Production
There are many aspects to production for a 3D short film. The artists must build (model) the 3D sets, model and prepare the characters for animation (rigging), create textures for each of the models, animate the characters and props, light and render final images, composite the elements together, create sound effects, and record music. Each of these elements must be attended with special care in order to produce a quality short film. Below you can check out some of the production work for “What Remains.”
Modeling
Pete Molinero was responsible for the modeling needed for “What Remains.” In this stage of production the 3D sets and characters had to be built. Here are some examples of what the models looked like within the Maya interface.
Rigging
The rigging was tasked to Pete Molinero as well. Every animated object needed to be equipped with animatable controls so that the animator could work efficiently.
Animation
The animation for “What Remains” was done mainly by Joel Bullis and Drew Vosburg, with several shots contributed by Chad Bierdman and Jesse Nelson. In this part of production the animator takes the rigged props and characters and makes them move and act. Below you can see some animated scenes prior to rendering.
Matte Paintings
The large majority of the shots in “What Remains” feature matte paintings crafted by the project’s art director, Chad Bierdman. Each piece was painted carefully so that it would function correctly as a camera mapped texture.
Lighting
Jesse Nelson was responsible for the lighting. CG lighting is accomplished by placing many “lights” around the 3D scene and adjusting settings until you are satisfied with the result. Here is an example of the stages that one of our scenes went through.
Compositing
Drew Vosburg, Andrew Martin, and Jesse Nelson worked on compositing for this project. At this point the rendered images were combined, effects were added, and coloring tweaks were applied to each shot. Below is an example of the many layers in a single shot.