Saurabh Waikar's Blog

Month: May 2023

Categories
ADVANCE & EXPERIMENTAL Compositing

Week 11 Nuke: Patching & projection

In this week we started by the technique of PATCHING in Nuke. These patches are helpful for removing he objects from the plate itself, where these patches are 3D by itself. We add these patches on the Card taken from the 3D trackers which we did in the last lecture. There are various techniques for doing this.

Having the card that is taken from the specific 3D Track is the most important aspect as all these patch are about to sit in the given card / points.

The rotos are done on a particular frames, where we have to be very cautious about the frame that we select as these frame hold carry on to the whole plate. After cleaning up / rotoing (in this case i have roto painted the plate to get my desired look), these roto is then send on to a frame-hold which carries it to the entire plate with the help of card.

work flow for Patching (Frame hold method)
Before Cleanup
After cleanup

We also looked on how to do the patching with the help of UV method. In this method, we stabilize the video. This is done by transferring the plate onto the card, and the the plate is changed in to the format of UV. After which we can roto paint in again, and carry the rest to get the patching done.

UV METHOD
After copying the UVs.

PROJECTION WITH HELP OF POINT CLOUD

Pointcloud helps in making the scene 3D through which we can add grids/cards to the points.These point help us to get a 3D visual representation of the plate. With the help of these points which we got after analyzing and tracking the points we can add 3D objects to these points.

Visual representation of Point card

We can also view these points into a 3D geometry, with the help of poisson mesh. Poission mesh converts these points into a typically 3D object.

3D visualization with the help of poission mesh node.

Along with the poission node we can also visualize these points by baking these point created by the point cloud generated. For getting these points we have to bake the points which can be obtained by selecting the vertices of these points and baking them into geometry mesh after grouping the points selected.

Visualization with the help of point bake node.

Model builder is another technique by which we can do a proper visualization. Poission method maybe easier than model builder technique, but its not quite efficient when compared. In Model builder method we have to add cards and grids same like how we used to do the corner pin method.

FINAL MATCHMOVE

Categories
Compositing VFX FUNDAMENTALS

WEEK 11 NUKE: MATCHMOVE

This week we started to learn about match move.
To begin with, we started by undistorting the video, which helps in taking out the curvy look created due to the camera lens.
After making the video undistorted, we use match move process and redistort the video all over again.
If we do not have the checkerboard for undistorting, we have to create these grids manually by hand.

Getting back to tracking, before do it the plate needs to be denoised, and graded as per needed in order to get a proper visuals for the desired track.

While tracking we did get errors which were calculated to around 0.91, as it was below 1 and the errors were not in an important position we rejected the errors and updated it to remove the errors.

These tracks could be seen in 3D viewer itself,
Where we allotted it a ground plane by selecting respective track points. These 3D Tracking points also helped us to set 3D geometry to them.

For 3D visualisation we started by taking Cube and with the help of SCANLINE RENDER and camera we were able to have a 3D visualisation of it.
Our main motive of this was to get familiar to 3D structure in Nuke software. Surprisingly, the 3D is Nuke is also good. It feels as if it was a 3D software to begin with.

3D cube on checker board BG
Basic node set up for 3D

With the help of ReadGeo node we can also import 3D objects from other softwares. And Scene node helps in merging 1 or more 3D objects together.

Getting back to tracking, before do it the plate needs to be denoised, and graded as per needed in order to get a proper visuals for the desired track.

While tracking we did get errors which were calculated to around 0.91, as it was below 1 and the errors were not in an important position we rejected the errors and updated it to remove the errors.

These tracks could be seen in 3D viewer itself,
Where we allotted it a ground plane by selecting respective track points. These 3D Tracking points also helped us to set 3D geometry to them.

set up for camera tracking
3D Track points

3D view point for the tracks
Categories
ADVANCE & EXPERIMENTAL PERSONAL

PERSONAL PROJECT: PART 1 ‘CLOUDS’

When making clouds in Houdini, it’s important to remember their irregularity, density, texture, and lightning. These clouds are typically categorized as Volumes or VDBs. When creating clouds in Houdini, the primary factor at play is volumes, which are then converted into an attribute known as “Density”. In this project, we’ll explore the process of how I procedurally generated clouds, as well as incorporating elements like animation and Pyro effects.

Initially, my approach involved utilizing a high-resolution Sphere to generate VDBs with a more intricate and irregular shape. To further enhance the overall effect, I used the “Mountain” node which proved to be incredibly useful in terms of distorting the surface and introducing a greater degree of irregularity. This technique allowed me to achieve the desired outcome and create an optimal result.

Sphere
Mountain Node

After completing the initial distortion of the sphere, I proceeded to create duplicate copies of it. To ensure consistency, I made sure that each copy had identical attributes. However, to distinguish them from one another, I added a unique offset to each duplicate.

copies of initial sphere

I added more details to the existing sphere by scattering some points and creating various sizes of regular spheres. These steps were taken to improve the overall quality of the sphere and convert it into VDBs.

addition of extra sphere

Afterwards, I moved forward by transforming the shape into VDBs or volumes. To carry out this task, I used a node called “Cloud” which proves to be more efficient than the “VDB from Polygon node” when it comes to creating Cloud. The “Cloud” node provides a more extensive spectrum of components to operate with, enabling the designing of noise VDB.

Cloud Node
Polygon converted into VDB

Through the utilization of “Fill Source,” I have successfully generated a sphere with increased noise and irregularity on the VDB. This newly created volume will prove to be quite beneficial in generating a more diverse and dynamic noisy volume.

Added more Noise onto the VDB
Fill Source and noise

To achieve a more lifelike appearance, I utilized the Cloud Noise node to enhance the realism of the clouds. This resulted in a more natural-looking noise in the Volume, which helped to create a more irregular cloud pattern. Additionally, I fine-tuned the Density using the Cloud Noise node to accurately emulate the fluctuating density of real-world clouds, which can range from virtually nonexistent to a fully dense state.

Clouds without Noise
Clouds After the addition of Noise
Irregularities in the Density of the cloud.

As a result of the extensive time required for rendering Volumes, I found it necessary to implement several measures to ensure an efficient process. I decided to limit the camera resolution and adjust certain elements like SSS, Volume quality, and Noise to achieve the desired outcome. Despite these limitations, I am happy to report that the clouds have retained their natural, irregular shapes and variations in their density, resulting in a pleasing final product.

After Lighting and rendering (Low res)
Categories
ADVANCE & EXPERIMENTAL GROUP

LOW-FI PROJECT: FLOOR MODELLING

As a look dev artist, I was assigned for floor modelling. For this I had a concept of building a procedural model which would depict the old school sci-fi theme that has been set to our project. For the same, I collected these references for the floor

reference 1
reference_2

To begin with, I choose Houdini to model this concept as it is very powerful software for procedural modelling. In case if I have to make any changes in the past or if its just playing with modeling, for me Houdini is a comfortable.

To begin with, I took a basic shape and technique for building the floor. I started by taking a grid copying and beveling its edges so that it aligns as per needed. Further, I boolean it with each other, resulting into the start of a sci-fi industrial look. Later I continued this technique of copying, transferring and booleaning the model until I got a more interesting look.

grids for boolean
boolean and extruded
final piece
scaling and mirrioring
WORKFLOW FOR BUILDING THE BASE OF THE FLOOR

For the main floor, I started by taking box editing its edges and making a hole in it so that I can fit the cage in it.

The main motive for having the cage in the center is that we would be having a clear look at the water fx, that would be added later on.

For the cage, I started by taking a grid and giving it divisions according to the size needed for the cage holes. For creating this mesh, I used the technique included in extrude. In this case, I made the faces have an individually unique, so that it takes up the process respectively. Later on I added a negative inset value and extruded it. And thus getting the result of the cage.

Box
Cage
Merged
Workflow for cage
Entire Floor

For the end, I added some pipes to get a better old sci-fi look. To achieve this, I took a line, added segments and edited the points unequally. Followed by beveling the points in order to get the smoother curves at the turnings. And then I used the poly wire node, which resulted into getting the pipes.

Pipes
Workflow for Modelling pipes
Entire
workflow
FINAL MERGER

This was also an other version that I modeled, where the floor was much thicker and the cages were on the side. But I did the changes as it was fit to project and also by taking notes by other members of the group.

V001_T007

I am pleased to share with you the completed floor plan that has been agreed upon. It is a thoughtful amalgamation of type 1 and type 2 layouts, designed to provide ample space for the various furniture pieces we require, including a desk, prototype stand, and comfortable couch. This final configuration has been carefully chosen to meet our needs and ensure a productive and comfortable working environment.So, this is the final version of the floor that we all decided to go with. Basically, it is a version that includes type 1 and type 2. This was done specifically so that the rest of the furniture such as the desk, Prototype stand, couch and the rest have proper space.

To create the texture, I utilized the Arnold surface shader and applied a brushed metal effect. Additionally, I incorporated an HDRI image from polyheaven.com to achieve the desired lighting.For the texturing part, I have used shader of brushed metal in the software of Substance painter. Along with this I also custom painted the floor as well as the the gride so that it matches the flow and make it much more realistic. And for the lightning i have used an HDRI image from polyheaven.com.

Final render
UV for all the geometry
Categories
ADVANCE & EXPERIMENTAL Compositing GROUP

LOW FI: PROJECT:- MATCH MOVE

For match move I used the software 3D equalizer, which is really good for tracking and exporting the scene into other software. Later I used Maya for the completion of the match move and this is the final result.