However, as artists it’s our job to tell the client how much time it will take to complete a project and how much they can expect to pay. But how do we predict the unpredictable?

To get more practice in this department I like to create deadlines for personal projects, regardless of whether or not there’s a need for one. I find this prevents laziness and endless test and adjustments.

My most recent project was a New York city earthquake animation. So before I started the project I wrote down a list of everything I would need to model:

• A bedroom (chairs, desk, bed, bookshelf)
• Detailed building (multiple floors, smashed windows, broken walls)
• A camera mapped city
• Smoke
• Falling debris

I didn’t have the luxury of working on this full time, so I estimated the project would take 3 weeks to complete.

And how long did it really take?

3 months.

Where did I go wrong? The biggest problem was failing to predict certain issues.

Here’s a list of the most time consuming tasks that completely skipped the planning stage:

1. Learning Time

I had never modeled a destroyed anything before, so it goes without saying that I would need to learn a few things. Learning takes time, a lot of time. When you don’t know how to do something your entire production grinds to halt whilst you stumble around the internet trying desperately to find an answer.

2. Software Issues

I was using Blender 2.5 Alpha. That last word there should have been a neon flashing billboard that spelled TROUBLE. However, this completely overlooked this fact. As a result, I had to deal with dozens and dozens of unpredictable bugs. The most noteworthy bug was a ’segmentation fault’ that caused the software to crash during rendering. I spent over a week trying to find an answer. The worst part is, I never got one. It was in Alpha stage. Nobody knew.

3. Over-estimating my skill

Everyone knows how fast they work. Or at least they should. But when I was estimating on how long certain tasks would take, I severely overestimated my skill. Tasks such as modeling the inside of the bedroom took a mere day in my head, but when I sat down and actually started working on it I realized a week was more realistic.

4. Video production

Model, Texture, Light, Render = Finished! Right? No. There’s also, re-rendering problematic frames, compositing passes, buying sound effects, exporting in various formats for different media, uploading and distributing. They are all crucial tasks, but they never entered the planning stage.

5. Being a perfectionist

After I spent a week detailing rooms of the building that the audience would only see for a split second, I realized that I was being a little OCD. Every artist wants their work to be perfect. After all, that’s what makes great art. However, there comes a point when you need to step away from the computer and and accept that it’s not perfect, but it will pass.

The project was an enormous learning experience for me. It made me wonder:  Is determining a realistic deadline a skill that can be taught? Or is it something that only comes with experience?

At completion I jokingly thought that perhaps in the future I should just triple my original estimate. But on a second thought, maybe that’s even such a bad idea?

I put the question to my twitter followers and facebook fans. Here were their suggestions for determining a realistic deadlines:

@r3dp_01: I breakdown the layers of the project, 3d , matchmove etc. then the level of the artist(s)

@francoisgfx: The first thing they teach me when I started at Ubisoft: Always triple what you think

@DarkCellar: Complexity, team size, commitment, experience, skillset.

@OscarMopperkont: Realistic planning.

@Laxy: I work out roughly how long it’ll take then double it. But that’s me dealing with my optimistic calculations

Renato Sousa: Multiply by two…

Brian Knezevich: By figuring out how the project is coming along. Of course you determine it by the time and the work you all ready have done.

Mark Walder: Depends on the desired outcome, Time, detail, texturing lighting, placement and strength of lighting, HDRI background as part of that lighting and Ambient effects, In my experience it is hard to follow real world lighting so to keep rendering and adjusting has been the key for me, and that can make determining a deadline difficult at times.

So how do you create realistic deadlines? What methods have you found that work for you? Share your experiences and lessons learned in the comments below!

It is perfect for rubble, ceramics or splitting any object in two.

Who owns a ceramic picture frame anyway?

I am a man of my word. This video will literally take less than two minutes to watch:

Did you catch all that? Hope it wasn’t too fast!

Those days are over.

The new smoke simulator can not only create realistic smoke, but a gorgeous fire.

I’ve been working extensively with the smoke simulator over the past few months to find out the best method for creating fire. It’s been a long road but I believe I’ve finally got the formula right.

Last week, I launched an Introduction to Smoke Simulation that covered an in-depth approach to realistic smoke physics.

This week it’s all about fire… and it’s completely free.

What you will get from this tutorial is essentially the 3 months worth of experimenting, testing and adjusting, it took me to create the best looking fire possible.

In this tutorial you will learn:

• How to create fire and smoke using the new smoke simulator
• A simple lighting trick that will vastly improve the look of your fire
• The correct material settings for fire
• How to make your flames emit burning embers
• An easy heat distortion trick that adds nothing to your rendertimes

Here’s a sneak peak at what’s inside:

Subscribe to the Blender Guru now mailing list to recieve your copy now.

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During the 27-minute video you will learn:

• The Old System Vs New – What’s changed?
• How the Smoke Simulator works
• How to bake and render realistic smoke
• A behind the scenes look at creating a smoking city

Ready? Lets begin…

Watch it in HD!

I originally gave this presentation at the 2009 Blender Conference. The presentation included creations from other users, a short demonstration of smoke in action and a slideshow. Since that time there have been massive developements in smoke simulation so consider my video a revised edition.

Do you have any tips or tricks for using the smoke simulator? Share your experiences in the comments below!

1. CrazyBump

This amazing program creates detailed bump maps from any still image you throw at it. Watch the video on their homepage to see a demonstration. It’s simple, easy to use and the results are speak for themselves. Be warned, once you’ve used this program, it’s hard to live without it.

Price: $99 Personal / $299 Commercial License

Buy: crazybump.com

2. 3d World Subscription

Photo by: Hideki Saito

It’s certainly not the cheapest magazine around, but the value you get more than makes up for it. Every issue is jam packed with articles from industry professionals, an inspirational gallery of works, making of feature films and tons of tutorials.

Price: Yearly subscription – $80 UK / $90 Rest of the World

Buy: myfavouritemagazines.co.uk

3. CG Textures Membership

It’s no secret that the best place to find textures is CGTextures.com, but whilst the website lets you sign up for free, you are restricted to a tight download quota and smaller sized textures. A paid membership solves all these problems as well as giving you full access to their full sky map range, basically meaning it pays for itself on the first day.

Price: Starting at $65 a year

Buy: cgtextures.com

4. Digital Lighting and Rendering

This best selling book has become the industry standard for learning how to light your scene. From sub surf scattering to caustics, this book will teach you how to make your scene ridiculously good looking. If you’re serious about 3d, this book deserves a spot on your shelf.

Price: $37.80

Buy: amazon.com

5. Graphics Tablet

Photo by: andyp_uk

Whether it’s for 3d sculpting or just sketching out your ideas in photoshop first, a graphics tablet is definitely a good idea. A mouse can be cumbersome to work with at times, so it can help to work at the speed of your thoughts with a much more natural solution. Concept artist, David Revoy recommended the Bamboo Fun as an all round, cost effective tablet with more than enough features for what most artists will need.

Price: $299

Buy: wacom.com.au

So those are my 5 recommendations, what invaluable products do you recommend?

Are my renders perfect? Absolutely not. My portfolio is riddled with flaws. In fact almost every single piece of my artwork violates at least one of these ‘rules’. This article is to share what I’ve learnt as an artist and as an onlooker.

Here’s my top ten pet peeves…

1. There’s no point It doesn’t tell a story, it’s not advertising anything and it’s certainly not pretty. What exactly is the viewer getting from this? Nothing makes me close the window faster than a piece of art with no clear objective.

2. You use pre-made content Stock models are great for studios who want to save time and money by purchasing a pre-made model. But it has absolutely no place in your portfolio. Personally I find no pride in showing someone a render that I haven’t created entirely by myself, but that’s just me. If you don’t know how to model it, why not learn?

3. You’re copying something far more successful I love Wall-E as much as the next guy, but that doesn’t mean I try to mimic what a professional studio has slaved over for years on end. Why? Because unless it’s an uncanny comparison (which it won’t be) viewers will only spot its flaws.

4. You didn’t plan it on paper first It’s easy to tell when an artist failed to put their idea on paper first: it’s a confusing mess. They started with an idea, skipped the planning stage and jumped straight to their 3d program. Most artists cannot model/texture/render in 3d at the same speed as their imagination. The best thing you can do is put it on paper as soon as the idea strikes you, that way you have a reference in 2 weeks time when you’re sitting at your computer and asking, “what was I making again?”.

5. It’s cliche If I see another cave troll or big breasted warrior I’m going to puke. Be original and create something that everyone hasn’t already seen a thousand times.

6. It’s a test render Hey cool, you just got your head around the new array modifier! Don’t post it on the net. Test renders are exactly that. Tests. They are a learning experience that should remain on your hard drive.

7. It’s poorly lit Let me say this once and for all: Dark is not moody. If you want to create a moody atmosphere there are plenty of ways of doing it, but making your scene dimly lit is not one of them. Pick up a copy of Jeremy Birn’s Digital Lighting and Rendering to learn how to light your scene like a pro.

8. You don’t realise it sucks No one likes receiving bad feedback on their artwork, especially after you’ve spent weeks creating it, but to tell the hundreds of posters that they “just don’t understand it” is like throwing salt on the wound. If you want to progress as an artist you need to be able to take critiques on-board and learn from your mistakes.

9. It’s boring architecture Archiviz is great skill to have under your belt. There’s a lot of work available and it pays quite well, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring and emotionless. Read my post on 20 Architectural renders that break the mold or watch Alex Roman’s amazing short The Third and the Seventh and you’ll pick up dozens of ways to make still architecture interesting.

10. It’s overly post-processed There’s nothing wrong with fixing the colour levels or altering the contrast in Photoshop, but when you start adding filters and chromatic aberration to hide your own incompetencies there’s a problem.

Well that’s me finished, what are your pet peaves?

10. Fallen

Fallen features the most unlikely of main characters: a falling asteroid. The short follows his quick descent down to earth as he deals with the concept of life and death. The ending is executed perfectly, and more than nails home the point: Live your life to the fullest, regardless of the end.

9. French Roast

Winner of several major film festivals, French Roast focuses on a quiet restaurant patron who wants nothing more than to enjoy his coffee and read his paper. It’s a fun little short with a great ending, that manages to fit a complicated story into almost only one camera shot.

8. Ataque de Pánico!

Ataque de Pánico! plays like a 10 year old boys wet dream: Giant robots blowin’ up a city. But whilst it wins no points for it’s story, it more than makes up for it with it’s impressive special effects. The variety of locations and quick cuts means the viewer doesn’t get a chance to get bored. The amount of work that went into rotoscoping and filming all this is worth the watch on it’s own. But what blows my mind is that all this was shot on $300 budget, and yet it still manages to pack the punch of a major hollywood blockbuster.

7. Spec Ops: The Line Trailer

This beautifully crafted trailer paints the scene of a deserted Dubai after cataclysmic sandstorms have blown in, scaring away the once thriving population. The amazing visuals combined with haunting soundtrack of Bjork build an eery tension that leave you wanting more.

6. Blood Trails

(Viewer Discretion is Advised – Extremely Violent)

Blood Trails, is definately the most disturbing animation I’ve ever seen in my life, but it’s also one of the best. The trailer was produced and directed by Nathan Love who was asked by Perspective Studios to create an engaging trailer for a feature length script to help sell the concept to investors. Whether or not this will one day be made into a film is beyond me, but the sheer excitement and terror contained in this trailer makes me think it probably will. For more info on this short, check out this interview with Nathan Love.

5. Please Say Something

This isn’t your typical short, and it’s not for everyone either. Please Say Something, follows the story of a troubled relationship between a cat and a mouse. The fast paced abrupt editing can at first be hard to follow, but by the end you’ll be completely drawn in. The character building is absolutely fantastic and the old school stylized video game look is the icing on the cake.

4. Yankee Gal

Set in World War II, Yankee Gal shows a pilot’s dream-like moments between life and death. The amazing visuals combined with the superb audio effects, make for an amazing short that stays in your mind long after it’s finished.

3. Alma

Certainly a late comer to the party, Alma was released less than 2 weeks ago in time for Christmas. This amazing short was created in 2 years by an enomously talented team of artists. The ending was predictable, but with the creepy sounds, brilliant colors, and steady pacing, it didn’t matter: my eyes were peeled to the screen from start to finish.

2. Partly Cloudy

It shouldn’t surprise you that Pixar’s Partly Cloudy got a mention here. It’s comical enough to entertain children, yet wholesome enough to give the adults the warm and fuzzies. This charming tale about personal responsibility is told without a single line of dialogue, but thanks to Pixar’s knack for story telling we know exactly what’s happening.

1. Steel Life

Steel Life is a visually stunning masterpiece that takes the viewer on a journey of life’s deepest emotions. It’s not the sort of movie you’d put on to entertain your friends, this particular short is best viewed by yourself, in a dark room, with the volume up. Steel Life is a truly engaging experience, and in my opinion is the best animation of 2009.

Honourable mentions:

• Arx Avari
• Good Vibrations
• Dans la Tete
• Frat

So there you have it, the cream of the crop of 2009. If you think I missed one, please point it out in the comment section!

If you liked this post you might also like my list of 6 more Amazing Animated Shorts.

Learn from my experiences in the video below!

In the true spirit of Christmas, I’m also giving away the source file to my log cabin scene. Feel free to pull it apart and see how it was made!

In 2009, we’ve seen the biggest attendance on record for a Blender conference as well as the massive milestone release of version 2.5, so it has definately been a good year for Blender.  A big thank you to the community and the developers for upkeeping the true spirit of open source. I can’t wait to see what 2010 brings.

When they rebuilt Blender from the ground up, a few things were moved for the better. You know all those “industry professionals” that complain how awful the Blender interface is? Well these changes were designed to keep them happy. Most of your favourite functions are still there, just hiding.

This 2.5 interface guide should get you back on the straight and narrow. I have tried to include all the frequently used functions, as well as common blunders encountered when using Blender 2.5 for the first time.

Set Smooth/Solid

Previously…

Now…

Add Menu

Previously…

Now…

Join screen

Previously…

Now…

(similarly, dragging the cursor in the opposite direction splits the screen)

Spin/Screw/Flip Normals/Rem Doubles

Previously…

Now…

Background Image

Previously…

Now…

Logic buttons

Previously…

Now…

IPO Curve

Previously…

Now…

Move Header

Previously…

Now…

Buttons

Side-by-side comparison…

Window type

Side-by-side comparison…

Radiosity buttons

Previously…

Now…

Missing something?

There’s a chance that the button you’re looking for is not actually hardwired into blender yet. But fear not! Because a useful function has been added that lets you create your own button.

For example, I use the ‘Center New’ button constantly, but strangely it’s missing from Blender 2.5.

Here’s how to add it to your toolbar:

You can do this for virtually any function in Blender. So if you’re tired of looking for a lost button, this can provide a temporary fix.

That concludes the Blender 2.5 interface guide. Was it useful? Is it missing something? It is by no means complete, so if you think something should be on the list, drop a comment below and I’ll see if I can help!

When used correctly in your artwork, it can draw the attention to the subject and make the scene more aesthetically pleasing. When used wrong, it can seem like another overused tiresome effect. Learn the difference and how to use it effectively.

To play along at home, download this light bulb scene.

The final .blend will be provided at the end of the tutorial.

Let’s get cracking!

Step 1

Open the file and select the camera and press the ‘Show Limits’ button in the edit panel. You will notice that a yellow cross hair appears at the base of your camera.

This is the point that blender will focus on. You can change the position of the cross hair two ways: by changing the DoF Distance value. Or by typing in the name of an object for the camera to focus on. The latter is very useful for animations where you want to change what the camera focuses on in the middle of the animation. I used this technique extensively in my film ‘The Ballad of the M4 Carbine‘, where I made the camera focus on a moving empty that changed moved mid animation.

However because this is only a still we can use the first method.

Step 2

So by clicking the next arrow, make the yellow cross hair sit in line with the exploding light bulb.

With the camera now setup to render, we can move onto the compositor.

Step 3

Switch to the Node Editor by selecting it from the Window Type popup list.

Step 4

Select the compositor icon and the Use Nodes button.

Step 5

Go ahead and disconnect the ‘Render Layer’ from the Composition node.

Step 6

Hit the space bar and add a Defocus Node (Add>Filter>Defocus) and connect to the render layer and composite layer as shown in red here.

Step 7

We want the node to use the data from the cameras Z-depth, so connect the Z input to the render layers Z Output.

Step 8

Go ahead and turn off the No zbuffer and Preview buttons. They are rarely used and seem to exist only so we can turn them off.

Now onto the important part: the fStop value.

Without getting too technical, the fStop value defines how much on either side of the yellow cross hair to make in focus. The smaller you make the fStop value the less of your scene will be in focus. Many artists get carried away by how cool DoF looks, and make this value unnecessarily small. This in turn makes everything appear miniature.

Like this guy.

For an example of how DoF can affect your perception of size, watch this video. It was created using a clever photographers effect called ’tilt shift’ which fakes shallow depth of field.

Step 9

With your understanding of fStop, you should know that light bulbs are fairly small and as a result will need a smaller fStop value. So go ahead and set it to 3.5.

Step 10

Another interesting aspect of DoF that you have control over is bokeh, which defines the shape of the out of focus lights in your scene. Typically old cameras suffered from jagged bokeh but as technology improved the bokeh took on a more circular shape.

So smooth.

However I have found that using a polygonal shape like a hexagon can give a more unique effect. So go ahead and change the bokeh type to Hexagonal and Rotate to 90

The 90 degree rotation simply turns the hexagon on it’s side to make it more obvious.

Step 11

Press Do Composite in the render panel (F10), and hit render!

If you’re a beginner you can stop here as you probably won’t need the next step for your scene, but feel free to read on if you want to get into the tricky stuff.

Using DoF with Multiple Render Layers

You may notice that in the final product, the light filaments of the light bulbs are glowing. To achieve this effect I had to move the filaments to the second layer and make it into a separate render layer.

Glowing node setup

However, when you do this a problem arises: the Z-Depth for the DoF was calculated on the first layer, not the second. Sure, it’d be great if we could just jam two outputs from different render layers into the one hole, but sadly this is not the case.

It's photoshopped. Please don't try this at home.

The ugly truth is: each render layer needs a separate defocus node. Always. However rather than adding it the traditional way and having to adjust the settings on each node to match the other, I have a far more painless way.

Select the original defocus node and hit Ctrl-G.

This will make the single node into a group. Calling it a group is confusing, but if you duplicate it (Shift-D) you will notice that a number appears next to it’s name.

This is the number of users associated with it. Meaning you can make several copies of it and everything in it will mirror the settings of the groups.

Duplicate the group for each render layer in your scene, and compile the layers as you normally would.

Complete node setup

Voila!

Thanks for reading! I hope you now have a better understanding of this often overlooked feature in Blender. If there’s something I’ve missed or anything you’d like me to go into more detail, please let me know in the comment section below!