Ask HN: Any Artists on HN?
115 comments
Senior Visual effects artist here. Hi! 20+ years in the industry, worked on movies from Final Fantasy The Spirits Withing to Disney's Enchanted and a whole mess of forgettable cinema and TV shows.
My axe is SideFx's Houdini. I've been in love with it since I first set eyes on it in 1998, but didn't use it in work until 2010. Until then I was using Maya. Yuck. It's now off my resume and I've left studios that made me use it. It makes my hands clench up in pain.
I've also used Shake and Nuke, After Effects, Photoshop, etc... But Houdini is really my jam. And it keeps getting better all the time. Best damn customer support in the industry, bar none!
Any questions?
My opinion on Blender is: Sure, if it fits your needs. It seems kinda quirky, but the community looks good.
My axe is SideFx's Houdini. I've been in love with it since I first set eyes on it in 1998, but didn't use it in work until 2010. Until then I was using Maya. Yuck. It's now off my resume and I've left studios that made me use it. It makes my hands clench up in pain.
I've also used Shake and Nuke, After Effects, Photoshop, etc... But Houdini is really my jam. And it keeps getting better all the time. Best damn customer support in the industry, bar none!
Any questions?
My opinion on Blender is: Sure, if it fits your needs. It seems kinda quirky, but the community looks good.
I am a former Local 600 guy that burned out and who now teaches high school English. I’ve been slowly developing a fiction project centered on ubiquitous AR. As part of my research, I stumbled upon demo from Universal Everything[0].
Are you able to recommend any websites, blogs, resources to discover similar simulations/etc?
[0]https://vimeo.com/429924982?ref=em-share
Thanks!
Are you able to recommend any websites, blogs, resources to discover similar simulations/etc?
[0]https://vimeo.com/429924982?ref=em-share
Thanks!
> similar simulations/etc?
I'm not sure I understand what you're looking for.
What I saw in that video was a walk cycle that used as the basis for a bunch of different effects animations. So, basically an Art project. It doesn't look like it has anything to do with AR. That's more live generation, isn't it?
What makes that unique for you among art projects? Can you be more specific?
I'm not sure I understand what you're looking for.
What I saw in that video was a walk cycle that used as the basis for a bunch of different effects animations. So, basically an Art project. It doesn't look like it has anything to do with AR. That's more live generation, isn't it?
What makes that unique for you among art projects? Can you be more specific?
Apologies. I understand it is disconnected from AR, and I am not asking about AR content or tech.
I am really just looking for avenues for discovering novel visual effects, interesting showreels, advanced demos, etc.
I am really just looking for avenues for discovering novel visual effects, interesting showreels, advanced demos, etc.
Ah, that makes sense.
SIGGRAPH is a great resource. http://www.siggraph.org/ They're super nerdy too. I used to go to the conference when I could, before the pandemic.
Cinefx is a classic print magazine: https://cinefex.com/ A bit light on technique, but goes into a little depth about huge productions.
search for "visual effects magazine" and you'll find tons.
On reddit there is:
/r/simulated - people post simulations they’ve made or seen (that vary kind of wildly in quality)
/r/cinematography - not exactly vfx but closely related and there is occasional discussion of vfx
/r/computergraphics - good for innovations in computer graphics for more technical vfx artists
/r/Houdini - decent if you’re a houdini user
/r/vfx - general vfx discussion ranging from tutorials people post to examples people like in film
Then there's always the 3rd party forums for any particular software. Those are pretty easy to find and explore.
Enjoy!
SIGGRAPH is a great resource. http://www.siggraph.org/ They're super nerdy too. I used to go to the conference when I could, before the pandemic.
Cinefx is a classic print magazine: https://cinefex.com/ A bit light on technique, but goes into a little depth about huge productions.
search for "visual effects magazine" and you'll find tons.
On reddit there is:
/r/simulated - people post simulations they’ve made or seen (that vary kind of wildly in quality)
/r/cinematography - not exactly vfx but closely related and there is occasional discussion of vfx
/r/computergraphics - good for innovations in computer graphics for more technical vfx artists
/r/Houdini - decent if you’re a houdini user
/r/vfx - general vfx discussion ranging from tutorials people post to examples people like in film
Then there's always the 3rd party forums for any particular software. Those are pretty easy to find and explore.
Enjoy!
Great. Thank you!
Questions:
Do you know whether SGIs, Alphas, or SPARC machines were used for rendering for Spirits Within?
How much custom software was used vs off-the-shelf for design, rendering, etc. ?
Were you working directly under Sakaguchi/Squaresoft or as a contractor/freelancer?
I just wanted to say I really enjoyed watching Spirits Within as a teen, even if the story wasn't very well-executed. And I certainly thank you for your part in it. The CGI and brilliant colors were mindblowing at the time and it still holds up somewhat today.
Do you know whether SGIs, Alphas, or SPARC machines were used for rendering for Spirits Within?
How much custom software was used vs off-the-shelf for design, rendering, etc. ?
Were you working directly under Sakaguchi/Squaresoft or as a contractor/freelancer?
I just wanted to say I really enjoyed watching Spirits Within as a teen, even if the story wasn't very well-executed. And I certainly thank you for your part in it. The CGI and brilliant colors were mindblowing at the time and it still holds up somewhat today.
Keep in mind how long ago this all was. Also my position was non-technical. So, none of this would hold up in court as expert testimony.
>Do you know whether SGIs, Alphas, or SPARC machines were used for rendering for Spirits Within?
I want to say all SGI machines. At least that's what we artists had. Near the end of production they had to rebuild the top floor of the building to hold all the computing power. So, could have been anything up there.
> How much custom software was used vs off-the-shelf for design, rendering, etc. ?
I think all the pipeline was custom. The main thing I used was Maya. As it was brand new and we were such a large production we had someone from Alias in-house. That was AMAZING. Nothing like having software support down the hallways. And then I think we had a Renderman clone for rendering.
> Were you working directly under Sakaguchi/Squaresoft or as a contractor/freelancer?
"The Guch" was in the office and made frequent rounds. :-) Really nice guy from the limited interactions I had.
FFTSW was in the same building as the production for FFXIII (I think) so he worked on that too.
> I just wanted to say I really enjoyed watching Spirits Within as a teen, even if the story wasn't very well-executed. And I certainly thank you for your part in it. The CGI and brilliant colors were mindblowing at the time and it still holds up somewhat today.
Thanks buddy! I remember in 2002/3 being at a Rave in Los Angeles and seeing video from FFTSW on on screens and getting all full of warm pride, even for the little bits that I did.
>Do you know whether SGIs, Alphas, or SPARC machines were used for rendering for Spirits Within?
I want to say all SGI machines. At least that's what we artists had. Near the end of production they had to rebuild the top floor of the building to hold all the computing power. So, could have been anything up there.
> How much custom software was used vs off-the-shelf for design, rendering, etc. ?
I think all the pipeline was custom. The main thing I used was Maya. As it was brand new and we were such a large production we had someone from Alias in-house. That was AMAZING. Nothing like having software support down the hallways. And then I think we had a Renderman clone for rendering.
> Were you working directly under Sakaguchi/Squaresoft or as a contractor/freelancer?
"The Guch" was in the office and made frequent rounds. :-) Really nice guy from the limited interactions I had.
FFTSW was in the same building as the production for FFXIII (I think) so he worked on that too.
> I just wanted to say I really enjoyed watching Spirits Within as a teen, even if the story wasn't very well-executed. And I certainly thank you for your part in it. The CGI and brilliant colors were mindblowing at the time and it still holds up somewhat today.
Thanks buddy! I remember in 2002/3 being at a Rave in Los Angeles and seeing video from FFTSW on on screens and getting all full of warm pride, even for the little bits that I did.
Do you interact with Houdini via its Python API? If yes, would you mind sharing your set-up (IDE, etc.)?
For a while now, I have been wanting to learn how to use Houdini or Blender for 1) data viz, e.g., animations of very large amounts of data points and 2) making short animations that I could embed into my presentations.
For a while now, I have been wanting to learn how to use Houdini or Blender for 1) data viz, e.g., animations of very large amounts of data points and 2) making short animations that I could embed into my presentations.
I can strongly recommend both. I have only had a taste of houdini but can surely attest to it, and with blender I have used extensively including python api. regarding ide it's pretty much notepad or blender itself, which is a major drawback but luckily it's such an amazing tool, any python operation code can be copied from the ui (which is with it art within itself)
Sadly for my hacking-nerd-cred I do not. I'm a more visual get-it-done kinda artist. And for that I even eschew sims if I can do it all in SOPs.
If I had to I'd likely do whatever I could to use Emacs (spacemacs) for my daily driver.
If I had to I'd likely do whatever I could to use Emacs (spacemacs) for my daily driver.
What do you think about Adobe locking ppl in with subscriptions… do you see the industry moving to tools like Davinci Resolve or Affinity apps?
Can Davinci Resolve Fusion replace After Effects?
Can Davinci Resolve Fusion replace After Effects?
> What do you think about Adobe locking ppl in with subscriptions…
I'm old school, I think it's evil and predatory. But also I grew up using pirated versions of Photoshop, I understand their motivation and the advantages to the customer. So, nothing new to add to the discussison.
> do you see the industry moving to
I have no idea. I don't do 2D stuff. I see studios moving towards cloud providers of software and hardware. But slowly. It's all business. So, if it becomes profitable to do so then everyone will jump on board. Already there's Deadline and a frothing market of cloud providers for turnkey 3D digital studios. Time will tell.
> Can Davinci Resolve Fusion replace After Effects?
They're different tools. So, no.
I'm old school, I think it's evil and predatory. But also I grew up using pirated versions of Photoshop, I understand their motivation and the advantages to the customer. So, nothing new to add to the discussison.
> do you see the industry moving to
I have no idea. I don't do 2D stuff. I see studios moving towards cloud providers of software and hardware. But slowly. It's all business. So, if it becomes profitable to do so then everyone will jump on board. Already there's Deadline and a frothing market of cloud providers for turnkey 3D digital studios. Time will tell.
> Can Davinci Resolve Fusion replace After Effects?
They're different tools. So, no.
interesting. I haven't used maya I wonder why you think that. I only touched houdini (donut tutorial) and it seemed amazing at the time, but blender had what I needed and now has geometry nodes so I don't see the reason.
and I've been considering branching to 2D, photo/video editing, post production stuff. just out of interest but other than that I just don't have a reason to learn even more stuff if I end up not using it.
and I've been considering branching to 2D, photo/video editing, post production stuff. just out of interest but other than that I just don't have a reason to learn even more stuff if I end up not using it.
> I haven't used maya I wonder why you think that.
Because Maya is all high level tools with only partial and buggy procedurality. It's history stream is a joke. Because when I use Maya I feel like I'm fighting the will of each and every programmer for everything I want to do. Like each and every finger of every programmer is on my hand telling me how to do what I want to do.
However, in Houdini it's more like the programmers have left a pile of low level tools and let me do what I need to do however I want to do it.
In Maya, once you're done you have a final product. In Houdini, once you're done you have not only the final product, but also the process that created that product.
Because Maya is all high level tools with only partial and buggy procedurality. It's history stream is a joke. Because when I use Maya I feel like I'm fighting the will of each and every programmer for everything I want to do. Like each and every finger of every programmer is on my hand telling me how to do what I want to do.
However, in Houdini it's more like the programmers have left a pile of low level tools and let me do what I need to do however I want to do it.
In Maya, once you're done you have a final product. In Houdini, once you're done you have not only the final product, but also the process that created that product.
I'm a design manager in my dayjob for a brand that most millennials have heard of. :) However, I keep that world airgapped from my passion work which is best seen on kradeelav.com. Published comics, zines, erotic art, illustrations, you name it.
Since you asked about tools, I tend to live in Photoshop/Illustrator 99% of the time. I'm about to move to Kubuntu for my personal computer and fully intend on moving back to Paint Tool SAI (and a ahem "borrowed" PSCS2) which was my first love as far as digital drawing tools. I detest Adobe, but no alternatives have managed to compete other than those two (yes I've tried clip studio paint, procreate, affinity suite, etc etc. the lag drives me bananas.)
Most important thing for me with tools is longevity and reliability. I've noticed Japanese brands tend to be better about stable software for 10+ years and not updating things every six months and breaking my workflow or sneaking telemetrics in.
I'm also very conscious of tools that don't throw erotic/taboo artists under the bus - this is the primary reason I'm moving off of apple hardware after +15 years of faithfully using their ecosystem.
Since you asked about tools, I tend to live in Photoshop/Illustrator 99% of the time. I'm about to move to Kubuntu for my personal computer and fully intend on moving back to Paint Tool SAI (and a ahem "borrowed" PSCS2) which was my first love as far as digital drawing tools. I detest Adobe, but no alternatives have managed to compete other than those two (yes I've tried clip studio paint, procreate, affinity suite, etc etc. the lag drives me bananas.)
Most important thing for me with tools is longevity and reliability. I've noticed Japanese brands tend to be better about stable software for 10+ years and not updating things every six months and breaking my workflow or sneaking telemetrics in.
I'm also very conscious of tools that don't throw erotic/taboo artists under the bus - this is the primary reason I'm moving off of apple hardware after +15 years of faithfully using their ecosystem.
I'm a doctor and researcher in tissue engineering, and use generative / procedural design to make cell scaffolds and medical braces (site at: https://www.lukehale.com).
Houdini is amazing! check out tutorials at https://entagma.com
Houdini is amazing! check out tutorials at https://entagma.com
Not sure if it counts, but I make gifs with GLSL:
https://dontcode.tumblr.com/archive/tagged/glsl
https://dontcode.tumblr.com/archive/tagged/glsl
In a similar vein, here are my dweets: https://beta.dwitter.net/u/sigveseb/top
nice! you really love shaders.
I got inspired by a video, Paint like a Sculptor by Sinix on YouTube. I got reinvigorated to do art, so I got a tablet with a screen and started learning to paint in Photoshop starting in may. I'm on a nearly 150 day streak of drawing or painting something every day! I think I've had some good results as well, though I've got no link to share.
I started as a painter, discovered multi-color 3D Printing and learned basic coding skills. I'm currently working on a Blender Addon that lets you modify G-code inside of Blender.
Shifting more and more to the developer side of things, but still trying to work with both, can be a powerful combination.
G-code importer can be seen here: [link redacted] Some results here: [link redacted]
G-code importer can be seen here: [link redacted] Some results here: [link redacted]
Are you asking for 3D specifically (based on the example you provide).
I'm not a professional, but I'm learning digital painting. I use procreate on the iPad (It's way easier than connecting the graphic tablet to my computer) and I've made some good progress recently. I learned a bit about 3D, but did not really pursue as I got interested in programming instead.
I'm not a professional, but I'm learning digital painting. I use procreate on the iPad (It's way easier than connecting the graphic tablet to my computer) and I've made some good progress recently. I learned a bit about 3D, but did not really pursue as I got interested in programming instead.
My wife uses Procreate on her iPad as well. She loves it. Only thing we find frustrating about it is the limited amount of layers, although it's my understanding that's mostly limited by iPad resources and not procreate itself.
Yeah. It depends on the canvas size itself. I have the ipad air and 4000x4000px gives me 27 layers. But layer management is not the greatest thing on procreate and I rarely go over 6
I guess the layer limitations is due to the iPad model. iPad pro with 6gb ram can support more layers than the other models with 4gb ram.
Yeah, also limited by size of the layers. She's been doing pop art style stuff lately, and we got her some backgrounds that emulate paper and stuff. They are higher resolution images so they definitely take up more memory.
This is a hobby I took up as well a few years ago, couple with a few Udemy courses, etc. It's good fun, and, as somewhat of a legendary "anti-talent" at drawing (mostly according to my family), I found that it's surprisingly easy to pick up. As in, given the right coaching, you can produce something that motivates you to keep improving, literally on day one. I had just never really tried before, or not in the right ways.
Recommend any good courses on it? I have anxiety about trying new things because I HATE HATE HATE the suck at the beginning stage. Took me forever to pickup guitar because of it, but would LOVE to actually start doing digital art.
What worked well for me was [1]. It is a general pencil drawing course that covers the basics. Having said that, there is an exercise in the beginning that has you draw a human eye region by following the presenter, and the results for me were way better than I imagined.
Later on, I did a bunch of oil painting courses which were non-digital, but I followed along using ArtRage [2], which I find has some of the best natural media simulation (especially for oils), for a digital program. Clearly, this is a bit of a niche within the hobby, so I won't list courses, but here are plenty of excellent ones.
[1] https://www.udemy.com/course/the-ultimate-drawing-course-beg... [2] https://www.artrage.com/
Later on, I did a bunch of oil painting courses which were non-digital, but I followed along using ArtRage [2], which I find has some of the best natural media simulation (especially for oils), for a digital program. Clearly, this is a bit of a niche within the hobby, so I won't list courses, but here are plenty of excellent ones.
[1] https://www.udemy.com/course/the-ultimate-drawing-course-beg... [2] https://www.artrage.com/
the learning curve on these things is steep. that is to say your progress as a beginner is exponential.
if you're into 3D I can recommend Imphenzia low poly on YouTube. I always had an interest in 3D but that really got me into it, sort of "soft landing" considering how relatively easy it is. from there is easy to branch out to advanced topics.
if you're into 3D I can recommend Imphenzia low poly on YouTube. I always had an interest in 3D but that really got me into it, sort of "soft landing" considering how relatively easy it is. from there is easy to branch out to advanced topics.
not just 3D, it's just what I'm familiar with :)
You're question bears some qualification; by artists are you meaning concept/game artists, or something else?
I've been moonlighting as a fine artist and illustrator for a few decades (with a brief diversion at an actual game startup that failed some time ago) but I mostly work in analog, with post procesing in Photoshop/Krita and a slew of specialized tools (e.g. Context Free, various fractal generators, etc).
http://zeruch.deviantart.com or @zeruch on IG.
I've been moonlighting as a fine artist and illustrator for a few decades (with a brief diversion at an actual game startup that failed some time ago) but I mostly work in analog, with post procesing in Photoshop/Krita and a slew of specialized tools (e.g. Context Free, various fractal generators, etc).
http://zeruch.deviantart.com or @zeruch on IG.
Where I used to work my colleagues used commercially available game engines to build simulations for training purposes. Many of these were for military customers although some were civil (e.g. a safety trainer for coal mining). I therefore became interested in game development in general and played around with Unity for a while at home. From work, I'd gained an appreciation of the many different skills involved in game dev. In parallel I'd been using Poser and Daz Studio for 3D scene construction, with Octane for photorealistic rendering. I'm also a hobbyist photographer, and enjoy playing with light.
I eventually realised that I most enjoyed photorealistic rendering and that the asset marketplaces were often swimming in shovelware - so there was no real money in asset creation. Not that I was looking for serious revenue, but I had wondered if I could make enough money to pay for assets and licenses. I'd produced some promotional renders for asset creators and eventually came to the attention of someone who produces tutorials. So I decided to combine my 3D lighting knowledge with general photographic experience. I've now produced tutorials (sold on the Daz 3D marketplace) focussing on lighting 3D scenes using Daz Studio (and historically Octane). One of these has earned me enough money that I actually think I need to declare it on my tax returns!
[Edit] I sometimes use Blender to create simple 3D assets although I've never really gone up the learning curve. The 3D tools in Photoshop although simplistic are also sometimes okay for my purposes - e.g. if I want some 3D text in a scene. I keep meaning to have a look at Unreal and its rendering capability, but never quite get round to it.
I eventually realised that I most enjoyed photorealistic rendering and that the asset marketplaces were often swimming in shovelware - so there was no real money in asset creation. Not that I was looking for serious revenue, but I had wondered if I could make enough money to pay for assets and licenses. I'd produced some promotional renders for asset creators and eventually came to the attention of someone who produces tutorials. So I decided to combine my 3D lighting knowledge with general photographic experience. I've now produced tutorials (sold on the Daz 3D marketplace) focussing on lighting 3D scenes using Daz Studio (and historically Octane). One of these has earned me enough money that I actually think I need to declare it on my tax returns!
[Edit] I sometimes use Blender to create simple 3D assets although I've never really gone up the learning curve. The 3D tools in Photoshop although simplistic are also sometimes okay for my purposes - e.g. if I want some 3D text in a scene. I keep meaning to have a look at Unreal and its rendering capability, but never quite get round to it.
I'm an amateur illustrator, painter, luthier, and musician when I'm not writing code.
I've used Blender, 3dsMax, Maya, and ZBrush but my work-horse software is usually Photoshop on my wacom and Procreate on an iPad.
In terms of music, I run NI software inside Logic Pro X.
Most of the time though, I'm trying to stay away from computers when I do my non-tech hobbies. So most of my work these days is traditional media - canvases, acrylics, wood, etc.
I've used Blender, 3dsMax, Maya, and ZBrush but my work-horse software is usually Photoshop on my wacom and Procreate on an iPad.
In terms of music, I run NI software inside Logic Pro X.
Most of the time though, I'm trying to stay away from computers when I do my non-tech hobbies. So most of my work these days is traditional media - canvases, acrylics, wood, etc.
> luthier
I had to look up what this is. What a cool hobby! Do you mind if I ask how you got into it? Is it like building a PC where there are a lot of resources, kits, interchangeable parts, etc? Or do you just buy some blueprints and hit home depot? (In case it wasn’t abundantly clear I have not a musical bone in my body and know nothing about music or instruments. So apologies if these are silly questions, I’m merely curious how someone found such a niche hobby! Or maybe it’s not so niche and I just need to add some musically-inclined friends to my social circle!)
I had to look up what this is. What a cool hobby! Do you mind if I ask how you got into it? Is it like building a PC where there are a lot of resources, kits, interchangeable parts, etc? Or do you just buy some blueprints and hit home depot? (In case it wasn’t abundantly clear I have not a musical bone in my body and know nothing about music or instruments. So apologies if these are silly questions, I’m merely curious how someone found such a niche hobby! Or maybe it’s not so niche and I just need to add some musically-inclined friends to my social circle!)
I dabble in ceramic arts (hand building mostly) and woodworking. Those two pursuits have a loose connection to my professional life in the sense that there are desired outcomes for a project and a lot of planning needs to go into the execution.
However, unlike my day job I use my hands to create a physical object vs digital. I find that to be _extremely_ satisfying.
I have also started creating generative art. The outputs are SVG that get plotted with an axidraw. I use various tools and frameworks for this:
* Kotlin - https://openrndr.org/
* Python - I'm writing a custom framework that suites my style
* Inkscape
* Adobe illustrator for the handful of things inkscape can't do very well
However, unlike my day job I use my hands to create a physical object vs digital. I find that to be _extremely_ satisfying.
I have also started creating generative art. The outputs are SVG that get plotted with an axidraw. I use various tools and frameworks for this:
* Kotlin - https://openrndr.org/
* Python - I'm writing a custom framework that suites my style
* Inkscape
* Adobe illustrator for the handful of things inkscape can't do very well
I am interested in a lot of different mediums but I wouldn’t say I am great at any of them. I put a fair bit of time into it though.
I really enjoyed creating 3D art in Rhino, however my very old educational license doesn’t work on modern macOS. I have been meaning to get comfortable with other tools but have yet to find the time in my day to day. I'd be excited to hear peoples opinions on what's worth my time.
I sketch, and otherwise do the occasional digital work with my Wacom tablet though less often than I would like. I have had my eyes on a Cintiq for a couple months now thinking it would encourage me to do more, but I know the problem is less lack of tools than motivation. I have been a huge fan of ArtRage for years, although I have not tried the latest version. Photoshop is my primary tool.
I have been taking a near daily photo for over a decade now, every couple years I put out a video of them. The latest version I wrote some software to do a rolling average which ended up with a neat sort of painterly feel.
https://youtu.be/Zv6P0wNiZOA
I also messed around building some tools to convert bitmaps into actual available lego's - and rendered using Stud.io
https://noteof.it/post/184075469826/so-i-wrote-a-little-prog...
I really enjoyed creating 3D art in Rhino, however my very old educational license doesn’t work on modern macOS. I have been meaning to get comfortable with other tools but have yet to find the time in my day to day. I'd be excited to hear peoples opinions on what's worth my time.
I sketch, and otherwise do the occasional digital work with my Wacom tablet though less often than I would like. I have had my eyes on a Cintiq for a couple months now thinking it would encourage me to do more, but I know the problem is less lack of tools than motivation. I have been a huge fan of ArtRage for years, although I have not tried the latest version. Photoshop is my primary tool.
I have been taking a near daily photo for over a decade now, every couple years I put out a video of them. The latest version I wrote some software to do a rolling average which ended up with a neat sort of painterly feel.
https://youtu.be/Zv6P0wNiZOA
I also messed around building some tools to convert bitmaps into actual available lego's - and rendered using Stud.io
https://noteof.it/post/184075469826/so-i-wrote-a-little-prog...
I’m a senior visual effects artist, compositor. My skills are more related with the 2d aspects of a movie, usually blending multiple 2d and 3d elements seamlessly (and hopefully) photorealistic way into the final image.
Is also said compositors are the last line of defense on movie productions (image only side). The mantra “we’ll fix it in post” means usually us fixing productions problems/incompetence/laziness/lack of money - and a ton of overtime.
I use Nuke on a daily basis and other softwares to assist related tasks.
For high-end productions, artists are very specialized - both 2D/3D artist usually spend 80% of their time in a single software: the most likely in these productions are Nuke and Maya, and for some artists, this can be Houdini, ZBrush or Photoshop. For the 3d tracking dept, 3D equalizer, Syntheyes or PFTrack.
I’ve started a long time ago, where most compositing softwares that I’ve used are dead: Shake, Combustion, 5D Cyborg and a bit of Toxik.
I recently joined a new studio as a pipeline developer/technical director. I’m very excited about the AÍ developments (in a non delusional way - only recent research is getting quality/control good enough for visual effects) and hope to bring these tools to more non-technical people.
Is also said compositors are the last line of defense on movie productions (image only side). The mantra “we’ll fix it in post” means usually us fixing productions problems/incompetence/laziness/lack of money - and a ton of overtime.
I use Nuke on a daily basis and other softwares to assist related tasks.
For high-end productions, artists are very specialized - both 2D/3D artist usually spend 80% of their time in a single software: the most likely in these productions are Nuke and Maya, and for some artists, this can be Houdini, ZBrush or Photoshop. For the 3d tracking dept, 3D equalizer, Syntheyes or PFTrack.
I’ve started a long time ago, where most compositing softwares that I’ve used are dead: Shake, Combustion, 5D Cyborg and a bit of Toxik.
I recently joined a new studio as a pipeline developer/technical director. I’m very excited about the AÍ developments (in a non delusional way - only recent research is getting quality/control good enough for visual effects) and hope to bring these tools to more non-technical people.
I became interested in computer graphics at a very young age, spent the first 9 years working as a developer. Then switched and started working as a cgi artist in media/advertising. 10 years later i have gone full circle and am way more happy with what i am doing. We have come such a long way- from mode 13 to GPUs, from scanline to raytracing, from offline to realtime. It still excites me. If it wasnt for graphics i would not even be interested in computers.
Oh using Maya, Nuke, VRay and Unreal btw. Maybe its best to start with Blender/Unreal these days.
I draw, paint and use blender - at the moment to make assets for a friend's indie game project made in Unity. Personally, I'd rather use Godot but the team has experience in Unity, so that's that. I may also write an ocean surface compute shader for the same project.
I’m a painter working in traditional mediums (mostly acrylics and charcoal/pastels) but also previously worked as a engineer and researcher in the computer graphics industry developing tools for 3d artists (incl at Disney and Pixar).
Currently focusing on my painting practice in Hawaii :), and may bring tech-art together again in the future. You can find my work at https://www.artofxinyi.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/artofxinyi
Many of my paintings are inspired by nature and touches upon aspects of spirituality - including themes of transformation and change, death and renewal.
Currently focusing on my painting practice in Hawaii :), and may bring tech-art together again in the future. You can find my work at https://www.artofxinyi.com or on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/artofxinyi
Many of my paintings are inspired by nature and touches upon aspects of spirituality - including themes of transformation and change, death and renewal.
Did you work on Renderman?
Unfortunately no, my time in industry was quite short, but I worked on some really fun projects in that time - generative hair, trees, lighting tools. The cg pipeline has so many parts so you never get bored, and each new production and artistic vision brings new problems to be solved. It’s a fun place to be for sure!
How short and which decade?
Did you ever meet bigwigs like Lasseter and Katzenberg?
And movies where I possibly seen your work? Tarazan perhaps?
Did you ever meet bigwigs like Lasseter and Katzenberg?
And movies where I possibly seen your work? Tarazan perhaps?
I worked in the generative trees in Zootopia and sculpting tools for the characters in Coco.
The studios are small so you’ll see everyone (higher ups less often, but you’ll see lasseter - he’s gone now though or catmull walking around occasionally) I had the opportunity to meet lasseter once in a small group setting and he was the most intensely passionate person I’ve ever met about animation. Hearing him speak about it almost made me cry.
The creative energy (and people) was incredible to experience. The engineers were artistically inclined and the artists were technically very smart. The mix of tech+art brings in different ways of thinking which I think contributes to the unique creativity of the environment.
The studios are small so you’ll see everyone (higher ups less often, but you’ll see lasseter - he’s gone now though or catmull walking around occasionally) I had the opportunity to meet lasseter once in a small group setting and he was the most intensely passionate person I’ve ever met about animation. Hearing him speak about it almost made me cry.
The creative energy (and people) was incredible to experience. The engineers were artistically inclined and the artists were technically very smart. The mix of tech+art brings in different ways of thinking which I think contributes to the unique creativity of the environment.
Generative Art based on physics and nature, Krakow.
First I started with Processing, then switched to Python.
On the technique:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344327257_Generativ...
Examples:
https://opensea.io/collection/grzegorz-kepisty-art-collectio...
https://society6.com/gkep/prints?sort=new
Did you use plot.ly to generate your art or some other python library?
What software did you use for the 3d visualizations?
What software did you use for the 3d visualizations?
This is fully matplotlib + own 2D implementations using numpy.
not sure if it's rude to ask, but have you had any buyers of your nfts?
I paint with oil on linen.
I use blender and python for reference.
Here's an example: https://ridaayed.github.io/posts/shark-flower-sunrise-venice...
I use blender and python for reference.
Here's an example: https://ridaayed.github.io/posts/shark-flower-sunrise-venice...
I have studied Art and Craft, Electronic Art/Graphics as well as Media Art over the years. Used Cinema 4D and 3D studio Max in the past, but am in love with Blender these days. Great for Modeling, Sculpting, Animation etc. Amazing community too!!!
I do a lot of video work using Blackmagic cinema cameras and Davinci Resolve. Solid as houses, features growing with every update. Also has Fusion built in which is a powerful Compositing and FX toolset. Been tinkering with Photoshop for more years than I care to remember. Also After Affects, which is great. However I have become less and less happy with Adobe over the years, so I'am currently working on weening myself off that teet.
I do a lot of video work using Blackmagic cinema cameras and Davinci Resolve. Solid as houses, features growing with every update. Also has Fusion built in which is a powerful Compositing and FX toolset. Been tinkering with Photoshop for more years than I care to remember. Also After Affects, which is great. However I have become less and less happy with Adobe over the years, so I'am currently working on weening myself off that teet.
I'm a composer/producer, which is art I suppose. Funky, VGM/Jazz inspired tracks.
https://tuckerzodd.bandcamp.com/album/hindsight
https://tuckerzodd.bandcamp.com/album/hindsight
Also on apple music, Spotify, and pretty much everywhere else under Tucker Zodd.
Programmer, but my hobby is drawing using Krita.
I got into Blender by way of Wobblepaint (discovered here on Hn) and went on to beta-test PicoCad (part of the amazing Pico-8 community). It was a great introduction to 3D, which made it way easier to overcome the blender learning curve.
I'm working with some amazing friends on Cosmoose, a kind of huge collaborative project where we do music, illustrations and videos. I'm working on bridging the two by releasing the stems for everything CC-licensed, and building a platform to bring the good aspects of Git to ease the collaborative process.
I'm working with some amazing friends on Cosmoose, a kind of huge collaborative project where we do music, illustrations and videos. I'm working on bridging the two by releasing the stems for everything CC-licensed, and building a platform to bring the good aspects of Git to ease the collaborative process.
I am in the process of learning Clip Studio Paint by doing some October themed dailies. CSP has gotten a strong rep among indie illustrators for its usability and mix of raster and vector functions. The vector tools I think are particularly outstanding - you can build a whole workflow around line art using vector erase(which automatically chops your selection to the nearest intersection). It also has some great conveniences for scene building with poseable 3D mannequins, perspective rulers and an asset store.
Unicorn type person working in games here.
Engineering, design, art, music, etc. I started my career as an abstract painter and sculptor. Then transitioned into 3d animation, then web design, then into back-end web engineering. Found I was decent at that, then moved into web games(flash). I've been making games and interesting public interactive projects ever since.
Nothing you've probably heard of, maybe the ZX Plectrum (if you are British), a musical toy for android and iOS that is fairly popular.
If I would call my self anything it would be artist.
Engineering, design, art, music, etc. I started my career as an abstract painter and sculptor. Then transitioned into 3d animation, then web design, then into back-end web engineering. Found I was decent at that, then moved into web games(flash). I've been making games and interesting public interactive projects ever since.
Nothing you've probably heard of, maybe the ZX Plectrum (if you are British), a musical toy for android and iOS that is fairly popular.
If I would call my self anything it would be artist.
> Unicorn type person
What is that?
What is that?
From my heard usage of the term it usually describes a person that has deep understanding of a lot of things and hence can do almost anything with it. Like imagine a full stack developer but with deep domain knowledge in every related field. Widening that knowledge is usually just one project with a new stack away. Often x10devs and INTJs as one might guess.
Thats my understanding also, but I never know with how terms change quickly. So willing to be corrected!
I heard that from a girl in a dance club one time, but I don't think he means the same.
Yeah...it can mean different things depending on context. The meaning you probably refer to is one of them, but generally it refers to someone rare and in-demand.
I've heard it used to describe professionally multi-skilled people in significantly different domains.
I am a physicist by trade, but recently I started drawing on my Samsung tablet. I'm really enjoying it. For other folks that are doing digital drawing I can recommend that you print out your stuff on canvas with a high-end printer. The feeling of having your work that you can hang on your wall is amazing!
I put my stuff on my blog. Feel free to check it out here: https://physica.dev/art/
I put my stuff on my blog. Feel free to check it out here: https://physica.dev/art/
Do you draw, for lack of a better term, "architecturally" (i.e. technical drawing) or do you draw as a painter would (i.e. as a sensual experience, etc.)?
What printer model would you recommend? What dpi?
What printer model would you recommend? What dpi?
My daugther(18) and I(47) create a comic series at https://www.instagram.com/arghhhcomics/.
We use Inkscape and Gimp for them.
Now we have animated series coming up, called Misunderstood, where daughter is exploring blender. She is just starting, but loving it.
op here. I want to thank everyone who shared, I read every single comment and very pleased to learn the variety of artists around here!
Blender, Cinema4D, AfterEffects and
Ableton Live users here. Only a semi-pro in the music category (paid to do music but nowhere near my main income).
I started in the 90's with Sculpt3D and REAL3D on Amiga.
Started to do a lot more of Unity and Unreal because the rendering engines are becoming pretty good, even for postproduction VFX. Traditional renderers are much much slower.
I started in the 90's with Sculpt3D and REAL3D on Amiga.
Started to do a lot more of Unity and Unreal because the rendering engines are becoming pretty good, even for postproduction VFX. Traditional renderers are much much slower.
How did you get into paid music gigs despite not being a "pro"?
Did you ever work with a Video Toaster when you were on the Amiga?
How in your experience does Cinema4D compare to Blender or Maya?
Do you do any 2D work?
Did you ever work with a Video Toaster when you were on the Amiga?
How in your experience does Cinema4D compare to Blender or Maya?
Do you do any 2D work?
> How did you get into paid music gigs despite not being a "pro"?
Not OP but I have been playing music non-professionally in the US for about 25 years - there are a number of ways non-pro musicians can work paid gigs. I have been paid to play coffee shops, small festivals, college radio events, the occasional decently attended bar show, etc. My personal experience is primarily loud and / or experimental[0] music (punk, hardcore, noise, sound collage) and there are huge networks of like minded people throughout the US who work to set up and promote shows / concerts for local and touring artists.
Having said that, the total amount of cash I have made as a performing musician totals < $2000. A few outliers from my immediate circle have become moderately successful as non-pros.
[0]: https://papertether.bandcamp.com
Not OP but I have been playing music non-professionally in the US for about 25 years - there are a number of ways non-pro musicians can work paid gigs. I have been paid to play coffee shops, small festivals, college radio events, the occasional decently attended bar show, etc. My personal experience is primarily loud and / or experimental[0] music (punk, hardcore, noise, sound collage) and there are huge networks of like minded people throughout the US who work to set up and promote shows / concerts for local and touring artists.
Having said that, the total amount of cash I have made as a performing musician totals < $2000. A few outliers from my immediate circle have become moderately successful as non-pros.
[0]: https://papertether.bandcamp.com
[deleted]
O use daily Adobe (Ps, Pr, Ae, Il, LrC, Au, Id). 6 years ago I was working in UE4 over year in indie game studio that failed on kickstarter but assets was later bought by other developers.
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/131398789
Trailer: https://vimeo.com/131398789
this looks badass! gives me The Cat Lady feels.
Not an artist, but for about a decade I worked with artists (and other production crew) to create a remake of Riven: the Sequel to Myst. Had a lot of fun times and learned a bunch from them. http://starryexpanse.com/
I like to draw pictures for the kids school lunch boxes...
https://goo.gl/photos/LJ4GTMTBy1VvQHBk6
Though I haven't done it for a little while and really need to get back into drawing again :-)
Though I haven't done it for a little while and really need to get back into drawing again :-)
I make pseudo-generative work art using a custom cv-based pipeline I built myself. I use redbubble for printing (posters are OK, everything else is mediocre). Check me out at https://zwerdlds.me
I'm a 3D artist doing 3D animation (non-character) with Blender. I've used Max, Maya and Zbrush in the past, but it was a long time ago, since then Blender has been all I needed.
I probably should learn some C4D and Houdini to be able to get a better job...
Are there any '1 bit' artists on here looking for work? Ie 1 bit pixel maps/cities or 'dither punk' style.
I require several pieces completed for commission, and am looking for collaborators related to a startup I am working on.
I require several pieces completed for commission, and am looking for collaborators related to a startup I am working on.
Not an artist but I made a project which purpose was to show maps (OSM, Google) on 1bit displays (low resolution eInk) and of course needed the impression of more than 2 colors to show shading and certain details. I wouldn't call it "dither punk" and am not sure if that's even what you are looking for.
Are the results online somewhere?
Quickly put together three sample frames from the application before sent to the display (1bit bitmaps)
https://imgur.com/a/4CbqBnj
Never really bothered (because not project scope) but in theory should work with any content/image really.
https://imgur.com/a/4CbqBnj
Never really bothered (because not project scope) but in theory should work with any content/image really.
Pixel art is a true art, applying a naive filter or resampling is not gonna look good. Keep in mind the target screen is 200x200
just take whatever image you have in mind and apply a filter?
I've got into generative art lately. Originally it was a way to test-and-stretch my Javascript canvas library, but as time went on I found it was a nice way to exercise my creativity. I do most of my art coding on CodePen.
Freelance photographer / videographer here, mostly involved with horses and general equestrian things.
I use RawTherapee, Canon Digital Photo Professional and Gimp for photo editing, and DaVinci Resolve, VLC and Handbrake for my video pipeline.
I use RawTherapee, Canon Digital Photo Professional and Gimp for photo editing, and DaVinci Resolve, VLC and Handbrake for my video pipeline.
I've been into generative art for a few years. I actually started posting my artwork here a few weeks ago: https://zck.org/art
How to get started with this? I'm not looking into diving into GAN kind of stuff. But need to make beautiful repeated art on canvas for a project. Want to make something like this [1] from scratch.
[1] http://jasonlong.github.io/geo_pattern/
[1] http://jasonlong.github.io/geo_pattern/
I'm personally using Quil (http://quil.info/), a Clojure wrapper around Processing. It's a good tool. You can also use Processing (https://processing.org/) directly, if you prefer Java. There are other frameworks, but I'm less familiar with them. There's probably one for your preferred programming language!
Those patterns look very cool, and not that technically hard to technically do -- the artistry is the challenge with those.
Once you get the framework working, you can start thinking about what you want to do. Begin by doing simple things -- graph a plain circle of one color. Then add complexity and randomness.
Feel free to email me (email in profile) if you want more specific advice. (Offer open to anyone people reading this)
Those patterns look very cool, and not that technically hard to technically do -- the artistry is the challenge with those.
Once you get the framework working, you can start thinking about what you want to do. Begin by doing simple things -- graph a plain circle of one color. Then add complexity and randomness.
Feel free to email me (email in profile) if you want more specific advice. (Offer open to anyone people reading this)
I use HUGIN to manually align photos into synthetic focus, and generate layers as big TIFF files
I use a python script to merge the various layers into a single huge JPEG
I use GIMP for editing the resulting images, and for general photo editing.
I use a python script to merge the various layers into a single huge JPEG
I use GIMP for editing the resulting images, and for general photo editing.
Meta question, at what point can you call yourself an artist? After you finish a painting, story, or song? When you sell something you’ve created? Artist isn’t a well defined title.
I guess just like art, it is subjective.
as you see my original curiousity was regarding specific 3D tools and I got a variety of answers. it's kind of emergent property given by society. if a tree fell in the forest is it really a tree? that kind of thing.
if I'm being serious about it I'd say (roughly) minimum 6 months of effort given to study & creation. idk.
as you see my original curiousity was regarding specific 3D tools and I got a variety of answers. it's kind of emergent property given by society. if a tree fell in the forest is it really a tree? that kind of thing.
if I'm being serious about it I'd say (roughly) minimum 6 months of effort given to study & creation. idk.
I make music with Logic Pro and a piano :)
https://dclassic.work
I'm using unity to do 3d midi animation,
have an ok setup going, lacking artistic vision :)
I have the vision for VR instruments. I'd be very interested in creating something like Smash Drums or Paradiddle VR or some kind of VR-only instrument.
that sounds fun but the audio is probably quite complex. I'm using ableton for audio - and you can't really ship that.
I made a VR drumming setup and got the sounds from abelton. my thinking was if I ever wanted to release I'll have to take care of it then but only then :)
other than that you can build entirely generative sounds.
other than that you can build entirely generative sounds.
I doodle, paint, use Blender, you name it. Tech and art are my two biggest past times.
I make ultra-large scale [32000 x 32000 pixels] abstract AI generated art and make them into NFTs. It's an ever-evolving project: I learn new things and I try to create some art with them, recent ones are now animated!
Main Website: https://aidream.vercel.app Animated Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0WozGLf0uw Questions: https://twitter.com/bitmarx 3D Gallery: https://app.spatial.io/rooms/6130be9402ac0d00014f4442?share=... [No Sign up is required, just needs a name]
Main Website: https://aidream.vercel.app Animated Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0WozGLf0uw Questions: https://twitter.com/bitmarx 3D Gallery: https://app.spatial.io/rooms/6130be9402ac0d00014f4442?share=... [No Sign up is required, just needs a name]
i make (electronic) music :)
I own too many instruments than I'd like to admit and still not be a musician :(
being the type of person that need to focus on one task/life, i completely understand you! when I was commited to music production and paid the bills with it, I couldn't focus in any other thing/job. Now since the pandemics started, I had to focus in programming to pay the bills and had to quit music completely.
My 8 guitars that I can't play say hi.
Hah...well maybe the 9th will be the one!
Seriously though, I do own a few but I only play for fun and don't devote enough time to practicing to get particularly good at it. But I can still hold my own just messing around for fun or sitting around a campfire. Sometimes casual/hobbyist-level can still be rewarding.
Seriously though, I do own a few but I only play for fun and don't devote enough time to practicing to get particularly good at it. But I can still hold my own just messing around for fun or sitting around a campfire. Sometimes casual/hobbyist-level can still be rewarding.
[deleted]
I am an artist and my tool of choice is Perl. :)
Did you somehow figure out how to invert the transformation in https://www.mcmillen.dev/sigbovik/2019.pdf
Suppose I'm going full circle, using the Perl code to control a paint splattering robot. :D
I actually just use it to generate artsy Web sites, so it's really Perl + bash + HTML + JS + CSS + PHP + .txt
I actually just use it to generate artsy Web sites, so it's really Perl + bash + HTML + JS + CSS + PHP + .txt
No only nerds are here lol suckers
let's have a discussion :)