Arvid Van Thorre - Entry

Greetings, I am Arvid Van Thorre, a final-year student at DAE, Belgium, specializing in the fields of VFX, 3D production, and Animation. 

Allow me to show a glimpse of my journey so far during my period at DAE.

Stylized lizard soldier 

In this project, my main aim was to learn organic sculpting by converting a 2D concept into a 3D model. I also ensured that the model was optimized for performance. To simplify the process of sculpting and texturing, I set up a user-friendly scene in Maya with the help of Arnold rendering. This allowed me to have a better overall view of the project.

2d concept of MZM: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/b5Gyk

Amørak – Group Project

Amørak was an exciting three-month group project that I had the privilege of working on alongside talented individuals;
Aderik Van Thorre, Jitse Peeraer, Maarten Leys, Arnold Derauw, Ward Dermaut, Nachomuziek, and myself. 

Throughout the project, I was responsible for several crucial tasks, these included conducting look development and lighting for all the shots, designing, and constructing the house, creating detailed textures for both the house and the main character, as well as the creature, and finally, handling the compositing phase. It was a challenging yet fulfilling experience that allowed me to showcase my skills and collaborate with a skilled team to bring our vision to life.

Modelling

Following the completion of the layout and foundational design of the house of Amørak, the heroic setting of our story, my objective was to elevate the level of realism. To achieve this, I embarked on sculpting the assets, carefully utilizing techniques such as baking geometry and utility maps. These methods allowed me to create optimized assets that maintained a high level of realism.

Texturing House 

I used utility maps that I created while sculpting the assets to help me quickly create complex shaders. Most of the textures were based on procedural methods, with additional hand-painted details added at the end for a personalized touch.

Texturing Amørak

Given that Amørak is the central protagonist, meticulous attention to detail was crucial, particularly for close-up shots that required an exceptional level of quality. To achieve this, I employed a UDIM workflow, utilizing Mari's node-based system. This workflow proved invaluable in handling large and complex files while allowing for efficient iteration and providing a comprehensive overview of the project.

For the eyes, I utilized XYZ textures, ensuring a high level of realism and depth. As for the skin, I employed a combination of hand-painting, skin projection techniques and sculpting discplacement details to incorporate subtle microdetails. Our aim was to strike a balance between stylization and realism, steering clear of the uncanny valley effect.

Texturing Hound

I applied the same workflow to the creature, which presented a more challenging task in terms of achieving a visually pleasing result within the given timeframe. The key to success lay in maintaining a well-organized approach, allowing for quick variations during the look development phase for each shot. This ensured efficient progress and enabled me to produce the desired visual outcome.

Lookdev/Lighting

Given that look development is one of my areas of expertise, I was determined to create something truly exceptional and elevate our project to new heights. Considering the dark setting of the story, I employed a complementary color scheme to add a captivating visual element. I utilized the blue tints of the weather as well as the warm orange hues of the fire elements. This deliberate choice helped to enhance the overall atmosphere and create a visually striking composition.

Rendering

One of my responsible as well was creating the render setups and compositing all the shots.

Since we only had a limited amount of time, it was crucial that I founded ways to save time while working in Autodesk Maya using the Arnold renderer. A big part of this project I focused on optimizing my render setup and utilizing any other techniques to make the pipeline as flexible as possible.

Compositing

As the compositor for the short trailer "Amørak," I faced a unique challenge due to my limited experience with Nuke for CG compositing. However, this situation pushed me to think outside the box and find creative solutions, ultimately saving both time and effort for my team.

Simultaneously, I was also working on my paper about deep compositing, which provided a valuable opportunity for learning and experimentation. Initially, I encountered several misconceptions while working with deep data. However, through continuous exploration and hands-on experience, I was able to grasp the intricacies and achieve a smoother workflow with deep compositing.

For instance, I incorporated fire elements in the compositing stage, allowing us the flexibility to adjust the timing of the fire as needed.

Thank you for taking the time to explore my animation Rookies Entry. I sincerely hope you enjoyed the work I presented. I would greatly appreciate hearing your thoughts and feedback on it. Your input is valuable to me, so please feel free to share your impressions!

Link to my portfolio:

https://www.artstation.com/arvidvanthorre

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/arvid-van-thorre-762b00234/

Make sure to checkout DAE:

https://www.digitalartsandentertainment.be/