Exporting Blender Lens Distortion Using STmaps

Part of using Blender in a professional studio pipeline is being able to matchmove your scene and use that exact camera setup in whatever compositing application you’re working in. And that means dealing with the lens distortion.

(more…)

My Advice for becoming a VFX artist

Since starting this blog, I’m emailed a couple times a week by people asking for advice about the VFX industry. I’m usually asked:

  • How do I get started in the VFX industry?
  • How can I become really good at VFX?
  • What goes on my resume/reel? Will you look at it?
  • Everyone says I have to learn Maya/Nuke/Houdini, is that true?
  • Do I need a degree?
  • Can I learn online?
  • Where can I get started learning Blender/Nuke/Natron?
(more…)

Semi-Automatic Matchmoving

Everyone using Blender for matchmoving still hopes that some day soon we’ll get the big green button for full automatic tracking and camera solving. I’m happy to show you that the tools for automatic tracking are already in there (well, mostly). Most matchmoves do not have to be a supervised track and camera solve.

(more…)

Blender Batcher – Fast, Simple Render Queue for Mac

OpenVFX_batcher_header_flat_01

Remember my post about RenderPilot, the super simple drag-and-drop batch rendering tool for PCs? I was hoping someone would be able to port it to Mac sometime soon, but rather than wait for that to happen, I asked a friend of mine to come up with a little program that does the same thing. I’m thrilled to be able to offer here FREE for everyone! (more…)

The ClothFX add-on

 

OpenVFX_ClothFX_header_flat_03

If you’ve seen my presentation from the 2017 Blender Conference, you saw a transition effect I did for the TV show “Star” (check out 15:45 minutes into my presentation). The director wanted a transition into the mind of an actress to show what she’s thinking about, and described it as if a pencil is poking through from inside her head, and then the frame tears apart from that point, revealing the next shot underneath. (more…)

Christmas Donation Tutorial Winners!

OpenVFX_winners_header_flat_01

Wow, I can’t thank you all enough! Lots of people donated, which was a wonderful surprise, since it was the first OpenVisualFX contest and I wasn’t sure how good the turnout would be. You all really came through, and thank you so much for that! The Maryvale Christmas party was great, and we got everything we needed just in time! (more…)

Christmas Donation Tutorial Contest!

OpenVFX_contest_header_flat_01

Hi everyone! The holiday season is here, and regardless of what you celebrate, we can probably all agree it’s a wonderful time to spend with friends and family. Every year at this time, a few friends and I volunteer at a local Los Angeles girls orphanage to throw a Christmas party for the girls there who either don’t have families or won’t be able to be with them during the holidays. For most of these girls, it’s the highlight of their year. (more…)