OUDF603: Environment Concept | Animated Set

The environment design for this project is mainly focused on the establishing shot of the scene. The aim of the final outcome is to create a 3D realistic animated parallax. As this is a wide angle shot, it is absolutely vital that it is designed accordingly and that the final composite is visually appealing. 

To prepare this idea, I had to think visually, so I began by sketching a matte painting on photoshop by painting various layers using simple shades of grey. These layers consisted of 3 layers of mountains, a layer of foreground, grass, trees, foliage and fog. Below is a value sketch of what I want the shot to look like:

Once I had the idea in mind I began location scouting, which I mentioned on the previous blog post. It was easier to search for a location with a clear idea in mind as I knew what to look for. Of course it is impossible to find an exact location I need so I took a series of images at the location. This is were the brilliance of digital compositing comes in. 

Once I came back from the location I prepared all the images I need to use and put them aside, this was in preparation for a simple 2D composite (on photoshop), of roughly how the 3D animated set would look like, this composite is the concept of the environment in richer detail. Below are the three composites, one with a pathway and the without:

The next step is to bring the images into NUKE where I'll create a 3D setup that will support realistic parallax. I'll also composite moving grass in NUKE that I'll create using the hair system in Maya 2014.

By the end of this project, I would have learnt the process of creating a digital animated matte painting and ways that I can save time by organising myself and using the software accordingly. I'll know how to use Autodesk Maya's hair system to make animated grass, how to quickly mask high resolution images in Photoshop and most importantly how to create an animated set in NUKE.