Modelling Artists

Modelling artis is primarily responsible for creating characters, weapons, plants and animals in 3D on the computer.

After checking out several websites, I first found out that modelling artists are able to produce models in a variety of different styles. It is also possible to create 3D models from 2D illustrations. This means that the profession of modelling artist can be used in many different fields. Secondly, when I was looking for information about the profession I found that modelling artists often work alongside or intersect with Texture Artists. This means that a modelling artist is not only able to create 3D models but can also create textures.

Requirements for Modelling Artists:

• Accomplished examples of Modelling, Texturing and Shading both hard surface and sculpted assets
• Thorough knowledge of Modelling package of your choice is essential
• Thorough knowledge of Zbrush and/or Mudbox is essential
• Thorough knowledge of Mari and/or Bodypaint 3D or other 3D texturing software is essential
• Basic understanding of Lighting and Look Development

In my opinion this career is very demanding in terms of work experience. As in the production of animated games and other film and television productions. Models of characters, environments etc. are the basic work of production. This requires Modelling Artists to produce accurate and aesthetically pleasing models in a short period of time. This is a skill that needs to be built up over the years.

Web Reference:

https://www.spinvfx.com/careers/modeltexture-artist/ https://www.axisstudiosgroup.com/careers/jobs/modeling-texturing-artist-vfx/

Animators

An animator is an artist who creates multiple images, called frames, which, when displayed in rapid sequence, create an illusion of movement known as animation. Animators can work in a variety of fields, including film, television and video games.

Animators as VFX are usually divided into several professions, namely 2D animators, who usually animate by hand. 3D animators usually use software such as Maya to k-frame their animations.

In today’s film and television production industry, animators often do not use k-frames for animation. This is because the advent of motion capture technology has greatly reduced the burden on animators. And animation capture technology has also made animation more fluid.

Requirements for Animators:

• strong artistic skills
• minimum of 3 years experience creating convincing performance and motion for live action feature film and television series
• a strong sense of camera work and framing for full cg or previs shot creation.
• working knowledge of Maya
• understanding of all aspects of 3D animation
• the ability to communicate creative and technical thoughts and ideas
• the ability to multi-task and prioritize
• the ability to meet deadlines and follow directions

In general the animator’s responsibility is to animate to the director’s subplot. With the maturity of technology and software. The animator’s job is also changing drastically.

Web Reference:

https://www.spinvfx.com/animator/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animator#

Texture Artist

A Texture Artist is responsible for creating photorealistic textures for mapping onto 3D objects used in video games, films, television, music videos, or commercials.

Usually only the larger companies have a dedicated Texture Artist, this is because textures are an important factor in enriching the model. Many smaller companies do not divide their positions so simply. This is because many of their models are not very detailed either.

Texture artists are usually very good at hand painting and they will go about creating different styles of texture mapping to suit the different requirements of their employers. This also places a high demand on their ability to hand-draw effects and modify images. And it is a very detailed job. The textures are very detailed. It is also very demanding for the texturist to be observant in life.

Requirements for Texture Artist:

• Liaising with designers and developers regarding the design brief
• Liaising with the director, cinematographer, design department on the finishes of the texturing 
• Researching reference materials for aesthetics and genre of game, film or animation
• Working with post production and visual effects teams for seamless integration with footage
• Develop and refine textures during the production process
• Collaborate with animators and modelers on the best textures for each object and character
• Create a diverse and compelling range of textures that will engage the player and enhance gameplay
• UV mapping
• Maintain a high level of design and photorealism throughout
• Curate a consistent look of all the elements of the game

I think Texture Artist has a more important role to play in VFX. Because the texture is what determines how people feel when they watch a film or video. A good texture gives the viewer a better experience. That’s why this profession is so important.

Web Reference:

https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/texture-artist https://www.productionbase.co.uk/blog/2019/07/30/become-texture-artist/

Environment Artist

3D environment artists are 3D modellers who specialise in creating indoor and outdoor environments for film or video games.

Environmental artist seems to me to be in the same category of profession as model modeller. It’s just that one focuses on Modelling Artists and the other on modelling environments.

Environmental artists often have to build many virtual scenes based on film and television productions. And they have to set up a series of physical laws according to the environment in which they are set. For example, a space environment is set up to be weightless.

Requirements for Environment Artist:

• Modeling and texturing elements
• Liaising with the Art Director and Lead Artist regarding the layout and style of environments within the film or game
• Working from storyboards and concept art to develop environments
• Researching references and resources for creation of backdrops
• Creating prototypes and mock-ups in the early stages of production

Environmental artists will contribute greatly to the aesthetics of a film or television production. Many of the best films and television productions are made with very beautiful and stunning scenery that people can marvel at.

Web Reference:

https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/environment-artist https://www.gameindustrycareerguide.com/how-to-become-a-video-game-environment-artist/

VFX RUNNER

The nature of the work and tasks of a VFX runner are easily expressed in the name of the profession. Its job is to play the role of a runner in a VFX studio. Providing support and security for other departments and colleagues in the company.

The career of VFX runner is a good option for many newcomers to the vistual effects industry. This is because most of the work is secretarial in nature, such as passing materials and information between departments. They organise meetings, take care of reception duties and serve tea and other mundane tasks. This does not require a lot of experience or skills for the candidate. This is why it is a low barrier career.

Responsibilities to become a VFX runner

As a runner, you’ll need to:

• answer the telephone
• deliver post to local clients
• do photocopying and general administrative work
• drive cars, vans or trucks between locations and around sets
• fetch and carry items, such as equipment, tapes, cable and scripts
• get everything in place for shoots
• hand out post and messages to colleagues within the production team
• help set up a location for a shoot
• hire props
• keep the set clean and tidy
• make and hand out tea, coffee and lunches
• make arrangements for staff on location, such as booking meeting rooms or ordering food
• manage petty cash
• look after guests
• order stock
• pick up cast for make-up calls
• sort out the kit bags, for example checking that the camera bag contains all the necessary items
• take messages
• transcribe production tapes
• transport cast, crew and production staff between offices, studios and shoot locations
• transport scripts and hire equipment
• undertake basic research
• use maps, tapes and clapper boards, and other film and television production equipment
• write down shot lists.

Overall this is a relatively easy way to get into VFX and a very good career to get to know the various departments of VFX most quickly.

Web reference:

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/runner-broadcasting-film-video

https://vfx-montreal.com/job/runner/

Prep Artist:

The Prep Artist does the pre-production integration work for VFX. He usually works with the compositor to integrate all the elements of the image, which includes CG and live action shots, and they will clear the plate of unwanted items such as wires, rigs, extraneous people, etc. Preparing the compositor to layer the effects.

Responsibilities to become a Prep Artist

• generating articulate roto mattes using animation and tracking techniques
• painting, clean plating, rig removals and cleanup
• marker removals, production, and cosmetic fixes
• retiming, or transforming footage to match client references
• basic split screen composites and precomps

To be Prep Artist you must have

• demonstrate excellent rotoscoping skills and meticulous attention to detail
• experience using trackers and 3D cameras in roto and paint workflows
• demonstrate excellent painting skills using frame by frame and procedural workflows
• 1+ years of related production experience for feature film or television VFX
• experience using Nuke in production, including proficiency in Nuke’s 3D environment

In most cases Prep Artistusually works in conjunction with the ROTO supervisor. This career is not just about technical work. There is also the ability to work with others and good time management and organisational skills.

Web reference:

https://framestore.recruitee.com/o/preppaint-artist

https://www.spinvfx.com/careers/roto-prep-artist/

Roto Artists:

Roto Artists trace the areas of live action frames where computer graphics will overlap or interact with live images. This creates clear areas (mattes) within the frame to allow all elements of the scene to be layered convincingly. This enables Compositors to combine all the various elements accurately.

It seems to me that the nature of the work of a roto artist is inherently very boring. Roto is also often done in Nuke, which we are studying this semester. Many roto artists are often freelancers. This is because the work is not very difficult. It is more about having patience.

Responsibilities to become a Roto Artists

• Demonstrates a strong eye for color and grain structures with the ability to match saturation, hues and black points from multiple sources to create a cohesive final montage.
• Able to break shots down into individual components with little supervision.
• Easily assimilates feedback given by supervisors.
• Researches appropriate references including continuity with like shots. Proactively shares this information with team.
• Demonstrates a keen eye for recognizing paint artifacts, sharpness and color issues.
• Able to handle complex shots with heavy motion blur, lots of layers, etc.
• Ability to use a combination of techniques when dealing with tricky wire removals and clean plates.
• Demonstrates a basic ability to do “paint on comp” work to a high level of quality.
• Working knowledge of color correction and Grain pipeline in Nuke.
• Ability to use layout and DM cameras in Nuke.
• Ability to export track points between multiple toolsets.
• Working knowledge of stereo compositing pipeline.
• Demonstrates excellent troubleshooting skills.
  

Overall I think this career is the most important safeguard before VFX production, and how good Roto is determines the output of the post-production results. It’s a very mechanical profession. But it is a very important job.

Web reference:

https://jobs.jobvite.com/lucascompanies/job/ohyEafwn https://digitalhorizons.org.uk/job-role/roto-artist-digital/ https://www.cgspectrum.com/career-pathways/roto-artist

In general I would like to be a Vfx runner in all three professions because it would allow me to familiarise myself with a new environment or even a new profession as soon as possible. The job would also allow me to get a quicker understanding of how the industry works.

This week, Mr. Gonzalo shared with us “Real-life scenarios in production”, a necessary and mandatory step when checking before the table work and when submitting the work. It’s very important and I think that every time I finish a job, I’m happy because it’s done. I release it in a hurry and don’t check it carefully. This may cause some problems in the future.

After that Mr.Gonzalo introduced Temp, Trailers, Finals, and QC. this is the film production phase of the composite. The work is like an assembly line. We had to check each one carefully after we finished it. That way we don’t make mistakes in our work.

After that, the teacher introduced some positions in the job and things to pay attention to. The studio is a team. We need to be clear about our position in the team. Do a good job of communicating with others. Be clear about what you need to do and how to accomplish these tasks so that I can work with as few problems as possible.

This week we learned about planar tracking, first, we learned how to arrange the nodes correctly. Due to the different order of arrangement may produce different results.

Next, we learned about Shuffler Node, we can change the channels of RGB by Shuffler Node. We can rearrange the different color channels of a texture to the nodes of other color channels.

After that, we started to learn plane tracking. We used Planar tracker, which works very well. It helps us to change and replace images easily. We first roto the area we want to replace and track it. Then we use display_planar_surface and display_grid_lines to adjust our selected area. Finally, we replace our image with CornerPin.

Finally, we also learned about the Defocus and ZBlur nodes. These two nodes can change the focus position. Thus, area blurring is performed. This is very useful in video editing.

The first one is to use the theme of Harry Potter to make a short film about our travel to the wizarding world.

My story is that one day we came to the 9 and 3/4 station, and then a portal appeared at the station. We entered and entered the world of magic. And use the magic war to fight against each other.