Margot Brun | 3D Generalist

Credits: 

My part: Modeling, Uvs, Texturing, Shading, Lookdev, FX, Lighting and Compositing  //  Frederic Dewit: Modeling, Uvs, Rig, Animation and FX 

The desire to build a big robot has always been very strong, so we (me and Frederic) set ourselves the challenge of creating two shots of our own Bumblebee. 

References

I started by taking a lot of references from existing Bumblebee products by ILM and interesting fan art. 

Modeling 

The modeling part was one of the longest. We were able to create over 4500 meshes. Placing the pieces took a long time as well, for the rig to function properly, the pieces had to be positioned carefully to avoid creating collisions visible on screen. However, this part was a lot of fun. Creating our own model with its unique piece designs was very enjoyable !

Here are some renderings of the final modeling :

For the second shot's environment, I modeled and recreated an environment to integrate our transformers. I opted for an industrial environment.

Texturing/ Shading/ Lookdev:

Here's the turntable and a few images of the texturing :

For shading, I created materials in physical mode to apply the correct IOR and values specific to each material. The lighting part was more artistic and enjoyable from the creative side !

Result Renderman

Compositing Nuke

For compositing, I played a lot with the glow to give it more life. I added 3 layers of very important glow to achieve a beautiful diffusion effect. And play a lot with my LPE.

This project was part of the ESMA program, and I chose to make a horror street. My main goal was to create a strong atmosphere. I love the tragic ambiance and story.

Here FX  (clouds by disney's artists), Maya simulation and Houdini test for the modeling :

Credits: 

My part : Concept, Modeling, Uvs, Texturing and Shading 's ship, Lookdev, Lighting, FX, Compositing // Frederic Dewit: Modeling, Uvs, Rig, FX and Animation // Romain Paillet : Modeling, Uvs, Texturing and Shading's Station

For the references, I wanted to create something original. The art direction that most influenced me and brought the most craziness to space was Guardians of the Galaxy. I like the idea to create a shot where physics isn't necessarily respected to the letter, but where creativity is played with! 

I opted for the idea of an evil ship returning to its base (in the form of a metal nest) after a battle.

References

We started with a bird-like model (transformer-type spaceship). You might say that birds can't fly in space ? Indeed, but it's an important artistic and aesthetic choice for our animation. It adds dynamism. Bird ships are rare. We aimed for something original ! For the station, we worked with models of old reactors that we reworked.

Modeling / Lookdev

The station (the nest): Designing the nest was quite challenging. Finding something both interesting and aggressive yet visually appealing was not straightforward. 

The Space Ship : For the spacecraft, we chose to create a rather complex bird in terms of modeling. The bird is not very common for a spacecraft, which is why we opted for this shape. 

I used a focal length of 100 for rendering the shot because space shots are often captured with a telephoto lens, allowing for long-distance visibility.

Lighting

I had to create our own High Dynamic Range Image to achieve the nebula environment we desired. I used Photoshop to create this HDRI. I found several beautiful photos of nebulae, retouched some of them, and created our 3D environment.

Compositing Nuke

The post-production in Nuke was quite lengthy. The background had to be created in 2D. The HDRI allowed me to capture interesting light variations that could match our future environment. Therefore, I created three folders: one for the background, a pre-comp (background and Renderman output compiler) and another comp with the entire setup up to the final output.

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Background : 

Final Compositing :

The final compositing was quite involved, addressing each detail such as the arrival of the spacecraft, lighting, background, etc. Finding the right mood and using beautiful and original images made the process challenging.

Here is a project that I really liked doing, a full CG head. I used texture xyz for albedo and displace. Mari for the displace projection and texturing (mix with Substance Painter). Rendering with Renderman.

References:

Mari Template for skin :

Credits:

My part : Concept, Modeling, Uvs, Texture and shading, Lighting, Lookdev, Compositing // Frederic Dewit: Modeling, Uvs, Rig, Animation and FX

The idea for the project came to us as a result of the desire to create an environment with a character. An opportunity to further explore our world and push our artistic direction. We have chosen the themes of horror and science fiction. The character will be a small mafia robot, and the environment will be a deserted street immersed in a strange atmosphere. 

References:

The main references for lighting and the overall ambiance were Caravaggio's paintings and the shots from Clint Eastwood's films, particularly the chiaroscuro technique. Chiaroscuro would give me the opportunity to add a dramatic and tragic aspect to the image. The atmospheric smoke in the environments of Blade Runner also greatly inspired me. Additionally, the highly artistic grading in John Wick, Stranger Things, and Peaky Blinders was complementary and influential.

Modeling

The modeling is realistic. I made the choice to create an unwelcoming Asian-style neighborhood. I added a lot of details for maximum realism.

Lookdev

For the look development of Jean Paul and the street, I chose to have a strong coherence between the two. The environment is very dilapidated and has a lot of graffiti. I wanted to do the same thing with the robot, so I covered it with lots of drawn tags, which brings authenticity to it within the environment as if it had always lived here. 

Lighting

The lighting was a very interesting part of this project. The narrative goal of this shot is to reveal the location, an establishing shot. The narrative aim is to set a mood and provide information about the place and the space where the character is located. Here, we aim to convey the tragic and dangerous aspect of the place. Chiaroscuro lighting is well-suited for this kind of intention. It directs the reading of the image and adds a certain aggressiveness in the highlights and shadows. Here, I've created a sharp diagonal lighting, immediately guiding the gaze towards the door and the moving character.

The red of the neons also plays an important role in capturing the viewer's attention. I opted for a blue and red bichromacy to highlight the blood and the science-fiction aspect.

Fx Part in Houdini

Final Compositing in Nuke

References

Here are the main references I used.

Modeling

For the modeling aspect, I stayed faithful to the references by blending various parts from different helmets that appealed to me, creating my own helmet with its unique identity. 

Lookdev

I chose to create a helmet using various types of materials such as paint, plastic, rubber, glass, etc. Metal and plastic pieces complement the helmet, making it more dynamic and intricate.

I add fur for added realism.

I used the Cave Academy scene to seamlessly integrate the helmet into a real space, creating a illusion. The compositing was finalized using Nuke (depth of field, color adjustments, grain).

Thank you for your attention, I hope you enjoy my work.  If you want to see more breakdowns go to renderfactorycgi.com !