wagmi-mga2023mi4014

[wagmi-mga2023mi4014]

Final Animation... wow, it's actually over.

It's finally come to an end, and I'm genuinely pleased with the final outcome after nearly two months of dedicated work, all while juggling other modules. I chose to conclude the animation with a poignant quote that encapsulates the essence of my creation: "True self-healing begins when you carefully mend the fragments of your soul." This is where I wanted to leave my animation – with a nugget of wisdom that I've gleaned while exploring what gives life its meaning and how scars, though they leave fragments, can be picked up and ultimately mended.

Throughout this journey, I've acquired a wealth of knowledge, from technical skills to honing my conceptual and narrative abilities. It has illuminated the significance of every stage in the creative process and underscored the importance of adhering to the fundamentals to infuse the final outcome with that special spark.

Thank you for accompanying me through this entire process, and I sincerely hope you enjoy my final animation, aptly titled "Scars."

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Final Animation! Colour Grading and Post Processing

In the final stage, we delve into colour grading, a meticulous yet crucial step in achieving the desired atmosphere and appearance for the scene. I devoted a significant amount of time to fine-tuning various elements, meticulously adjusting hues, experimenting with saturation, gamma, and contrast, and carefully balancing colours. This process aimed to strike the perfect balance between realism and a cinematic essence, ensuring that the scene achieves the intended visual impact.

I wanted the hospital scene to have more of a cold colour palette, seemingly uninviting and empty. dark, hostile and unwelcoming were the words i wanted the audience to feel when looking at this place.

There were pops of light to highlight certain aspects of the environment, utilizing the windows to cast spots of light to guide the viewer as well as give an atmospheric feeling.

The bright light at the end of the scene also draws the attention of the viewer since it is set in a mostly dark space, allowing them to identify the room's importance.

The thought process for the second scene mirrored that of the first, albeit with a stark contrast in its intended atmosphere. In this case, I aimed for a scene that exuded warmth and a welcoming ambience. To achieve this, I embraced a softer colour palette and introduced warmer tones throughout the environment.

The inclusion of stained glass played a pivotal role in imbuing the scene with a sense of safety, thanks to its soothing blue hues. Additionally, I introduced god rays, which cascaded down from the right side of the frame, further enhancing the scene's heavenly and ethereal quality.

To achieve the desired softness, I employed the dehazing tool and adjusted settings such as detail and contrast, effectively creating a gentler and more inviting visual experience for the audience.

Screenshot of Davinci Resolve 17 Color Grading tool set (Heterotopia Scene)

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Final Animation! Sound Design

Finally, I initiated the sound design phase of this project after enduring two gruelling days of rendering. Despite the limited rendering time, the scenes turned out quite well. If this had been a personal project, I might have opted for longer render times. However, the imposed time constraint pushed me to approach tasks more professionally. This led to quicker decision-making, a thorough assessment of risk and reward, and careful consideration of how each action would impact the final outcome, helping me determine what was truly necessary for the project. I've incorporated various sounds into the project, including footsteps, breathing, ambient environmental sounds, subtle light flickers, electric static, impact sounds, as well as soothing water sounds. Additionally, there are specific metal sounds associated with the artifact and earthy tones for the artifact core. There might be a few more sounds that I've included, but these are the key elements contributing to the immersive audio experience. It took me 4 hours and 12 audio tracks to get to the final result and I hope to God it was worth it.

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Hitting Render! Low samples full Render.

I took this step to review for any potential mistakes or necessary changes before committing to the rendering process, which can take hours or even days. Despite the lower sample settings causing some darkness in the current render, it's sufficient for me to confirm that the scene is ready for its final bake. I feel grateful for the progress! #blessed

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Hitting Render! Clay render first.

Sorry to tease you like this, but first the customary clay render before the final one, of course, the final one isn't really the final one because its not rendered at high quality and with no sound design,

the final-final one will be a one-and-done kinda thing. Sorry not sorry hehe.

[wagmi-mga2023mi4014]

Hospital Renders! (finally)

We're nearly at the finish line. After fine-tuning various elements, all that's left is to create a few final concept renders and thoroughly inspect everything to ensure it's just right.

I've made adjustments to the camera animations and added movement and interactions between various elements in the scene to breathe life into it, giving it a more dynamic and lively feel.

Towards the end of the hallway, the camera smoothly enters a room illuminated by a bright light, which irresistibly pulls the character toward it. This strategic approach serves to ensure a seamless transition between the two environments, preserving immersion and preventing any disruptions.

I incorporated the infinity symbol on the door (the number 8 rotated horizontally), symbolizing the enduring sense of healing within this space. It conveys to the viewer that this is a supernatural or transcendent place, one that transcends the boundaries of physicality, time, and space itself.

[wagmi-mga2023mi4014]

Coming back to the Hospital.

Subsequently, I added several additional elements to the hospital scene, including hospital IV hangers, stray cables, metal shelves, notice boards, railings, and window blinds. These elements are strategically placed throughout the scene, creating a sense of occupancy and making the environment feel more lived-in and authentic.

Once these objects were scattered throughout the space, they instantly began to take on a near-finished appearance. All that remained was to apply textures to the floors and walls, and then we would be ready to go!

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Redesigning the Hererotopia: Finalizing

After applying various textures to the walls and pillars, I thoroughly analysed the colour temperatures. It became evident that I needed to alter the hue of the stained glass to create a more inviting and secure ambience. The initial red and orange hues didn't align with the desired atmosphere. To address this, I experimented with Blender's Hue and Saturation nodes. I also added a body of water to make the reflections a bit more interesting and have a little more depth to it, no pun intended. Finishing off with several books scattered and piled across the floor, I ultimately arrived at the renders you see below.

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Redesigning the Heterotopia: Animation

"I've created a brief clay render animation with audio to give a sense of how the camera will move through the halls. In the final version, you can expect scattered books on the floor, along with some creative enhancements to the textures and lighting. This clay render is just a tool for visualizing the camera's movement, pace, and timing.

[subject to change]

[wagmi-mga2023mi4014]

Redesigning the Heterotopia: Modelling

I went ahead with the modelling and finished off the major parts of the shrine area. The Gothic style architecture took me a while to model but I'd say the process was well worth the work since it came out pretty well.

I'd like the artifact to be placed at the end of this hallway, almost as if it's patiently waiting for my protagonist to discover it. To enhance the ambience, I've incorporated a stained glass texture that I created.

This not only adds a touch of uniqueness to the lighting but also helps the setting stand out more prominently.

I haven't added textures to the walls and floors yet, but I'm planning to use reflective tiles or water for the floors to create a reflective effect. For the walls, I'm considering a stone or concrete texture. Creating procedural textures for these elements has been a bit challenging, so for now, I'm using a clay render, which surprisingly doesn't look too bad.

After some experimentation with the lighting and the addition of volumetric effects, here's the result I've achieved

[wagmi-mga2023mi4014]

Redesigning the Heterotopia: Concept

As the artifact itself exudes a divine presence, I aimed to create an equally celestial atmosphere for its display. My initial designs fell short of capturing the essence I desired. This time, I embraced a specific theme—a realm that transcends the ordinary. Picture gothic architecture, bathed in ethereal lighting, evoking a sense of a place beyond mortal reach. I intended for observers to feel their own insignificance in the face of the relic's divinity. Imagine the ambience of a sacred cathedral, the perfect setting for housing such a holy artifact. Here are some of my inspirations

I still want to blend the idea of a library into this divine setting. Picture books scattered all around, forming stacks on the floor and leaning against the beautiful stained glass windows. This adds a cohesive story and gives a deeper meaning to the books, making them more than just objects – they become keepers of knowledge and history within this otherworldly cathedral-like place. Updating Storyboards:

Now that I've got everything decided I came up with a few storyboards to solidify my process

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Modelling Assets: Gurney

Viewport Renders

Textures

Renders

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The Artifact: Final Process

[THE RENDER PRESENTED HERE IS NOT REPRESENTATIVE OF THE FINAL OUTPUT. IT SERVES AS AN ARTISTIC VISUALIZATION OF THE ARTIFACT.]

[THE ENVIRONMENT AND LIGHTING SHOWCASED IN THIS RENDER ARE STILL UNDER DEVELOPMENT AND ARE NOT FINALIZED. THEY ARE USED SOLELY FOR THIS SPECIFIC RENDER.]

[FUTURE UPDATES WILL INCLUDE THE ARTIFACT IN LATER BLOG POSTS WITH NEAR-FINALIZED ENVIRONMENT AND LIGHTING SETTINGS.]

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Artifact: Speed Process 2

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The Artifact: Texturing Process

I started with a few rough designs till I settled on making the core in the middle first. This core is going to be a ball of Earth, Wood or Dirt, however, you may call it. It depicts a part of the core of the Tree of Life. This ball of earth is the source of power for this healing artefact. I wanted it to have a rough earthy texture to it so that it resembles nature in a way.

I was wondering where to put the light source that would be illuminating the core - at first I wanted to make parts of it or even the whole thing glow, but that idea seemed a bit lacklustre since it would be a common theme among other projects as well.

I thought of adding a sort of scanning object under the core, to make it seem like its healing powers are being siphoned off to power the artifact. This would add realism as well as a good way to have contrasting lighting to bring out the detail in the core's textures as well as light the inner parts of the artefact since the outer parts will have glowing symbols

Then I went on to texture the 8 Plates and rings. I wanted to have a golden-rich style for the plates, metallic and shiny. The symbols would be on each of these plates and then highlighted using an Emission Shader.

The hardest part seemed to be the UV unwrapping of the plates since I didn't want the symbols to be meshes of their own. The smart UVs didn't seem to work because of the complexity of the mesh so I had to manually UV unwrap the plates which took a hot minute.

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Artifact: Speed Process 1

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The Artifact: Modelling Process

I started with blocking out a few shapes to see what the object would look like. I modelled the basic parts of it till it started resembling what I wanted it to.

There are 8 base plates that are rotating around the object, and there will be 8 symbols painted on these plates to further drive the concept of the number 8 (derived from the Dharma Wheel's 8 spokes)

I made a simple animation of the plates rotating around as well as the base kinda oscillating around the bottom of the orb. Now all that was left to do was Texture this to make it come to life.