All images from Inspired 3D Lighting and Compositing by David Parrish, series edited by Kyle Clark and Michael Ford. Reprinted with permission.

This is the latest in a number of adaptations from the new Inspired series published by Premier Press. Comprised of four titles and edited by Kyle Clark and Michael Ford, these books are designed to provide animators and curious moviegoers with tips and tricks from Hollywood veterans. The following is excerpted from Lighting and Compositing.

The previous chapters described techniques and shared the knowledge and experience of established industry professionals. This chapter begins the practical application section, in which some of those tips and concepts are applied to a real-world example. The next two chapters step through the process of lighting and compositing a shot, from the time the scene data is collected to the point when the shots are complete and labeled as final. This description is a continuation of the processes shared in each of the four books in the Premier Press Inspired series. The models for this scene are provided by Tom Capizzi, and the steps involved in creating and texturing the models used here are covered in his book, Inspired 3D Modeling and Texture Mapping. The process of creating the character rig used in the scenes, which includes the joints, facial controls and anything enabling the character’s movements, is covered in the book by Michael Ford and Alan Lehman titled Inspired 3D Character Setup. Kyle Clark gives life to the character, and in his book, Inspired 3D Character Animation, covers the process of animating the character in the story. That brings us to the lighting and compositing.

This collaborative effort mimics the production pipelines found in digital production studios. The communication, hardware and software issues, and critiques of the work are all a part of the process. The project revolves around a story created specifically for this book series, with the intent of exploring the process of creating our own pipeline and creative content. Sharing ideas and data with a group of people scattered across the country has proven at times to be difficult, but the overall experience has been both enlightening and successful.

Without a production crew tracking every detail and every element, each author is responsible for his own organization and prioritization. The constraints include hardware considerations, the scope of the project, deadlines, and budget. With four books in production, in addition to the creation of the scenes used for the practical application sections, the process took on a slightly different path than that of a visual effects studio. The machines used for the renders are our own personal computers, not the hundreds of processors in huge render farms available at large studios. Iterations are limited, and planning takes on an even greater role in this scenario. The budget is not that of a summer blockbuster film, so our examples emphasize the process while still creating an interesting character that serves the story. The techniques covered earlier in this book are put to use here, with more emphasis now on the workflow and less on the technical aspects of how it all works. With that in mind, I’ll start the process and you’ll see what the computer graphics world has in store for the newborn character.

[Figure 1] Storyboards for CG animation shots SF-00 and SF-01.