FXWars! CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: Matthew Chin, 1st Kind, X-Files

#1

Hello Everyone, this is my first time participating in the FX Wars Challenge. I think this is a cool challenge to work on my 3D Max compositing skills. I chose to do the 1st type of encounter based upon something you might see in X-Files… I’m going to attempt to do something fairly realistic, compositing 3D models and live background plates together in 3D max. I’ll be finished in less than a week, (That’s the plan anyway) and I’ll post an update of my progress sometime tomorrow…

Good luck to everyone in the challenge,

Best Regards,
Matthew

#2

Here’s an update so far… I’ll post some screenshots and wireframes later. The modeling was fairly simple, it is a triangular shaped ufo only about 8-10 feet across or so… I’ve found some good background images of a real forest I can use for the animation, and have a few idea’s of what I might do in order to connect the animations together for 2 animated scenes… I’ll explain the process (roughly) as I go. Which will be sorta’ like a rough tutorial on camera matching and camera mapping in 3d max 7. I’ll have another update soon hopefully, when I can find more spare time to work on this…

The light and coloring should probably be changed slightly I think in the final animations…

Matt

#3

Great start CHIN!:smiley: Nice spacecraft … though I can’t understand what the shiny blue shadow underneath it is …:curious: Anyways just a suggestion: if I where u I would take away the blue shadow and just project it in the middle of the spacraft in a circle …

Otherwise keep it up!:slight_smile:

Thanks,
3DEffects

#4

3Deffects, thanks for the advice. I’ve made those lights much dimmer, which kinda’ fixes the problem. I’ve messed around with the coloring hopefully adding a touch more realism, and put the spaceship into a scene. I’ll explain how the scene was created sometime soon… using a simple process…

Been messing around with animated fog, hard to get the effect looking good, but I’ve got something half decent set up for now…

I’m using opacity mapping with camera mapping to get the spaceship to appear behind the foliage and leaves, etc.

For animation, I might make the ufo move along the ground and then eventually go up into the air in-between some trees, so I can connect it to a second scene…

I’m kinda’ liking this shot so far, but considering the amount of time we have to get this done, I may make something with a little bit more action once this is complete…

Thanks,
Matt

#5

Very nice. Like the environs as well. What apps ya using? I’m expecially interested in environmentals.

Keep pluggin.

Martin

#6

Martin, thanks for writing. I’m using 3D Studio Max 7.0 and Adobe Photoshop 7.0. I’m going to write a very simple tutorial of how this scene was made that anyone will be able to follow easily. It will be a beginners tutorial. The techniques used could be applied in any high-end 3D application. That’ll be my next post. I’m finished rendering the first scene of the ufo animation, and I’ll post that too.

Thanks again,
Matt

#7

hey is this environment done in 3ds max? that’s looking gr8!!

waiting 4 ur UFO animation.

keep up the good work!!

Best of luck!! :thumbsup:

#8

Here’s the first scene of my animation:

*Free Quicktime plugin required:

http://members.shaw.ca/AncientSighs2/scene01UFO01.mov

I am trying for something that looks realistic and simple, I think it looks okay, but you guys are the real judges on that.

Scene02 is just about finished, I’ll post the combined clips soon.

Here’s a different scene altogether I’ve started to work on. The clouds are afterburner clouds… This project would involve a high speed ufo chase where the jet fires missile/s at a ufo.

#9

Your project is looking very nice! I’m looking forward to seeing the rest.

#10

FYI

Fxwars Close Encounters: New Dateline!

-R

#11

Bumped thread…

-R

#12

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