Project 6: Effects

Goal Learn the basics of various types of effects.
Resources

The overarching goal of this portion of Project 6 is to briefly introduce you to the effects process using seven different systems: Soft Body Simulation with nCloth, Rigid Body Simulation with Bullet, Liquid Simulation with Bifrost, Hair Simulation with XGen, Particles and Fluid simulation with Maya nParticles and Fluids, and Compositing in After Effects.

We also will have a simple introduction to Deformers, a simple rigging system that can allow you to make very basic objects animate-able. Each part is fairly simple and consists mostly of following instructions. After you have gone through all of the parts, you will not be a master of these systems, but you will have a general idea what each is capable of.

Then, after doing each tutorial, you will be required to expand upon your work by making something interesting/improved/anything that pushes the bounds of what a system can do or is technically or artistically intriguing. Choose one of the effects systems you've tried out and explore a new feature, or a unique implementation of the system, or a combination of two systems together. Whichever area you choose you must meet the minimum requirements outlined in the "Advanced Topics" section below. Feel free to research and discover new features to try!

Whatever you do, define a render camera and render out at least 5 seconds (5*24=120 frames), using simple materials, lighting, and render layers if necessary. If you need more frames that's fine, but be sure not to go overboard as rendering can take a long time.

Advanced Topics

nCloth:
Minimum Reqs:

  1. An implementation using the capabilities of the cloth system not described in the tutorial
  2. You must create a type of cloth different than the one used in the tutorial (ex: paper, nylon, wool, etc)

XGen:
Minimum Reqs:

  1. An implementation using the capabilities of the XGen system not described in the tutorial

Bullet:
Minimum Reqs:

  1. An implementation using the capabilities of the Bullet system not described in the tutorial
  2. At least three different types of rigid body objects should interact with one another (For ex: a ball, hits a pendulum, hits a domino)
  3. At least one of those objects should be a soft body, or a hinge, or a shatter

Useful links: Info on making soft bodies in Bullet, Info on making hinges in Bullet, Info on shattering objects in Bullet

Bifrost:
Minimum Reqs:

  1. An implementation using the capabilities of the BiFrost system not described in the tutorial

Deformers:
Minimum Reqs:

  1. An implementation using different deformers than those used in the tutorial (ex: Vortex, Twist)
  2. Must utilize at least three different kinds of deformers, that are nested or "stacked" upon one another

Other Options:

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