The 35th edition of the Bogotá International Book Fair (FILBO) was a resounding success, attracting over 600,000 visitors who flocked to the event to celebrate the world of books and literature. Lasting for a span of two weeks, FILBO provided a platform for authors, exhibitors, and enthusiasts to come together and engage in a wide range of cultural activities, including talks, workshops, training sessions, and book presentations. Among the participants was Reallusion, a leading provider of real-time creation and animation technology, in partnership with Libel Academy.
Reallusion’s presence at FILBO emphasized its commitment to the Latin American market and its dedication to fostering growth and innovation in the region’s digital art and animation sector.
Libel Academy, known for its comprehensive courses in digital art and animation, showcased its various Master Course packages during the event. These packages offered training on popular software such as Character Creator, iClone, ZBrush, Blender, and more. Attendees had the opportunity to explore the latest advancements in these technologies and gain valuable insights from experts in the field.
One of the highlights of the event was the presence of Certified Trainer – Luis Duarte from CGARTIFEX Studios, who presented the latest developments in Libel Academy’s ZBrush-Character Creator Reposing master course. Duarte provided live demonstrations, showcasing the power and versatility of these tools in creating lifelike and dynamic characters. His presentation drew considerable attention and enthusiasm from the audience.
Reallusion’s Director of Marketing, Enoc Burgos, was also actively involved in the event where he engaged in live, one-on-one interactions with attendees, including university students, educators, and even representatives from Colombia’s Police Authority. Reallusion’s Character Creator technology, integrated with Unreal Engine, has been employed by the police for virtual reality (VR) training. Cadets can now practice simulated encounters with the populace on virtual Colombian streets, enhancing their preparedness and decision-making skills in real-life scenarios.
Beyond the professional engagements, Reallusion’s participation in the event was also an occasion to connect with Hispanic fans. By being present at FILBO, Reallusion provided a unique opportunity to engage with the region’s enthusiasts and professionals in their own setting. This direct interaction fostered connections and opened doors for collaborations, enabling the company to better understand the needs and aspirations of its Latin American audience.
Moreover, Reallusion’s presence at FILBO underscored its commitment to the growth and development of the South American region. By showcasing their cutting-edge technologies and providing training opportunities, Reallusion and Libel Academy aimed to contribute to the advancement of digital art and animation in the continent. This dedication to fostering talent and nurturing creativity bodes well for the future of the industry in Latin America.
The 2023 FILBO proved to be an excellent opportunity for universities and educational institutes from all over Colombia. They were able to explore and experience the latest offerings from Libel Academy, including courses and software. This exposure allowed students and educators to stay at the forefront of digital art and animation, equipping them with the skills needed to excel in their respective fields.
In conclusion, Reallusion and Libel Academy’s participation in the 2023 International Book Fair in Bogota, provided a vibrant platform for professionals, students, and enthusiasts to explore the latest advancements in real-time creation and animation technology. Through live demonstrations, training sessions, and personal interactions, attendees had the opportunity to expand their knowledge, enhance their skills, and establish valuable connections thanks to the tremendous dedication and effort from the entire team at Libel Academy! Here is to the next show! 🥂
Born in Chicago, Libertas started out with a passion for filmmaking at an early age, and ever since he’s had the desire to tell grand and fantastical stories featuring brave heroes on epic quests in lush and vibrant worlds, much like his Assassin’s Creed-inspired micro-short film “Modern Assasin Training Session.”
Libertas admits to always dreaming bigger than his shoestring budget could afford. Even still, he loves creating characters and their costumes to see them come alive, especially in his YouTube short films. Outside of his day job as the Manager of Videography and sole 3D generalist at his company, he spends his free time, once again, dreaming big and crafting new characters, costumes, and props for his digital actors who are instrumental in bringing his epic stories to life for the audience community and not just himself.
My Experience and Honest Review
The Hand-to-Hand Combat motion pack contains sixty-eight motions across four categories, including “Sparring”, “Evade & Counter Attack”, “Takedown & Throws” and “Win or Lose”. These mocap animations are designed for fights in games or films. Each animation is paired with its corresponding reactionary animation, and these combine as short choreographed sequences of high-action stunts that are useful for any close-quarter hand-to-hand combat situations. There are several things that I like about this pack, mentioned below.
Erik Larson (Libertas Review) gives his opinion on Reallusion’s Hand-To-Hand Combat Pack
Paired-up motions
As already stated, each action is paired with a reaction. If you’ve ever looked for any interactive fighting animations from Mixamo or Rokoko Studio, you’ll know how difficult it can be to find matching mocap animations. You will typically find awesome attacking animations, but there are usually no corresponding defensive animations. If you do find one, odds are they are not in sync, and you’ll have to spend a lot of time modifying the animations to match them up. Since these animations are paired up, it makes it very easy to put the characters in visually stunning fight scenarios.
Easy to work with
Since these motions are paired up, they are extremely easy to work with. Typically, all I need to do is add my characters to the scene and then add the corresponding character animations. I positioned the secondary character to line up with the first contact point of the animation. I then drag the transform point for that secondary character back to the beginning, and just like that, my characters are interacting wonderfully. Most of the time that’s all I need to do. The only time I’ve seen this become an issue is if there’s a drastic height difference between my characters. It seems these character animations were recorded with actors of relatively the same height. So, if there is a height difference in your characters, the animations might not connect perfectly. But that’s an easy fix using iClone 8’s animation layers, or even easier with Reallusion’s Reach Target System. You can dial in the animations quickly with these tools, and be on your way.
High usability, diverse motions
Overall, these animations just look great, being that they are recorded with professional stunt actors. I feel like a lot of care went into providing a wide variety of animations that can be quickly applied, and give us good-looking choreographed sequences in no time. I also like how the fights are not completely one-sided in these animations. In most of the sequences, both characters are engaged in the fight; they both throw fight-ending punches and kicks upping the ante for the outcome. This makes it a lot more compelling for the action sequence and keeps the tension high throughout.
Tips & Tricks: What Magic is This?
The drawback of these animations for me is that they’re not all that stringable, and I find it challenging to flow from one fight sequence to the next to create longer choreographed sequences. If you want to overcome this problem and create stunning combat scenes, I have a few tips for you.
Add Expressions
Adding simple facial expressions to your characters makes your characters and actions come to life. I use the face key tool to quickly add changes to my timeline. If you want to use my trick on how to cut between the character’s transitions by focusing on one of the character’s expressions, I would recommend taking a look at the Digital Souls Pack from Reallusion.
Bring more tension to the film by adding facial expressions!
Use Wide Angle Lenses
Without getting into too much in-depth on the choice of lenses and camera angles, if you want to accentuate the action, I personally like to use wide angle lenses: either a 35-millimeter or 24-millimeter lens; and bring the camera closer to my characters. This will place the viewer closer to the action, but will also provide a wider field of view in order to get more of your character’s movements in the scene. However, wider-angle lenses can distort your characters. Having lower sweeping camera angles can also bring a more dynamic feel to your scene. So keep your camera moving and avoid static shots for more visual interest.
Animation speed
Last but not least, keep an eye out for your animation speed. These animations were recorded with a lot of speed and intensity, which is a good thing. But it can also work against you. Sometimes, it’s more important to slow down the motions, in order for the viewer to visually comprehend what’s going on. The best fight sequences tell a story in and of themselves. And sometimes, we need to slow things down in order to communicate that story and emotion to our audience. So when using these animations, be mindful that you may want to slow them down a bit to help communicate the motions better to the viewer. This can be done directly in iClone 8, or if you export them out to programs like Blender as I do, you will be able to do that in various ways with your favorite 3D software.
Lower your animation speed and let your audience better comprehend your story!
A Bigger Budget Positions the ActorCore Asset Store as the Premium Source for Mocap Animations with Wider Coverage and Higher Standards
ActorCore is the ultimate destination for 3D animators looking for exceptional mocap animations and rigged characters. With a strong commitment to excellence and being the leading provider for 3D creators, ActorCore places emphasis on diversity, authenticity, and craftsmanship with its offerings. Recently, the asset store has introduced a new line of 3D motion series inspired by Hollywood stunts and action choreography. While Reallusion, the maker of ActorCore, is actively seeking partnerships with outstanding mocap studios to join the ranks of asset creators and collaborate on developing distinct styles for various forms of entertainment, including games, films, and multimedia.
Extensive Assortments of All-Purpose Motions
To help industries overcome their unique challenges, ActorCore has expanded its offerings to cover 2,200 motions in 35 broad-spectrum themes. Whether it’s everyday city and home life, office scenarios, social events like shopping and parties, transportation and commuting, or profession-specific motions such as construction and hospitality, ActorCore has it all. By searching for keywords and tags, everyone can quickly and easily find the contents that fit their needs and satisfy their specific requirements.
Over 2,200 motions pertaining to 35 themes are available in the ActorCore 3D store.
Flamboyant Motions for Hollywood-Inspired Themes
The 3D store has recently introduced mocap animations specifically designed for action adventure movies and games. One of which is the “Run for Your Life” motion pack, featuring 68 sequences suitable for chaotic scenes often seen in disaster movies. Additionally, the “Parkour” pack offers 45 athletic and acrobatic moves, while the “Hand-to-Hand Combat” pack includes 68 moves perfect for intense, paired fight scenes. New motion packs are set to release later this year for other frenetic scenarios like street riots and bank heists, along with Disney cartoon animation and motions for unconventional creatures like apes and orcs.
Thematic motion packs provide action-adventure content for games and films.
ActorCore Mocap Animations Offer Incredible Value
Rarely found in online marketplaces, these exhilarating and risk-taking motions often require the expertise of hand-key artists. Even so, the time-consuming production process often falls short of expectations because editing natural and sophisticated motions by hand is substantially difficult.
Using motion capture, on the other hand, requires professional studios to be well-equipped with skilled staff capable of storyboarding, writing, a group of actors interacting, and stunt performance. Not to mention the auxiliary support required, like directing crews to capture vast amounts of motion data and experts to refine the captured results. An experienced staff may spend several days on a large site, utilizing various props and state-of-the-art equipment for capturing and recording. Such productions require substantial budgets and a peculiar blend of specialists to complete these ambitious projects. Yet, this is precisely why ActorCore stands out, as it provides access to these one-of-a-kind mocap data distilled into multi-functional and highly-adaptive prepackaged motions that can be applied with simple button clicks or drag-and-drops.
Real-life motions of professional stunt actors were captured with the highest standards.
Call Out to Top-Tier Motion Capture Studios
Reallusion is on a mission to provide the greatest selection, highest quality, and broadest range of content to its users. To achieve this goal, the company is inviting the finest motion capture studios to become a part of their asset development community and collaborate with them in creating the most captivating and visually stunning 3D motions for ActorCore. Join Reallusion today and be a part of the most exceptional 3D asset community available. To learn more about the ActorCore Partner Program, simply visit the website or contact marketing@reallusion.com for additional information.
It is common knowledge that in the videogame development industry, what is new today may be tradition tomorrow. This means that from the moment you start a project until you finish it, you have the need to keep evolving and improving both graphically and in terms of animations and character design. Adapting the work done to the latest innovations in software development and the new features they offer.
At the point of development that we were at when Reallusion launched iClone 8and Character Creator 4, it was for us an unprecedented step forward in the history of our studio; as far as character creation and animation is concerned. As originally we began work with the previous software iterations of Character Creator 3 and iClone 7.
We can really see a before and after in our project, once we have obtained the results of applying these improvements from Reallusion to our Lucidus Mortem project, which we initially introduced with the Pitch & Produce program.
A strong point for us has been the intelligent human skin colour function and the magnificent SkinGen Premium tool. Another strong point for us is the advanced controls for morphs and facial expressions. This combined with the eyes, mouth and lips have allowed us to significantly improve the design of our characters, being able to appreciate as we said: A before and after.
The possibility of importing any rigged character into Character Creator 4 and from there being able to characterize and transform it, and then exporting it to iClone 8 for facial and body animation, is extraordinarily useful.
iClone 8 comes into its own with all its power, to create realistic and effective animations; creating transitions that blend one sequence into another with rigorous accuracy. This is just the beginning, as later on we can perform an extra clean-up where we can trim and smooth the sequence of animations even further. The Curve Editor helps us in this in an extraordinary way. At this point, we want to highlight the new and magnificent illuminations included in the software; which allow us to check how the character looks immersed in different environments.
Being able to see the result in real time in the engine with Unreal LIVE LINK and the compatibility with the main MOCAP systems, make iClone an essential software for us.
In short, we are developing a very complex project and we are sure that with the new Reallusion tools our Lucidus Mortem will be born ready for the future. – Indigo Studios
Kay John Yim is a Chartered Architect at Spink Partners based in London. He has worked on a wide range of projects across the UK, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, including property development and landscape design. His work has been featured on Maxon, Artstation, CG Record and 80.LV.
Yim’s growing passion for crafting unbuilt architecture with technology has gradually driven himself to taking on the role of a CGI artist, delivering visuals that not only serve as client presentations but also as means of communication among the design and construction team. Since the 2021 COVID lockdown, he challenged himself to take courses in CG disciplines beyond architecture, and has since won more than a dozen CG competitions.
“Masquerade” tells a story of a girl with a concealed identity who enters an empty theater filled with statues. As the statues come to life, a mysterious gentleman joins her and they waltz to the rhythm of enchanted flames, lost in a world of magic and fantasy.
This project was my debut for a short CG film, allowing me to develop my skills in storyboarding while working with AccuRIG and motion capture data to create intricate character animations. It was also an opportunity for me to refine my lighting and rendering techniques. That being said, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Reallusion and GarageFarm for their sponsorship. Their support made this project possible.
Workflow Overview
The software and workflow I used throughout every stage of the project can be summarized as the following:
▪ Redshift > Neat Video (denoise) > After Effects (Heatwave) > Premiere (Magic Bullet Looks) > RIFE-App (interpolation)
1. MODELING
The scene consists of two spaces, the hallway and theater, designed and modeled in reference to the Louvre Palace and Opera Garnier theater respectively. While they are not complicated spaces in terms of architecture, the ornaments are highly detailed and could have easily resulted in extremely heavy models that caused render times to skyrocket. Because of this, optimization became a core tenet throughout the making of “Masquerade”.
The following iconic buildings served as references throughout the modeling process.
Using my past projects “Ballerina”, “The Magician”, and “The Gallery of the Great Battles” as the foundations, I recycled a lot of the ornaments that I had modeled for the Amalienburg hunting lodge in Munich. With the main architectural space blocked out, I then switch between Rhino and C4D, using the following Rhino commands and C4D functions for modeling:
Flow (Rhino): Conform objects to a specified curve, useful for accurately bending ornaments meshes to architraves, bullnose etc.
Flow Along Surface (Rhino): Conform objects from one surface to another, useful for accurately transferring ornaments on flat surfaces to curved counterparts, e.g., balcony balustrade.
Spline Wrap (C4D): Similar to Flow in Rhino but procedural, can not handle heavy meshes like Flow but extremely versatile for changing design.
Volume Builder + Volume Mesher + Quad Remesher (C4D): Useful for topologizing heavy meshes that require close-up details but need to maintain their 3D silhouettes.
Mirror Instance (C4D): I set my scene origin at (0,0,0), placed everything symmetrically under a null, instanced, then scaled the null’s X by -1, which mirrored it procedurally.
While I used a lot of my ornaments previously modeled in ZBrush and retopologized in C4D, I also used 3D ornaments from textures.com. I recycled meshes and used “Render Instances” within the project wherever possible to constrain file size.
Figure 1. Rhino time lapseFigure 2. C4D & Rhino time lapse
2. CHARACTER CREATION
The female character I used for this project was originally created in Character Creator for a short called “Ballerina”. I have since updated her using the integrated SkinGen library in CC4.1 and added an extended facial profile for animation in iClone 8.1.
My CG character workflow drastically sped up when I began to integrate CC4 with Redshift’s Random Walk Subsurface Scattering. Not only had CC4’s integrated SkinGen features allowed for faster procedural texturing, my overall workflow was simplified into a series of drag-and-drop processes with textures automatically exported with the FBX files.
The male lead ended up being a modified version of a default character in CC4.1. While the character creation process had become a lot easier in CC4, making convincing characters remained out of reach for me. I used the following websites as my go-to reference while adjusting character bone structures, facial silhouettes, and skin textures.
This site generates a non-existing person every time the page is refreshed.
This site provides a series of high-res portrait photos.
After creating the male and female leads, I exported both characters to iClone 8.1 for animation.
Figure 3. Face morph
Figure 4. CC4 extended facial profile & Digital Soul test – 1
Figure 5. CC4 extended facial profile & Digital Soul test – 2
3. AccuRIG in CHARACTER CREATOR 4
The statues played a huge role in setting the tone for the scene, in fact, the final theater model and shot framing were designed around the movement of the statues.
Figure 6. Theater clay render
AccuRIG in CC 4.1 lets inexperienced artists rig their models and turn them into animatable characters. For AccuRIG to work its magic, I had to first remove the skirt on the ballerina statue that would have interfered with the rigging procedure. I then reposed the statue into a t-pose using a combination of Cinema 4D (C4D) and Houdini.
Figure 7. CC AccuRIG preparationFigure 8. CC AccuRIG time lapse
For the animation, I used Edit Motion Layer to create three varied movements for use in my scene. I then exported the animated statues into Houdini, removed all of the body parts except for the sleeves, and imported them into Embergen for pyrotechnic simulation. Exporting the pyro VDBs from Embergen became an overnight process much like final rendering.
At the time of this writing, Embergen (v0.7.5.8) did not support VDB export at 24 fps, which would have been the preferred frame-rate for most of my projects, including “Masquerade”. I eventually uploaded the project to GarageFarm for final rendering, hence it was equally important to optimize the file sizes along with the render times. Exported VDB files can easily take up dozens of gigabytes of space (approximately 150 GB in total for the whole project). So, in order to reduce the total files size, I used Houdini’s Retime node to adjust the timing of the VDBs from 60 or 30 fps to 24 fps, which effectively reduced the total file size by 25%.
Figure 9. Embergen pyro simFigure 10. Retiming VDBs in Houdini
I then imported the animated Alembic files, FBXs, and simulated pyro VDBs into C4D. I used Constraints to bind the skirt back onto the FBX skeleton’s pelvis, which would transform according to the animation. Finally, I duplicated the statues into an array and offset every statue’s animation slightly to create a gradual rhythm to the animation.
Figure 11. Animated statue with pyro effect
4. CHARACTER ANIMATION
The character animations were created using a mix of Xsens motion capture data and ActorCore premade motions. For the entrance sequence, I first applied a looping “Cat Walk” cycle from the ActorCore motion library to the female lead. This gave me the foundation for animating the girl’s entry into the theater hall. I then animated her transformation by matching the pace of the walk cycle and using iClone 8.1’s Motion Correction feature to compensate for foot sliding. I continued to use Edit Motion Layer to add the head turn amid her cat walk and used features from “Digital Soul” to apply facial animations.
Figure 12. Catwalk
With the entrance sequence animation complete, I exported the animated character as an Alembic file to Houdini, where I removed intersecting body parts. Particularly, the arms which would have interfered with the cloth simulation in Marvelous Designer (MD).
Figure 13. Dress simulation
For the second half of the animation, I motion captured real-life actors in Xsens suits doing a “Cinderella” waltz and transitioned the animation data to a slow dance motion from Reallusion’s “Studio Mcap Series: Motion for Lovers”.
Figure 14. Motion-Capturing a Cinderella Waltz
With the Xsens raw data imported into iClone 8.1, I used “Digital Soul” to apply facial animations and locked the eyes of my actors on one another. I used Reach Target to correct the glitchy parts of the interactions and Edit Motion Layer to readjust the intersecting body parts wherever necessary.
Figure 15. Editing Motion Data in iClone 8 (mocap clean-up)Figure 16. Using ‘Reach Target’ feature in iClone 8
5. CLOTH SIMULATION
While C4D and Houdini have both made significant improvements in cloth simulation lately, I still find that Marvelous Designer offers a level of control, speed, and quality that surpasses every cloth simulation software I have tried. While realistic most of the time, MD’s simulation rarely gives the perfect result. Generally, I tinker with the Friction settings and Simulation Quality in face of the minor glitches I encountered along the way. I then export various versions of the simulation into Houdini and use Blendshape to blend them together.
Figure 17. Dance dress simulationFigure 18. Tux simulationFigure 19. Adjusting blendshapes in HoudiniFigure 20. Dance animation after mocap clean-up
To add some mystery to the protagonist, I had her wear a cloak at the opening sequence, which gradually vanishes and reveals the character’s 3D face and dress. This was created using C4D’s PolyFX with an improved setup carried over from a previous project of mine called “Kagura”.
Speaking again of the entrance sequence, I used iClone’s camera in combination with C4D Camera Morph to precisely control the tracking camera. At first, I set up a camera in iClone 8.1 and aimed it toward the female lead’s eyes. This created the illusion of the character looking into the camera and breaking the fourth wall. I then exported the camera as an FBX file for use in C4D. Then I positioned a total of four cameras around the entrance and used Camera Morph to smoothly transition among the four cameras.
Figure 23. Camera animation
With the character in place, I played the sequence repeatedly and added three extra cameras along her walking path, with two cameras eventually passing her and switching their focus toward the statues in the theater. The final Camera Morph is controlled and timed with Greyscalegorilla’s “Signal” plugin, which allowed me to use a curve (rather than keys) to control the timing of the camera transitions. For the dance sequence, I used Align to Spline with a circle spline centered on the characters to create a consistent and controlled framing of the characters, as if they were filmed with actual cameras attached to dolly tracks.
Figure 24. Dance in the assembled scene
I kept the lighting setup as simple as possible, using the RS Sun and chandeliers as the primary sources of light and pyro VDBs as the secondary source of illumination. I added a RS Environment driven by a Maxon Noise shader to add an additional layer of atmosphere to the final render. I also kept the materials simple, using only five materials in total to maintain a distinguishable color palette.
Since version 3.5.06, Redshift’s updated Random Walk SSS has provided more realistic SSS models without sacrificing render speed. It simplifies the setup of skin materials and produces better results under a variety of lighting conditions. Prior to this update, Redshift’s ray-traced SSS required multiple texture layers and manual adjustments to create realistic skin materials, which was a time-consuming process that required constant adjustments on animation sequences with significant light changes. While Arnold Renderer has offered Random Walk SSS for some time, Redshift’s implementation has made it much more efficient and practical for use in animation.
For the Subsurface settings of the characters’ skin materials, I used the Skin Diffuse map from CC 4.1 as the color and set Radius to a salmon color (similar to the color one’s dermis when viewed under direct illumination). I set Scale to 0.1 to represent the thickness of the skin, and used Random Walk mode with Include Mode set to “All Objects”.
Figure 25. Redshift skin material graph
As for the look of the fire, I aimed for a more fantastical and smokeless appearance. To ensure that the colors and movements of the fire would match the lighting and color palette of the rest of the animation, I dedicated a lot of time at the start of the project to test different render and pyro simulation settings.
Figure 26. Fire dress test
7. RENDERING
At the time of writing, there was a persistent NVIDIA driver issue (a VRAM memory allocation bug) that consistently caused Redshift to crash on long sequence renders. This issue was widely discussed on Redshift’s Facebook group and official forum. Some 3D artists found that downgrading their NVIDIA drivers to 462.59 worked well, but the only fix that worked for me was to disable half of my GPUs for renderings (two out of four in my case).
The scene for Masquerade was one of the heaviest among all the animation projects I have done — the architectural model alone totalled 4 GBs, while the entire scene (including VDBs, textures, characters, cloth simulations) totalled over 500 GBs. To optimize render times, I converted all static objects, including Matrix objects, into Redshift proxies by groups. For example, ceiling as one proxy and walls as another. This drastically reduced the loading times for geometry during final renders. While I used to shy away from using Redshift proxies for animations due to render farm limitations, I have had the pleasure of using GarageFarm, which fully supports Redshift proxies as long as the proxy material properties are set to “Materials from Object” or “Materials from Scene (Match name and prefix)”.
Aside from its support for Redshift proxies, working with GarageFarm was one of the best experiences I have ever had using a render farm. The 24/7 support from the GarageFarm team was invaluable and they were always available to answer any questions I had. One of the standout features of GarageFarm was the flexibility it offered when it came to rendering. The ability to render single images in strips and having three levels of priorities for rendering jobs allowed me to easily manage my budget and render times. I would highly recommend GarageFarm to anyone looking for a user-friendly and reliable renderfarm solution for their CGI animation projects.
For the final rendering, every shot was saved individually as one project, which included the following:
Static geometry as RS Proxies, for architecture and furniture.
Matrix Objects as RS Proxies, for flower petals scattered across the ground and in the air.
Characters and animated garments in Alembic format
Simulated pyro in VDB format
I experimented with multiple techniques for further optimization and found the following four to have the most drastic reduction in render times:
Deleting everything outside the camera: I created unique scenes for every shot such that each scene only contained what was visible to the camera. This significantly reduced my final render times by up to 80%, especially for the statue close-up shots.
Turning off motion blur for Matrix/Cloner objects with RS Object tags
Keeping render samples low. I kept mine at the default, with Automatic Sampling set to a threshold of 0.03 and denoising with Neat Video in post-processing
Rendering only every other frame and using “RIFE-App” to interpolate frames.
Note:
Technique 3 resulted in relatively noisy renders, which I then imported as sequences into Premiere Pro and used Neat Video 5 for denoising. I left most of the Neat Video settings at their default and “automatic” values, but it’s important that you right-click on the Premiere Pro viewport and make sure the Playback Resolution is set to “Full”. This ensures that Neat Video samples the final renders at full resolution. The Neat Video user interface is easy to navigate, but I recommend checking out their official tutorials to get the most out of the software. Technique 4 worked for the first half of this particular project, but did not work for some of my other projects. Make sure to do test renders before proceeding with the final renders.
Figure 27. Premiere “Playback Resolution”Figure 28. Neat Video
For the final touches, I used Red Giant Universe Heatwave in After Effects to add heat distortions to the fire. I also used Magic Bullet Looks in Premiere for color correcting, adding chromatic aberration, and film grain. The resulting effects were reminiscent of movies filmed with detuned 70s lenses, adding a layer of nostalgia and enigma to the final aesthetics.
Figure 29. Applying Heatwave effectFigure 30. Magic Bullet LooksFigure 31. Raw renderFigure 32. Final still with heat distortion & Magic Bullet Looks
Conclusion
In conclusion, the creation of project “Masquerade” was a challenging but rewarding journey of self-learning and artistic exploration. The process of bringing this character animation project to life allowed me to develop my skills in storyboarding, character design, character animation and rendering.
This project was created amid the rise of text-to-image artificial intelligence (AI) systems, which have the potential to disrupt the field of visual arts and threaten the livelihood of artists. While these technologies offer new possibilities for automation and efficiency, they also raise important questions about the role of creativity and human expression in an increasingly automated world. In the face of these challenges, I believe that it is more important than ever to celebrate and support the work of artists and creators.
By sharing my own process and insights through this article, I hope to inspire others to pursue their own artistic endeavors and to value the unique perspectives and talents of human artists. Despite the advances of AI, we must remember that it is through the passion and dedication of artists like ourselves that the world can continue to be enriched by the beauty and complexity of human creativity.
Anita Bell is an award-winning writer with a diverse portfolio that includes science fiction, fantasy, children’s adventure, and crime comedy. Her exceptional talent in the business and investing genre has led to her authoring three of the top 10 best-selling business books in the past decade in Australia and New Zealand. Currently, Anita is focused on pitching for grants with the assistance of Cartoon Animator and iClone. She brings a unique perspective to the art of presentation with her ability to incorporate stunning 3D/2D animations and motion graphics, resulting in a “WOW” factor that captivates audiences. She has the following to say about visual storytelling and Reallusion products:
“At first I wanted to produce some of my short stories visually, but after a decade as a guest speaker at schools, uni’s, and libraries; after meeting so many amazing and inspiring people, I’m enjoying the fresh energy in helping others to share their stories as well.”
With the help of Cartoon Animator and iClone, I was able to achieve professional and efficient results in 2D animation, despite having no prior studies in film or animation. After breaking my hip in an accident involving a neighbor’s bull on our farm, I spent several months learning animation techniques with free tools and tutorials. To build my portfolio, I offered one-minute talking animations to local businesses and charities, which helped me kick-start my sample reels for funding applications. Now, I’m excited to have a full schedule of corporate and educational projects booked up to two years in advance!
5 Crucial Advice for Beginners
Tip #1: Use KISS principle (Keep it short and simple)
When submitting your 2D animation pitches and written support documents to fund providers, keep in mind that they are often very busy. Avoid wasting their time and potentially insulting their intelligence with unnecessary repetition.
Tip #2: Have impression points
Have a clear understanding of the amount of funding you require and make sure your pitch is concise, engaging, and full of energy. Be strategic with your words, leaving your audience captivated and eager to invest in your vision.
Tip #3: Set up your keywords
On this tip, Anita says “You know why. So do it. And don’t skimp”. After watching her video, the interviewer requested her to provide 3 to 5 keywords that would help readers discover this article, suggesting relevant terms like “vector animation”, “secondary animation”, “lip sync animation”, or “face animation”. To which Anita laughed and candidly replied:
“Oh dear, perhaps I should respectfully decline to use such keyword terms as; vector animation, secondary animation, lip sync animation or face animation in any of my replies here, because;
a) I’m still having a bad hair day, as shown by the naughty little sub-title character in the video, and…
b) I already SHOW everything I needed to mention about those terms INSIDE the video.
And one of the Top Rules as a Writer is “Show, don’t Tell”. So you won’t see me mention any such terms as; vector animation, secondary animation, lip sync animation or face animation ANYWHERE in my replies to your questions for this article.
Just tie your readers to a chair and make them watch the dang video.”
The interviewer was amused and lacked a witty comeback.
Tip #4: Brainstorm your ideas
Anita says “Most folks make the big mistake of brainstorming why THEY want grant funding for their 2D Animations.” Spoiler alert: by just one minor — or major — detail, they are wrong!
Instead, she suggests researching why the grant providers are offering such significant funding and brainstorming what they may want to see based on the themes and “intellectual flavors” of projects they have previously supported. That is, she puts the emphasis on the needs of the grant providers rather than the seekers.
“Refocus on brainstorming how you can help THEM to achieve THEIR goals for THEIR money, and benefitting the widest numbers of THEIR target viewers and communities, by using your skills and networking contacts.”
Tip #5: Enhance with 3 key features
On adding “punch” and “WOW factor” to your pitches, Anita recommends using subtle professional touches like spring dynamics, free-form deformations, and scalable vector graphics. In keeping with her jovial deposition, she ends by saying “Oh, and maybe also some healthy helpings of vector animation, secondary action animation, lip sync animation, and face animation, if that wasn’t already obvious. LOL.”
Hi there, my name is Jasper Hesseling and I’ve been working as a solo 3D artist for over 15 years. I’m based in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and I go by the name “Mayonnaise”. Why Mayonnaise? Well, it’s partly because of my Dutch roots – it’s a very popular sauce here – but also because I often feel like I’m creating the “visual sauce” for concepts and ideas. As an all-around 3D artist, I understand how to leverage the advantages of each 3D tool and assemble them into the ideal character animation pipeline. My background is actually in motion graphics, but I transitioned to 3D art and animation because that’s where my passion lies.
Some of you have already seen my winning entry Jessica Rabbit in the previous lip sync animation contest, and I demonstrated how I did it with an article post. Jessica was a pure iClone render project. But since Reallusion announced the Auto Setup plugin for Unity, I decided to give it a go and created this Lynn project. See why I created this project and how I combine my workflow with the Reallusion pipeline below.
Why I chose Reallusion Software
In the past, I’ve been working with a lot of characters that were customized by myself. It’s nice, but I don’t always have the time to create everything needed for a functional face rig, let alone the rig itself with all that extra facial functionality, like facial mocap and retargeting options. But with my previous experience, I know Character Creator and iClone will be my solution for this.
So I quickly started concepting and customizing the secret agent character, Lynn, for this project. The whole Lynn character is based on CC4-based mesh, and I made the outfits from scratch in Marvelous Designer. After doing a retopology and uv layout I made the textures in Substance Painter. I wanted her to have some recognizable items, so that is where the NIKE’s came in. And the rest of the items, I borrowed a bit from one of my favorite animator series: ARCHER.
Inspiration from My favorite animator series: ARCHER!Shoe design for LynnCreating materials for Lynn’s entire outfit and later import to Character Creator
Q: Hi, Jasper! Thank you for the wonderful project background introduction. You have both experiences in Unreal and Unity. Can you briefly share your experience with both engines, and tell us why you chose Unity for this project?
I love 3D animation and graphics as a medium to express my creativity. What I don’t like is waiting on renders. This is why I am always on the lookout for real-time rendering solutions. With this in mind, I am exploring the possibilities of both Unreal Engine and Unity3d.
While I find Unreal to be an interesting option, Unity’s open setup and forgiving nature appeal to me more. Though I must admit, if serious ways to compile errors are required, Unreal may be the better choice. As for my expertise, I’m not an expert in those areas. That being said, after seeing the HDRP render, I couldn’t resist diving into it once again.
After seeing what people like Sakura Rabbit and Little Mountain could get out of Unity, I wanted to see what I can achieve with the HDRP engine. So I chose Unity for this project and decided to push myself further for high-quality visuals.
Lynn in Unity HDRP Environment
Q: So after selecting Unity, can you tell us more about your findings in Unity HDRP, and how it can be incorporated with the Reallusion Auto Setup Plugin?
I was very impressed with the render results of the HDRP engine in Unity. The Reallusion Auto Setup Plugin was a huge time-saver in setting up characters in Unity with all the rig and shaders you need in the HDRP environment. Especially it makes a very realistic display of Digital Human Hair, Eyes, Skin, and Teeth almost without any tweaks.
Use the built-in Preview Tools for expression check
Another fascinating feature that I found is the built-in preview tools. Once the shaders are automatically assigned to Unity, I can use it and quickly apply different looks and expressions on Lynn, and immediately see the facial expression animation results under the Unity environment. This is another time-saving feature on lookdev tasks, allowing me to focus more on the creative process.
During production, I also looked into Victor Soupday’s Reallusion forum post. Victor is the original designer of the CC to Unity AutoSetup tool, and he helped me greatly when I bumped into some technical issues. His insights have assisted me to fix a few errors on the go, too.
Q: Can you talk about your character animation workflow in the Parkour Pack?
I started out with a rough blocking animation in Cascadeur and imported that into iClone. In iClone, I polished the animation and added extra details like hand and finger animation as well as facial expression animation.
Bringing all the animated data in iClone
I could also place constraints for when the character makes contact with the environment like the jump over the railing. With the motions available in theParkour Pack I could really expand on the animation and the last part is totally created with motions from that same pack. I also found the review made from Libertas videos helpful, and suggest you can also dive into that review and take a look.
Up to 45 parkour motions in this Parkour PackLynn on parkour action
“This iClone-to-Unity pipeline is a feast to work with, and I feel really liberated as a solo creative.And I see only more possibilities on the horizon.”
-Jasper Hesseling, Freelance 3D Artist
Q: In your opinion, can you share with us how your workflow can inspire Unity game Developers?
I believe that with this workflow with characters from iClone or CC4 Unity, developers have better access to awesome character models and animation for their games. Since there is a lot of detail in the models, character animation in cutscenes could add to the storytelling of any game. And below is the materials that we need to collect to decorate your story. We’ve done this before so we can be a bit more creative with the materials!
Katherine Dellimore is a 2D digital animator from the UK who specializes in making animated videos and tutorials on YouTube. Many of her followers know her as “KDSKETCH” or “KD” for short. Her YouTube channel focuses on the creation of 2D animation while she elaborates on the process of character design, storyboarding, and various tips for aspiring animators.
Katherine is no stranger to Cartoon Animator (CTA), having experimented with CTA 4 back in 2019. Among her videos, two tutorials stand out the most to us: one introduces CTA’s newer and more advanced features — with lip-sync topping her favorites — and the other demonstrates the use of mocap plugins for creating motion capture animation. She continues to release new tutorial videos regularly, including a recent one highlighting the latest features in version 5, especially vector animation.
Adding Secondary Motion with Spring Bones
In this video, KD demonstrates the benefits of incorporating spring dynamics in 2D character animation to bring objects to life. Using Affinity Designer, she creates a wolf-themed cellular kite with cylindrical sails strung together and rigs the connected sections of the kite with spring bones to make them ripple midair. KD then applies the same concept to human characters with varying hairstyles and bone structures, by adding spring bones to their rigs. The result is a mesmerizing animation that takes characters and props from ordinary to extraordinary, using the quick-and-easy presets in Cartoon Animator.
(Setup different groups of spring bones on a character)
(Adjust spring editor settings for different hairstyles)
KD is known for her meticulous attention to detail and her ability to convey software features and tips in a way that is easy to understand. If you’re an aspiring animator, this video is a must-watch, and stay tuned for more tutorials, including an exciting one on Free Form Deformation!
Greetings, my fellow 2D animation enthusiasts! I’m Nathan Smith, a member of Studio Ghibletz. Today, we’ll take a behind-the-scenes look at Anomaly Karen, the latest “Stu Jibby” production, and offer insights regarding how you can raise the production value of your own projects while taking advantage of the latest vector workflow in Cartoon Animator 5.
Most shows we watch nowadays switch camera angles frequently to bolster storytelling. Here at Ghibletz, we believe that camera work is the core component for achieving high production value in 2D animation. Each scene ought to include three basic camera angles to switch between while editing to give the scene more depth and immersion.
Ever since Rick Lander joined our team, he has been instrumental in incorporating multiple camera angles into every project he has touched. Not only that, he has also mentored us on how to translate real-world camera angles into 2D animation. But, we quickly encountered a problem inherent in the flat world of drawings. That is, rigged characters limit the shooting to a small range of possible camera angles and positions. For example, zoom far enough into a character and pixelation will appear. That’s why we’ve changed things up with Anomaly Karen, where we deployed characters made with vector graphics instead.
As one of CTA5’s latest features, vector animation lets animators create characters with SVG elements. Ghibletz, brought Zorby and Galaxtar to life in CTA5 using the Adobe Illustrator pipeline. By using vector characters, we were able to shoot closeups without losing a single pixel of detail.
Easy Lip-Sync Animation for Witty Dialogue
At “Stu Jibby”, we take pride in our scripts and witty dialogue. To bring these scripts to life, we use CTA 5’s automatic lip-sync tool. Without it, lip-sync animation would remain a daunting and arduous task, especially for animated episodes of Anomaly Karen that are completely comprised of dialogue.
We start by importing the WAV file and then we manually adjust the lip-sync. Personally, I like to remove some of the lip movement added by the auto sync tool. I feel this gives the characters a smoother, more natural-looking lip sync. This is also an area where you raise production value and save money at the same time. If you design your characters cleverly, you can recycle lip poses. Our characters, Karen, Zorby, and Galaxtar all use the same mouths for instance. And we recycle this same lip sync system for Mouse Bros characters, Richard, Duncan, and scientist.
Color Grouping for Faster Color Variations
Color grouping proved to be an invaluable tool during the production of Anomaly Karen. It gave us a “two for the price of one” deal with Galaxtar and Zorby as we have designed them with similar features to take advantage of this tool.
For the two characters, Jop had only needed to rig one character. From there, I used color grouping to change the skin tones and eye color, then I exchanged one sprite to give them different clothing. I ripped the eyebrows off of Zorby and — BOOM! Galaxtar was born. Color grouping gives a lot of bang for your buck when it’s used to create multiple characters from a single set of assets.
Identifying Important Details to Animate for Staging
For the first four clips of Anomaly Karen, not much happens: You see Karen in her car, the restaurant, a different angle of Karen in her car, and the restaurant again. In the last clip of the restaurant, however, a letter falls off the sign for comedic effect. We could have added loads of details to that scene like a group of children walking by, grass blowing in the wind, and a flock of birds for instance. Instead, we chose to animate a single letter falling off the sign.
But, why?
With full-fledged software like Cartoon Animator, it’s tempting to over-animate a scene. But that’s something that animators should resist because it’s so easy to populate a background with movement, making it overcrowded with activity. An abundance of details is distracting to viewers. Instead, one should practice the principle of staging.
Staging is the setting up of a scene with a purpose. Don’t just add details will-nilly — Just because one can add a tumbleweed or two with a few clicks, doesn’t mean one should. Identify which details are needed to tell your story, then use these details to draw the viewer’s attention to the important plot points. A well-staged scene instantly tells the viewer what is happening, why, and how.
Applying Secondary Motion with Spring Bones
Animated characters in CTA 5 can be brought to life with secondary motions by using spring bones. In my opinion, spring bones are a game-changer. They have the ability to instantly raise the production value of a scene. However, be sure to use them selectively as any technique becomes distracting when overused. For example, Zorby and Galaxtar only have one spring bone for each character, as that’s all is needed to properly apply secondary motion to the antennae on top of their heads.
Using Secondary Motion to Improve Character Turns
At Studio Ghibletz, we dream of pushing rigged characters further than they’ve ever gone. Ultimately, our goal is to use puppet animation to produce net-work quality content. Part of this goal includes perfecting character turns.
Turning a rigged 2D character is a sticky business. Sure, you can switch between angles but ends up looking choppy and cheap. While producing Anomaly Karen, we realized that we could smooth out a turn by applying spring bones. In the episode, Zorby and Galaxtar turn twice. Once, they are abruptly flipped, and for the second time, Galaxtar turns his whole body. The spring bones on their antennae help to smooth out these turns. Essentially, spring bones trick the viewer’s eye into thinking the turn is more fleshed out.
And this is just the beginning! As I write, Rick and Jope are tinkering with iClone to perfect a new technique to create even smoother character rotations. By using a combination of spring bones, intermediate angles, and 3D source files, we hope to develop an entirely new technique for turning characters in CTA 5… but, that’s a story for our next production.
Thanks so much for taking the time out to read this behind-the-scenes article on Anomaly Karen. If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to Studio Ghibletz’s YouTube channel so you never miss any of our exciting content.
