PROLOGUE
There was upon a time where an event planning company from Switzerland was looking for an animator to create a one-minute piece based on a Fairy Tale theme. The problem was, they previously hired another contractor who accepted the project only to disappear without delivering any work, wasting precious time and with just 10 days to spare before the deadline.
Joined by my loyal workstation and armed with Cintiq 21ux drawing tablet I commited to face the challenge of delivering this epic animated story within 10 days.
THE PROCESS
I was able to design a novel workflow involving 3D software, hand painted skills and a little bit of Artificial Intelligence. I made the following proof of concept to describe my proposed workflow:
There was upon a time where an event planning company from Switzerland was looking for an animator to create a one-minute piece based on a Fairy Tale theme. The problem was, they previously hired another contractor who accepted the project only to disappear without delivering any work, wasting precious time and with just 10 days to spare before the deadline.
Joined by my loyal workstation and armed with Cintiq 21ux drawing tablet I commited to face the challenge of delivering this epic animated story within 10 days.
THE PROCESS
I was able to design a novel workflow involving 3D software, hand painted skills and a little bit of Artificial Intelligence. I made the following proof of concept to describe my proposed workflow:
Depending on the shot, I started by:
a) Doing the entire scene using 3D software, composited using After Effects
a) Doing the entire scene using 3D software, composited using After Effects
b) Using actual photos for repainting/customizing
c) Using actual pictures to be processed through my A.I. software, then added to 3D software as a multiplane sequence
(Above) After grabbing some coffee, I just walked to a local dress rental shop and took some pictures to fit the angle I had in mind. (It was late and the store was already closed) I then used photoshop to manually retouch and repaint the dress.
(Below) These are 3D models rendered straight from Maya (same software used by Disney) before being processed for a painterly look.
(Below) These are 3D models rendered straight from Maya (same software used by Disney) before being processed for a painterly look.
The castle, Knight, Dragon and horse were actual 3D models I converted to our painterly style by batch processing all frames through my AI software. You can see some animated sequences below.
EPILOGUE
After a very smooth workflow and minimal revisions the project was delivered on time and within budget. My client ended up really happy about the outcome; so we scheduled a second and a third project for me to work on.
After a very smooth workflow and minimal revisions the project was delivered on time and within budget. My client ended up really happy about the outcome; so we scheduled a second and a third project for me to work on.
Thank you!
