

from, which is a great place to Like other studios, there’s an
start from.” ambition at Aardman to maximise
the potential of new media
Shapiro notes, too, that in platforms and to think about
terms of new gaming platforms what that might mean in a big-
and the emerging space of the picture kind of way, and Shapiro
metaverse, he and his colleagues comments: “As our managing
are actively asking the question: director puts it, ‘Build a world’.
“How do we actually engage with And so, I look at these different
society through some of these platforms as either view-only
platforms? That’s where I think windows into that world or things
there’s a lot of opportunity to take that are much more interactive
the momentum that’s already and immersive, and really part
been built up here.” He adds of the technology goals that we
with a smile, “I’m not starting a have are to figure out, how can
movement, I’m joining it.”

3D WORLD 23

Aardman’s New Tech Above: A shot from doing replacements or using it as things work together and still
Aardman’s animated pre-viz on set. All of that allows maintain that creative style.”
we more effectively build these contribution to We you to manipulate it in real time,
worlds and the views into them, Wait, created for the to retexture something or change Shapiro then makes a further
and think about the process from Oculus Rift the lighting or a camera position. point about the software and
the beginning? Some of those hardware requirements at the
are very interesting storytelling Below: 11-11 “All of a sudden, it’s like we’ve studio, explaining that the
challenges. Instead of thinking of Memories Retold mastered the time problem and fundamental question for him
something as a linear story, and is Aardman’s first you have the ability to tear down to ask is: “What do we need to
instead of building a world and ever console game; those barriers: maybe you’re going plan for to make this production
thinking of all of the storylines it’s set during WW1 to choose multiple styles for the happen? There’s a lot that
throughout that world, that’s and uses a painterly same sequence that you would happens in the production-
very challenging to visualise visual style never have thought of, and merge engineering side and then in our
and to iterate on. But, then, them together so that you’re studio-production tech, which
there are much more pedestrian looking at something in the golden is focused around our physical-
aspects to the work: such as hour and then it goes dark because production technology team:
asset development and trying to of your storytelling. camera departments, electricians,
standardise your assets to work lighting, motion control, a lot of
in all of those platforms. So, a “It also goes the other way, the physical shoot side of things.
big part of my job is to create where, if you’re overusing those It’s a really interesting challenge
that vision of where we’re taking tools, you get an artificial sense. for the creatives, and part of our
the technology, to enable us to If you only have a hammer, job is to ask ‘How can you tell
implement any of the ideas or everything looks like a nail. earlier on whether you’ve hit your
any of the challenges to creating Aardman has a very grounded goal or not?’ And that’s where
those stories; and building bridges style and appreciation of the early visualisation can really
across those worlds.” physical aspects of what we do. help the people with that vision
Especially in animation, and it’s a to come together, and really get
In more recent years, virtual very encouraging environment to to something that’s a lot more
production has become embedded work in, because we’re not going unique. They wouldn’t necessarily
in live-action/visual effects to float off into the CG realm and get to do that if they didn’t have
hybrid projects, and Shapiro only work there. But really evolve those tools.”
notes that at Aardman, “We’ve that and see how you can have
started to use virtual production
in the stop-frame space.” He
makes the point that virtual
production at Aardman is used
as “a great tool to visualise and
get to your creative vision sooner.
It allows you to iterate and
improve the performances that
you are giving. I recently had a
conversation with our head of
production here about virtual
production, and how useful it is
to have creative conversations
where people are visualising the
same thing earlier on, and that’s
something virtual production
really allows you to do – whether
it’s in camera or whether you’re

24 3D WORLD

Aardman’s New Tech
3D WORLD 25

Aardman’s New Tech Steven Shapiro defines some
of the key questions to ask in
Shapiro continues discussing relation to off-the-shelf and
the interaction of different teams proprietary software
at the studio, noting that: “There’s
a lot that requires a lot of different “It requires quite a lot of
sets of skills in personnel to figure introspection for the company,
out: for example, how we are as well as a projection of where
going to achieve a certain look we’re going to and where other
in terms of camera and lighting. companies in software might
Or, with motion control it’s really go,” says Shapiro, addressing the
critical with stop-frame animation issue of proprietary software. “My
to operate over long periods of general philosophy and approach
time in predictable ways. And is to look for an off-the-shelf
so, motion control is really about solution that solves the problem
that. We have shading and other and is well supported and use that
engineering teams that are also for building blocks. The thing that
part of our physical production I haven’t seen often is the pipeline
technology team, but we’re also that interconnects things as an
now working on a state-of-the- off-the-shelf product. Even if it is
art console game using Unreal off-the-shelf you can customise
Engine. We have an interactive and make it your own. Are you a
development team as well that Windows house, or a Linux, for
does a wide variety of projects to example? Are you approaching
bring our IP to different platforms things as cloud-based? I haven’t
in an interactive style.” been to a studio yet where
something is so similar to another
Looking back over the past studio. Generally, we look to buy
two years, since spring 2020, something developed out-of-
Shapiro explains, “It’s important house, but we have a large team
to understand why there’s a larger internally that does a lot of work
shift than there has been here. that I would consider proprietary.”
The pandemic was a catalyst for
this: pushing people to consume Above: At Aardman,
content in different ways, the a collective effort is
push to have streaming be more underway to bring
prevalent. How you connect virtual reality into
with people. This concept of the the studio’s process
metaverse is in its infancy, but that and projects
idea is really telegraphing that
evolution of our industry. That’s Left: Blue screen
what’s changing so much. Really, allows for digital
companies have two choices: do extensions and
they adapt to the times or do they expansions to
‘stay rigid’.” environment work
on the recently
Bringing our conversation produced animated
to a conclusion, Shapiro circles special, Robin Robin
back around to a fundamental
theme, namely the evolution of
Aardman’s aesthetic whilst also
keeping true to its established
style. He notes that, “If you keep
enough of your core tenets, new
and familiar, that to me is very
honest and a big key to connecting
with your audiences. People
rarely want to see the same thing
over and over, but they also don’t
want to be so confused that they
don’t feel connected at all. So,
how do you thread that needle
to go familiar as well as new
and interesting? And how do
you change enough of it so that
people are excited, but you’re still
connected to the years of stories
that they’ve been a part of?”

26 3D WORLD

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3D WORLD 29

Images courtesy of Universal Pictures and Monkeypaw Productions Nope

CRAFTING
CREATURES OF
THE CLOUDS IN…

30 3D WORLD

Nope

Trevor Hogg looks to the skies to
uncover the mysteries behind this
science-fiction horror film

brother and sister (Daniel Kaluuya, Keke

A Palmer) running a horse ranch in California
try to document an otherworldly phenomenon
while a neighbouring theme park owner (Steven

Yeun) attempts to profit from it in the third

feature directed by Jordan Peele, Nope. One of the first heads

of department brought onto the production was visual effects

supervisor Guillaume Rocheron (Ghost in the Shell). “We did

six months of shot design as Jordan was writing the script.

Like some of these sea animals that change form, this UFO

is one form of a creature that proves to be a creature of the

wind. It is a light grey, almost white, barely any texture to

it. There is a hole at the bottom and is very slick and simple,

which is different from modern spaceship designs that tend

to include a lot of intricate detail and machinery, things that

help you for scale. Then the unfolded version of our flying

saucer is incredibly light and filled with air.”

3D WORLD 31

Nope

Left: The night-time
footage was day for
night with a colour film
camera synced with
infrared digital camera

Below (right): Gordy
was an entirely CG
creature that goes on
a rampage. The props
were made 30 per cent
bigger so that Terry
Notary was at the right
proportion to portray
Gordy and interact with
the surroundings

DAY FOR NIGHT The aerial creature is made up “It’s a creature made entirely of
of a biomaterial that resembles cloth simulation that is 450 feet
Day for night footage was augmented thick dolphin skin. There are wide,” notes Rocheron. “It was
with night-time cues such as lights in the very few features. “When the not a lot about the animation and
distance coming from lamps and houses creature unfolds there is an features of it. It was about how the
eye we designed that is literally simulation was going to convey
“It was an interesting balance,” remarks a grey cube that unfolds into the fact that it’s an organism
Rocheron. “Most of it was day for night, but striations,” explains Rocheron. purely designed to harness the
there were a few exceptions where we needed “There are no eyes, limbs, hands, wind and float in the wind. At that
to shoot our main character at nighttime, and arms or legs. It resembles an scale it was incredibly intricate
to get the night-time interaction on him that octopus or jellyfish, which are and detailed.” Dust was a major
is from artificial light and recreating the whole organisms that are incredibly environmental cue as to which
environment with our day for night technique efficient and functional. We direction the wind was blowing.
around him.” New techniques were developed to consulted with Prof. John Dabiri “It’s a large flying saucer in a
line up the cameras so they were pixel perfect in at Caltech who is a specialist in dusty environment and there
sync with each other. Depth passes and treatment jellyfish and locomotion. We took were no fans in the world that
were done in Nuke. “You have to treat the actors’ inspiration from that. There is would be big enough to create
faces differently than you treat the landscape. literally no movement that isn’t the amount of dust we needed.
It’s an elaborate setup of 3D and 2D elements necessary. There are no features We actually used a helicopter as
together to come up with this.” that don’t have a function. By a wind machine above us to kick
being a creature of the sky, what up dust and debris and make sure
32 3D WORLD it needs to do is harness the wind that things were blowing in the
and evolve in a nimble way in its right direction. We spent a lot of
environment, which is sky and time right under a helicopter with
clouds. Its colour allows it to massive dust that would get in our
hide itself in the clouds and its ears and clothes.”
structure allows it to harness the
wind, like a jellyfish with very In reality the creature is just
little movement is able to harness a small portion of the 700 visual
the water currents. That was our effects created by MPC over a
design inspiration, which forced post-production period of 30
us to be fairly minimalist in how weeks. “One of the biggest things
we made it move as a saucer or that we did was to create digital
unfolded creature.” skies, because the whole movie
is about something hiding into
Animators had to keep in mind the sky,” states Rocheron. “You
that the creature is riding wind traditionally do sky replacements
currents and when unfolding it because you want the skies to be
becomes a giant cloth simulation. prettier and look a certain way.

Whereas for us it was literally As the clouds drift, they reveal Nope
our playground. We had to design things. “The UFO jumps from cloud
skies from scratch from the previs to cloud, and hides itself in there,” GORDY LOSES HIS MIND
stage. Setups were created in explains Rocheron. “It was quite an
Houdini that would give us sky extensive R&D to create a toolset to A flashback tells the backstory of the theme
boxes made of geometry, which design cloudscapes that animators park owner played by Steven Yeun
would describe the shape of the could work with, and then also
clouds so that the clouds could something that I could bring on Ricky ‘Jupe’ Park was a child television star when
always drift in the direction of set when we’re filming. We had his castmates were murdered by a rampaging
the wind. We could keyframe that an iPad with Unreal Engine and chimpanzee named Gordy. “It is one of the scariest
and animate our saucer hiding all of the previs and we mapped scenes that I have ever seen in my life on film!”
and moving through the clouds. It the iPad to the IMAX lenses. In admits Rocheron. “It was fun to put it together. We
was a huge design exercise to get augmented reality I could show were trying to create a photoreal performance and
the clouds throughout the whole the moving saucer in the clouds or having all of the interaction as we could when the
movie.” Eight months of hard- the moving clouds on set when we chimp walks through the scene; that’s why we built
core R&D was spent on producing were setting up the shots. That was all of that oversized. Our performer Terry Notary
incredibly detailed digital clouds. helpful but when we took it back was actually at the size of our chimp so we could do
“It’s a giant fluid simulation at all to MPC, they had to ingest those all practical interaction in that set, and we wanted
times and we wanted to art direct fairly rudimentary cloudscapes to do that for real. When he touches something or
it entirely. There are probably and come up with techniques to leaves blood on something, all of that is in camera.”
three shots in the movie where then create cumulonimbus and
the skies are real.” stratus clouds that felt real and The scene was difficult for VFX because it was
filmed through a double layer, semi-transparent
“THERE ARE PROBABLY THREE SHOTS IN silk tablecloth. “It was hard for tracking and
integration, but at the same time it keeps a
THE MOVIE WHERE THE SKIES ARE REAL” mystery on the chimp and you only fully realise
his features when he gets really close to you,”
Guillaume Rocheron, visual effects supervisor, Nope remarks Rocheron. “The tablecloth was the most
challenging thing we had to do; we had to consider
how you see through it and how is the light
refracting and spread through the fibres of that
tablecloth. It was a special scene. I’m proud of it.”

3D WORLD 33

Nope

Above: The creature had the details and movements. shot to shot, because we’re asking treated like a natural bluescreen.
unfolds like origami And also, the shading of clouds. our audience to track where the “We would key the blue sky and
and moves with the When we started it would literally clouds are and where the saucer do a lot of rotoscope to get our
efficiency of a jellyfish take 30 hours a frame to render is in the clouds. You have to actors in and make sure that
one cloud, because you need to have the sense of the sky from everything is fitting in.”
Far right: Horses and bounce so much light in there to different points of view. Also, in
helicopters do not get realistic renditions.” photography the sun changes “Something really cool that
go well together, so from shot to shot, because one we did are the night shots which
separate passes were Capturing real clouds and setup at 2pm and another setup at were shot during the day,” reveals
created beginning with compositing them into a shot 3pm and you always have to light Rocheron. “All of the encounters
the plate, helicopter was not practical. “It was all the clouds in a way that fits into happen in that valley at nighttime
acting as wind machine, CG because if you set up a the photography. We embraced and cameras don’t see a lot at
digital effects and shot and start to shoot at 2pm, the fact by design when you shoot night. Jordan didn’t want a movie
final composite at 2:15pm the clouds are in a in natural light you can’t control night. He wanted the universal
completely different position,” the lighting. Cloud shadows that experience of the audience feeling
Below: Different states Rocheron. “You can’t are drifting were placed on the at night in that valley with the
types of digital clouds stage anything with something terrain to connect the ground characters and your eyes doing
were rendered that is constantly moving. Cloud with our skies.” The blue sky was the work to see things. The only
continuity was important from way to do this is day for night

34 3D WORLD

Nope

HELICOPTERS & HORSES DON’T MIX

An effort was made to do as much practically to make

sure that the movie felt grounded in reality

One of the characters gets blown away There is a lot of digital dust. “Having the
by the wind. “Often, we tried to do as real dust from the helicopter gave us the
much practically as we could because look, speed and scale and we could match
it’s a movie that wants to be grounded,” into that to make the events larger and
observes Rocheron. “We didn’t want to do more dynamic,” states Rocheron. “It was
something that you couldn’t put a stunt important for us to always have something
person through. It was a lot of wire work. real to start with. We want to get real
We had stunt performers hanging on and sunlight, dust and people and build our
being pulled by helicopters on the line to visual effects upon them.” CG horses were
try to get that. We did a few digital doubles created for the ones that get abducted.
here and there to help the movement; “You can’t put a helicopter and a horse
however, we were going to pull off stunts together, so we had to choose sometimes
with cranes or helicopters to get the scope to use a CG horse or practical dust with a
and scale. That helped us to ground it.” real horse; that was a big thing.”

where you shoot during the day
and in post you try to give it a
night look.” A 3D camera rig
was created in collaboration
with cinematographer Hoyte
Van Hoytema (Tinker Tailor
Soldier Spy), which combined and
synchronised a Panavision 65 film
camera with a ARRI ALEXA 65
digital camera that was infrared.
“Infrared footage gives you
perfectly black skies. The cameras
were lined up with a laser and
every shot had lens grids so we
could realign the shots together
in post. We created techniques
to take the infrared footage and
colourise it.”

3D WORLD 35

THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF

It’s closer than you think, and 3D artists are making it a reality…
Paul Hatton explores the incredible potential of this virtual universe

or 3D artists, visualisers prepare us for the future and see potential
opportunities that we might not have
F and content creators, there previously considered. Let’s dive into the
really is no getting away past, present and future of the metaverse.
from conversations about the
‘metaverse’ – this futuristic THE PAST
virtual network that is currently dividing
opinion and provoking some strong The term was first coined way back in 1992
emotions and responses. However we in the novel Snow Crash, but a clearer vision
define it and whatever it may look like in the for what it could look like was found in the
future, this virtual world is going to be made novel/film Ready Player One. The story is
up of 3D content, with technology that will set in a VR world where everyone socialises,
be built on top of existing tech that we’re works and shops. You just pop on your
all currently familiar with. It’ll probably headset and there you are, ready to live.
be largely down to studios and innovative
individuals to really forge the way into the But what has really made it possible
unknown, but any developments are sure to even talk of the metaverse as a reality?
to ripple down and affect every artist, all Was it the invention of the computer or
around the world. Understanding what the internet? Was it the birth of a social
has got us here, where we are right now media driven world or Augmented Reality
and where it might be heading will help (AR)? Has Virtual Reality (VR) made the
metaverse possible? In one sense, the answer

36 3D WORLD

Metaverse

is yes. Past tech developments it possible to immerse ourselves in
have paved the way for a tech- other worlds. These, and others, are
driven future. The internet has the building blocks for our future.
made it possible to communicate
with people all around the world. It is with these building blocks
Social media platforms have that 3D artists have already
made it normal to have social developed what could viably be
interactions with people who are called metaverses. There’s Fortnite,
not in the same room as you, and made by Epic Games, which enables
AR has blended the lines between players to attend virtual concerts
what you can see with your eyes such as the Rift Tour featuring
and what is digital. VR has made Ariana Grande. Only time will tell
whether these 3D virtual replicas
are the future of our music industry
but one thing’s for sure, developers
are certainly pushing doors to see
what opens.

Then there’s World of Warcraft,
a persistent virtual world. It
continues even when players are
not actively playing and it provides
a context for players to buy and sell
things. It is through replicating
what we do in real life that these
games will increasingly become
enmeshed into our lives.

THE PRESENT

We’ve come a long way in recent
decades. Virtual worlds that were
initially simplistic and un-engaging
have become hyper-realistic and
immersive. With the right tech
and the necessary skill it seems
anything is now possible. We’ve
seen that with the demos created
using Unreal Engine 5 (UE) and
Unity. The tech found in these game
engines is making it possible to

Top: Fortnite has
begun to branch out
into providing virtual
experiences

Above and right:
These unbelievable
visuals from the
Unreal Engine 5
short Project Ember
– Descending show
what’s possible, in
terms of realism,
with the latest game
engines. Credit:
Han Yang @ Shape
Shifters Creative

Illustrations by Good Studio

3D WORLD 37

build virtual worlds to a realism which showcases its rendering
and a scale that has never been capabilities, all in real time and at
seen before. Take ‘Etchu-Daimon 4K resolution. The level of detail that
Station’, created by Lorenzo Drago is achieved is bonkers, but to think
in UE, for example. If you thought that it is rendered at such a high
we were still a little way off resolution in real time shows that a
creating interactive virtual worlds real-time rendered future is not only
that are as realistic as the real possible but surprisingly close.
world, then this demo will blow
your mind. The lighting, textures It is clear that game engines are
and camera movements immerse doing everything possible to be the
you right into the station and leave platform of choice for virtual world
you asking the question “was that creators. We’ve seen that with the
real video footage?”. release of MetaHuman in UE. This
is a free app that lets artists create
But it’s not just UE. Unity has photo-realistic digital humans. And
released a demo called ‘Enemies’ it’s quick. In only a few minutes

38 3D WORLD

anyone can create a digital Left (middle): Metaverse
human. You can customise the MetaHuman is
skin, the hair and even make it providing the Be a world creator
fully rigged so it’s good to go in a necessary tools for
virtual context. Digital humans creating the people Learn the skills that will be required
will obviously form a huge part that are needed in the metaverse
of whatever the metaverse looks for the metaverse.
like, and tools like this are making Both images, credit: A key part of the metaverse will be the
it possible. Its popularity is Han Yang @ Shape virtual worlds that we will inhabit. In
evidenced in the fact that within Shifters Creative reality, these virtual worlds will take
two months of launching, one much the same form as the world we
million digital humans had been Below: Experiences live in now. Some of these worlds will be
created with it. such as visiting art created from 3D scans, but if you want to
galleries will be a position yourself well for all eventualities,
Alongside Digital Content key aspect of the then you’ll do well to learn how to create
Creation (DCC) applications metaverse. Credit: terrains from scratch.
and game engines for creating Clinton Crumpler
and displaying the content, the There are a plethora of options out
likes of Nvidia and AMD are also there including World Creator and Gaea.
very much involved. Through Through node-based or layer-based
these companies, and others, we systems artists can create 3D worlds
are seeing concrete steps being quickly and easily, with the functionality
taken to provide the necessary for talented artists to really fine-tune
infrastructure to deliver on the their creations. Worlds made up of sand,
metaverse. Artists will need hills, mountains, rock and water are
access to the best hardware to all created procedurally, which means
create the virtual worlds and creations are not getting ‘baked’ in but
can be edited using various parameters.

These worlds can be easily exported
into other DCCs including game engines
such as Unity and Unreal Engine. As these
terrains are perfectly suited for games
and VFX, you’ll also find your skills easily
transferable into other related industries.

3D WORLD 39

Metaverse

NFTs Above and below:
Etchu-Daimon
Are these the future for 3D artists Station, an Unreal
wanting to sell their art? Engine 5 environment
by Lorenzo Drago
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are a way of (www.artstation.
attributing digital data, in our instance art, com/subjectn).
to a specific person. They are the owner of When I first saw
that data and because it is recorded in a these visuals and the
blockchain, the data can be sold or traded. associated video, I
Prior to a system that had ownership thought it was real
embedded into it, it was very difficult to footage. Drago has
sell digital art or to claim ownership of it. hit incredible
NFTs are trying to change that. heights of realism
with this project
One of the biggest proponents of
NFTs, in the 3D world, for selling art has
been Andrew Price, the creator of Blender
Guru. He has not only sold NFTs but also
works hard to try and debunk some of the
perceived myths around this technology.
Those myths are still well and truly up
for debate, but the metaverse will need
technologies that facilitate the buying and
selling of digital goods. So, if you create
3D art that you want to sell, using NFTs
could be a great way to do that. And who
knows, you might find yourself well placed
for selling art in the metaverse.

40 3D WORLD

Metaverse

Left: Educational
settings will be
another key element
of virtual worlds.
Creating familiar
environments will
be key to helping
people adopt the
new tech. Credit:
Clinton Crumpler

users will need to be able to to be able to do during the COVID with sufficient real-world uses
access these worlds on any device pandemic but that it was far from for virtual reality. If they had,
they want. Off their own back the same experience of being then I think there would be a
and through partnerships, these in-person at a live concert. If we headset in every house up and
companies are investing huge ever settle for a music concert down the country. If Elon Musk’s
amounts of money to put the delivered technologically to our timescales are to be believed, then
necessary infrastructure in place. own home and think that we’ve it’s possible that we’ll see robots
had the best experience possible, in our households before VR
THE FUTURE then I think something tragic will headsets become commonplace.
have happened.
It seems that the future is bright So where does this leave us as
for 3D artists. If the future is I think what is more realistic 3D artists and content creators?
going to be increasingly digital, is that the existing platforms and I think it leaves us with a very
with virtual worlds at the centre worlds that we have will continue exciting and expansive future.
of them, then there will be plenty to develop and expand, with As an increasing number of
of work to go around. But what their creators trying new ways companies look to engage their
will this future actually look like? to push the boundaries of what customers with virtual reality
And where should artists focus is possible virtually and across solutions, there will be content
their efforts? the internet. I think Meta will to create and delivery platforms
utilise its platforms to deliver to design. Embracing real-time
If you’ve seen any of the videos more experiences, with the likes technologies and game platforms,
from the likes of Meta and others, of Fortnite and others doing the in particular, will likely give
then you’ll know that their visions same. These experiences may you the necessary skills and
for the future seem pretty far- well include more facets such as experience to be well placed for a
fetched. One example was where trading goods or replicating real- metaverse future. What that looks
Meta showed a woman being world experiences, but I think like, though, is anyone’s guess.
transported across the world they’ll always just be a poor-man’s
to a concert, by hologram, after substitute for the real deal. 3D WORLD 41
seeing her friend at the concert
on Instagram. This is quite the We’ll likely see greater
vision and I personally can’t see it adoption of VR technology,
ever becoming a reality. There is especially as the price of these
no guarantee that the metaverse come down. These headsets once
will develop at the pace that the needed a lot of hardware but are
internet and mobile devices have, now pretty ‘light’, not needing
but more importantly there is no wires to run them. So far, I don’t
telling how humans will respond think developers have come up
to a growing virtual world. Much
of the response to virtual concerts
on Fortnite was that it was good

Practical tips and tutorials from
pro artists to improve
your CG skills

SCOOTER GIRL
This high-poly sculpt is still just a WIP. Keep
an eye out for the fully textured scene, with
environment and animation, coming soon!
42 3D WORLD

Design a fashionable, semi-stylised sculpt

ZBRUSH | ANY POLYGONAL MODELLING TOOLS | MARMOSET TOOLBAG | PHOTOSHOP

DESIGN A FASHIONABLE,
SEMI-STYLISED SCULPT

How to achieve impressive results with basic character creation techniques

Ihave been a big fan of its possible owner. I knew for AUTHOR
everything Japanese since sure that it would be a female
childhood, especially Japanese character and that she would Konstantin Chulanov
motorcycles. During my career be a fashionista. In the process I’m a senior 3D
as a character artist, I've had of creation, the character was character artist who
thoughts of making a racing car subject to changes. Sneakers has been working in the
driver or a biker character. But changed to boots, and dark, long game industry for over
at first I lacked skill, and later hair to short blonde. ten years. I have a big
enough free time to get involved passion for video games,
in the project. The idea of creating In the future, when the movies and miniatures.
this character was spinning in my project is completely finished, A knowledge-hungry
head for about a year. The main I plan to assemble the scene in ‘eternal student’.
idea was to show the connection Unreal Engine 5, add animation, https://bit.ly/3wo77Zh
between the vehicle and its and also lay out all the source
owner; in a sense, these are paired materials. For now, let's break
characters. The first time I saw down my high-poly model
the Honda Motocompo I just fell creation pipeline.
in love with this unusual design!
Initially, the plan was to take the DOWNLOAD YOUR RESOURCES
basis of the motorcycle and make For all the assets you need go to
custom tuning, thereby giving
it a unique look, and based on https://bit.ly/3Dworld-291
the result, present the image of

3D WORLD 43

Design a fashionable, semi-stylised sculpt

02 is, the less problems you will face Tell me a story starting sculpting, I choose one
in the later stages. The principle of the elements of the character,
01BRAINSTORM AND here is to spend 20 per cent of What makes your most often the shoes, and make
PREPARATIONS the time to get 80 per cent of the art interesting and the final version. At this stage, you
result. All significant elements of engaging is the story. need to set the maximum detail
Before starting a character, I make the scene should be in their places Use visual markers for the entire project. What details
sure to consider all the stages of and combined in mass with each to give the viewer should be discarded, what should
creation. Sometimes it takes 1-2 other. The silhouette should also be hints. The pose of the be smoothed out, and what would
weeks until I am completely sure expressive from all sides. Check the character and where be better to show in texturing. The
that the character will turn out cool stability of your character and make they are looking, the more detailed the sculpt, the more
enough to put it into production. sure it does not fall forward or want shape of the sword or work you will have. Excessively high
to fall back. Ideally, your character the toy on the bag are detail brings you closer to realism,
Preparing references is very should be readable when the all part of the story. and too low detail will stand out
important, especially when you camera view is far away. Try to work But don't overdo it, it from the crowd. Try to bring all
are creating a character from your with low polygons. has to be believable. elements of the character to the
own concept. Strong, expressive same level of quality.
references will provide you with 03 SET MAXIMUM DETAIL
confidence throughout the work. Let's talk a little about 04 SCULPTING
what maximum detail is. Before Try to keep your subtools
02 BLOCK OUT THE SHAPE on a low subdivision, as this will
In my opinion, blocking is the help you to correct elements
most important step in character without visible distortion, as well
creation. The stronger your blocking as optimise the scene. Things
like patches, ripping on the
sleeves or torn edges I prefer
to do as textures. The brushes I
use all the time are ClayBuildup,
Standard, DamStandard, hPolish,
TrimDynamic and Inflate.

I would also like to mention such
a concept as complexity/layering.
Characters with ‘layered’ costumes
are more engaging compared to
those with a simple silhouette.
Having a fairly detailed blockout,
it was very easy for me to refine
the sculpt; in fact, I just finished
some elements on a highly detailed
shape, and then slightly corrected
them in size and scale.

03

44 3D WORLD

Design a fashionable, semi-stylised sculpt

05 UNDERSTAND DRAPERY
AND FOLDS

I borrowed many of the folds from
realistic references, and made some
along the way. When aiming to
make beautiful folds, it is important
to consider a few key points. For
certain spots I use specific types
of folds: V-shaped, Z-shaped,
X-shaped or longitudinal. Even in
styling, folds should be moderately
believable and logical. Pay attention
to the type of material as well as the
force of gravity and tension points.

Learning how to make beautiful
folds takes a lot of time, but by

04 understanding the logic of how

they are formed, you will quickly get
comfortable. I often see the mistake
of beginners and even experienced
artists who use clothing simulation
programs. Their folds look too
procedural even though they were
created in a realistic simulation.
Such drapery is not a great solution.
They are only good as a basis for
sculpting on top of.

06SCULPT THE FACE
AND BODY
The next stage will be sculpting the

05 body and head of the character. It is

always a relief to have a final version

of the face and anatomy, as it is

much more convenient to customise

clothes. Stylised characters have

non-standard proportions in

comparison to a realistic human

model. Try to build on the basic

principles in anatomy, but don't

go into too much detail, it's still

a stylisation. As a reference for

proportions, I referenced characters

from anime and the Overwatch

game. I made the face smooth

06a without anatomical features, the
rest of the detail should be added

at the texturing stage. Eyebrows

and eyelashes are made with

geometry. Since there are plans

to make a facial animation for the

character, I opened the mouth to

create a tongue and teeth.

07FROM REALISTIC
TO STYLISED

Let's take a look at how to interpret
the design of the clothes in order
to match the given style. Create a
blockout and divide it into basic
elements. Increase the thickness of
flat elements, and remove smaller
elements such as seams. Slightly

06b

3D WORLD 45

Design a fashionable, semi-stylised sculpt

07 inflate the volumes and change This detail was made using
Simply observe shape and silhouette. Small but Substance Painter, with just
important elements like buckles or
The easiest way to rivets will need to be made larger the height channel and a
improve your skill and more expressive. Try not to few masks
as an artist is by dig too much into the details and
watching. Observe follow the general forms. The straps
people, look at the were made with the CurveStrap
folds of clothes, study brush and a lot of patience. An
furniture design, the important point will be to separate
colouring of sea fish, the elements of the bag into
observe nature and independent subtools; the sculpt
the animal world, must be neat.
check out the works
of famous artists… 08 ZBRUSH TRICKS
and so on. To make a perfect zipper, I
used the curve tool. Not everyone
Quality vs time knows that ZBrush has such a
gem, it is located in Stroke/Curve
Being a perfectionist Functions. First of all, you need to
isn't bad, but only create a proxy mesh and than make
when you don't go a creased edge loop where you
too far. Excessive would like to place the zipper. Push
polishing or the Frame Mesh button. Curve is
engineering accuracy ready for use, just apply any curve
is often not worth brush. This curve stroke generator
the time if 99 per works with creased edges,
cent of people don't polygroups and borders.
notice the difference.
Understanding when Another useful tool for creating
a job is done is a very specific geometry from alphas will
useful skill. be Tool>Geometry>ShadowBox.
Just select your desired resolution
and polish volume. Simple and
clever. And my favourite one,
Dynamic Subdiv, provides a high-
res preview of low geometry. It’s
very helpful for creating a super-
clean mesh. New versions also have
a thickness parameter, which makes
this tool truly the best.

09 HAIR AND STRANDS –
PART 1

Every time I create a new hairstyle
I am faced with a challenge, as I
consider hair styling to be one of

08

46 3D WORLD

Design a fashionable, semi-stylised sculpt

09a

the most difficult, time-consuming
steps in character creation. First
of all, let's create a strand brush.
Take the CurveTubeSnap brush and
change parameters in the brush
settings like Brush Modifier and
Strength. Next, open Stroke/Curve
Modifiers, turn on the Size button
and change the curve shape.

Then, assign polygroups where
you want the edge of the strand.
Apply Crease PG. Finally, turn on
Dynamic Subdiv to see the results.
The crease plus dynamic subdiv
technique will allow you to edit your
hairstyle with ease and keep the

09b hair strands smooth.

10 HAIR AND STRANDS –
PART 2

I want to share some key points
that will help you with this difficult
task. Prepare references for the
hairstyle you want to recreate.
Make a blocking of hair that will
show the approximate direction of
the strands and volume. Break the
hairstyle into zones: bangs, parting,
side and back volumes. Make sure
that the silhouette looks impressive
in the front and side view.

When styling your hairstyle,

10a follow the curl direction, as well as

alternate thick and thin strands.
Add extra strands to break up the
silhouette and the main direction of
the hair.

11MATERIALS AND
COLOURS

Since the character does not have
textures and colour information,
it was necessary to develop an
interesting and at the same time
strict style. For the presentation
of my work, I chose Marmoset
Toolbag 4. At first I wanted to
render in a uniform grey colour,

10b

3D WORLD 47

Design a fashionable, semi-stylised sculpt

but later I realised that I could 11
add some variety. I chose a grey 12
colour without impurities, and a 13
roughness 0.4-0.6 depending on
the material of the skin or fabric,
and also divided the materials into
colour gradations from light-grey
to dark. With golden elements,
I broke the monotony and also
added a little luxury gloss. The red
lenses of the glasses in this case
attract the eyes and are the focus
of attention in such a monochrome
image. Transparent and translucent
materials also add visual richness.

12 LIGHTING SETUP
The book Color and Light
by James Gurney is great for
developing an understanding of
how to properly set the light and
how to achieve certain effects. My
other advice is to look at some
articles on how photographers set
up studio lighting.

In this work, I used one of the
simplest and most effective light
schemes. The direct light is the
main source and is responsible for
the light from the sun. The fill light
is a Sky/HDRI light with a top blue
and a warm earth tone. It is this light
that adds cold and warm tones to
the render, and is also responsible
for the colour of the reflections and
shadows. Rim lights emphasise the
silhouette, and finally a spotlight is
responsible for highlighting the top
of the character.

13 EDIT IN PHOTOSHOP
Most often the render is not
perfect, so you have to open it in
Photoshop to fine-tune the image.
Here are some easy tricks that
helped me improve the result. Use
levels to adjust the contrast, and
bring the image to warmer tones
by mixing in a yellowish layer. Add
a light accent to the character
using levels and a radial mask.
Slightly muffle the colour of the
disks using the same levels on the
yellow channel. Add a vignette and
a gradient to darken the bottom of
the image. It's amazing how such
simple techniques can change the
quality of a picture.

If you have any questions, you
can ask them in the comments
section of this work on my
ArtStation page. I'll be happy to
help you. •

48 3D WORLD

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3D WORLD 49

CLERIC
This character has
been remastered to
look modern while
still respecting the
original intent