Face Replacement with PFTrack, 3DS Max and Fusion
The first year of my time at Muse VFX was spent almost exclusively on the Disney's Dog With a Blog. For those not familiar with the show, it's about a talking d...
Tag: vfx
What to Expect on Your First VFX Job
You've got the reel, you've been through the interviews, you've landed the job, and now you're getting ready to start your first day at a VFX studio. This is th...
Linking 3d geometry to particles in Blackmagic Fusion
One of my favorite things to experiment with in Fusion is its particle system. They are a fantastic tool to create things like smoke, sparks, and magic. Their u...
Pin Light blend mode for Blackmagic Fusion
Just a small offering this time: The pin light mode from After Effects is a conditional operator. For every pixel in each channel, if image2 > 0.5, display t...
Soft-Skinned 3d Geometry in Blackmagic Fusion
Muse VFX recently created visual effects for Robert Rodriguez' From Dusk Till Dawn television series. The show involves a species of reptilian vampires whose te...
Job Titles in VFX and CG: Miscellaneous roles
Four years ago, I published a series of articles on job titles in the visual effects industry. I missed an entire class of people, though: The support personnel...
Planar Tracking of Organic Shapes
An acquaintance recently quizzed me about whether planar tracking could be used for flexible, organic subjects. The short answer is "yes, I do it all the time,"...
Job titles in VFX and CG: 3d Artists
Stereo "3d" movies have made terminology a bit confusing recently. When I refer to 3d, I mean the virtual 3-dimensional Cartesian system that exists inside the ...
Job titles in VFX and CG: 2d Effects Artists
When you're dealing with CG, there are two "art environments," so to speak. There is the 3d world in which objects are modeled and animated, and there is the 2d...
Job titles in VFX and CG: Illustrators
A friend of mine recently asked for some guidance on getting into CG, and I wrote up everything I currently know on job titles and career paths. It seems like a...