Blended custom skies ("bbbbbbbbbb" effect)

Aaron Haynes · 08-08-2005, 09:48 AM

Several people have mentioned that they've been unable to get the wackydings blended sky technique to work properly. I figured I'd take 20 minutes and knock this together to explain how it works.

Create a long string of spheres in wackydings (bbbbbbbbbbbbbbb). Squish them down and tilt them toward the camera. When they have a gradient on, you can see how successful the blending will be by looking at the seams between the spheres. It helps to move them around a little bit too.

If they have very little crosshatching at all or the lines are gigantic and there aren't many, it's going to look like shit.

If they're going nuts and flashing all over the place and there's a shitload of tiny lines, you've got it.

Bad.

Good.

Several factors affect how to make it look better: Size/distance of the object from the camera, and the rotation. While the object is a gradient, play around with different angles, heights, distances, and sizes to get the blending to look good.

Crash is normal sized here, which should give you an idea of how big this object is and how far away it is. Note: More than one rotation tool used. Tilting it down seems to help in some cases, but use the gradient to make sure.

Same object, same rotation, but much bigger and much farther away (forgot to move Crash, sorry). Note how much shittier looks.

However, even at far distances, the right rotation can fix this and make it look alright again. Some shots are hard to save simply because of how they're set up, but over time, you get the hang of it.

Once you've got it looking good, change it to a solid color, copy it, paste, and create a fading color spectrum. Keep in mind this follows the same rules as regular crosshatching; when you save or leave the scene, they'll jump out of place and you have to reposition them a bit. If you don't, you'll get the same "lined" effect I've seen in a lot of screenshots when people have attempted this.

Done right, this can create a very beautiful crosshatched sky effect that doesn't look too bad even when it pans, because the colors are so close together. Done wrong, it looks very amateurish and it's clear something isn't working.

That's about it.

Destra · 08-08-2005, 10:00 AM

All hail to Aaron! We really need a little academy forum where people can post little tutorials like this.

Aaron Haynes · 08-08-2005, 10:04 AM

The Vlarion 1 DVD will have a few tutorials similar to this one on how I did scenebuilding, HMC animation, little bits on actor animation, and maybe a little bit on where a little outside v3dmm work is easier or better for the movie, and where it isn't.

Richard Bevis · 08-08-2005, 10:11 AM

Oh cool. I have the best way to make a tree. I should make a tutorial to end people using just brown cylinders.

Destra · 08-08-2005, 10:12 AM

I think most people have advanced beyond just brown cylinders for a while now. But a little subforum or whatever for people to post tutorials and the such would be nice.

Richard Bevis · 08-08-2005, 10:35 AM

Should I start one?

Diabolic · 08-08-2005, 11:47 AM

First time I've tried to make a sky like this. I usually just have a bunch of blocks lined up next to each other, flatten them, rotate them to face the screen and just make it a solid colour.

...I think I broke it.

Richard Bevis · 08-08-2005, 12:21 PM

OK, if this thread is turning into the tutorial thread, here's my groovy tree.

Take a brown cylinder, and then go into Wackydings and make 'N1N1N1N1N1N1N1N1N1N1' in a ring, this will make the roots. Put them into place, then copy the roots, flatten them and place your new shape at the bottom of the original roots. Add an upside down root ring at the top of the tree and add the greenery and branches etc.

Waddya think?

Destra · 08-08-2005, 12:25 PM

Did my post even penetrate your skull? I said that it'd be great if there were a FORUM or SUBFORUM for creating tutorial threads. Not a THREAD for tutorials.

Saxon · 08-08-2005, 12:57 PM

Ben Rice · 08-08-2005, 01:05 PM

Silly Bevis!

Richard Bevis · 08-08-2005, 01:10 PM

Sorry Destra that one went right over my head! And Ben, that tree is so boring!

Saxon · 08-08-2005, 01:16 PM

Awesome, Aaron. This is why you're my favourite director.

Ben Rice · 08-08-2005, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Richard Bevis
Sorry Destra that one went right over my head! And Ben, that tree is so boring!

hahaha, I don't use it either, but if you touch it up abit with other parts of Superdings, it can be pretty damn cool.

Bown · 08-08-2005, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Richard Bevis

Ugly.

Aaron Haynes · 08-08-2005, 03:02 PM

Yeah, that's a very 2000-2002 kind of effect. Bumpy, messy, and doesn't match the simple gradient cylinder of the tree at all.

The lightning bolts in the Superdings font would probably make for some pretty cool roots.

Gorosaurus · 08-08-2005, 06:57 PM

This forum needs to start being a lot nicer, even to suggestions and ideas we've been through a thousand times before.

I don't think people realize quite how much that really hurts the community.

Anyhow, Bevis, that might work a lot better if you made the roots solid color, but even then, it's not the kind of tree most directors wouldn't already figure out how to do.

Richard Bevis · 08-08-2005, 07:02 PM

Well waddya think of my Spongebob Squarepants?

Anders Borg · 08-08-2005, 07:05 PM

Whoa that's great.

Andres · 08-08-2005, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Gorosaurus
This forum needs to start being a lot nicer, even to suggestions and ideas we've been through a thousand times before.

I don't think people realize quite how much that really hurts the community.

Anyhow, Bevis, that might work a lot better if you made the roots solid color, but even then, it's not the kind of tree most directors wouldn't already figure out how to do.

THAT POST IS DOGSHIT.

Richard Bevis · 08-08-2005, 07:07 PM

Thanks Anders.

Bown · 08-08-2005, 07:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Richard Bevis
Well waddya think of my Spongebob Squarepants?

It's well-made for the most part but some parts look like ass, e.g. the nose and left arm.

Ben Rice · 08-08-2005, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Richard Bevis
Well waddya think of my Spongebob Squarepants?

Whoa, thats pretty sweet! I think the outline of Spongebobs eyes don't need to be to big. Other then that, thats really good.

Klaymen · 08-08-2005, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Richard Bevis

Tree with an afro?

Richard Bevis · 08-08-2005, 07:28 PM

Yeah I rushed on the ''afro'' and thanks Ben! I know there are some flaws but it was my first HMC.

08-08-2005, 09:48 AM	#1
Aaron Haynes Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 15,125	Blended custom skies ("bbbbbbbbbb" effect) Several people have mentioned that they've been unable to get the wackydings blended sky technique to work properly. I figured I'd take 20 minutes and knock this together to explain how it works. Create a long string of spheres in wackydings (bbbbbbbbbbbbbbb). Squish them down and tilt them toward the camera. When they have a gradient on, you can see how successful the blending will be by looking at the seams between the spheres. It helps to move them around a little bit too. If they have very little crosshatching at all or the lines are gigantic and there aren't many, it's going to look like shit. If they're going nuts and flashing all over the place and there's a shitload of tiny lines, you've got it. Bad. Good. Several factors affect how to make it look better: Size/distance of the object from the camera, and the rotation. While the object is a gradient, play around with different angles, heights, distances, and sizes to get the blending to look good. Crash is normal sized here, which should give you an idea of how big this object is and how far away it is. Note: More than one rotation tool used. Tilting it down seems to help in some cases, but use the gradient to make sure. Same object, same rotation, but much bigger and much farther away (forgot to move Crash, sorry). Note how much shittier looks. However, even at far distances, the right rotation can fix this and make it look alright again. Some shots are hard to save simply because of how they're set up, but over time, you get the hang of it. Once you've got it looking good, change it to a solid color, copy it, paste, and create a fading color spectrum. Keep in mind this follows the same rules as regular crosshatching; when you save or leave the scene, they'll jump out of place and you have to reposition them a bit. If you don't, you'll get the same "lined" effect I've seen in a lot of screenshots when people have attempted this. Done right, this can create a very beautiful crosshatched sky effect that doesn't look too bad even when it pans, because the colors are so close together. Done wrong, it looks very amateurish and it's clear something isn't working. That's about it.

08-08-2005, 10:00 AM	#2
Destra Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 3,594	All hail to Aaron! We really need a little academy forum where people can post little tutorials like this.
Destra Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 3,594

08-08-2005, 10:12 AM	#5
Destra Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 3,594	I think most people have advanced beyond just brown cylinders for a while now. But a little subforum or whatever for people to post tutorials and the such would be nice.
Destra Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 3,594

08-08-2005, 11:47 AM	#7
Diabolic Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,229	First time I've tried to make a sky like this. I usually just have a bunch of blocks lined up next to each other, flatten them, rotate them to face the screen and just make it a solid colour. ...I think I broke it.
Diabolic Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 1,229

08-08-2005, 12:25 PM	#9
Destra Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 3,594	Did my post even penetrate your skull? I said that it'd be great if there were a FORUM or SUBFORUM for creating tutorial threads. Not a THREAD for tutorials.
Destra Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Posts: 3,594

08-08-2005, 10:04 AM	#3
Aaron Haynes Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 15,125	The Vlarion 1 DVD will have a few tutorials similar to this one on how I did scenebuilding, HMC animation, little bits on actor animation, and maybe a little bit on where a little outside v3dmm work is easier or better for the movie, and where it isn't.

08-08-2005, 10:11 AM	#4
Richard Bevis Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,190	Oh cool. I have the best way to make a tree. I should make a tutorial to end people using just brown cylinders.

08-08-2005, 10:35 AM	#6
Richard Bevis Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,190	Should I start one?

08-08-2005, 12:21 PM	#8
Richard Bevis Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,190	OK, if this thread is turning into the tutorial thread, here's my groovy tree. Take a brown cylinder, and then go into Wackydings and make 'N1N1N1N1N1N1N1N1N1N1' in a ring, this will make the roots. Put them into place, then copy the roots, flatten them and place your new shape at the bottom of the original roots. Add an upside down root ring at the top of the tree and add the greenery and branches etc. Waddya think?

08-08-2005, 12:57 PM	#10
Saxon Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 780
Saxon Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 780

08-08-2005, 01:05 PM	#11
Ben Rice Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 10,220	Silly Bevis!
Ben Rice Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 10,220

08-08-2005, 01:10 PM	#12
Richard Bevis Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,190	Sorry Destra that one went right over my head! And Ben, that tree is so boring!

08-08-2005, 01:16 PM	#13
Saxon Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 780	Awesome, Aaron. This is why you're my favourite director.
Saxon Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 780

08-08-2005, 03:02 PM	#16
Aaron Haynes Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Posts: 15,125	Yeah, that's a very 2000-2002 kind of effect. Bumpy, messy, and doesn't match the simple gradient cylinder of the tree at all. The lightning bolts in the Superdings font would probably make for some pretty cool roots.

08-08-2005, 06:57 PM	#17
Gorosaurus Super Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Posts: 16,146	This forum needs to start being a lot nicer, even to suggestions and ideas we've been through a thousand times before. I don't think people realize quite how much that really hurts the community. Anyhow, Bevis, that might work a lot better if you made the roots solid color, but even then, it's not the kind of tree most directors wouldn't already figure out how to do.

08-08-2005, 07:02 PM	#18
Richard Bevis Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,190	Well waddya think of my Spongebob Squarepants?

08-08-2005, 07:05 PM	#19
Anders Borg Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 3,435	Whoa that's great.

08-08-2005, 07:07 PM	#21
Richard Bevis Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,190	Thanks Anders.

08-08-2005, 07:28 PM	#25
Richard Bevis Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 2,190	Yeah I rushed on the ''afro'' and thanks Ben! I know there are some flaws but it was my first HMC.