2014
CGWorkshops
Noah Vice
10:00:00
English
This workshop is aimed at fast-tracking your learning process by studying the principles and techniques behind good look development and lighting. A sound understanding of these techniques not only provides the artist with a method to consistently achieve their desired look, but it also allows them to view the world around them in a new and exciting light.
Noah Vice has worked on Avatar, Iron Man 1 & 2 films and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows among many others. His most recent credit is the box office hit "The Avengers".
For a sneak peak of what you can expect, check out the Introduction video from Noah's workshop at the bottom of this page.
Please note: This is a beginner to intermediate level workshop. More advanced topics will be covered by Noah in a later workshop, start date to-be-announced.
"Noah is an extraordinary teacher… a master of his craft. His knowledge is inspirational, his feedback invaluable. It has been a tremendous learning experience beyond any value of money, and I would highly recommend this course to anyone.Thank you Noah, for an unforgettable learning experience." Barry Gelderblom, student, February 2013
"Noah's class was a fantastic online course! I was able to learn all sorts of advance techniques within a short time frame. He has no problem sharing industry standards and methods to help better your work. I would highly recommend this course for people who want to take their work to the next level. Thanks again Noah!!" Madhu Jay, Student, March 2013
"…Noah can tell you about a topic you were already familiar with but give an all-new perspective…use(ing) his own experience. This is how you get to the next level; Noah will tell you where to find God in the details." Tom Lear, Student, March 2013
"It is priceless to have a talent like Noah commenting on your work and giving you directions on how to improve it." Eduardo Bastian, student, September 2012
"I gained not only some really strong and solid fundamentals as I hoped, but I also had the opportunity to meet one of the best professionals out there and to learn some of the methods that are actually used in those large-scale productions." Francesco Pontolillo D'Ella, student, September 2012
Week 1: Introduction to Look development.
In week one, we’ll explore look development, what it is, and how it contributes to a production. We’ll then delve the process behind it and how we define and describe an object’s properties. Finally we’ll collect and collate reference and create a reference contact sheet. Most of this week will be spent studying reference provided and online, as well as some time in either Photoshop or Gimp.
1. Introduction to the look development and how it works in production.
2. Learn a process for analysing and object and it’s look.
3. Look at the difference between material vs texture properties and when to use each.
4. Getting to know places on-line to collect good reference and learn how to break it down.
5. Learn what a reference contact sheet is and why it’s important to the process.
6. How to compile a reference contact sheet.
EXERCISE: Collect reference online or in the field and develop a reference contact sheet. Required time: 1-2 hours
Week 2: HDRI Environments and light probes.
In week 2 we’ll focus on HDRI environments, how they are captured onset, and then how we can replicate and balance their contribution to our scene in the computer. We’ll then look a couple of different types of turntable rigs and create one of our own to study our look development.
1. HDRI environments and light probes and how they are captured on set.
2. Probe and plate analysis- the importance of the grey and chrome sphere.
3. Recreating onset light probes in Maya.
4. Balancing colour, and HDRI environment intensity.
5. Different types of turntable environments.
EXERCISE: Create a turntable and environment probe setup. Required time: 1-2 hours
Week 3: Shaders and the BRDF.
The focus of week 3 will be shaders and their manipulation to develop a desired look. We’ll look at different types of shaders and their unique qualities, as well as some of the theory behind how they work internally. We’ll then look at some commonly needed types of materials in production and how we can quickly achieve these looks.
1. Shading models and when to use each one.
2. 2D and 3D textures and UV space.
3. Raytracing and the BRDF.
4. Monolithic and energy conserving shaders.
EXERCISE: Recreate some more common material looks in Maya using provided examples. Required time: 1-2 hours.
Week 4: Advanced Concepts.
This week we’ll be finishing up the look development component by looking at some more advanced materials and concepts. We’ll finish up by taking a real world plate object and recreating its look in our turntable using the skills we’ve developed over the prior weeks.
1. Advanced material types. (layered shaders, SSS, displacement)
2. Light shaders.
3. Final gathering and ambient occlusion.
4. Bringing it all together- turntable and look development evaluation.
5. Advanced tips and tricks.
EXERCISE: Look-developing a more complex object in Maya using provided examples. Required time: 1-2 hours
Week 5: Introduction to Lighting.
This week will be a quick introduction to lighting in Maya. For most students this will be more of a refresher. We’ll look at the basic light types, terminology and controls.
1. Lighting basics. Types of lights and their controls.
2. What defines interesting lighting and how can it contribute to a film production?
3. Light properties in the computer: intensity and color, shadows, falloff, patterns and texture.
4. Flags and cookies.
EXERCISE: Use the techniques learned in this week’s class to light a simple scene. Required time: 1-2 hours
Week 6: Studying real world lighting and environments.
This week we’ll take another look at what we covered in the environments section in week 2 but this time from a lighting perspective. We’ll look at some real world examples and recreate them using image based lighting techniques and traditional lights.
1. Real world examples and comparisons.
2. Popular lighting configurations used on set and in production.
3. Identifying what makes them good and understanding why they are chosen and what they achieve.
4. Plate analysis and visual lighting cues.
EXERCISE: Re-creating environment looks using more advanced lighting setups in the computer. Required time: 1-2 hours.
Week 7: In-depth lighting techniques.
In week 7 we’ll step it up a bit and look at some of the more advanced lighting techniques we have available to us in Maya, as well as some proven ways to use them in production.
1. Advanced lighting setups used on set.
2. Bounce cards, silks and their computer equivalents and how to recreate them.
3. Advanced lighting techniques in the computer- Global Illumination & Final Gathering.
4. Baking Final Gathering to reduce noise.
5. Advanced Shadow properties.
EXERCISE: Lighting a more advanced scene using some of the techniques learned in this week’s class.
Week 8: Putting it all together.
In our final week, we’ll do a quick recap of the skills we’ve learned over the course and spend the class bringing it all together by look-developing and integrating an object seamlessly into a plate.
1. Object analysis -breaking down material vs texture properties.
2. Shader creation and tuning of look.
3. Plate analysis.
4. Lighting setup and environment recreation.
5. Final integration into a plate.
6. Tips and tricks and how to fine tune your results.
EXERCISE: Students are provided a plate and a model and we’ll work along as a class look- developing our model and integrating it into the plate. We’ll then render a turntable of the object on the plate as our final project. Required time: 2-3 hours
http://workshops.cgsociety.org/courseinfo.php?id=486
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