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Mist's End
Idea
The core objective for this project was to create a cinematic establishing shot of an environment based on a concept art piece, faithfully capturing its world building and IP while creating an environment that feels both plausible and unique. Apart from that, I also wanted to deepen my knowledge and skills in Houdini by exploring topics such as proceduralism, simulation, motion capture, scattering, USD/Solaris, XPU, and deep compositing in Nuke.
Technical Execution
A core focus of this project was exploring technical workflows between Houdini and Nuke. The hero asset (building) was developed using procedural modeling and shading setups, allowing for efficient adjustments. The environment features procedurally generated cliffs based on a heightfield, with realistic rock details added through VOPs. By utilizing COPs procedural textures and a high-to-low geometry workflow, details were baked into texture maps while exporting the low-poly geometry as a native USD asset. Megascans assets were used for the rocks and vegetation. To ensure a coherent look across the different assets, the materials were procedurally edited and blended. The water was created using a FLIP simulation tank around the boat, seamlessly integrated into a broader ocean spectrum. The human character was assembled from various character assets, styled accordingly, and animated using motion capture data recorded with an OptiTrack system. Clothing for the character was produced via a custom cloth simulation in Marvelous Designer. To populate the environment efficiently, vegetation was distributed using a procedural scattering system with perspective point culling for performance optimization. Finally, the scene was rendered into AOVs and Deep Camera Maps using Karma XPU, followed by compositing in Nuke. Deep compositing allowed for the seamless integration of FX elements such as smoke, fog, and water spray into the final image.
Team
Leopold Payer: CGI Christopher Raschke: Music and Sound
Additional Help:
Uzay Yilmaz: Lantern RBD Simulation, Water Dock Props Noah Gembala: Motion Capture Retargeting Arda Eksi: Cloth Simulation
The core objective for this project was to create a cinematic establishing shot of an environment based on a concept art piece, faithfully capturing its world building and IP while creating an environment that feels both plausible and unique. Apart from that, I also wanted to deepen my knowledge and skills in Houdini by exploring topics such as proceduralism, simulation, motion capture, scattering, USD/Solaris, XPU, and deep compositing in Nuke.
Technical Execution
A core focus of this project was exploring technical workflows between Houdini and Nuke. The hero asset (building) was developed using procedural modeling and shading setups, allowing for efficient adjustments. The environment features procedurally generated cliffs based on a heightfield, with realistic rock details added through VOPs. By utilizing COPs procedural textures and a high-to-low geometry workflow, details were baked into texture maps while exporting the low-poly geometry as a native USD asset. Megascans assets were used for the rocks and vegetation. To ensure a coherent look across the different assets, the materials were procedurally edited and blended. The water was created using a FLIP simulation tank around the boat, seamlessly integrated into a broader ocean spectrum. The human character was assembled from various character assets, styled accordingly, and animated using motion capture data recorded with an OptiTrack system. Clothing for the character was produced via a custom cloth simulation in Marvelous Designer. To populate the environment efficiently, vegetation was distributed using a procedural scattering system with perspective point culling for performance optimization. Finally, the scene was rendered into AOVs and Deep Camera Maps using Karma XPU, followed by compositing in Nuke. Deep compositing allowed for the seamless integration of FX elements such as smoke, fog, and water spray into the final image.
Team
Leopold Payer: CGI Christopher Raschke: Music and Sound
Additional Help:
Uzay Yilmaz: Lantern RBD Simulation, Water Dock Props Noah Gembala: Motion Capture Retargeting Arda Eksi: Cloth Simulation
Video
Work in Progress Images
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Raw Render
Final Image
