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L I S S UE
SP ECIA

ISSUE 303
 COVER ARTIST
Allan Macedo
bit.ly/3Dp6amD
SOFTWARE
ZBrush

WELCOME
The 3D World team always That’s why this month we
strives to bring you the deepest bring you a special issue, with
insights and behind-the-scenes a huge extended showcase
knowledge from the biggest highlighting the best 3D art out
animation and movie projects, there. We cover everything from
plus expert training to help you architectural and environment
boost your skills. But sometimes projects through to fan art and
it’s good to take stock of what character design, made using
our awesome CG community is the tools you know and love. Rob Redman, Editor
up to in their work. Enjoy the issue! [email protected]

3D WORLD 3
3D WORLD ISSUE 303

ARTIST SHOWCASE THE PIPELINE 32

6 The Gallery 56 Isolate backgrounds with
Discover the best digital art the Depth Map in Resolve
from the CG community Learn to create powerful colour
corrections from a Resolve expert
64 Tech Focus:
Stylise in Unreal Engine 60 Convert a cube into a
Keitarou Matsuda takes Ghibli hard-surface model
inspiration as he gets to grips Navid Ahmadi guides us through
with the skills needed for UE the making of a robotic hybrid

FEATURES 66 Create a modern

kitchen render
Build a spectacular archviz scene
32 The state of the 3D and with Sajjad Sardashti’s workflow
digital industry in 2023
We delve into the present and
future of 3D, including the cards
ARTIST Q&A
we’re dealt and the challenges
that lay ahead for the sector 70 Your CG problems solved
Our panel of pro artists tackles
your CG queries
10
14

26

4 3D WORLD
 56

60 THE HUB
LET’S START 78 Meet the artist: JM Blay
WITH A BASIC We speak to the Spanish creative
about getting started in 3D and

AGREEMENT: running his own studio

80 Through the lens of Liaison

3D IS HARD Look back at the major tech
names that have had an impact
on the history of the VFX industry

92 Democratising the building

blocks of 3D
KitBash3D launch a new library to
open assets to a wider audience

REVIEWS
78
94 HDR Light Studio
Lightmap builds on an excellent
toolset with more improvements

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96 Back issues
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3D WORLD 5
The best digital art from
the CG community
COLLECTIBLE
FIGURES
ARTIST
Allan Macedo
SOFTWARE
ZBrush, Blender

I’m a digital artist who started out making

games for a small studio in Brazil. We
worked on interactive events for the likes
of Warner Bros. and Nickelodeon, until I
discovered the universe of 3D collectibles. I
fell in love with them and it’s where I work
today, having become an art director. For
the most part I only use ZBrush for creating
collectibles, although I’ll also sometimes use
Blender for renders.

allanfelipe.artstation.com

3D WORLD 07
CG art to inspire

08 3D WORLD
3D WORLD 09
 I SET OUT TO NAIL THE
LOOK AND FEEL OF THE
ORIGINAL ANIMATRONIC
BY STAN WINSTON’S TEAM
 CG art to inspire

VELOCIRAPTOR FROM
JURASSIC PARK
ARTIST
Sebastien Evrard
SOFTWARE
Maya, ZBrush

The first Jurassic Park is For the scales I sculpted a

my favourite movie, so for the pattern, and when I was satisfied
30th anniversary I wanted to with it, I began to detail them on
re-create the iconic velociraptor. layers for better control, using
I set out to nail the look and feel DamStandard, ClayBuildup and
of the original animatronic made Formsoft. For the diffuse and
by Stan Winston’s team, so I other maps, I started by painting
went out and gathered as many the base colours, and then went
references as I could find. into the smaller details, just like I
I started out with a sphere would for a sculpt.
and sculpted the model using the The lighting and render were
basic brushes like DamStandard essential to the project as I always
and ClayBuildup. The most try to show my models in several
complicated part of the process angles and looks, with different
was to match the references as moods, poses, and so on. Always
they differ from one to another, put some life into your character.
so I used the SpotLight to match Creating a pose and choosing nice
the profile. Once I had that right, lighting will highlight your hard
I tried to catch every other angle work. Also, don’t be shy about
myself, as I prefer to train my showing your breakdowns.
eyes to see the errors rather than
matching every picture. artstation.com/sebino

3D WORLD 11
CREATURE
I typically create cute, Next I painted the model
stylised characters for movies using Polypaint, and then sent
and games, but this time I it to Marmoset Toolbag. There

SCULPTURE
wanted to create something a I set up some dramatic lighting
little more scary. I really liked and sorted the final colour
the concept from Miro Petrov grading in Photoshop. It was ARTIST
and took it as the basis for my interesting for me to try my Anna Lukianenko
BASED ON A CONCEPT BY MIRO PETROV work. The sculpt was made hand at this type of work, and SOFTWARE
(artstation.com/soulsurvivor) in ZBrush and the retopology I think I’ll return to this kind ZBrush, Marmoset
with ZRemesher. After that I of subject in the future. Toolbag, Photoshop
added the final detailing with
alphas and brushes. artstation.com/azuryouki

12 3D WORLD
WHITE FIGHTER
The idea behind this project was I wanted to put my focus on the of the weapon, which I found both
to create a cinematic hard-surface hard-surface sculpting in ZBrush exciting and interesting.
character. Based on a concept made and creating cool materials with My favourite part of the project ARTIST
by Weibin Tang, this character is Substance 3D Painter. I started with was making the textures of the Belal Noureldin
called White Fighter, and took me simple shapes to find the overall main body. I used Substance 3D SOFTWARE
close to a month to complete in my proportions. Once the sketch was Painter to texture and add small Maya, ZBrush,
spare time. I only had the concept ready, I used the Decimation Master details. Everything was assembled Substance 3D
art for the front of the character, so and imported the model into Maya in Maya and rendered in Arnold. Painter, Arnold,
it was quite a challenge for me to to be used as a guide. I also spent Photoshop
design the back. time thinking about the movement belalnoureldin.com

3D WORLD 13
 WITCH
BEDROOM
BASED ON A CONCEPT
BY EVERGREENQVEEN (bit.ly/3DgTQV8)

ARTIST
Alejandro Mondragon Martinez
SOFTWARE
Maya, V-Ray, ZBrush, Marvelous
Designer, Mari, Substance 3D
Painter, NukeX, After Effects

This is my final project for Think

Tank Online, inspired by a concept by
evergreenqveen. From the moment
I first saw the original concept, I
was captivated by its magic. Under
the guidance of my mentor Gianluca
Pizzaia, I experimented with various
new techniques, including the use of
particle emitters to bring bubbles to
life, and dynamics to create realistic
ropes and fabrics.
I explored post-processing with
NukeX to enhance the realism of
my renders, adding layers like lens
distortion and chromatic aberration.
I’d highly recommend that everyone
acquire Nuke skills as post-processing
can work wonders, turning your raw
renders into captivating and realistic
visuals. During the compositing
phase, I added elements such as fog,
dust particles and smoke, which
helped to further enrich the final
result. In all, this was a challenging
yet rewarding experience.

artstation.com/alejandromondragon

14 3D WORLD
3D WORLD 15
THE ECHOES
OF ETERNITY
– SPEARS
ARTIST
Kua
SOFTWARE
ZBrush, Maya, Marmoset Toolbag,
Substance 3D Painter

I’d like to introduce you to Spears, the

first character from my new series The
Echoes of Eternity. This character was
conceptualised and perfected in ZBrush
and Substance 3D Painter, before being
rendered with Marmoset toolbag.

artstation.com/kua

16 3D WORLD
3D WORLD 17
 BATMAN – NO GODS NO MASTERS
I’d planned for some time to it a pipeline, but it’s basically just and support I needed. The project
re-create the intro sequence for effectively communicating work took a year-and-a-half to complete,
Batman: The Animated Series in 3D. processes within an incredibly working nights and weekends, and
I loved the show growing up and talented team. After two years of was made with the Maxon suite of
the intro is something I remember making Apex Legends shorts, I felt ZBrush, Cinema 4D and Redshift,
vividly. What inspired me to start that I had the tools to execute a before being composited in Nuke. ARTIST
the project were the marketing large-scale project on my own; all I find Cinema 4D the most Nimrod Zaguri
posters for The Batman film, as I needed was the time. capable software for finding simple SOFTWARE
I thought the red neon look was What I enjoyed the most solutions to complex problems, and Cinema 4D,
perfect for a 3D interpretation of about the process was the lack of it was the main reason I was able to ZBrush, Redshift,
the old 90s TV show. deadlines, art direction, clients or work at the pace and scale I did. You Substance 3D
It was only after I began working technical restrictions; anything can view the final animated project Painter, Nuke
for The Sequence Group that I had goes when you’re working alone. at youtu.be/vWS5jtKCY8o.
the opportunity to experiment Gratefully, The Sequence Group
with pipeline building. I’m calling set me up with all the resources artstation.com/nyhmrod

18 3D WORLD
3D WORLD 19
 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

20 3D WORLD
 THE NANITE
SOFTWARE: Maya, Mari, Substance 3D Painter,
V-Ray, Photoshop YEAR CREATED 2023

ARTIST Paul Fetterkind

LOCATION Canada
I’m 23 and a student at Think Tank Training
Centre, and would like to become a 3D modeller
or texture artist working in VFX.
therookies.co/u/PaulF

I created this robot as my final project for my

advanced term at Think Tank Training Centre.
I focused on modelling and lookdev to create a
visually captivating, intricate and detailed design.
The lookdev phase was the most challenging
part, yet fun. It forced me to go beyond what I’d
previously learned, enabling me to develop more
skills and techniques I can use for future projects.
While there was definitely a learning curve,
this proved a valuable experience and opportunity
for growth. I’m happy with the way this project
turned out, and am excited to embark on my next
project. With the skills and experience gained, I
look forward to further exploring and enhancing
my creativity and technical abilities.

3D WORLD 21
22 3D WORLD
ICHABOD CRANE ARTIST
Ric Pastor
SOFTWARE
ZBrush, Maya, Substance 3D Painter,
XGen, Arnold, Photoshop

This is my re-creation of opened the mouth model

the iconic Ichabod Crane and separated all the pieces,
from the Disney movie The both low and high-poly,
Adventures of Ichabod and in order to avoid shadows
Mr. Toad, which was one affecting the surfaces.
of my childhood favourites. The part of the process I
For this project, I wanted to enjoyed the most of all was
focus on the illumination as converting the 2D shapes
the most important factor. into 3D models to make
I used ZBrush to create them look right for the 3D
the high-poly sculpture, environment. The topology
Maya for the retopology is also an important piece of
and the UVs, Substance 3D the process, which I believe
Painter for the textures, many 3D modellers don’t
XGen to design the groom, currently take enough care
and Arnold for the render. about in their work.
For the bake in Substance
3D Painter, meanwhile, I artstation.com/ricpastor

3D WORLD 23
VANGUARD
ARMY
ARTIST
Hao Zhicheng
SOFTWARE
Blender, Photoshop

The story is based in the world from Liu

Cixin’s science fiction novel The Three-Body
Problem. It’s set during the Deterrence
Era. At this time, humans and Trisolarans
had established cultural communication,
ushering in a brief period of peace. The
acceptance of the Trisolaran civilisation
by humanity has grown higher and higher,
and the societies of the two planets interact
with each other. A large number of novels
and movies created by the Trisolarans have
emerged one after another.
Meanwhile, the Pioneer Army was
created by the Trisolaran people, based on
Earth’s civilisation during this era. The new
renaissance led to the reconstruction of
the world, although the timeline has been
distorted, with ancient buildings and many
new technologies now coexisting. The new
story starts from here.

artstation.com/zhicheng

24 3D WORLD
26 3D WORLD
THE GAZE OF
THE CHIMPANZEE
ARTIST ARTIST
Valentin Viennot Laura Salomoni
SOFTWARE SOFTWARE
Maya, ZBrush Maya, Arnold, Houdini,
Mari, Substance Painter

For this project we wanted Laura: Once the sculpt was

a cinematographic result and done, I did the UVs and started
pushed our boundaries until the texturing and shading. The
we were satisfied. We used sculpt has a lot of details, but
many references throughout the not enough for close-up shots. I
process, but avoided 3D images reprojected some XYZ textures
as much as possible. onto the mesh and added them
to the Bump, Roughness and
Valentin: The first step for IOR slots of the skin shader to
us was to get a sculpt that felt add extra details.
anatomically credible, and We wanted our chimpanzee
making a chimpanzee skull to be unique, so we created
helped me understand the facial some concepts and paintovers
structure. For the Blend Shapes, to give him more personality,
I used a BCS plugin in Maya and I chose to add some scars
and sculpted the shapes from on his face. The eyes were the
scratch in ZBrush, using FACS most interesting part for me to
references from many sources work on; they’re in between a
and my own interpretation. chimp’s and a human’s, and I
I wanted an animation- wanted them to hold as much
friendly facial interface with intensity as possible. I also
instinctive combinations and added a lacrimal [tear] system
some automated features like to the shader, so a liquid always
the ‘sticky lips’ or ‘lip zipper’. follows the eyelid.
The keyframe animation was
one of the trickiest parts, but artstation.com/valentinviennot
pretty satisfying when done. artstation.com/laurasalomoni
JAPANESE-
INSPIRED
SHRINE
ARTIST
Alina Temyrova
SOFTWARE
Unreal Engine 5, ZBrush, Blender,
Marmoset Toolbag, Substance 3D
Painter, SpeedTree

I’m excited to share my project, which

was inspired by the architecture and
culture of Asia. A lot of work was done
with attention to detail. The environment
is based on concept art by Ivan Ilko, while
the torii gate was inspired by a concept
from the Chinese art group Night Owls
Come into the House.
My cinematic shrine environment was
created with Unreal Engine 5, utilising
both Lumen and Nanite. The project used
a mixture of my own assets and some
from Quixel Megascans in UE5, including
the huge stones, grass, lilies, candles and
the bamboo texture.
The torii gate was a high-poly sculpt
created with ZBrush, retopologised and
then unwrapped in Blender, baked with
Marmoset Toolbag, and textured using
Substance 3D Painter. I created trim
sheets to texture the shrine, with the
building modelled in Blender. I made the
bamboo in SpeedTree in conjunction with
the textures from Megascans.

artstation.com/temyrali

28 3D WORLD
3D WORLD 29
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3D
D WOR
ORLD
D 31
31
 Welcome to mid-2023, a time when many of us are back k
in our offices and studios a far cry from three yeears ago.
But what’s changed? A little bit of everythiing...

WORDS BY LANCE EVANS

Additional material provided by Jean-Sebastien Perron

32 3D WORLD
 Open-source projects gain market share, as
exemplified in this Natron composite by Francois
Grassard, which used source footage created in
Blender by Kuhn Industries and Yazjack

or a bit of a marker that isn’t the case for most 3D. If wonder where your go-to 3D tools

F
in time, I had just 2D is like driving a car, 3D is more are today, why don’t we try and
installed an Nvidia like piloting a rocket to the moon. bring you up to speed.
2070 Super card It’s infinitely more complex, and If you were a customer of
before the Covid generally a lot more expensive. Autodesk, some things have
pandemic hit. Now the 4070 series But both entry and production changed and others have stayed
of cards are shipping a full two costs for 3D have come way down very much the same. As you’ll
generations later. But there have in recent years, making it far more likely know already, Autodesk put
been far deeper changes as well. competitive with 2D options. This Softimage to rest in 2015, leaving
Today we delve into the recent industry trend is being largely them with both Maya and 3ds
changes to the 3D landscape, and fueled by both the open and free Max. The former is focused on
peer into our crystal ball to see offerings, and most impactfully on the entertainment markets, and
what may be next on the horizon. the higher-cost packages. the latter caters to industrial and
architectural clients.
3D CHALLENGES SO WHERE ARE MY Each of these applications
Let’s start with a basic agreement: 3D PALS? still has a dominant foothold in
3D is hard. While anybody can If you’ve been under a rock for their respective markets. While
sit in front of a painting program, more than 15 minutes and now both are still costly software, at

3D WORLD 33
“IF 2D IS LIKE DRIVING This image, created by author Lance Evans, was
the cover of the Phillips Auction House catalogue.
A CAR, THEN 3D IS It incorporates photography, 3D elements and
MORE LIKE PILOTING retouching, a toolset he has used for years to
create what was once uncreatable
A ROCKET TO THE
MOON. IT’S INFINITELY
MORE COMPLEX, AND
GENERALLY A LOT
MORE EXPENSIVE”

34 3D WORLD
 £1,968 ($1,875) per year, or £246
($235) per month, we’ve seen
significant price reductions, along
with a steady move towards the
subscription model.
Another well-supported
program is Cinema 4D (C4D)
from Maxon. Its feature set has
always been quite good, and its
integration with Adobe’s After
Effects compositor has been a key
selling point. A Lite version of
C4D actually comes bundled along
with After Effects.
While Cinema 4D is a favourite
among motion-graphics artists,
it’s also capable of a wide range
of projects, and many say they
love its interface. But it does get
complaints; some users say its
character building and animation
tools don’t compare to those
found in Maya or Blender. At a
subscription price of £72 ($94) a
month or £550 ($719) annually, it’s
more costly than Adobe’s entire
Creative Cloud suite.
Speaking of Adobe, they have
jumped into 3D once again with
their Substance collection of
applications, which costs £40
($52) per month and may be useful
on two levels. Advanced 3D artists
can utilise the tools to prepare
textures and models for use in
other animation tools. Substance
can also create your final renders,
allowing non-3D graphics shops Above: This image
the ability to create work such as is a 2D Midjourney
virtual product shots or 3D logos. creation prompted
Let’s end this section with the by AI guru Jeff
often neglected Houdini from Foster. “As tech
SideFX. Why neglected? Perhaps develops further,
because it came from the very it will become a
highest end of 3D, with hugely mere button click to
expensive price tags. It’s also been generate this in 3D,”
said to not be a full 3D program, to Foster says
which some users will answer that
“it depends on your needs”. Left: Autodesk’s
Although it may lack some now apps, such as Maya,
expected features, it does boast are available on a
the best procedural workflow, subscription basis
allowing you to apply loss-free
modifications at any point. It’s
also many pro animators’ go-to
program for special effects, and
other treatments that would be
more difficult elsewhere. Houdini
now offers affordable options
including free forever, and low
annual fees if you meet certain
requirements. Their base pro seat
is currently £1,527 ($1,995) with a
£762 ($995) renewal.

3D WORLD 35
 LAGGING BEHIND
Unfortunately, not all of our
beloved 3D programs have fared
as well as those above. Two
such notable applications are
LightWave and Electric Image,
each an industry pioneer dating
back to the late 1980s. Above left: Adobe’s
LightWave, a highly popular Substance suite of
solution for both films and TV, has 3D tools is a great
not had a new version since 2020. addition, but not
Three years is a long time in the available through
world of software, especially the the Creative Cloud
competitive 3D market. But good subscription
news! LightWave has a new owner
in Andrew Bishop, formerly of the Above right: The
Darkside studio in London, who is Houdini interface
planning to bring it back to life. offers powerful
There’s no such news for and unique tools,
Electric Image, a package that keeping the package
had been used on Star Wars and alive and loved by
Star Trek, and was the one-time its users
darling of ILM’s Rebel Mac
Unit. Despite this, it has been 11 Right: The Fusion
years since their last full release. tab within DaVinci
Despite over a decade of owner Resolve offers a
Thomas Egger publicly stating compelling toolset
that version 10.0 would be out that should satisfy
soon, it still remains vapourware, most needs
and clearly a nightmare for what’s
left of its user community.
We’ll miss Electric Image’s ease
of use and fast rendering, but its
list of missing functionality – it
has no modelling tools, dismal
Windows support, and nothing
for Linux – has only gotten longer.
And with a current purchase price
of £685 ($895) for what is now
decade-old software, this package
is not even marginally competitive
in today’s marketplace.

36 3D WORLD
 BOB CANIGLIA OF BLACKMAGIC DESIGN
ON THE DEVELOPING MARKET’S NEEDS
How is the 3D/digital market different post-pandemic?
“During the Covid pandemic, having a workflow that allowed for remote, real-time
collaboration became more crucial, and that need for creatives to be involved in projects
located in a different part of the world still hasn’t gone away. That’s why we introduced
Blackmagic Cloud, which allows multiple people to work across the same timeline at the
same time, regardless of their physical location.”

Below: Stable What impact will AI have in the coming year? How about five years?
Diffusion recently “Our approach to AI is solely focused on how it can support our users as creatives. The
released its latest goal is having powerful tools that save creators valuable time. For example, the latest
version, SDXL. It will versions of Fusion Studio VFX and DaVinci Resolve Studio now both have a native AI-
run on consumer based Depth Map tool that lets users instantly generate a 3D depth matte of a scene to
computers with a quickly grade the foreground separately from the background. Ultimately, the true test of
mid-range GPU of AI will be in how it can empower, not replace.”
only 8GB VRAM

THE FIRST ELEPHANT Store offering over 30,000 items many options, both to purchase
IN THE ROOM for sale. It runs and renders and for free. Nuke, Fusion, Flame
And now for the juggernaut that on Mac, Windows and Linux, and Natron are all node-based;
is Blender. Under the remarkably has full modelling and many there are no layered tracks like we
talented helm of Ton Roosendaal, rendering options, a video editor, have in both Adobe After Effects
this project has become one of the 2D drawing and animation, and all non-linear editors.
shining lights of the open-source sculpting, a built-in compositor, Nodes can provide much more
world. Why? Partly because it and excellent character animation flexibility, and are better suited
has become a brilliant program systems. Version 3.5 just added for scenes that get inordinately
Left: Natron is in so many ways, but also because procedural fur, and the rendering complex, as is often the case in
a popular and Blender is actively replacing engines are now being rewritten VFX film work. But for many,
actively developed commercial 3D packages for more to become even faster and more including video editors who
compositor that and more users and studios. photorealistic. Not to mention always work in a layered timeline,
many feel pairs well Free is great. But professionals that there are volumes of free nodes often seem an unnecessarily
with Blender, and need high-quality tools that are educational content available. confusing endeavour.
is a good stepping stable, or else few would use them. Right now, the only major-
stone to Nuke Blender is all of these things, and COMPOSITORS market compositor that is layer/
has become a powerhouse with no This is where many people feel we timeline based is After Effects.
signs of slowing down. fall down in options, especially Period. It would be nice to see a
Examples of Blender’s success if you’re not a node-friendly similar open-source option, but
include it boasting the largest person. If you’re into node-based until then After Effects can be had
user community, and its Blender compositing work, then you have as a standalone product for £20

3D WORLD 37
 ($21) per month, or as part of
the entire Creative Cloud suite.
For the node-based options,
they break down as follows. Nuke
and Flame are the high-end and
high-cost options. Meanwhile,
Fusion from Blackmagic Design
can be purchased either as a
standalone package, or as part
of DaVinci Resolve, which is
available for £245 ($295) or as a
freeware version.
Natron is the only open-source
option on the list. It has had
consistent development, and takes
a lot of its design cues from Nuke,
is available on all platforms, and
has minimal system requirements.
It’s impressive and I believe it’s
just a matter of time before it on electricity, keeps the case heat Above: Autograph and even the ability to generate
connects with a broader base. lower, and extends the life of your offers 3D animators an entire movie’s script and
components. Is that a fair trade for a brand new way pre-production, including shot
THE CARDS THAT rendering a bit slower? You decide. to work. Targeted lists. At the same time we’re also
WE’RE DEALT at the animation, asking where all this will go, and
Across the pandemic, most of us ANOTHER ELEPHANT effects and motion where and when it will stop. Alas,
had to stick with the video cards IN THE ROOM graphics markets, nobody knows. We just know that
we already had to hand, or pay out We have been hearing about it will render 3D as of this year, AI is growing in
multiple times over the suggested artificial intelligence all our lives, animations and leaps and bounds.
retail price for whatever we could and now we’re finally starting has a compositing Will it replace our current
find. Prices have dropped since, to live alongside it. This excites environment that tools? And will it replace us?
but are still far from cheap. many, and scares the bejesus out will make After Answering a flat no to either
In the world of GPUs, Nvidia is of many others. It may be accurate Effects users feel question would be unrealistic.
still cutting-edge and in first place to say that the more informed right at home While we can’t predict the future,
for 3D work, but they are large somebody is, the more they tend we can be sure that we’ll know
and costly, and the amount of to be in the concerned camp. This more when the tech begins to
juice they draw may force buying includes the likes of Bill Gates, settle, and when we see the ways
a bigger power supply. AMD cards Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak and that developers integrate these
are not as bleeding edge in speed, millions of creatives that worry toolsets into our workflows.
but they aren’t far behind. Plus, about job security.
AMD is aware of keeping the We’re already seeing text-to- SO, ARE WE LIVING
power draw down, which saves image, text-to-3d, text-to-video IN THAT BRAVE NEW
3D UNIVERSE?
Clearly. We use Captain Kirk’s
communicator, George Jetson’s
BLENDER FOUNDER TON ROOSENDAAL video telephone, and have 2001:
A Space Odyssey ’s HAL telling
ANSWERS QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS us the weather and the price of
socks on Amazon. Meanwhile,
How has the pandemic affected Blender’s development and market growth? the Boston Dynamics videos keep
“Blender has actually been growing a lot, thanks to people working from home.” assuring us that having our own
Robby the Robot isn’t far off.
Now that we’re mostly post-pandemic, what direction is the industry headed? Current tech has long allowed
“The way we’re going is blurring the boundary between real-time and offline 3D integrated images and video with
storytelling. I’ve been saying that for 25 years.” 3D. As every major developer
begins their AI integrations, we’ll
What impact will AI have on the industry? soon be using AI in ways that we
“I sincerely hope that AI tools will be serving artists, but I foresee abuse here as well. can hardly imagine today. Before
Blender will work to remain AI free, open and ethical.” long we may see AI running our
3D apps, and Robby using our
If you could gift the industry something it needs, but doesn’t have, what would it be? video cameras to shoot the source
“Blender’s mission, to bring the best 3D technology into the hands of artists through footage. Whether we’re ready or
open-source, is still the greatest gift that you can share.” not, the future of 3D, graphics
and related communications is
certainly on its way.

38 3D WORLD
 SUBSCRIBE TO

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Digital editions available on iOS or Android

40 3D WORLD
LAND
TURTLE
ARTIST
Miquel Moyà
SOFTWARE
ZBrush, Maya, Substance
3D Painter, Arnold, Nuke

My latest independent piece

is a realistic turtle. It went viral
on LinkedIn, garnering almost
18,000 views within a few weeks.
It was a nice surprise, gaining
visibility for my work out of a
passion project in my free time.
I created every aspect of the
piece from research, including
the modelling, texturing, look
dev, rigging, layout, lighting and
the compositing, approaching
the project from more of a 3D
generalist angle.
I would like to thank the
community for liking and sharing
my work. It has helped me in a
time when I needed it the most,
and I’m humbled it has received
such great feedback. I’ll continue
to work as a 3D generalist and am
working on some very exciting
projects, so watch this space!

artstation.com/miquelmoya

3D WORLD 41
GANDALF FAN ART
I started this project almost two that could become confusing and time to finish him. When I came
years ago as a demo for my own unbalanced. However, during the back, I realised the beard and hair
local class. My inspiration came process, I realised I was wrong, were bigger obstacles, and it took
from The Lord of the Rings movies, and that although the design could me nearly a month to complete
especially the famous scene where be simple, the amount of details the grooming process alone. After
Gandalf yells, ‘You shall not pass’. I needed to make it believable were the face and hair were finished ARTIST
wanted to show the weakness and still exceptional. The level of detail up, the clothes and weapons were Nguyen Tran
compassion in his character, and needed for the skin was high, with much easier. The weapons were SOFTWARE
that although he’s a strong hero, he lots of pores and wrinkles. Because modelled in Maya and ZBrush, ZBrush, Maya,
was tired and afraid of the enemy I’d sculpted everything by hand, and then textured in Substance XGen, Substance
in front of him. Besides, I like his I actually started over on the skin 3D Painter with much less effort. 3D Painter, Arnold,
simple design with the long beard, several times, with a lot of time Marvelous Designer was the base Marvelous Designer
cloak, staff and sword. spent going back and forth between for the clothing, with the details
Initially I thought that by using the look dev and render set up. then sculpted further in ZBrush.
a simple design, I would be able I’d felt frustrated until recently, After two more weeks, Gandalf was
to focus on Gandalf’s personality, when my new computer helped to eventually finalised.
silhouettes, materials and so on, make the process so much faster,
rather than a complex character and I decided that now was the artstation.com/nguyentran3dart

42 3D WORLD
 CG art to inspire

3D WORLD 43
EMPIRE
OF THE
CLOUDS
ARTIST
Fatih Sahin
SOFTWARE
Blender, Substance 3D
Painter, Photoshop

The idea for this environment

came to me from music. I really
enjoy metal, and one day while
walking outside I was listening
to Iron Maiden’s Empire of the
Clouds. During the song, I started
imagining a city built in the sky,
like the flying islands in Avatar. But
instead of the islands, I imagined a
city built right on top of the clouds.
The idea kept coming back to me,
and when I got the chance to work
on it, I started digging online and
discovered references for different
kinds of ancient temples and ruins.
I began creating the scene a few
days later. It took me roughly 10
hours to finish, which I managed
in just one sitting as I was enjoying
the process so much. For me, the
most enjoyable parts of creating a
scene like this are the small details
and playing with the settings. For
example, the flying birds that you
can see aren’t actually 3D assets,
they are just transparent images.
Little tricks like this make the
work much easier and the result is
often better than you can imagine;
because they are actual birds, they
are more real.
In the end I was happy with
the final result. Creating work
like this, turning my imagination
into reality, brings real joy to my
life, and I want to keep doing it
as for long as I can. My top tip for
other artists is to keep everything
simple, and to not overdo anything.
Don’t be afraid of volumetrics, it’s
your friend and adds realism to
almost anything.

instagram.com/thatffaithh

44 3D WORLD
ERT ARTIST
Cez Ramirez
SOFTWARE
Plasticity, Blender,
Photoshop

This project was born from

playing around with Plasticity’s
incredible set of modelling tools.
They provide the ability to swiftly
blockout complex surfaces, which
was my inspiration to design a first
responder bot that would benefit
from having a body composed of
spherical shapes, providing it an
enhanced impact resistance.
I also wanted to demonstrate
what these bots would look like in
action, which is when the image of
a pair of them racing through the
corridors of a hospital, urgently
transporting a patient, came to my
mind. I set out to make this scene
in Blender, drawing inspiration
from real hospitals and materials
used in making parts for medical
robots. Other resources that I used
for this project were the MB-Lab
Blender plugin for the patient, as
well as a few pictures from Pexels
for the doctors and some of the
equipment seen in the background.
Thank you to Karolina Grabowska,
and Max Mishin for the photos!
I believe it’s important to
allocate time to indulge and play
with new tools from time to time,
as you never know what valuable
additions you could discover for
your workflow. If you’re into hard-
surface modelling and mechanical
concept art, you should definitely
check out Plasticity! It’s one of the
most fun programs I’ve tried.

cez-r.artstation.com

46 3D WORLD
48 3D WORLD
ANCIENT
PORTAL
ARTIST
Jakub Nowak
SOFTWARE
Blender, HitFilm

The inspiration for this project

was drawn from various old films
that I associate with feelings of
wonder and adventure. I enjoy
creating things that aim to capture
those emotions. This project was
intended to be a quick break from
my other, larger endeavours. I
created this render in only two
days. It was truly enjoyable and
refreshing to create something so
quickly, without having to wait for
weeks or even months to see the
idea I had in my head come to life.
To save on time, whenever I
needed to create a less important
prop, I took a photograph of the
front of a real object and modelled
directly on that image, extruding
and cutting elements seen in the
photo. Everything was created
with Blender, which offers some
cool time-saving tools such as a
tree generator. The only part of
the project that wasn’t handled in
Blender was the colour grading,
which I did in HitFilm.

artstation.com/hexel22

3D WORLD 49
CG art to inspire

TIGER
JONES
ARTIST
Ander Esparza Gómez
SOFTWARE
ZBrush, Maya, Substance
3D Painter, Unreal Engine

The Tiger Jones project was

based on my first character.
That’s why this artwork held
great significance for me, as it
allowed me to create something
that was both distinctive and
personally meaningful. I firmly
believe that art should convey a
message, and pieces that come
from an authentic and personal
space always tend to resonate
more deeply with viewers.
The character’s design was
my original idea. While I drew
inspiration from various online
references, the composition and
the overall design were created
through trial and error, with
sketches made in Photoshop
and ZBrush. One of the biggest
challenges for the model was
creating the hair. Achieving
hair that appeared soft enough
to not give away the fact that
it was in real-time was quite
difficult. I conducted several
tests until I was able to create
the desired result.

instagram.com/esparza.tv

50 3D WORLD
 SUBSCRIBE TO THE
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3D WORLD 51
THE LAST OF US
ENVIRONMENT
FAN ART ARTIST
Felix Sikora
SOFTWARE
Maya, Arnold, Blender,
Substance 3D Painter, Nuke

I’m really pleased to showcase my first 3D environment,

which is based on Aaron Limonick’s awesome concept art.
After watching The Last of Us I wanted to replicate the post-
apocalyptic feeling and tackle the technical aspect of mid
and large-scale environments using efficient, production-
ready workflows. The main challenges that I encountered
were the vegetation scattering and scene optimisation. My
first time doing large-scale scattering, there were a lot of
options from built-in Maya tools. After tests and research I
decided to use Bifrost. By adding all this geo and scattering,
file optimisation had to be done along the way, and this
challenge was also why I wanted to try out an environment.
I used several techniques to optimise the scene including
Arnold Stand-ins, references and even Maya’s reduction
tool for high-poly geometry. Thanks to all my friends and
colleagues who helped me with their feedback.

felix_s.artstation.com

52 3D WORLD
3D WORLD 53
STYLISED CHARACTERS
During the sculpting process for and simple by using the smallest
every character I create, I adhere amount of polygons possible at this
to a consistent approach. Initially, stage, while maintaining a clear and
I’ll immerse myself in studying the readable silhouette.
concept, carefully examining its Over time, I gradually construct
silhouette and proportions. a robust base mesh for the entire
I then strive to deconstruct the character using these simple shapes. ARTIST
character into its simplest possible This mesh serves as a starting point, Joao Sousa
shapes. This preparatory step proves from which I can then merge with SOFTWARE
invaluable to me as I delve into the DynaMesh and further refine the ZBrush, KeyShot
actual sculpting. Once I have a solid topology by hand.
understanding of the character’s From there, I can proceed to craft
underlying structure, I can move on the clothing or additional components
to the sculpting phase. by using the same methods as before,
Following the same methodology, allowing the character to take shape
I start off by creating basic shapes, in its entirety. I find that using this
attentively considering how each of workflow makes it easier to create
the shapes interacts with the others, stylised characters that rely on clean,
while meticulously maintaining smooth surfaces.
proper proportions throughout the
process. I try to keep the work clean artstation.com/joaosousa

54 3D WORLD
 Practical tips and tutorials from
pro artists to improve
your CG skills

DAVINCI RESOLVE

LEARN TO ISOLATE
BACKGROUNDS WITH
AUTHOR

Natalie Barnard
Natalie is an editor
and trainer with

THE DEPTH MAP IN Team 2 Films. She

is a certified DaVinci
Resolve trainer

DAVINCI RESOLVE
who loves working
on short-form
narratives and
documentary films.
Natalie Barnard introduces her workflow When not in front of
a computer, Natalie
for creating powerful colour corrections loves spending time
out in nature.

D
epth Map is a powerful Map to apply colour corrections team2films.com
tool used for isolating to the background of an interview
parts of your image shot. Make sure you check
based on their distance from the back next issue for our second
camera. It’s a great alternative to workshop, when we’ll build on the
WATCH THE VIDEO hand-drawn windows or Magic work we’ve done here by using
To see a video version of this tutorial Masks, and is all thanks to DaVinci Resolve 18.5’s brand new Relight
visit youtu.be/h9U3rrvGa40, Resolve’s neural engine. effect to add three-dimensionally
or follow the QR code. In this first tutorial of our two- accurate virtual lighting on the
part exercise, we’ll use Depth interviewee, which matches the

56 3D WORLD
 01

new colour of the background 02

we’re creating here.
If you would like to follow
along with this exercise as we
go, the media that we’re using is
freely available for download at
filmeditingpro.com/freefootage.

01CHOOSE THE
RIGHT TOOL
Before starting off, consider
whether the shot will work well
with the Depth Map effect. If the
scene is cluttered or the subject is
moving, then other Neural Engine
tools such as the Magic Mask
might be more suitable.

02FIND THE DEPTH

MAP EFFECT
Add the Depth Map Open FX 03
effect to your node tree, which
you’ll find in the Effects tab. You
can apply it to an existing node
by double-clicking, or create a
03DEPTH MAP PREVIEW
By default, a preview of
the Depth Map is shown. Black
elements that sit in between.
Once applied, this luma matte will
control which parts of the image
new node by dragging it into represents elements of your your colour grade affects. Where
your node tree. If you drop the scene that are further away from the image is white, your colour
effect on an existing connection the camera, while the white grade will appear stronger, and
in your node tree, Resolve will represents elements that are where the image is black they will
automatically connect it. closer, and grey represents any appear weaker.

3D WORLD 57
04MAKE REFINEMENTS
Before we apply our colour
correction, let’s refine the Depth
Map to more precisely isolate the
interviewee. Enable Adjust Map
Levels in the Depth Map settings.
Tweaking the Far Limit and Near
Limit controls also allows us to
filter out parts of the image that
are further away from the camera
and parts that are closer to it. In
this instance, setting the Far Limit
to 0.400 and near limit to 0.600
allows us to more clearly isolate
the interviewee.

05ADD BLUR
A super sharp Depth Map,
like the one we’ve created, can 04
cause issues in our final image.
Adding Blur will prevent hard
mask lines from being visible
when we get there. Under Map
Finesse, check Postprocessing,
then set the Blur slider to 0.200.

06INVERT MASK
As we’re planning to colour
correct the background, not the
interviewee, we need to invert
the mask. To do that, check Invert
under the Depth Map settings.
As a result, the Depth Map will
now affect the background of
the image. As we’ve finished
configuring our Depth Map, we
can uncheck the Depth Map
Preview option to turn it off. 05

07MAKE COLOUR
CORRECTIONS
Any colour corrections made
on this node will only affect the
background. I’ll use the Primaries
colour wheels to change the
background colour by adjusting
the global Hue, and increase
the brightness by tweaking the
Gamma master wheel. Here I’ll
set my Hue to 75 and increase my
Gamma slightly by dragging the
master wheel to the right.

08ENABLE RENDER CACHE

The Depth Map effect
is computationally intensive,
and it’s not unusual for high-
resolution clips to be unable to
playback in real-time while it’s
applied. A solution for this is to
enable the Smart Render Cache.
To do this, go to Playback>
Render Cache>Smart.
06a

58 3D WORLD
06b

09WAIT FOR THE

RENDER CACHE
When the render cache is in
Smart mode, computationally
intensive operations like Open FX
clips are automatically marked for
caching. You can tell this because
the node name and number is
shown in red. Resolve will use its
spare processing power to render
and cache the output of this
node in the background. Once
the node is cached, its name and
number will turn blue. Please note
that any changes to the Depth
Map node or Upstream nodes
in your node tree will cause the
node to re-cache.
07

10 FINAL PRODUCT
Sit back and admire your
handiwork! We’ve been able to
isolate the background of this
shot without creating complex
masks or qualifiers. Even though
Depth Map is computationally
intensive, the render caching
means we can still enjoy smooth
playback in our timeline. •

08 09

3D WORLD 59
 BLENDER

CONVERT A CUBE INTO

A HARD-SURFACE MODEL
Discover how Navid Ahmadi turns a basic shape into a complex,
Star Wars-inspired hybrid creation using Blender’s toolset

I
got the idea for this model
from watching the Star Wars
movies. In my mind I tried to
imagine the frame of a bird, but
in the shape of a wolf. In the first AUTHOR
step, I tried to turn this idea into
reality by using a cube in Blender Navid Ahmadi
as my starting point. I edited the CG artist Navid
vertices and faces, and came up began learning his
with the design that I wanted for craft in 2019. Over
the final build. time he has learned
After I had completed the different software,
modelling process, I got started and tries to gain
on creating the materials to match more experience
the concept, which I felt should be 01 every day.
a reflective metal. Next up came bit.ly/3rCJZ9P
the lighting stage. I wanted to
create interesting reflections from
the material, and the combination
01CREATE A CUBE
To get going we need a cube,
which is easily made by pressing
easily. Select the cube and then
pick the Mirror option in the Add
Modifier section. Within the Axis
of the metal bump and reflection Shift+A and selecting Mesh>Cube. section of the Mirror options, select
gave me the idea to create a The cube is created in the centre the X axis so that any changes we
hybrid model of a wolf and a bird. of the workspace and is ready for make to one half of the cube will
As well as the exterior lighting, I you to easily begin editing. Work also be made to the other. If you
also used lights within the body of with parts and faces as vertices, and want to mirror across other axes,
the machine, and made the scene transform the shape into different you can do this too.
almost foggy in order to show off volumes. Apart from the cube, you
the light better. can use other ready-made meshes
and make modifications, but in this
tutorial I’ll use the cube.
03 AMEND THE CUBE
In this step, we must select
the cube and hit the Tab key to
enter Edit mode, then press ‘3’ to

DOWNLOAD YOUR RESOURCES

For all the assets you need go to
02 TURN ON THE
MIRROR SETTING
At this stage, we should use the
begin working on amendments
to the shape’s faces. I thought it
would be simpler and neater to start
https://bit.ly/3d-world-303 Mirror tool to help make changes with a cube so I could have more
and build the character quickly and standard vertices, segments, and
quadrilateral faces. As I started to
build ideas in my head, I realised
my cube had a lot of sharp and
broken corners.

02 03

3D WORLD 61
04 SMOOTH THE CUBE
Here we need to soften the
cube so that it has smooth, uniform
angles. To smooth the surface of
the cube, select it and apply the
Subdivision Surface option under
Add Modifier, and set the value
of the Viewport Levels to 3. Next,
select the cube, right-click and
choose the Shade Smooth option.
Now our cube is softened and ready 04a
for us to change into our flying wolf.

05 CONVERT INTO
A CHARACTER
At this point our main work begins.
We have to play with the faces of the
cube to transform it into our chosen
model. This step is interesting,
and requires plenty of modelling
to convert the cube from a simple
shape to a complex creation, so that
we can attribute the materials to our
final build. At this stage, no matter
how many changes we make, we
must save the file and keep a back-
up for a little extra security. 04b 04c

06 UNWRAPPING
THE CHARACTER
We need to carefully perform the
unwrapping process so that our
materials can be properly placed on
the model. First we open the curved
and complex parts, before working
on the simpler elements. This step
can take a lot of time, but it makes a
real difference when bringing in the
materials. My advice is to make sure
you spend plenty of time on this
stage, as you’ll definitely notice the
impact it will have.

07 MATERIAL REFLECTION
I decided to include
scratches and lines on the metal
05

06a 06b

62 3D WORLD
 set Max Sample to 6. The lower that
number, the faster the Viewport
results will be, though less accurate.
Meanwhile, for the final render head
to the Rendering section, and set
Max Samples to a number of your
choosing; a higher number results
in a better-quality render. You can
use your experience to determine
the Max Samples, and for my scene
I set it to 300.

09 CAMERA SETTINGS
Here, press Shift+A and
select your chosen camera from
the appropriate field, then hit ‘N’
to bring up the toolbar. Within the
07 View section, activate the ‘Camera
materials to show wear and tear. to View’ option so that you can
Here, the amount of reflection in move the camera around, and set
the metal is important, because a the resolution format in the Output
highly reflective material would give Properties section. The camera
the impression that it was brand angle that you choose is important
new. As a result, I chose to largely for how your model will be shown,
tone down the reflection in order to so spend some time adjusting it to
give our frame some age. get all the details in.

08 RENDER SETTINGS
Our first job in preparing
the Render settings is to set the
10 LIGHTING AND FOG
For the lighting, I used
Blender lights in various places to
Render Engine to Cycles for better get reflections on the top side of the
08 quality, and GPU Compute in the character. To add an extra element
Device dropdown. To get a faster to the environment, I added a small
result in the Viewport, open up the amount of fog, which helps to bring
Sampling>Viewport sections and out the reflected light. •

09a
10a

09b 10b

3D WORLD 63
 Incredible 3D artists take us behind their artwork

STYLISING IN UNREAL ENGINE I recently decided to learn the ins and

outs of Unreal Engine, and try out a different style. For this, I watched
the tutorial videos of Victoria Zavhorodnia’s stylised environments on
YouTube, as well as Japanese Studio Ghibli movies for reference to help
complete this project. My favourite part of my environment work was
the organic elements I made. For this project, I used the two juxtaposed Keitarou Matsuda
elements of the artificial architecture and nature to complement each artstation.com/kee3
other. When using Unreal Engine 5, I added some blue height fog as well I’m a student who is
as a touch of bloom in order to create a more peaceful atmosphere, and aiming to work as an
set up soft lighting in the forest. This process was important in making environment artist.
the finished piece more attractive.

64 3D WORLD
 STYLISED HOUSE
Software Blender, Substance
3D Painter, Unreal Engine 5,
ZBrush, Photoshop

3D WORLD 65
3DS MAX | CORONA | QUIXEL MEGASCANS | PHOTOSHOP

CREATE A MODERN
KITCHEN RENDER AUTHOR

Sajjad Sardashti
Sajjad has worked
Learn how Sajjad Sardashti forms a spectacular archviz scene as a 3D artist for
three years. He has a

A
s a 3D artist specialising resonated with me, so I decided to with the kitchen, I modelled each passion for bringing
in architectural renders, recreate it, paying utmost respect interior component, working my way clients’ visions to life
I’d like to share the story to the original work. to the library. Among the interior in photoreal renders.
and challenges behind the creation Initially, I faced the challenge elements, the most demanding bit.ly/46HsTYd
of this particular render. While of modelling the project without
browsing architectural websites access to the precise dimensions
and magazines, I stumbled upon of the house. To overcome this
a captivating project called KDW obstacle, I meticulously examined DOWNLOAD YOUR RESOURCES
199 House Extension by the Dutch every available image, utilising them For all the assets you need go to
firm CUBE Architecten. The design as references to recreate all the bit.ly/3d-world-303
and harmony of this project deeply objects within the scene. Starting

66 3D WORLD
 01a 01b

02

part proved to be accurately change the system unit setup cabinets and doors, and add details Kitchen creation
representing the dining chairs. based on the scale of the project. to them using Editable Poly. The The Kitchen Cabinet
Having completed the intricate For creating the chair, I used a poly first task was creating the base Generator script can
interior modelling, I then proceeded modelling technique. To make the cabinets. To add details, I selected make the process
to enhance the exterior part of the chair’s seat I created a plane and some edges and made chamfers. of creating cabinets
project by adding complementary added a few segments to it. After For the doors, I used the modern easier. The models
elements. With the foundational turning it into an Editable Poly door in the script with no changes it creates include
work accomplished, I shifted my and selecting an edge, I used the except using Editable Polys to base cabinets, wall
focus to setting up the camera and Generate Topology option. You can tweak some of the dimensions. To cabinets, doors, sinks,
preparing the scene for optimal access this option using the ribbon model the sink, I created a box taps, door handles,
lighting. With my understanding of in the Modelling tab under the and added the sinkhole with the and even useful basic
the pivotal role that lighting plays Polygon Modelling section. Finally, ProBoolean option. materials. It’s available
in creating a beautiful render, I I selected all of the edges and gave for Corona and V-Ray.
devoted a considerable amount of
time and effort to carefully selecting
them chamfers.
03BOOKMANAGER PLUGIN
There are so many useful
the most suitable setup.
02 KITCHEN CABINET
GENERATOR SCRIPT
3ds Max plugins for increasing
speed and efficiency, one of which

01 UNIT SETUP
AND MODELLING
The first thing I do at the start
For the cabinets in the kitchen,
I used a powerful script called
Kitchen Cabinet Generator. This
is Bookmanager. Libraries in 3ds
max can take a lot of time to
create using old methods to add
of every project in 3ds max is to allows me to create all kinds of each book by hand, especially

3D WORLD 67
 randomising every shelf. Using the
Bookmanager plugin can help you
create all kinds of bookshelves fast,
while adding randomness to each
using its range of options. First
I added all the books I needed,
then selected the polygons
used as shelves, and after a little
adjustment and trying different
seeds I was happy with the results.

04 SCENE LIGHTING
I used multiple HDRIs to
test which would offer the unique
European lighting and shadows.
To test them one-by-one, I used
Corona Select Texmap to add 03
multiple Corona Bitmaps, and then
added a colour correction in front
of it to control HDRI exposure. This
method reduces the amount of
time spent selecting proper lighting
for the scene. After choosing the
desired HDRI, I deleted the rest to
save memory. When it came to the
final render, I used the selected
HDRI with an 8K resolution.

05CAMERA SETUP
For the camera, I used the
Corona Camera with the Focal
Length value set to 15. I used this
Focal Length because it’s a wide
lens that gives me the ability to 04
have the cabinets and library in
the frame at the same time. I also
modelled the exterior to have more
details in my shot. For this specific
shot, because of the level difference
between the kitchen floor and the
living room, I set the camera a little
higher to create a better angle to
show more of the island and dining
table. I also added ‘Depth of Field’
to the camera.

06ADD MATERIAL
To keep the material as
simple and effective as possible, I
used Corona Material Library. For
the table, I used high-quality PBR 05
materials from Quixel Megascans;
two wood materials with the same
patterns but different tones. The
lighter-toned wood is created by
adding a Corona Mix Map to the
Megascans material and a mask I
created in Photoshop, which makes
worn-out wood on the outer part
of the table. I also used a Corona
Color Correct to make the masked
part of the wood a little lighter. For
the darker wood, I added a dirt
mask to the material. 06a

68 3D WORLD
 Bookmanager
plugin options
This plugin can save
you a lot of time
creating bookshelves
for libraries. The
options that come with
it can make different
libraries within
seconds. You can add
books in different
sizes and change the
alignment, or create
a shelf that includes
books that are both
horizontal and vertical.

06b

07

07CREATE CORONA
RENDER SETUP
The final step for creating the
08 POST-PRODUCTION
For the post-production,
which is always a fun part of the
scene with 3ds Max is the render project, I used Photoshop. First
setup in Corona. I set the ‘Noise I made changes to the original
level limit’ to 3.0% to ensure that I image according to the rendering
had a clear, noiseless image, and of the various elements outputted
chose Corona High Quality as the in the pre-Corona stage. We can
Denoising option with a value of also use ID element rendering 08a
0.65. For the Aspect Ratio, I chose for masking, and using dirt and
1.5 and rendered the image in 4K refraction are always the best
resolution; a common resolution solutions to brighten the glass. I
with good quality. I changed none also used the Camera Raw Filter
of the options in the Performance plugin to increase the sharpness
tab as Corona’s default settings of the details, as well as increasing
are perfectly efficient for the job. I the exposure and burning some
also added some render elements highlights. Finally, I increased
that could be used in the post- the contrast as well as the colour
production process in Photoshop. density using the Nik Filter plugin. • 08b

3D WORLD 69
 Practical tips and tutorials from
pro artists to improve
your CG skills

Glen Southern
Glen runs SouthernGFX, a
small Cheshire based studio
specialising in character and creature
design. Wacom ambassador, VR Artist,
accredited ZBrush lifelong maker.
youtube.com/c/SouthernGFX/videos

Paul Hatton
After graduating with
a first-class computer
science degree, Paul Hatton has spent
nearly two decades working within the
3D visualisation industry.

Mike Griggs
Mike Griggs is a digital
content creator with over
two decades of experience creating VFX
and CGI for a wide range of clients.
www.creativebloke.com
SOFTWARE: ZBRUSH
Pietro Chiovaro
Pietro is a freelance 3D ARE ZSPHERES STILL A VALID
artist and YouTuber. An
expert in the creation of game assets METHOD FOR CREATING
and environments, he shares many of
his creations on his channel. GEOMETRY IN 2023?
www.pietrochiovaro.com
Cris Palomino, Los Angeles

Glen Southern replies

I first saw ZSpheres in 2006 flexible armature that you can then easily
when I visited the Pixologic manipulate and transform into a complex
office in Los Angeles. It was a pre-release character or creature.
version and their then product manager They provide a flexible, intuitive way
Ryan Kingslien was showing me a raft of to create complex organic models, as
awesome new features. Here we are in they allow for easy manipulation of the
2023 and the question is: are ZSpheres base structure. ZSpheres are particularly
still relevant all these years later? useful for character artists and creature
First of all, let’s just be sure we know designers who want to establish a solid
what ZSpheres are and what they can be foundation before diving into the intricate
used for. ZSpheres are a unique feature sculpting process.
GET IN TOUCH in ZBrush. They’re a powerful tool used Once you’ve established the basic form
for creating base mesh structures and using ZSpheres, you can convert them
EMAIL YOUR QUESTIONS TO establishing the overall form of a 3D into a sculptable mesh. To do this, go to
[email protected] model. ZSpheres allow artists to build a the Adaptive Skin sub-palette in the Tool

70 3D WORLD
 EXPERT TIP
POSING IN ZSPHERE CAN HELP
Sometimes you want to see how a pose will look
before you sculpt it fully. You can turn symmetry
off and pose the ZSphere model to explore how
well it will achieve any poses. If it doesn’t look
good as a ZSphere, it won’t look good sculpted!

STEP BY STEP BASIC ZSPHERES FOR CREATURES

01 02

ZSpheres gives the ability to work

out a creature design before ever
committing to sculpting
03 04

menu and click on the Make Adaptive

Skin button. This will generate a mesh
based on the ZSphere structure. After
01START A ZSPHERE MODEL
Go to Tool and look for the red
sphere, which is the ZSphere tool. New
03 GET IT CORRECT NOW
The important thing to remember
is that this is your armature and it’s what
creating the adaptive skin, you can switch ZSpheres always start with a single red you’ll sculpt on, so the more accurate this
to the Sculpting mode by clicking the Edit sphere, and you simply add more spheres is the better your model will be. This is the
button in the Tool palette. This allows you to it. Make sure you’re in Edit mode (‘T’ best time to get the length of the limbs
to refine and add details to your model is the keyboard shortcut for that), and hit right. Don’t worry about the volume of
using the various brushes and sculpting ‘X’ first to create symmetrically, which is muscles or elements like the belly area,
techniques available in ZBrush. useful for creatures. Next you’ll want to just focus on getting the full anatomy
I’ve used ZSpheres extensively making add a sphere at the front and another one scale correct from nose to tail. Use ‘A’ to
creatures and characters, and before VR at the back. You have the ability to move, see a preview of your model as geometry.
sculpting tools such as Adobe Medium rotate, and scale all the ZSpheres and
or more recently Substance 3D Modeler
came along, I found them the fastest
connecting lines.
04 MOVE TO GEOMETRY
Once you have the full body laid out
way to create my base meshes. No other
company has come up with anything like
the ZSphere concept. Creating in VR uses
02 ADD JOINTS FOR THE BODY
You can quickly refine the basic
anatomy of your creature. Add a sphere
you can convert it to geometry to sculpt
on. Look in the Tool panel for Adaptive
Skin. Here you can play with a few settings
voxel technology, which is much more like everywhere you want a joint such as the to improve the look of the model you’re
spraying shaving cream in the air and is a shoulder, elbow, knee and so on. Move about to create. The basic settings are fine,
lot less flexible overall. the end sphere around and don’t forget so just hit Make Adaptive Skin and a new
I still recommend ZSpheres to my that you can rotate any sphere to affect model will appear in the Tool menu. This is
students. There are more options but this the spheres and connecting lines below it your true geometry and can no longer be
one still needs to stay in your arsenal. If in the chain. Build up the entire anatomy manipulated as a ZSphere model. You can
you know what you want to make and you in this way, but don’t try to add any detail now use the normal sculpting tools to work
need to get a basic armature out quickly, such as eyes or teeth. this model into your full design.
ZSpheres are still an excellent tool.

3D WORLD 71
SOFTWARE: BLENDER

HOW DO I USE VDM BRUSHES IN BLENDER?

Kirsty Breen, Fremantle

Paul Hatton replies

Before I answer this question, form of traditional textures such as a brick- most commonly come in the EXR format
let’s make sure we’re all on the pattern texture on a building, but they can because of its wide colour gamut and
same page with what VDMs even are. The also be applied to sculpting brushes to ability to contain complex colour data.
acronym stands for Vector Displacement transform the mesh. VDM brushes make the sculpting
Maps and is a feature that’s been part of These types of maps have been a process quicker, simpler and much more
ZBrush and Mudbox for a while, but has mainstay in Blender sculpting for a while powerful. Artists can either create their
now found its way into Blender’s sculpting now, but they have the inherent problem own or download them from other artists.
tools as of version 3.5. So before you start, of only being able to affect the mesh in a There are an increasing number of VDM
make sure you’re using version 3.5 or later. single direction. This is useless if you want packs that contain incredibly complex
It simply won’t work in any earlier versions. to sculpt anything with more complexity, displacement maps and allow for amazing
Now you know what VDM stands for, for example a horn, or a beard that could models to be created with no more than
you’d think we’d be ready to take a look include overhangs. the click of a few buttons.
at what they actually are, but we need to This is where VDMs come in. These are Setting up Blender to be able to use
cover a different type of map first: the RGB colour maps that represent data in VDMs involves a few different steps that
alpha mask. Alpha masks are black and 3D space. The colour gamut looks similar we’ll cover in answer to the question. We’ll
white image files that increase or decrease to a normal map, if you’re familiar with also take a look at how to import packs of
the height of areas on a mesh along the those, and enables sculptors to create brushes contained within downloadable
normal of the face. These can take the much more complex models. These maps Blender file packs.

72 3D WORLD
 STEP BY STEP USING A VDM BRUSH

01 02

03 04

01GET SET UP FOR

SCULPTING
To begin, open up Blender and create
03 ADJUST YOUR
TEXTURE SETTINGS
There are a few essential settings to
a new Sculpting file. This will take you change before the map will displace
VDMs make adding
straight into the Sculpting mode and the mesh correctly. Go back to the
details to your sculpts
give you a sphere to work from. It’s Texture settings inside your Brush
an absolute breeze
also possible to start from scratch by settings and change the Mapping
creating a UV sphere, right-clicking type to Area Plane, then tick Vector
on it and selecting Shade Smooth, Displacement. And finally, under the
before choosing Sculpting mode at Stroke rollout make sure that your
the top of the interface. You may also Stroke Method is set to Anchored.
EXPERT TIP want to add some sort of smoothing You might also want to make sure that
modifier to the sphere, such as a the Strength of your brush is set to 1,
USING A DOWNLOADED VDM Multiresolution modifier. although this isn’t essential.

Our main steps explain the manual process

for setting up a brush using a texture that 02 ADD YOUR VDM
Download a VDM from a source
such as ArtStation. You can find them
04 USE THE VDM BRUSH
Having completed the previous
steps, make sure that you’re using the
you’ve downloaded. Sometimes brushes from an increasing number of sources Draw Brush mode before you begin
and associated textures will be contained and a lot of them are either reasonably sculpting. To have this VDM brush
priced or available for free. Now go apply to your sphere, you simply left-
within a downloaded Blender file. In that to the Active Tool Settings panel and click and drag on the mesh, and the
instance, all you need to do is Append the click the Add Brush button, then scroll more you drag across, the bigger the
down to Texture and select New. Click item will get. You can also rotate the
Blender file to your working file, making on the ‘Show Texture in Texture Tab’ item by rotating the cursor around
sure that you navigate into the Brushes button followed by Open, navigate to the origin point before you release
your VDM file, which is usually an EXR the mouse button. Now it’s time to
folder when you’ve managed to locate the file, and double-click it. experiment and have some fun!
items you want to append.
3D WORLD 73
SOFTWARE: NUKE
HOW CAN I KEEP MY NODE
GRAPH ORGANISED IN NUKE?
Elhan Buraj, Tirana

Mike Griggs replies

For many artists, having a being that the artist who likes a nodal different set of requirements than a 3D
node-based workflow such workflow has accepted that the initial set- artist working with rendered EXRs – the
as the one in Foundry’s content creation up process can be slow. When it has been building blocks of organisation are the
application Nuke is a delight of bespoke set up though, the node-based devotee same no matter the task. In this tutorial,
workflows that lend themselves to the saves and organises those tedious tasks we’ll look at two of the most fundamental
artist’s way of working, and speeds up in a way that creates a toolbox of custom nodes to help artists organise themselves:
their work exponentially. For many other nodes and workflows ready to go in just the Backdrop node and the Group node,
artists, a node-based workflow is a nasty seconds when the need arises. which support artists in multiple ways.
tangle of spaghetti only used by aliens. While there are many ways that The Backdrop and Note nodes help
It continually gets in the way of them individual artists can organise specific to keep matters visually organised on the
creating their work. workflows within Nuke to suit them – Node Graph, while the former can clearly
The thing about these opposing views for example, a compositor’s workflow denote the function of a set of nodes
is that both are true, the only difference that uses filmed footage would have a or a certain point in a node tree. What’s

74 3D WORLD
 EXPERT TIP
THE DOT NODE
The Dot node is a junction node, making it easier to create logical paths of connection
between nodes rather than a mess of criss-crossing lines. The easiest way to make
a Dot node is to press the Ctrl key, which shows a yellow diamond that can then be
clicked on to create the node.

STEP BY STEP ORGANISE YOUR NODE GRAPH

01 02

03 04

Nuke provides many

ways to keep your
01ADD A BACKDROP NODE
This tutorial was created in Nuke 14
and is aimed at new users. For this guide,
03 THE GROUP NODE
The Group node is accessed in the
same way as a Backdrop node, or it can
Node Graph organised a multi-part EXR Read node has been be created by selecting a desired group
connected to multiple Shuffle nodes, each of nodes – the Shuffle nodes only for
renamed to denote which respective pass our purposes here – and then going to
they access. To insert a Backdrop node Edit>Node>Group>‘Collapse To Group’.
into your project, press the Tab key in the Alternatively, you can also use the Ctrl+G
Node Graph and type “Backdrop” in the shortcut to group your Shuffle nodes. A
dialogue box. It’s also available in the box dialogue box will pop up asking which
icon in the toolbar. Shuffle output needs to be used for the
great about the Backdrop node is that Group node output.
the nodes within it move as well, making
it easy to keep track of various stages of a
Node Graph’s progression as it grows.
02 USING THE
BACKDROP NODE
When the Backdrop node is added, click 04 USING THE GROUP NODE
The Group node, in many ways,
Meanwhile, the Group node is used on one of its corner arrows to resize it is similar to a Precomp in Adobe After
to bundle together a set of nodes into a around the nodes; in this case, the Read Effects (Nuke has a Precomp node that
single node, with the advantage that that node and its child Shuffle nodes. The performs a different function) in that it
solitary node obviously makes the graph Backdrop node can both be renamed, the nests the nodes. The nested nodes in the
a lot less complex visually. Using these same as any Node, or have a label within it group are available within their own Node
organisational nodes can help make sense that can be used to define any parameter Graph. If the Group node’s Node Graph is
of the Node Graph spaghetti, which will the artist wants. Moving the Shuffle nodes not visible, press the black ‘S’ symbol on its
help any artist get the most from their will move all the nodes within it. Properties palette to open it up.
time spent in Nuke.

3D WORLD 75
 WATCH Creating stunning
THE VIDEO visual destructions
https://bit.ly/3d-world-303 in Blender can take
less than five minutes
using this method

SOFTWARE: BLENDER

HOW DO I DESTROY
OBJECTS IN BLENDER?
Sophie Dubois, Paris

Pietro Chiovaro replies

Who doesn’t love a little bit of the 3D Viewport. In the panel that pops
of destruction sometimes? up you can either play with the parameter EXPERT TIP
It’s a hugely simple process to set up in or leave the default values. As soon as the
Blender, and doesn’t require any external simulation has been completed we’ll see BLUR
software or plugins to create. the object fractured into several parts.
We start out by making a plane, where Next we need to assign a dynamic
To enhance the sense of 3D motion
we’ll place the asset we want to destroy. rigid body to all of the pieces. One of the during the destruction simulation,
In order to make the collision work, we important options to set here is the Start
first need to assign a passive rigid body Deactivated function, which stops the
the use of Blur is a powerful tool. By
modifier to that plane. After that we can simulation taking place until we want it to applying the blur effects, and setting
add our chosen object on top of the happen. In this case, that’s the moment
surface; in this case I used a statue. when the sphere hits the statue. Once
the camera focus onto the statue, the
To create the destruction we’re going the values are set, we can copy and apply impact of the smashed parts can be
to use the ‘Object: Cell Fracture’ add-on. them to the other pieces.
You can find it in Blender by default, but Finally we need to create the sphere
intensified, creating a more immersive
will need to enable it. To do this, search for that will destroy the object. We have and dynamic sensation.
the add-on inside the Preferences panel to assign a dynamic rigid body to this
and check the box to enable it. element and animate it. In this case the
Now we can generate the simulation, animation was simple, no more than a few
so select the statue, or whichever asset frames with an animation along the Z axis.
you want to destroy, and select the Cell Now all we need to do is run the render
Fracture quick effect in the Object section and enjoy the final result.

76 3D WORLD
 News and views from around the
international CG community

MEET THE ARTIST

JM Blay
The Spanish creative talks us through his foundational moments in 3D, a typical
day running his own studio, and the tools used to create his work

ith more than 20 years of during my final year of university. When since 2018, so my working day starts with
experience in the creative it comes to 3D, I started with 3ds Max and having a meeting with my team to make
W industry, JM Blay has
worked on movies such as
used that software for a couple of years, but
I abandoned it because, at that time, it was
sure everyone has work to do, then I begin
working myself.
Dungeons & Dragons, The really tedious and complicated to learn. Some days I spend the whole time
Hobbit and Guardians of the Galaxy, video This was before the internet. Later on, when dedicated to developing a project, doing 3D
games including the Call Of Duty series, I was doing gigs as a motion designer, I and motion design, while other days are full
and music videos for artists like Paul started playing with Cinema 4D (C4D) and it of meetings, emails, and so on. I’m based in
McCartney and Lady Gaga. blew my mind. I’ve never stopped using C4D Spain, so if my client is from the US, I focus
He is the creative director and founder since I opened it for the first time. on the mornings and have all the meetings
of Blay Studio, a production company and in the afternoon. If my client is from the
creative studio based in Valencia, Spain, and How do you keep things fresh? UK or Europe, then I have more time in
has collaborated with renowned studios and I find inspiration in movies, documentaries, the evenings and can go to the gym and do
agencies worldwide. In that time, Blay has series, books, museums and music, but martial arts to unwind.
developed projects for a host of companies especially watching ‘making-of’ features
including Netflix, Marvel and Sony. of movies. I try to find inspiration in all How long have you been creating in
He holds a degree in fine arts, a master’s the things that surround me, but not as a 3D and what software do you use?
degree in audiovisual communication, and a methodology; it’s because I’ve been curious I started using 3ds Max in the early 2000s
PhD in motion graphics. Blay’s work has also my whole life and have never stopped. My and used it for a couple of years, then I
been recognised in specialised magazines, mind is always being stimulated by different focused on motion graphics until around
and he has given lectures at festivals and sources, not necessarily related to the 2012 when I started using Cinema 4D. I’ve
universities worldwide. industry. In fact, I kind of avoid keeping up been using After Effects since the late 90s,
with the latest trends and such. playing with parallax and also using it for
Do you have a background in 3D comping the 3D.
design or are you self-taught? What’s your day-to-day life like? Now my studio is focused on developing
At university I studied art and audiovisual I usually follow the same routine: I wake high-end motion design and 3D projects for
communication. 3D and motion graphics up, I take my kid to school, and then I work. advertising and marketing agencies, film
is something I started learning by myself I’ve run a fully remote creative studio studios, and final clients, producing projects

78 3D WORLD
 WORKING ON A
DARING CAMPAIGN

“My favourite project so far is the

Dare To Roam launch campaign,”
says JM Blay. “Dare To Roam is a
new clothing company specialising in
antimicrobial technology, created by
Harper + Scott, and Ciara Princess
Harris. They contacted the studio
as they saw the work we did for the
international campaign for Reebok,
and they wanted something similar.
Blay Studio helped to create a launch campaign
“They had the idea to show the
for the new accessories brand Dare To Roam
product on a molecular level to
highlight the antimicrobial feature
in the fabric of their products and
wanted 16 seconds of animation.
The team at Harper + Scott trusted
us entirely from the beginning and
gave us the creative freedom to
develop our ideas, and the whole
process was challenging and fun.
“The project was highly
successful, receiving coverage in
clothing and accessories media upon
its launch, and later being featured
in numerous motion design and 3D
magazines. It’s rewarding to see your
work featured in so many places,
especially after having enjoyed the
process of creating it.”

in your mind. It’s something I started doing

when I was a kid, and it’s still an integral
part of my process.
Part of personal project The Rapture of Europe,
based around the continent’s abduction by Zeus
How often do you work on your
personal portfolio?
I’m always working, either on a paid project
from start to delivery, or helping with any Can you walk us through a typical or a personal project. Working on personal
part of the process. piece from concept to final render? projects is a really good way to keep your
Usually the first thing I do is research. I go skills fresh and your creativity in motion. I
Can you tell us a bit about your deep into the subject I’m going to work on discovered a lot of different techniques and
current studio setup? to have a better understanding. After that, ways to work when doing personal projects,
I work from home, and I love it. I have an I put together some mood boards and ideas which I applied later on to paid jobs.
office with all the equipment that I need. My to discuss with the client. Once the client
main machine is a 3.1GHz 14-core Intel Xeon chooses a route, I create a storyboard and Going forward, is there a dream
W with 128GB memory, and two 16GB AMD some style frames. Once that’s approved, project that you’d like to work on?
Radeon Pro RX 6900 XT graphics cards, I start creating animatics and producing I really love what I do, whether it’s for
all running with iOS. With that machine, I the final piece; editing, adding VFX, colour advertising, movies, television, video games,
use two BenQ monitors as well as a Wacom grading, and such. We can do 100 per cent of or multimedia, but doing film and television
Intuos tablet. the steps needed to complete a project, from titles is perhaps what I enjoy the most. So
I have a second machine, a MacBook ideation to delivery, including final exports I could say my dream project would be
Pro, that I use for travelling and meetings, in any format the client may need. creating the main titles for a really cool
and then an iPad Pro for sketching. All the movie or series, where I can have the ideas
devices are connected to an 80TB QNAP How often do you sketch? and freedom to be creative. Also, having
server where I have all my assets, past I’m always doing sketches and doodles, enough time and budget to make it happen
projects, and the like. I also have a great pair whether it’s for fun or for work. Sketching and it be an enjoyable experience would be a
of speakers and a professional microphone. out ideas is a quick way to visualise what’s dream for me.

3D WORLD 79
 INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Through the
lens of Liaison
As one of the 3D industry’s leading PR and marketing
firms turns 25, 3D World uncovers what its clients’ stories
reveal about the evolution of visual effects
ou may not think you know What will emerge is not a conventional
Liaison, but you certainly history of visual effects – that of the big
Y know the companies it works
with. The agency’s clients
Hollywood studios, the breakthrough
movies, and the industry politics – but a
include many of the best- hidden history: the story of the tools from
known names in the visual effects game, developers whose technology made those
from software developers like Chaos to movies possible, and their influence on a
studios like Digital Domain. And to mark generation of artists.
its 25th anniversary, we’re going to look It isn’t a complete picture, but it does
back at some of those clients to discover capture many of the key changes within
what their stories reveal about the many VFX in the past quarter of a century, from
changes in the industry. the emergence of today’s 3D software

80 3D WORLD
3D WORLD 81
 “THE 3D WORLD HAS A GREAT WAY 1.0, later to be rebranded 3ds Max, while
Maya didn’t make its appearance until 1998,

OF STRIKING DOWN MESSAGES THAT having also been created using code from its
creators’ previous products.
FEEL MORE BUSINESS THAN ARTIST-DRIVEN” Over the following two decades,
the market would undergo a process of
Heidi Lowell, founder, Liaison consolidation as smaller companies were
bought by larger firms, leaving the key
applications in the hands of a small number
and file formats to the rise of real-time first office after hiring its first two staff. of major developers. That process can
rendering and virtual production, and Over the next 25 years, Liaison would go on be seen through the stories of several of
beyond, to a new era of AI tools. to represent over 50 clients, mainly in the Liaison’s original clients, with Kaydara
fields of visual effects, animation, and film being bought by the then Maya developer
THE BIRTH OF LIAISON and broadcast technology, and now operates Alias, itself later acquired by Autodesk,
By 1998, Liaison founder Heidi Lowell had as a distributed team with staff in the US, while Modo creator Luxology merged with
been working for large PR firms in the London and Berlin. Foundry, and Substance tools developer
US and Europe for almost a decade, and Allegorithmic was acquired by Adobe.
wanted to strike out on her own. Having THE EARLY YEARS OF 3D “Small companies have always had to
worked with Microsoft on the launch of When Lowell founded Liaison, the 3D punch above their weight,” says Lowell.
Windows 95, she had come into contact software market looked very different to “The 3D world has a great way of striking
with pioneering 3D software company today. Softimage itself was still a key player, down messages that feel more business than
Softimage, which Microsoft then owned. thanks to its original flagship application, artist-driven, so the only way to stand out is
“I immediately felt that I had found my Softimage|3D, which Industrial Light & to figure out how a company’s best and most
people,” she says. “There’s something about Magic used to animate the CG dinosaurs in novel traits can be seen and heard by the
the blend of intelligence and creativity Jurassic Park five years earlier. world at large.”
that 3D artists possess that I found really Even the idea of off-the-shelf tools
attractive. I knew that their stories were the capable of creating movie-quality effects PLAYING NICELY TOGETHER
stories that I wanted to tell.” was still a relatively new one, with many Market consolidation may have reduced
Taking on her first client in Kaydara, key applications having only just reached the competition between the major 3D
the original developer of MotionBuilder their current forms. Houdini 1.0 was applications, arguably slowing innovation,
and creator of the FBX file format, Lowell released in 1996, having evolved out of the but it helped to foster interoperability. That
began Liaison from her home in Portland, earlier PRISMS suite of tools. The same was something that became progressively
Oregon, later moving into the company’s year, Autodesk published 3D Studio MAX necessary as VFX projects increasingly

82 3D WORLD
Left: Digital Domain’s Bottom: New AI-based Below: Pioneering work in
in-house facial capture tool Charlatan was used photoreal digital humans
system Masquerade was by Digital Domain to includes Digital Domain's
developed during its work artificially age David Oscar-winning VFX for 2008
on Thanos in Avengers: Beckham for a campaign film The Curious Case of
Infinity War for charity Malaria No More Benjamin Button

3D WORLD 83
 became too large for a single studio to
tackle working on its own.
Interchange formats such as FBX
and its open-source successors, Alembic
and USD, made it possible for multiple
studios working on the same movie to
exchange files, even if they used different
3D software. Within studios, new hybrid
pipelines began to emerge, shifting the
focus of software development away from
those early all-in-one applications to new,
more specialised tools.
Another noteworthy feature of early
3D applications is just how expensive they
were. At the turn of the millennium, the
Unlimited edition of Maya cost $16,000,
while a licence of Houdini would set you
back $17,000. High-end compositing and
finishing applications, which came as
turnkey systems complete with specialist
SGI workstations, could cost over half a
million dollars.
During the 2000s, inexpensive Windows
and Linux machines would replace SGI
hardware, while software prices would
fall dramatically, and eventually stabilise
around the end of the decade. Meanwhile,
developers of newer, more affordable
technologies were entering the market,
further reducing the barrier to entry for
smaller studios and freelance artists. Rokoko co-founder and CEO Jakob in the middle of the night, and then shoot it
Balslev argues that the development of two minutes later.”
MAKING MOCAP MORE AFFORDABLE affordable inertial solutions marked a Liaison is now working with a third-
One part of the VFX pipeline where the huge leap forward, making it possible for generation of motion-capture technologists
cost of entry has been markedly reduced is small studios and freelancers to own their like disguise partner Move.ai, whose AI-
motion capture. Liaison has worked with own mocap system, rather than having powered tools make it possible to extract
many of the key companies in the field, to book out time in a specialist motion- production-quality data from footage
including developers of optical capture capture studio. “Before solutions like ours captured on a smartphone. “You always
systems like Vicon and OptiTrack, and came along, you had no chance to work know that the tech will change, you just
more recently with developers of inertial spontaneously with motion capture,” he don’t always know how,” says Lowell. “25
systems, like Xsens and Rokoko. says. “With our tools, you can get an idea years ago, few people imagined a world

84 3D WORLD
Left: Digital Domain now Bottom: One of the key Below: 2010’s TRON:
also uses Masquerade on studios in VFX history, Legacy was the first major
episodic series like She- Digital Domain won its movie to use Chaos’s V-Ray
Hulk: Attorney at Law first Oscar for visual extensively for rendering
effects on 1997’s Titanic

3D WORLD 85
 where you could create movies with
mocap data captured on your phone, and yet
that’s what Move.ai is doing right now.”

PUSHING TECHNOLOGICAL BOUNDARIES

While AI and inertial systems are widely
used for previs, Rokoko’s clients include
Disney, Netflix and Warner Bros.. Final-
quality work for large productions remains
largely the preserve of optical capture. For
Vicon product manager David Edwards,
the key changes in motion capture have
been improvements in technical quality and
speed. “The VFX industry has changed a
lot over the years, but one of the things that
has remained consistent is the need to push
boundaries,” he points out.
As examples from its own products,
Vicon will point to its Valkyrie range of for exploring large V-Ray production scenes characters could be seen on-screen in close-
cameras, which were the first to raise raw interactively. Meanwhile both real-time up for minutes at a time, delivering facial
pixel counts to 26MP, and before that, the rendering and real-time mocap streaming performances of both great subtlety and
real-time streaming of motion-capture data combine in the world of virtual production, emotional force.
to game engines, introduced in its Shogun with firms like disguise helping creative One of the early pioneers in the field
Live software. teams to see how their effects will appear was the University of Southern California’s
live on set. Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT),
WORKING IN REAL TIME whose Light Stage capture system made
Made possible by the growing power of DEVELOPING DIGITAL HUMANS it possible to capture 3D scans of actors,
computer hardware, in particular the All of these trends – better software, new on which digital characters could then be
increasing use of GPUs for computational capture systems and advances in hardware based with a fidelity never seen before.
tasks, this transformation of workflows processing power – have played their part The following decade, some of that scan
from offline to real time has been one of the in the advances made in depicting digital data would become available to the wider
key changes in VFX during the past decade. humans on-screen. In the early 2000s, 3D community courtesy of the Digital
Among Liaison’s clients, Chaos is enabling truly photorealistic humans in movies Human League, a collective of researchers
new real-time rendering workflows through were largely restricted to digi-doubles of convened by Chaos Labs, Chaos’s creative
Vantage, its hardware-accelerated ray tracer actors. By the end of the decade, digital R&D arm. Its Wikihuman Project, intended

86 3D WORLD
 Opposite: Rokoko’s inertial Above: Framestore’s Oscar-
mocap systems are used in winning work on Blade
previs and final-quality VFX Runner 2049 was a key early
like Trizz’s Dulux paint advert use of Substance Designer
and Substance Painter in VFX

to advance the rendering of digital humans, uses Masquerade, its AI-assisted toolset, our clients, we feel like we’re part of their
provided a freely downloadable Maya and to increase the resolution of the facial marketing team, so when they succeed, we
V-Ray scene based on ICT scans of the actor performance data captured. feel we’re part of their success.”
Emily O’Brien. The firm has now also expanded from
Another company pioneering new ways SHAPING THE COURSE OF VFX PR into the world of marketing, helping to
to create digital humans is Digital Domain, A quarter of a century after its foundation, shape the way that its clients think about
which used Light Stage scans to create an Liaison continues to go from strength to and communicate their technology, and in
artificially aged version of Brad Pitt for its strength, having been named Boutique doing so, played its own role in influencing
Oscar-winning effects for the 2008 movie Agency of the Year in last year’s PR Daily the development of VFX.
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The Awards. As well as “an incredible team As Allegorithmic founder and Substance
studio has continued to develop its pipeline filled with 3D artists, writers and former tools pioneer Sébastien Deguy, who has
on films such as Maleficent, Deadpool, 3D journalists”, Lowell describes the secret since become the vice president and head
Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, and of Liaison’s success as the strong personal of 3D and metaverse at Adobe, puts it: “As
on broadcast series including She-Hulk: relationships it establishes with clients. a small French company trying to promote
Attorney at Law. “There’s a really human element to what our tools to English-speaking people, it was
The latter three projects in particular we do,” says the Liaison founder. “We’ve useful to have some kind of voice [outside
illustrate what many studios believe will stuck with several clients in difficult times France], but Heidi and the team were way
be the next major trend in the realms of because we really believed in them, and more than that. They wrapped their heads
visual effects: the evolution of new machine were going to do whatever we could to around the ideas we wanted to push, and
learning-based tools. Digital Domain also help them keep afloat. With the majority of helped us connect the dots.”

3D WORLD 87
 A history of VFX
in 10 Liaison clients
Among the firms Liaison has worked with in its 25-year
history, many have left huge marks on the 3D industry

2 LUXOLOGY
The history of Modo, the company’s modelling
and animation tool, reflects the continued
maturation of the 3D software market

By the early 2000s, the 3D software market

was beginning to stabilise, with applications
such as Maya, 3ds Max and Cinema 4D
establishing their positions in the industry.
Luxology was one of the final companies
to launch a commercial tool intended to
compete with them directly.
Founded back in 2002 by the trio of
Brad Peebler, Stuart Ferguson and Allen
Hastings, who had previously worked at
NewTek on LightWave, Luxology was
established to develop a new generation
of 3D software that centred on “refined,
natural workflows”, releasing its flagship
application, Modo, in 2004.
Evolving from a modelling and rendering

1 KAYDARA
Liaison’s very first client helped to establish the
value of interchange standards in VFX pipelines
tool to an all-round 3D animation package
over successive releases, Modo was adopted
by a number of high-profile VFX studios
including Digital Domain and Industrial
Light & Magic, but struggled to become
Even if you don’t remember Liaison’s sectors of the industry and its increasing more widely established in movie pipelines.
first client, you’ll certainly be aware of focus on processing motion data led to it In 2012, Luxology merged with Foundry,
its technology. Although Kaydara hasn’t being rebranded as MotionBuilder. and while still used in VFX, by the end of
existed as a company for almost 20 years, Although Kaydara was acquired by Alias the decade, its largest userbases were artists
its work lives on in MotionBuilder, still a Systems in 2004, before Alias was itself working within game development and
key part of many motion capture-based acquired by Autodesk, both MotionBuilder industrial design.
pipelines, and its FBX file format. and HumanIK live on under those names,
Founded in Montreal in 1993, Kaydara as does FBX, the file format that Kaydara
spotted a gap in the market for tools that developed to transfer data from Filmbox to
would connect real-world data to 3D other 3D applications. Now widely used for
software. Early on, the firm worked with 3D models as well as motion-capture data,
camera motion control systems, but quickly FBX proved the value of a neutral format
realised that a more important challenge that could connect the different applications
would be to process motion capture data. used in a visual effects pipeline, paving the
Although it could also be used as a way for interchange standards like Alembic
keyframe animation tool, the real strength and, more recently, USD.
of Filmbox, Kaydara’s flagship software, “It’s great to see that, 20 years after
was to map imported mocap data to a [being acquired], we’re still very much
3D character, achieved in part through prevalent in games and film pipelines,”
HumanIK, its built-in inverse kinematics says Kaydara's co-founder and former
system. While Filmbox was indeed used in CEO Michel Besner. “There isn’t a single
movie pipelines, one of the highest-profile week that goes by when I don’t hear about
early projects was the bullet-time effects on FBX, even from companies outside of the
The Matrix, its growing adoption in other entertainment business.”

88 3D WORLD
 4 CHAOS
Through the development of its V-Ray
renderer, Chaos has helped to shift visual effects
the release of V-Ray for Maya later in the
decade. In 2010, V-Ray was used on its
first major movie, TRON: Legacy, with
pipelines from rasterisation to ray tracing Digital Domain choosing it for its ability
to generate 3D motion blur, crucial for
TRON’s shiny, reflective environments, in a
Founded in Bulgaria in 1997 as Chaos reasonable time-per-frame. Over the course
Group, Chaos quickly became a key player of the next decade, as hardware processing
in the emerging architectural visualisation power increased, and other ray-tracing
market through V-Ray, its production renderers became commercially available,
renderer. As a ray-tracing renderer, V-Ray the technique would become ubiquitous.
was well suited to a sector that prized the “V-Ray was one of the key renderers that

3 MOTION-CAPTURE SYSTEMS
Liaison’s client list runs from one of the longest-
established firms in the motion capture field through
visual accuracy with which it could recreate
reflections and refractions, particularly on
materials like glass, in high-resolution stills.
shifted the [VFX] industry from rasterised
or hybrid rendering to full ray tracing,” says
former Digital Domain lighting supervisor
to one of the newcomers on the scene But in visual effects, the render times, Chris Nichols, now head of Chaos Labs,
higher than those for the rasterisation Chaos’s creative R&D centre. “It forced
methods standard in production at the time, other renderers to change, and sometimes
The past 25 years have seen professional proved more of a stumbling block. Although be rewritten, to compete.”
visual effects tools of all types become V-Ray had been used in feature films as far Chaos is now working on the problem of
steadily more affordable, and Liaison’s back as 2003, on Final Destination 2’s log bringing ray tracing to real-time workflows,
client list for motion capture reflects this destruction sequence, its breakout moment through newer tools such as Vantage. The
democratisation of technology. “The more came two years later with David Fincher’s company has also been able to consolidate
affordable, flexible and powerful we make music video for Only by Nine Inch Nails. its position in the architectural visualisation
the tools for capturing motion, the more From there, V-Ray would take off in market, acquiring Corona developer Render
games and movies will make use of those commercial work, but as a 3ds Max plugin Legion in 2017, and merging with real-time
tools,” says David ‘Ed’ Edwards, the VFX its use in film pipelines was limited until rendering specialist Enscape in 2022.
product manager at Vicon.
Trading since 1984, Vicon became a key
player in the entertainment market during
the following decade, as optical motion-
capture systems became an established
part of visual effects pipelines; a position
that it occupies to this day. More recently,
portable, relatively low-cost inertial capture
systems have become more widely adopted,
particularly for previs work and to record
animation references, and Liaison has also
worked with two of the key developers:
Xsens (now part of Movella) and Rokoko.
The latter is one of the newest players in the
market, having been founded in 2014.

5 TURBOSQUID
One of the first online 3D marketplaces to
appear, the TurboSquid team continues to innovate
Upon its foundation in 2000, online 3D
marketplace TurboSquid became one
of the first places that artists working in
advisory board for the firm’s CheckMate
model certification program included Weta
Digital lead modeler James Ogle, and by
today in the field of AI tools the entertainment industry could find the time it was bought by stock image giant
production-quality models without having Shutterstock in 2021, TurboSquid offered
to create them from scratch. By 2012, the just under a million products for sale,
and claimed over half of the Fortune 100
companies among its clients.
Shutterstock is now developing AI tools
trained on assets from the TurboSquid
marketplace that will enable artists to
generate custom 3D models from text
prompts. “Generative tools will eliminate
many of the tedious steps in the model
creation process,” says Dade Orgeron, vice
president of 3D innovation at Shutterstock.
“Humans will continue to play a role in
3D for a long time, but they’ll have more
powerful technology at their disposal.”

3D WORLD 89
 7 ZIVA DYNAMICS
The character effects specialist brought
next-gen simulation tools from blockbuster
movies to boutique studios

In 2013, James Jacobs received an Academy

Award for his work developing Tissue, Weta
Digital’s soft tissue simulation system. Ziva
Dynamics, the company that he co-founded
in 2015, would make such cutting-edge
simulation tools available to any 3D artist
through Ziva VFX, its Maya plugin.
Ziva Dynamics’ first client was Sony

6 ALLEGORITHMIC
The Substance developer’s story reveals the
growing adoption of games workflows in VFX
Pictures Imageworks, which used its
software in 2016’s Ghostbusters and Suicide
Squad films. However, the real turning
point would come two years later with
2018’s The Meg, where Ziva VFX was used
The last decade has seen tools from the Meanwhile, Allegorithmic was also by multiple visual effects studios for the
games industry increasingly being adopted colonising VFX pipelines, with DNEG movie’s titular giant sharks.
in VFX; a source of immense satisfaction to testing Designer on the Assassin’s Creed The software has since been adopted
confessed film geek Sébastien Deguy, who movie released the same year. Come that by smaller teams working on commercials
founded Allegorithmic in 2002 to develop point, Allegorithmic had released a second and broadcast series, including The Orville
texturing software based on his PhD Substance tool, the 3D texture painting and Lost in Space. Jacobs says: “Ziva VFX
research on mathematical noise functions. software Substance Painter, a product that has made it possible for more content to
Although the earliest of Allegorithmic’s Deguy describes as “our masterpiece”, with feature believable deformable characters,
products, MaPZone and ProFX, were Framestore using both tools in its Oscar- and to do so at a scale and a price point that
plugins for Photoshop and After Effects, winning work on Blade Runner 2049. was previously unachievable." Acquired by
a conversation with former id Software Adobe acquired Allegorithmic in 2019, Unity in 2022, Ziva Dynamics is also now
developer Dave Taylor alerted Deguy to the but the software continues to thrive, working on new real-time simulation tools.
need for similar tools in game development; recently seeing use on VFX blockbusters
an opportunity Allegorithmic capitalised including Dune and animated features like
on with its TAON engine, later renamed Lightyear, while the product family, since
Substance Engine, and Substance Designer, renamed the Substance 3D Collection, has
its material-authoring software. expanded to five applications. And Deguy,
The advent of PBR workflows in the now a vice president at Adobe, has seen
mid-2010s were to be a tipping point for his career come full circle, receiving an
Substance Designer, with games texture Academy Award earlier this year for his
artists switching from a more traditional work on Substance Engine. “I founded
Photoshop-based approach to procedural Allegorithmic in order to create software
material authoring. And by the time early [that] would inspire 3D artists to produce
Designer advocate Naughty Dog released more amazing visual effects than ever,” he
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End in 2016, its place says. “I’m grateful to be recognised for [my
in the market was well established. impact] on an art form that I love.”

8 DISGUISE
Award-winning virtual production specialist
disguise is helping to usher in a new era of real-time
Its real-time production software was
initially developed back in 2000 to provide
visuals for U2 and Massive Attack concerts.
filmmaking thanks to its software Since then, disguise has evolved into an
end-to-end platform comprising software,
hardware, cloud solutions, and services. Its
Powered by accessible tools like Unreal Designer software integrates with Unreal,
Engine, virtual production lets studios Notch, and other content engines to design,
work more flexibly and cost-effectively than sequence, and map video content into any
shooting on real-world locations or physical live or virtual production environment.
sets. For the past three years, disguise has According to disguise, the growth of
been at its forefront, powering productions virtual production has been fuelled by
for the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime, advances in its core technologies. “We’ve
and becoming the most integrated and seen graphics processing get faster, real-
advanced volume control workflow, with time engines become ubiquitous, and LED
recognition coming in the form of an Emmy technology increase in quality and value,”
Award for Technology & Engineering. says VP of virtual production Addy Ghani.

90 3D WORLD
9 ARCTURUS
Liaison’s clients are also helping to shape the
future of VFX, including this pioneer in the growing
market for volumetric video

Aptly named after one of the brightest

stars in the sky, Arcturus is a leading
light in volumetric video. Founded back
in 2016 by innovators from Pixar, Netflix,
DreamWorks, Autodesk, Google and
YouTube, the company was ideally suited
to create HoloSuite, a software as a service
(SAAS) post-production platform that
features tools for editing, compressing and
streaming volumetric video.
Essentially 3D holograms captured with
multiple cameras and sensors, volumetric
video has powered mixed-reality training
for NASA, and holograms for Coldplay and
BTS performances, as well as AR visuals
for online stores. “Volumetric video doesn’t
just offer new ways to do old things; with
the right tools, it also offers unprecedented Volumetric video isn’t a household name the metaverse and virtual productions,
possibilities,” says Kamal Mistry, the CEO just yet, but Arcturus is changing this by and even collaborating on an AI-powered
of Arcturus. “Soon we’ll see content unlike working with creators in other emerging technology that can turn standard videos
anything before.” fields, bringing volumetric humans to into 3D holograms.

10 DIGITAL DOMAIN
From facial capture to AI, the legendary studio’s work
creating digital humans reflects changes in VFX technology

Started in 1993 by director James Cameron through 4D scanning and facial capture, supplements in production with a second
and special effects veterans Stan Winston Digital Domain is now developing new piece of AI technology, the real-time face-
and Scott Ross, Digital Domain (DD) AI-powered tools to increase the realism swapping tool Charlatan.
quickly became a key player in the then- of the digital characters driven by those According to VFX supervisor Jan Philip
emerging world of digital visual effects, performances. Its Masquerade software, Cramer, who won a VES Award for his
winning its first Oscar in 1997 for its work developed as part of DD’s work on Thanos work on Thanos, AI is changing visual
on Cameron’s Titanic. Since then, Digital in Avengers: Infinity War, uses machine effects workflows at a rate unprecedented
Domain has contributed VFX to over 100 learning to up-res facial motion data, in history. “The way that we do a movie
other movies, not to mention broadcast recreating subtle details missing from the now is not the way we would have done a
series, ads and music promos, and winning resulting low-resolution 3D head mesh. movie a year ago,” he says. “We’ve never
10 further Academy Awards, eight of them It's a process that Digital Domain now had that before.”
for the groundbreaking technology it has
developed, including industry-standard
compositing software Nuke.
Although it creates effects of all types,
DD is known for its work on photorealistic
CG humans, digitally recreating US
popcorn magnate Orville Redenbacher
for a landmark 2007 commercial, before
reteaming with director David Fincher
for 2008’s The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button. The story of a man who lives his
life in reverse, Benjamin Button features
extensive ageing – or rather, de-ageing –
effects for its star Brad Pitt, whose face
had to be recreated digitally for over 50
minutes of the movie; work that won
Digital Domain its third Oscar.
Having pioneered ways to record the
nuances of actors’ facial performances

3D WORLD 91
 INDUSTRY INSIGHT

Democratising
the building blocks
KitBash3D takes assets to the masses with its new library

itBash3D has unveiled its KitBash3D is known for its superb 3D Cargo is a part of KitBash3D’s solution to
new asset library software, kits and assets, used in movies such as enabling more people to get involved in the
K Cargo. The reveal enables
creatives to access a library
Doctor Strange, Black Adam and Spider-Man
alongside TV shows like The Last of Us, Star
process of worldbuilding, game design and
interacting online. By offering access to the
of professional assets that Trek and Halo, as well as hit video games studio’s entire, customisable asset library
have previously been used in blockbuster that include NBA 2K and The Elder Scrolls. with integration in leading 3D software,
movies from Warner Bros. and Marvel as To access these kits and reuse them to including Unreal Engine 5, KitBash3D aims
well as Netflix, HBO and more. You can create worlds and experiences is a big step to help everyone unlock their creativity.
find models, kits and materials found in forward in the emerging creator economy. Co-CEO Maxx Burman added: “We
games such as The Last of Us Part II and “As we witness the rapid evolution of believe that Cargo’s impact on the industry
reuse them in your own projects. digital content creation, we believe it’s will be transformative, serving as a vital
The library consists of more than crucial to equip artists with tools that keep tool to help artists, developers and studios
10,000 assets that can be imported across pace with their creative ambitions,” said stay ahead of the curve and embrace the
Unreal Engine 5, Blender, Maya and 3ds Banks Boutté, co-CEO of KitBash3D. “This future of 3D. It solves major challenges in
Max, and comes on the back of KitBash3D requires eliminating technical barriers interoperability, and lays a foundation for
announcing a partnership with Epic Games by providing creators with access to the an open metaverse tomorrow.”
to bring its asset packs into Unreal Editor fundamental 3D building blocks – models Built upon Pixar’s Universal Screen
for Fortnite, as well as the forthcoming Fab and materials – and ensuring that those Description (USD) architecture, Cargo is
content marketplace. assets work with any platform.” designed to easily and quickly move data

92 3D WORLD
 EPIC PARTNERSHIP
Bringing KitBash3D assets into Fortnite and beyond

At the Game Developers Conference in March, KitBash3D

revealed that their entire asset library would be coming
to Epic Games’ new creator marketplace Fab, through a
partnership with the Unreal Engine developers. “As we
look to the future of gaming and the development of the
metaverse, the democratisation of quality assets plays a
critical role in realising that reality,” said KitBash3D co-CEO
Banks Boutté. “We couldn’t be happier to collaborate with
Epic Games, which shares our commitment to enable and
inspire creators of the virtual frontier.”
An alpha version of Fab has already launched as a plugin
for Epic’s Unreal Editor for Fortnite, for which KitBash3D
was building bespoke environments. Maxx Burman, co-CEO
alongside Banks, added: “We’re excited to provide millions
of Fortnite players the tools and resources they need to bring
their ideas to life, and we can’t wait to see what new forms of
storytelling and gameplay stem from this community.”

Above: KitBash3D’s range Right: Over 10,000 assets

of assets have featured in will be at the fingertips of
major film, TV and video digital creators thanks the
game productions release of Cargo

across different 3D software in real time.

The library’s assets take just one click to
import, and you could be using a pro model
last seen in Doctor Strange. If you’ve never
tried building a 3D world, scene or even
creating a video game, Cargo sounds like
an accessible route into making stunning
professional projects.
There’s a free option in Cargo Basic
for anyone that just wants to get creative
without breaking the bank, which will,
according to KitBash3D’s press release,
“include a generous selection of free assets”.
The Cargo Pro subscription, meanwhile,
is for those who wish to take things a step
further, with unlimited access to the full
KitBash3D library from $65 (£50) a month.
To get more information on Cargo,
FYI visit kitbash3d.com.

3D WORLD 93
 We explore the latest software and
hardware tools to see if they are
worth your time or money

AUTHOR PROFILE
Rob Redman
Rob is Editor of
3D World and also
works as a creative
director, producing 3D
animations and VFX.
When not at his desk,
he can usually be found
SOFTWARE REVIEW
painting miniatures.
robredman.co.uk

PROS
HDR Light Studio
PRICE Indie licence £195/$250 / Pro £295/$380 / Automotive £995/$1,275 | COMPANY Lightmap | WEBSITE lightmap.co.uk
Clean, intuitive

H
interface DR Light Studio has this sell themselves. Previous with a dedicated UI designed
been around for some versions excelled with process for this. The layout is clean and
Excellent live time now, generating and results, due to being clear, making excellent use of
results quite the reputation for feature rich with a shallow space, with everything falling
its intuitive lighting of 3D learning curve. Preview renders neatly where you would want
Links to your scenes. One of the biggest look fantastic and designing it. There are procedural lights
favourite apps benefits has been how it a lighting scheme in little that can have many attributes
communicates with just time has been a huge benefit. from shape, intensity and
about every other piece of So what could a new edition gradients, all adjustable on the
CONS 3D software via its plugins, bring to the table to make the fly, with real-time results shown
making it easy to integrate upgrade worthwhile? As it in the preview window.
None from our testing into new or old pipelines. happens, a fair bit. Rather than trying to, scale,
An intuitive workflow and HDR Light Studio is a translate and rotate lights in
efficient pipeline is so key to standalone tool aimed solely 3D space, aligning by eye,
many projects that tools like at the task of lighting scenes, there is the LightPaint tool,
3D OR
which allows you to pick a
CANVAS? point on the target model,
with the light moving directly
You have the option to to illuminate that spot. This
work in a lit 3D view, is a truly remarkable tool that
which is most intuitive, allows lighting at the speed
but can also generate light of thought, and lends itself to
schemes using a flattened experimenting while remaining
view. Both have benefits, controllable and repeatable.
but it can be useful to see Version 8 introduces the
your lights unwrapped to ability to change even more
a flat texture. attributes while in LightPaint
mode, with keyboard shortcuts
Above: The range of Scrim Lights effects are simple and fun to use to keep work fast and efficient.

94 3D WORLD
“LIGHTMAP HAS TAKEN AN Main: 3D artist Mark

ALREADY EXCELLENT TOOL Zawila puts HDR Light

Studio to full use in his

AND MANAGED TO IMPROVE IT” stunning creations

Left: Lightmap has

built on an already
Being able to adjust brightness photography background, is feature-rich program
and position, all while in this Scrim Lights. The results of in its latest release
single mode, keeps things these are gorgeous, but what
moving. Of course, you can makes them so special is what
place lights manually if desired they emulate. A large diffusing
and you can work in either 3D piece of cloth is set in place,
space or use the canvas mode. a little like the front face of
See the boxout for more. a softbox, but rather than a
fixed lamp a movable one is
IMPRESSIVE FEATURES used, allowing you to adjust
A particularly powerful feature the intensity and falloff pattern
when using a plugin to connect of the illumination in ways you
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UI, but see results from your these tools and the interface
final renderer. For example, if make this simple and fun,
you use Cinema 4D, you can which seems to be the most
create your scene, set your common theme when using
render settings, then move to HDR Light Studio.
HDR Light Studio to create and Similarly simple in operation
place your lights, taking full but powerful for setting
advantage of those tools, but lights just the way you intend THE VERDICT
see live results from your final is the Polygon, a system for
image. This is remarkable when shaping lights with a handful HDR LIGHT STUDIO
in use and it’s great to see that
all of the big names and many
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The biggest new feature,
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Lightmap has taken an already excellent tool and managed to
improve it, adding great options for lighting scenes in a fluid
and intuitive way. Connection to other tools is fantastic too,
so no matter your workflow, HDR Light Studio is a must have.
which speaks to me with my falloff and shaping results.

3D WORLD 95
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ISSUE 302 SEPTEMBER 2023

PRO TIPS FOR VIRTUAL INTERIORS
• Incredible interior artist Gabriel Fabra Pérez on his stunning work
• Learn to use the Megascans library in your Unreal environments
• Why you need to power up your skills in real-time game engines
• Discover the best resources to get started in virtual production
• We review the latest updates for Blender, 3ds Max and more
• Downloads Free models and textures, files and more!

ISSUE 301 AUGUST 2023 ISSUE 300 JULY 2023 ISSUE 299 JUNE 2023 ISSUE 298 MAY 2023
CONJURE GREAT CHARACTER SCULPTS MASTER HOUDINI DIRECT IN REAL TIME BECOME A VFX PRO
• Blizzard’s Jamir Blanco shares • We celebrate our 300th issue • Miguel Ortega shares his journey • Learn to capture and edit epic
how he created our demonic cover with a look at the history of VFX with The Voice in the Hollow practical effects with InCamera
• The inside scoop on Aardman’s • Learn how to make procedural • Dive into our inside insight on • Expert advice for grading video
episode of Star Wars: Visions paint strokes with Houdini Avatar: The Way of Water footage using DaVinci Resolve
• Get started in the world of GPU • Annibale Siconolfi discusses his • Learn to design and render a • Discover how Fusion can make
rendering with our expert guide awesome architectural artwork film with Blender’s Eevee engine your special effects pop
• How to set up for success with • Rating the latest updates to • VFX supervisor Jay Worth • Guillermo del Toro on his award-
long-term animation projects Adobe’s Substance 3D Collection discusses Westworld’s final season winning Pinocchio adaptation
• Downloads Free models and • Downloads Free models and • Downloads Free models and • Downloads Free models and
textures, files and more! textures, files and more! textures, files and more! textures, files and more!

CATCH UP TODAY!
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ISSUE 297 APRIL 2023 ISSUE 296 MARCH 2023 ISSUE 295 FEBRUARY 2023 ISSUE 294 JANUARY 2023
NEXT-GEN TOOLS CREATE EYE-CATCHING FAN ART CRAFT PAPER WORLDS ACTION-PACKED STYLISED 3D
• All the details on what Unity’s • Journey into the awesome world • The tricks behind Pop Paper • Get the inside dope from DNEG
latest acquisitions mean for you of fan art with six pro artists City‘s unique 3D world revealed Animation on Entergalactic
• Visit the future for the lowdown • MPC on their dirtier, grittier • Expert advice on creating • Discover the secrets behind a
on the VFX in The Peripheral Westeros in House of the Dragon stylised worlds using Blender hilarious Star Wars fan film
• Discover how to level up your • Spend the day with animation • Insight on the evolving tech • Learn all about the history and
old assets for Unreal Engine 5 supervisor Liz Bernard powering digital humans techniques for 3D scanning
• Dive into the new tools in • Find out what the Unreal Engine • Discover the top plugins to level • Create atmospheric sci-fi cities
ZBrush 2023 with our expert review 5.1 update brings to the table up your Unreal Engine projects in Blender and Photoshop
• Downloads Free models and • Downloads Free models and • Downloads Free models and • Downloads Free models and
textures, files and more! textures, files and more! textures, files and more! textures, files and more!

ISSUE 293 CHRISTMAS 2022 ISSUE 292 DECEMBER 2022 ISSUE 291 NOVEMBER 2022 ISSUE 290 OCTOBER 2022
DISCOVER AMAZING ANIMATION MASTER NARRATIVE BLENDER SCENES ADD MORE STYLE TO YOUR SCULPTS PAINT IN 3D
• Delve into the creation of • Pro tips on composition and • How to design amazing stylised • Learn how to build beautiful
Skydance Animation’s Luck lighting for story-driven images characters with basic techniques painterly images in Dreams for PS4
• Master golden hour lighting for • Behind the otherworldly VFX of • Learn expert tips and techniques • Discover how the fantastical
atmosphere in your scenes Stranger Things season 4 for upgrading your old art worlds of The Sandman were built
• How Prehistoric Planet is • How MPC transformed Pinocchio • How the unique creatures of sci- • Beginner’s guide to render
bringing dinosaurs back to life into a live-action adventure fi horror film Nope were realised engines – which is best for you?
• Design and sculpt custom toys • Review round-up of the market- • We interview Aardman about • Doctor Strange in the Multiverse
for 3D printing in ZBrush leading scattering tools new technological developments of Madness VFX secrets
• Downloads Free models and • Downloads Free models and • Downloads Free models and • Downloads Free models and
textures, files and more! textures, files and more! textures, files and more! textures, files and more!

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