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Rolling Backdrops for Short Scenes

Backdrops were a boon to early theatre starting with static painted backdrops and then moving onto the rolling backdrops for early movies that simulated movement, generally while driving, that allowed the automobile or plane cockpit and actors to remain stationary while performing or filming.

Backdrops are certainly nothing new, having been used in film and television since its early years. The usage was very prevalent in the United States black and white TV era with police serials and early superhero TV shows. It’s been a running gag since its inception with outtakes of actors exiting “moving cars” on a soundstage setup.

This technique, though ancient in terms of visual effects, is still used in modern production. The old-school backdrops are giving way to digital work environments that can project any world, stationery or animated into the background of a production. The Mandalorian is a prime example of using digital background screens on stage as the modern equivalent of the painted theatrical backdrop or green screening (chroma keying).

BACKDROPS IN iCLONE

Backdrops are also possible in iClone. We just don’t use that terminology. With proper camera positioning and lighting, we can use a video backdrop in iClone either as the workspace background or on a plane (a genuine backdrop in this case) for more control over the look of the video. These shots are generally limited in time, usually one minute to as short as fifteen seconds. Generally used as filler or transitional shots.

The main point of using this type of backdrop in a digital workspace like iClone is to convey a more complex scene than is actually being animated. This saves on computing resources while combining to make the scene much more cinematic. Video games have long used static backgrounds to push the scene past the 3D assets used in the foreground.

We can create a landscape, city, or other scene in iClone just for the background. Video and images rendered from that scene can be used as the backdrop for a master scene with props up close to the camera.  Adding in the element of a moving, animated background can make a scene seem much more in-depth and alive.

In this first instance, the rolling backdrop was made in Unreal Engine, but you can make them iClone too, it just depends on what fits your needs or your tools.  

A large-scale landscape was set up in Unreal Engine. I then used a cinematic camera running parallel to the hills and mesa in the background. Scene lighting was also done in Unreal as well as atmospheric composition (fog, clouds, etc.). This was rendered as a video and then used as the background in the iClone project.

This iClone project itself couldn’t be any simpler. This is beginner-level animation. The only thing moving will be the steering wheel and the actor. The steering wheel will drive the arms via Reach Target dummies.

CREATING THE SCENE

In this case, we can set up the scene in iClone and then drag and drop the video onto the background, particularly if the video slows your computer down during playback. If your computer can handle the video then drag and drop it onto the workspace background at any time.

From here we will need at least one character for the driver and some type of automobile. Preferably with moving wheels that can be animated if you want to show them in the camera shot. This shot is a great example of how simple or how complicated you want iClone to be. A closeup camera angle will eliminate the need for animating the wheels or you can pull the camera back to show more of the vehicle.

STEP 1:   Link the driver to the vehicle in a sitting position with legs extending out but not through the vehicle body in case you want to do a wider shot.

Character linked to the vehicle in a sitting position.

STEP 2:  Use Reach Target Dummies to position the hands on the steering wheel.

STEP 3: Animate the steering wheel by moving down the timeline and stopping at different intervals while slightly rotating the steering wheel back and forth to simulate driving. This creates keyframes in the timeline. After you do a few of these keyframes you can then copy those frames and paste them repeated down the timeline at varying intervals.

Note the position of the hands on the wheel and on the timeline. You can also see the repeating copy and pasted keyframes.
As in the preceding image, note the position of the hands and the keyframe on the timeline.

OPTIONAL STEP

Just as we did with the steering wheel, with the vehicle selected you can move up and down the timeline at varying intervals moving the vehicle up and down to simulate a rough ride. I have exaggerated the movement somewhat so you might want to be more subtle with your movements. We want a rough ride, not a rollercoaster.

It helps to blend the sharpness of iClone with the different look from the background video. The simplest way is as old school as it gets and still works… a colored image overlay like brown, blue or whatever matches the scene, setting the image to low opacity.

This is the epitome of quick and dirty, but it used to be a major method of toning down contrasts between assets, like a dull background and a bright foreground before digital color matching became a thing. If you don’t happen to have color-matching software or something like After Effects or Hitfilm you can use this method. It helps to knock down the contrast between differing elements such as the video backdrop and the foreground objects since an image layer is first in the composition.

A view of the Image Layer which also frames the shot.

A short, animated GIF demonstration of the final output using this simple backdrop method:

CREATING BACKDROP IN iCLONE

As I mentioned earlier you can also create rolling backgrounds in iClone to be used in the same backdrop method as above. Layout a landscape scene and use a dummy and camera combo or just a camera to roll along the landscape from left to right or right to left. In the early days of iClone 7, I created a tutorial that showed just how to create such a rolling background with a dummy and a camera. It still works in iClone 8 and provides a more thorough step-by-step guide.

Why use the dummy when I could just animate a camera? For me it’s habit and it gives me a much larger visual reference for the camera movement when I am looking at the scene from a long distance during set up.

iClone 7 tutorial explaining how to create a rolling background in iClone. You can then render the video out for use as the background or backdrop.

I also mentioned another method, using a plane instead of the workspace background. This achieves the same result but gives a little more control over placement of the backdrop in relation to foreground props.

Right Click, note that is RIGHT-CLICK not left-click the video when dragging and dropping to get this menu:

This right click method can also be used for images as well as videos. After this just resize and position the plane to your needs.

Left: Using image plane instead of workspace background. Right: Framed shot from camera in left image.

This gives us control over opacity, self-illumination and diffuse color that otherwise would not be available if we used it as the workspace background.

SUMMARY

While these are all beginner-level techniques, they still go a long way to getting the job done in the right circumstances. Using backdrops adds more eye candy without bringing your computer to a standstill or slugging along making edits difficult. It makes the scene more complex and interesting to the viewer when used properly. Lighting and blending go a long ways toward making various 3D elements blend together in a more seamless manner.

I hope this helps!



USING IMAGES TUTORIAL

There is another iClone 7 tutorial that still holds true today about using images, image layers, and image planes in general with iClone to produce a more robust filler scene with little overhead. It’s worth a look if you aren’t familiar with the technique and the video also has other helpful tips that you can use on other projects. I will be adding more up-to-date tutorials for future articles but for now, this will explain the concept of images in a more detailed manner.

A Look at the Headshot 2 Mesh Feature

Some of you reading this already know about the power of Character Creator and how it’s improved over time with more features and tools. There are many new users joining our ranks that are not quite sure just what Character Creator is, so for them, I’ll start with a little overview then we will move onto the Headshot 2 Mesh feature that allows anyone to put a custom head on a functioning Character Creator body.

When I first got into creating 3D assets, with Studio Max as it was known then, I purposely avoided creating a particular asset. A 3D mesh character. It wasn’t the making of the mesh that I didn’t like. Rather it was the extensive skinning of the mesh to the bone structure that could consume a day or two very easily with most of that spent on the fingers and other smaller joints.

Anyone who has rigged (skinned) a 3D skeleton knows just how time-consuming it can be and what a creative buzz kill it is. I could turn out a lot of props in the same time it took to skin a character.   Even skinned props were much easier unless they had a lot of small bones.

BACKGROUND: Character Creation

Back in the early days rigging was a term used to set up a character with a control panel for animators. Each moving part had to be wired to a panel with controls created out of splines. That wasn’t a bad job compared to skinning but that is how complicated animation used to be. Now rigging has become synonymous with skinning so don’t be confused if you see the terms used in different ways at different times. Control panels have fallen out of favor with modern tools so rigging means skinning to a lot of creators.

To give you an idea of what it was like to create a character 10 to 15 years ago, at least in my pipeline, you have to imagine a long process, days and at times a couple of weeks just to get a character created, rigged, reviewed, and revised to meet the needs of the animators. First was the concept art drawn by a fine artist which was then turned into a T-Posed character mesh. This was sent upline for approval and was revised through a process that eventually created a working character.

After this, at least in my case, the skinned mesh was sent to a texture artist with UVs mapped out. Sometimes the artist would map their own UVs, but it was another layer of the process in the making of a character and turned out some stunning work in the final product. Specialists ruled the day back then completely different than today’s Generalist approach to work where we do just about everything instead of a production pipeline of artists.

I’ve told you all this just to get to this point:

Character Creator 4 does all this work for you.

If you are not new to Character Creator, then you already know the power of the tool but if you are a new user just getting a first look there are some things you need to know. You are provided with male and female base meshes skinned and ready to go. These can be used as a base model to export out in FBX or OBJ to the clothing maker of your choice like Marvelous Designer. The clothes you make are then imported into Character Creator and skinned with a few clicks. It doesn’t have to be a head mesh. You can extract or cut the head off an existing mesh and use the process to transfer it to a working CC character.

ZBrush GoZ is also integrated into Character Creator allowing for a seamless transfer of the base mesh to and from ZBrush. This allows us to harness the power of one of the most creative tools in the industry to re-sculpt the base mesh to fit our needs. You can also create clothing and accessories in ZBrush as well as paint the textures. All this without exporting and importing and these are just a few of the great tools and features available in Character Creator 4.

Making characters is now a pleasant experience with Reallusion taking out the manual skinning. You can still tweak the automatic rigging results with yet another skinning tool that gives bone-by-bone access.

We can all be character developers now. We can use our own concept art, use third-party sources or whatever pops into our head to make unique characters to use in production or sell in the Reallusion Marketplace. In today’s world, with expenses growing, you can leverage your character-creating skills with an extra income stream from the marketplace and you can include props too. So Reallusion isn’t just giving us an opportunity to make our own characters for storytelling but they are providing a method of future income for those that choose to sell assets in the Marketplace.

GETTING STARTED – The Cat Burglar

Headshot plug-in version 1 focused on image-to-head technology. Version 2 adds a new mesh tool to the mix that works like a head wrapper that transforms the base mesh shape into the imported head mesh. While the image tool in Headshot is still a go-to tool, the new mesh feature takes the plug-in to another level. In our first example, I downloaded a cat’s head model from Sketchfab by nonlly. After dragging and dropping the head mesh into the Character Creator 4 workspace I centered it in the viewport and started the Headshot mesh plug-in process by clicking the Mesh, Start Head Generation buttons. I had my head meshes already textured before starting this process and bringing them into CC4 Headshot 2.

“Imagine cat” (https://skfb.ly/6R6Qv) by nonlly is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Once the mesh was loaded up, I manually placed the markers, 32 of them, across the imported mesh while being careful to define the ears. This may sound like a lot of markers but it’s really not and doesn’t take long once you’ve done a few of them. The face itself goes quickly and this head mesh did not need extra markers to delineate a more complex mesh shape. In some cases, I have found that extra markers are needed when the back of the head is a more radical shape than the native mesh.

Take care to mark non-human ears to better shape the mesh during the process.

From here I refined the mesh a bit but not extensively and unchecked the box to retain the original neck shape. I could have spent more time here, but I got great results the first time out. A subsequent Doberman model took a little back and forth to get the mesh shape right. For that model I went back and forth from Align Points to Head Gen a few times to move some markers. There was nothing to it.

In the end it turned out to be a great anthropomorphic Cat character that can wear Character Creator clothing and accessories.

The Cat Burglar Character

So, this character became, of course, a cat burglar and if you are going to have a cat burglar then we need a Police dog so that was my next objective as I found a nice full body Doberman mesh by InaweofGod on Sketchfab which I took into 3DS Max and removed all but the head and neck of the dog.

CHARACTER 2 – Police Dog

“Doberman” (https://skfb.ly/6UZPt) by InaweofGod is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

From this point on I followed the same process I used with the Cat head except I had to use more markers. I ended up using 40 to get the results I wanted. This will vary between users and will become even simpler as the community learns and shares more tips and tricks.

Showing some of the 40 Markers used with the extra marker defining the back of the head and neck.

Even with the back and forth it only took a matter of minutes to get the results I needed. This looks like a good area for experimentation to see just what can be done with this new tool. Since I’m a notorious iClone asset hoarder I dove into a golden oldie, the Occupations Police Officer, to use the accessories and cap along with stock pants and shirt texture black to match the hat. Before long, my anthropomorphic version of a Police Dog was born.

The Doberman Police Dog character in Uniform and Casual. I even gave him a muffler for that long neck on cold days.

Below is another example of other characters I created during testing with the Headshot 2 plug-in.  They range from ZBrush-created and kitbashed to Sketchfab meshes. All created functioning characters in less than an hour except for the first few attempts. Once I got a few runs under my belt it became much easier and much quicker to turn out a character with this method.

Other characters created during testing using the mesh feature.

SUMMARY

In future installments, we’ll be taking a look into what is being done with Character Creator. We’ll also look at how users take Headshot to new levels of creativity producing some of the most unique characters in the Reallusion universe.  

With Character Creator 4 and Headshot 2 just about anyone can make characters that are not only functional but dynamic and cinematically exciting adding another element to your production or helping you create assets for others to realize their production dreams.

Cartoon Animator 5.2 Updates the WOW Factor

Automated Animation with Cursor-Led Movement 

Are you a seasoned 2D animator looking to take your animation skills to the next level? Or perhaps you’re just starting out and wondering how you can achieve organic motion in seconds? Look no further! We’re excited to introduce Motion Pilot, a revolutionary tool that combines secondary animation with virtual puppetry, giving you the ability to create stunning and dynamic animations with ease.

With Motion Pilot, the possibilities are endless. Imagine being able to create 10 animation variations in just 3 minutes, achieving results that will leave your audience in awe. It’s all about an “iterative design flow,” where you simply try out different puppet presets and watch your productivity soar tenfold. You can also transform your puppet trails into editable paths in an instant and refine their shape as you please. It’s like having a magic wand for animation! And if you thought that was impressive, you can use Motion Pilot to simulate emergent behaviors like leaves rolling in the wind and even the flocking of birds.

See the latest updates in CTA 5.2:

Motion Pilot — Next-Level Puppetry

Motion Pilot empowers the effortless animation of characters and props with the precision of mouse movements. By simply manipulating the cursor’s speed, orchestrating rhythm, utilizing button functionalities, and taking advantage of the innovative lazy mouse feature, you can breathe life into your creative ideas and produce fluid animations that were previously unattainable through traditional methods. Moreover, Cartoon Animator’s intuitive interface and real-time animation, combined with seamless keyframe editing, enable you to generate 2D animations in mere seconds.

*Manipulating the cursor’s speed, orchestrating rhythm, and utilizing button functionalities and the lazy mouse feature.

*Synchronous playing & recording

*Simulating natural flocking behavior and controlling the animation tempo.

New Key Features:

  • Instant Animation Recording: Record puppeting sessions and create animated videos without grappling with the timeline interface. Simply press the record button and direct the motion with your mouse.
  • Transform with Precision: Precisely guide objects along the XYZ axis, control rotations, and easily adjust their size. Objects can also be passively oriented using automated flips and turns.
  • Enhanced Wave Effects: Customize 2D animations with precision by choosing amplitude, frequency, and random options, tailoring your animation effects to perfection with dedicated parameters.
  • Diverse Motion Options: Expand creative possibilities with four distinct types of motions: from character, prop, and elastic motion to free-form deformation. Trigger these motions effortlessly using mouse movements or clicks for quick application.
  • Collective Control with Flock: Seamlessly manage and customize multiple objects with ease. Choose from different delay types to achieve emergent behaviors for a dynamic and mesmerizing effect.

Motion Path Animation

Users can easily generate a path by either plotting Bézier points or converting it from cursor movements and puppet animations. They can switch between three modes – Bézier, Linear, or Smooth – and refine the path with intuitive handle controls.

*Create a path by drawing Bézier points or converting it from cursor movements and puppet animations.

*Universal Path Application

New Key Features:

  • Assign objects to paths and easily control their speed and progression.
  • Adjust the orientation and distance offset of an object from the path.
  • Share a single motion path and save the movement pattern for multiple objects.

Recommended Assets 

To unlock the full potential of CTA 5.2, delve into the myriad possibilities offered by the content packs below.

Know more about Cartoon Animator 5.2:

2D Animation Software for Cartoon Maker | Cartoon Animator

FREE for 30 days, and get 1,700+ ready-made content:

2D Animation Software Download | Cartoon Animator

Meet Reallusion in ZBrush Summit 2023

Reallusion proudly sponsors the ZBrush Summit 2023, presenting its groundbreaking animation solutions including Character Creator and iClone. The seamless integration of Character Creator’s GoZ pipeline and Pose Tools with ZBrush redefines artistic possibilities, enabling dynamic posing and character animation breakthroughs.

As a collective force at the ZBrush Summit, the Reallusion artist workshop will demonstrate the pipeline and combined features to help artists connect Character Creator Pose Tools and the Reallusion pipeline to ZBrush.

Don’t miss the workshops held in the renowned Gnomon School located in Hollywood, CA, Users can acquire hands-on experience from the powerful character workflow, with the guidance of ZBrush experts.

Join the Workshop and Get a Free Copy of Character Creator>> (This Event Only!)

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 30 : 9:00 – 1:00PM

CONCEPT SCULPTING IN ZBRUSH FOR COMIC-STYLE ILLUSTRATION

Join Pablo Munoz Gomez as he takes you on a step-by-step journey through his entire workflow to create an awesome ‘comic style’ illustration using ZBrush. You’ll explore ways for developing tools, materials, brushes and meshes while taking advantage of various features in ZBrush to speed up the process!

By the end of the workshop, you’ll be rocking the ‘comic style’ illustration game and have some epic pieces to add to your portfolio. It’s a chance to meet other awesome artists, share ideas, and learn from each other. There will also be some cool surprises!

Join the Workshop on Sep 30 and Get a Free Copy of Character Creator >>

SUNDAY OCTOBER 01 : 9:00 – 1:00PM

BRINGING YOUR ZBRUSH CREATIONS TO LIFE USING CHARACTER CREATOR

Ride along with Michael as he walks the class through creating a custom character using Character Creator and ZBrush. Workflow and processes will include facial expressions, applying wrinkle maps, creating custom clothing and accessories along creating variants of a character! Michael will also highlight procedures for modifying expression shapes in both Character Creator and ZBrush.

We will also be using custom clothing and accessory creations with a variety of characters, cleaning up weights, and finally using Headshot 2.0 to take legacy ZBrush sculpts further while ensuring compatibility with the Character Creator system. You’ll have everything you need to easily bring all your character work to life!

Join the Workshop on Oct 1 and Get a Free Copy of Character Creator>>

Join now>>

Create CableLab’s Visionary Video: Real Actors Meet with Virtual Humans

This article demonstrates how production and creative agency, The Tomorrow Lab, collaborated with First Person to create an engaging film highlighting the Near Future offerings of CableLabs. First Person, whom handled the post-production for the film, combined Character Creator and iClone for the creation of an AI assistant to interact with real-life actors. Q&A for this article are handled from the Vfx Supervisor of this project, Geoff Hecht.

Q: Hello Geoff, and welcome to the Reallusion Magazine! Please tell us about the “Near Future: Mañana Cabana” project, the objectives of the show, and how long it took for the full production.

A: I’m honored to be here. The Mañana Cabana is part of The Near Future series, showcasing CableLabs’ technology and its offerings. CableLabs pioneers technological solutions for the cable industry. The complete list of Near Future films is available here.

Director David Mackie began crafting these films in 2011 as “A Day Made of Glass.” Initially seeming futuristic, the concepts have become mainstream in the past 12 years. In 2011, I met David Mackie and First Person, which became relevant in 2022 when David Mackie presented The Mañana Cabana project. I instantly wanted to join as Director of Animation at First Person.

The Mañana Cabana introduces the idea of AI assistants with bodies in the near future. Visualizing this in 2022 involved character animation, typically time-consuming. Given a tight 5-week schedule for a 5-minute film, we turned to Reallusion’s Character Creator and iClone tools for a successful approach.

Q: In the Near Future: Manana Cabana film, we have seen two very adorable characters: the little boy and the AI assistant: a rabbit puppet. Can you share with us how was these characters made?

A: Creating content on YouTube with Reallusion software often leans towards photorealism, but our project aimed for stylized, toon-like characters. Reallusion’s Character Creator offers limitless character styles. Our tight schedule for the Mañana Cabana project demanded efficient decisions, so we researched stock libraries to fill our character slots quickly, an unconventional approach. Though the Louie character could have been made in Character Creator, our situation dictated this method.

Normally, a stock character’s compatibility with animation software matters. However, Reallusion’s tools are platform-agnostic.Character Creator’s iAvatar system provided facial and body controls. Our protagonist, Louie, began as a stock model, later adapted with the GoZ function, ensuring proportion alignment between a ZBrush-shrunk iAvatar model and Louie. The iAvatar version was then used in Character Creator for full facial capabilities. The Bunny Rabbit character’s differing vertices count led us to rig it using the AccuRig system, mapping extra facial controls in Character Creator for speech. Antony Evans of Digital Puppets UK handled both characters’ set-up. This mix of approaches optimized our time and workflow for the project.

Q: Speaking of animation, these characters both have lively facial expressions. What motion-captured tools were used, and what is the trick when making these facial animations?

A: iClone has three great tools for the facial animation of characters, and we used them all for the Mañana Cabana project. We began by using iPhone Live Face where we can link our animator’s face to control the facial movement of that character. This created a very natural foundation, but we needed an extremely accurate lip sync animation, so our second step was to use the AccuLips feature inside of iClone. Right out of the box, Acculips does a great job lining up editable keyframes for each mouth shape in the timeline, and most people may even use the default output as-is. We found, however, that if you want to hold a lip pose longer like an “M” or “O” shape, you can stack two of the same shape keys next to each other in the timeline. We felt that this was a more accurate result.

Lastly, the character had to perform to the camera, so with our first two techniques applied, we finished off the animation using the built-in Face Key tool within iClone. This allowed us to specifically point the characters, eyes, eyebrows, face, etc. in whatever direction we felt making it look more like the actor and characters were interacting with each other. There’s a little-known panel called the “Facial Animation Settings” that allowed us to mix the Viseme Strength (AccuLips) and the Expression Strength (Face Key or Live Face).

Q: Another fun part to watch on these characters is their energetic body animation. How was it done, and how did you find it time-saving compared with traditional workflows?

A: Yes! I think this was the most fun part! Character animation in traditional pipelines can take 8-hour work days to create 4 seconds of animation. But animating in iClone isn’t like animating in any other software I’ve seen. I’ve used Maya, Cinema 4D, and Blender for character animation projects, and started using Autodesk Maya in 2002. Animating in iClone is more like if you combined Adobe Premiere with Maya: You can quickly drop animation clips into your timeline, and your character just comes alive.

“ Character animation in traditional pipelines can take 8 hour work days to create 4 seconds of animation. But animating in iClone isn’t like animating in any other software I’ve seen. I’ve used Maya, Cinema 4D, and Blender for character animation projects, and started using Autodesk Maya in 2002. Animating in iClone is more like if you combined Adobe Premiere with Maya: You can quickly drop animation clips into your timeline, and your character just comes alive! “

Geoff Hetch | Animation Creative Director / VFX Supervisor

It’s so fast to just try things, and if it doesn’t work out, no big deal, we’ll try something else out 5 minutes later. We don’t have to wait an entire workday to see that something is not working. And I think historically some people have stayed away from motion capture because it wasn’t easily editable. But iClone has the ability to mix and match mocap clips, taking the parts that you like and removing the parts that you don’t as well as adding hand keys. It’s a real hybrid system. We were showing the director Dave Mackie’s animation progress on the same day that we started animation, which is completely unheard of!

I know that there are folks out there who are hesitant to try new things, but I don’t think that most of us joined the industry to set keyframes and adjust tangents in a graph editor (Which you can do in iClone, but don’t have to). It’s great to know those things from a technical level, but those are just an intermediate step to ultimately get where we really want to be… telling impactful stories. iClone just gets you there much faster with more creative freedom than most would anticipate.

“ Historically some people have stayed away from motion capture because it wasn’t easily editable. But iClone has the ability to mix and match mocap clips, taking the parts that you like and removing the parts that you don’t as well as adding hand keys. It’s a real hybrid system. We were showing the director Dave Mackie animation progress on the same day that we started animation, which is completely unheard of!“

Geoff Hecht | Animation Creative Director / VFX Supervisor

Q: The entire project is a collaborative result between First Person, Tomorrow Lab, and CableLabs. What is the key to successful communication when working with multiple producing partners?

A: It all comes down to a combination of communication and trust. CableLabs trusts the Tomorrow Lab because they have CableLabs’ best interests in mind. Together they already have done 5 brand films at such an impressive level. Lisa Tesone is a great Producer who has all the right connections and experience to take any project to the next level (http://lisatesone.com). David Mackie is a great director,and if you go to his website (https://dmackie.com) you’ll be impressed by what he’s accomplished on a film Director level. Dave doesn’t want to do something just because it’s the “cool” thing to do, he does it because it tells a better story and helps connect CableLabs with its customers. But it just happens to look cool, because Dave has a great eye.

First Person has been involved in several incredible works for over 20 years. In the San Francisco Bay Area, they are known by everyone in the industry, and looking at their portfolio it’s not hard to see why. (https://www.firstperson.is.)

I met the owners of Drew Fiero, Marcello Grande, and Brandon Grande 12 years ago and have been impressed ever since. Because of conflicting schedules and budgets, we don’t all get to work together all the time, but that doesn’t change how you might feel about a group or a person. David Mackie had a unique problem to solve for the Mañana Cabana project in the character animation. He trusts First Person, and I had recently completed a film (Metro6) that had over 30 characters. We at First Person believed in this Reallusion Character Creator and iClone workflow. We were confident we could do the project to the highest of standards, and it all lined up.

Q: We believe the audience will love to see more of your work in the future. Can you share a little of your upcoming plans?

A: I’m fully freelance for the first time in over 11 years of my career and I’m excited to be forging my own path! It was such a rewarding experience to direct Metro6, but it was so difficult to produce at that scale that I wasn’t sure when I’d work on another film. Turns out that time is “now.” Having had the opportunity to work with Reallusion tools, and some other offerings that are available now, it’s so much easier to produce incredible animation than it ever has been before.

I am taking on commissioned work (and you can find my portfolio at https://geoffhecht.com), but when I’m not booked on commissioned projects, I’ll be working away on my next animated film “Love is a Championship!” This is a project that we’ll look to flex some 💪 Reallusion Muscle  💪 accomplishing things with tools that many might have not thought possible! More details of this project will be available online in the coming months.

About the Author

Geoff Hecht is an experienced 3D / VFX talent from San Francisco, California. He graduated from the Academy of Art University, majoring in Animation and Visual Effects. His solid academic training and seasoned experience made him a multiple award-winning director of animation and creative director. One of the iconic achievements was the winning of the Telly Award (Gold), with his team filming the annual corporate campaign video for Oracle in 2019.

Geoff’s talents with people also made him a good supervisor of business management. He founded and co-owned Hectic Digital, an animation and VFX production company for 7 years and then sold it to the renowned media agency IVC. He directed several talented artists, and many of them ended up working at ILM, Weta, MPC, 2K, and other notable studios. He directed a team of 78 people on an animated short, Metro6, which was accepted to almost 70 global film festivals. Making it into the Top 100 Best Animated Shorts in 2020 by FilmAffinity.

Metro6 was extremely ambitious: A short film on the scale of a feature film with over 30+ characters, and full city environment. In 2019 after Geoff completed Metro6, he ran into some Reallusion demos on YouTube. He couldn’t help but think how Reallusion tools would be applied to his project, and until he saw Martin Klekner using Character Creator and iClone for his project “Heroes of Bronze“, he knew that he wanted to try these tools for himself. The initial tests with Reallusion were impressive! And when the Near Future: Mañana Cabana project came through the door, he knew what they should use. They were ready.

Follow Geoff’s Work

Portfolio of Geoff Hecht

Connect with Geoff on LinkedIn

Learn More about Reallusion Products

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Pitch & Produce: Creating a 2D Animated Series Pilot with Cartoon Animator 5

Chris Meyer-White | 2D Animator, Series Creator, Owner Mixed Up Pixels Studio

Chris Meyer-White

My name is Christopher Meyer-White. I have worked in Home Entertainment for 15+ years, in both the US and the UK, and on projects for Warner Brothers, Disney, BBC, Paramount, and many other studios.

The most time of which being at Abbey Home Media which was the UK’s leading independent home entertainment company for lots of well-known children’s shows, Care Bears, Topsy and Tim, Peter Rabbit, Sooty, Horrid Henry, Fireman Sam and more.

With a background of design, product management of children’s home media brands, and a passion to create series for children, in 2015 I left my job in London and moved to Bristol (which coincidently is one of the leading UK cities for animation).

I now own and run, Mixed up Pixels, an animation studio based in the heart of Bristol, UK, and am working on 2 pilot episodes for my 2D animated series Polly & Parrot, with a view to get these commissioned in 2024, and currently writing a script for a 2D feature, all animated with Cartoon Animator (CTA).

“It looked too good to be true… when I noticed a 2D program called CrazyTalk (later named Cartoon Animator). I knew Reallusion were magic makers, so I tried the software and instantly loving it! – the workflow was so intuitive, and easy. I loved the way you could make your own character within a certain structure, load it into the software and boom, your character is ready to animate. Its super easy, and you can also keyframe too, which really sold it to me. “

Chris Meyer-White | 2D Animator, Series Creator, Owner Mixed Up Pixels Studio

How to Create Engaging Interactive Learning Materials | Cartoon Animator

Zez Vaz – Director, Animator, and the founder of Toma Creators Studio

About Zez Vaz

Hello everyone! Today’s tutorial dives into crafting an engaging animation intro using Power Tools Vol. 2: Interactive Learning Bundle for 2D Animation – Make Me Actor and Instructional Tools. I’m Zez Vaz from Toma Creators Studio. I had the pleasure of co-directing and animating “Walter Precipitous,” a short film delving into the water cycle, along with numerous educational videos, all brought to life using Cartoon Animator 5.

Interactive Learning Bundle for 2D Animation

We’ll be delving into the dynamic content pack Make Me Actor and Instructional Tools, specifically how these tools empower you to transform objects and images into speaking actors. You can also customize ready-made actors and infuse vitality into animations using various text motions and animated props that cater to both experienced creators and novices. Make Me Actor boasts a wide array of distinct character templates and offers over 100 facial and body animations – perfect for making talk shows, tutorials, and more. You can alter the text within the props to suit your preferences and seamlessly create e-learning animations and teaching resources by blending cartoon characters with interactive quizzes that make for a fun learning experience.

Trying out the Content Pack

Start from scratch by downloading the pack, then navigate to the ‘Content’ page where you’ll find it. Click on the ‘Instructional Tools’ tab to access a wide array of props and animations at your disposal. I opt for the “Characters” prop, which makes the word “Sample” materialize on the stage. Here, I can select an animation and apply it to the prop.

Moving on to the ‘Make Me Actor’ feature, I have the liberty to choose a character and incorporate it into my scene. Navigating to the animation templates, I make a selection from the diverse array available — There are lots of animations, and there is so much you can do with them! 

I decide on one and promptly position the character to point at the text. The animation is visibly represented in the timeline beneath the ‘Motion’ category. Should I desire to layer another animation, I can choose an additional one, and both will seamlessly combine.

Additionally, I introduce the “Pop Stars” prop, accompanied by an array of other props and characters onto the stage. The options are nearly limitless, enabling us to populate the stage with a variety of elements.

Creating a Custom 2D Character Design

Let’s craft a personalized character puppet. I opt for a Make Me Actor character and enter ‘Composer’ mode. From the left panel, I click on ‘PSD’, launching the character in Photoshop. Here, I fine-tune each layer and the defining points that correspond to the skeletal structure. Leveraging the Van Courtir character, I swap out layers with his images. Using a faintly transparent version of the character as a guide, I meticulously align the bones and substitute layers with appropriate labels. With the edits complete, I save the PSD file and return to Cartoon Animator 5, where the character has seamlessly transformed into the one I just tailored.

Next, I introduce accessories like a beanie hat, sunglasses, and a mustache, treating them as props within the 2D character design. To infuse vital movements, I apply spring effects to these props. For added control, I integrate bones into the mustache and navigate to ‘Composer’ mode’s left sidebar, where I access the spring dynamics. Switching back to the character, I enter ‘Composer’ mode again and strategically position each custom prop, linking them harmoniously to the puppet’s structure.

Customizing the Text Props

Now, I will personalize the “Characters” prop (found in the Instructional Tools), but this time, we’ll click on ‘SVG’ instead of ‘PSD’. By doing so, the prop opens in Adobe Illustrator, where I’ll choose a font type and proceed to replace each letter with its updated counterpart. The three distinct words I will be work with are “Van”, “Courtir”, and “Show”.

Editing the Animated Cartoon and Exporting the Project

Finally, I include a background picture from Freepik to establish the desired mood. My preferred animation templates feature Van Courtir’s actions, complemented by the addition of the “Pop Stars” prop and a corresponding animation.

Prior to finalizing this animated cartoon, I integrate a music file into the timeline and introduce a subtle camera movement. To achieve this, I access the camera settings, applying a slight zoom on the concluding frame. With the scene now completed, I save the project and export the 2D animation as a video.

I trust you’ll find this content bundle engaging and versatile across various scenarios. Should you encounter any challenges with Cartoon Animator 5, the comprehensive online manual serves as an excellent resource for troubleshooting. Additionally, Reallusion’s YouTube tutorials offer valuable insights.

Happy animating!

Zez Vaz: https://zezvaz.com/ 

Toma Creators: https://www.tomacreators.com/ 

Van Courtir: https://www.instagram.com/vancourtir/ 

Walter’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@walterprecipitous

Know more:

2D Animation Software for Cartoon Maker | Cartoon Animator

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2D Animation Software Download | Cartoon Animator

The Making of Bank Heist Mocap Series for Action Films

ActorCore Stages Riveting Blockbuster Productions with Fresh Stunts

Introduction

In the wake of their triumphant debut with the Action Film Series, ActorCore, the foremost online 3D content emporium, has unleashed Bank Heist – a masterpiece of anticipation and adrenaline.

Drawing inspiration from the grandeur of Hollywood’s greatest productions, this kinetic motion pack boasts an impressive array of 61 heart-pounding sequences. Prepare to be transported into a world where audacious criminals storm a bank, taking hostages and cracking open impregnable vaults. Experience the electrifying tension of fierce gun battles, strategic cover tactics, and high-stakes hostage negotiations. Witness the enigmatic robbers make their daring escape, only to find themselves pursued relentlessly by determined law enforcement.

Combine this pack with ActorCore’s 3D characters for diverse bank robbery scenes and Run for Your Life content pack for fleeing crowds to create thrilling cinematic experiences for games, films, and commercials.

Behind the Production

In partnership with Monkey Chow Animation Studios, creators of the Run for Your Life 3D motion pack, all animations have been meticulously captured by professional stunt performers at Motion Capture Orlando’s new studio, equipped with 38 Vicon cameras and run by a rock-solid crew.

Witness the creation of these amazing 3D motions:

Bank Heist includes some of the major story beats of an armed robbery and was inspired by my favorite films like Heat, Inside Man, and The Town. I went a little bit crazy on this one and got to play a filmmaker. We developed a narrative chain of events to get the story rolling!

Jeff Scheetz, Monkey Chow Productions

Sophisticated Motion Editing with iClone

Monkey Chow’s raw data underwent refinement within iClone , a real-time 3D character animation tool. iClone streamlined the process by offering rapid real-time animations, swift motion correction, animation editing, seamless blending, and precise actor-object interactions within the scene.

We edited the clips in iClone. We had to tighten up weapon placement, refine prop interactions, and integrate moving set pieces. The most complicated one was actually the vault. Andress used a roll of tape to enter the combination and pulled a scaffold to open the vault door.

We were able to construct our CGI vault door model to match the measurements of the sets, and we used reach targets to temporarily connect the hand to the dial, so the motions of the hand were driven by the movement of the dial. Additional animation layers compensated for grabs and releases as the combination was entered.

Armed Robbery Motions on Demand

Users have the flexibility to use these 61 motions as they are or enhance them by combining them with other motions using iClone 8’s new motion editing features. All ActorCore motions are completely royalty-free and can be exported as FBX or BVH files for compatibility with major 3D tools like Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, Cinema4D, NVIDIA Omniverse, and real-time game engines such as Unreal and Unity.

Check out Bank Heist 3D motion pack on ActorCore today!

Welcome to WarLord’s Workshop

Tutorials, Tips & Tricks, Interviews, 3D Animation

Hello everyone. I’m M.D. McCallum also known as WarLord, a longtime iCloner dating back to version one. For many years I was one of the few users who produced tutorials on iClone. Mainly the basics and how to get things done quickly with as little effort as possible. Not because I was lazy but because production schedules can be stress-packed with seemingly impossible deadlines requiring shortcuts in the method of production particularly concerning previz.

I retired from full-time animation several years ago but still keep busy with iClone on an almost daily basis when possible as these are exciting times to be an iCloner. Reallusion has always packed a lot into its mid-version updates and even more into their major upgrades. Having been given a small glimpse of their release roadmap, I can safely say that you haven’t seen anything yet.

When I first stumbled upon iClone almost twenty years ago it was a very different product with a simplified interface and no free cameras as they were all preset dolly and pan-type cameras with built-in paths. I saw a few videos, mostly dance videos which I’ll discuss shortly, and it was enough to intrigue me as some users were saying those videos were produced in minutes to hours, not days to weeks or more.

As a 3D digital freelancer, I was always on the lookout for any tool that might help with the tedious nature of animation back then. There was no timeline in version one, but I knew if it could do videos, it could do image renders and I needed custom images for the storyboarding I was doing at the time.

Left: ZBrush KitBashed Mesh, Middle: Character Creator Rigged Mesh, Right: Substance Painter Simple Texturing

iClone was a perfect fit with its premade library of props, motions, cameras, and effects. It wasn’t versatile at all way back then, but it was quick and when you need to turn around a storyboard depicting a revised shot list… you need it as quickly as possible. It became a pro tool for me almost immediately even though it was far removed from today’s version.

One other thing about version one. It had an incredibly powerful image-to-face tool that shaped the head along with mapping the image to the face mesh. Anyone could use this tool even if you had never used an animation tool in your life. Reallusion made it easy.

In fact, Reallusion made it so easy they included a large library of dance moves… hence the early label of dancing video maker, a name that iClone has long since shed but including those dancing motions turned out to be a shrewd move as they started popping up on YouTube and other media hosting sites sparking discussions about iClone and Reallusion.

Yes, as hard as it may be for some of you to believe, without those dance videos, iClone may have never drawn the early user base that it did. They brought attention to the fact that people who had no idea what Maya, 3DS Max or rendering were about had created animated videos in such a short time and… by themselves!

It was low poly and a bit crude compared to today’s iClone, but it was fun!

Left: iClone 8, Right Unreal LIvelink Before Lighting

That’s right… fun. A word not usually associated with computer animation at the time. Challenging, intriguing, experimental but not fun. In fact, back then it could be very tedious. Waiting overnight or days, maybe weeks, to see some rendered work was a normal thing. iClone real-time playback changed all that too. iClone has matured into a powerful animation application over the years. Future upgrades and releases will not disappoint as they provide some very useful and time-saving tools even though iClone is packed with tools and features now. While loaded with features, you don’t have to use everything until you are ready and that is another great aspect of iClone.

It is only as complicated or as simple as you want it to be. You don’t have to use everything until you get more familiar with the tools and concepts as the learning curve lessens. Don’t think of where you are today if you are just starting. Instead think of where you will be 3 months, six months, and a year or more down the road when you do have the skills to use all those tools.

My mission here, my little corner of the Reallusion universe, is to bring the “users’ perspective” along with my years as an animation grunt and project manager to provide you with more information about iClone and Character Creator.

One of my tasks will be to provide reviews of Reallusion products. These reviews usually revolve around some test scenes built for the product in question. These tests will be a lot like what many of us do when we get a new asset, dive right in and start pushing the limits. Maybe this will make the decision easier for some of you when it comes to pulling the trigger on new assets or products.

Left: Simple scene setup in iClone (Beginners Level), Right: Image render from iClone.

While there are a lot of tutorials out there for iClone, many are geared for intermediate to advanced user features leaving more basic features to be explored for those just starting in their animation journey. With this in mind I will be providing more basic tutorials, both written and video depending on the subject, to help less experienced users catch up quickly so they too can enjoy the advanced features and tools in iClone.

Also… and this is a favorite of mine, I get to experiment with iClone and Character Creator to continue to push the boundaries as so many users do. We’ll look at kitbashing, using other tools such as ZBrush and Substance Painter to create models in the millions of polys that we can optimize and bake down for use in iClone. We’ll slice and dice motions, use animation layers and other tools while diving into production pipelines that can lead to professional work or a more polished video.

I’ll also delve into Omniverse and Unreal Engine to achieve more cinematic renders using iClone as the underlying animation tool while off-loading the render work to these applications. All the while trying to keep the tutorials as short and simple as possible.

Twenty years ago, it was paper and electronic notes full of workaround instructions because the 3D apps at the time were lacking in features and tools. These workarounds had to be documented so we could use them in future work and that was very time-consuming. It was a real downer for the creative spirit at times.

Now we just load up iClone and start animating.

Can iClone make just about anyone an animator? Yes, it can. Whether or not you are a good animator is up to you.