3D World August 2022

COVER ART ©Dreamworks Love, Death + Robots has become something of a sensation on Netflix, with varied animation styles driving narrative from the comedic to the thought provoking. In this issue we delve behind the scenes of some of these awe-inspiring shorts to discover how they were put together. Moving to the big screen we explore the making of The Bad Guys animated CG feature, as well as the VFX of Uncharted. We have somewhat of a bumper issue for new tech too, with reviews of the latest from Blender, Cinema 4D, Corona and Unreal Engine. Then there’s a host of training covering Cinema 4D dynamics, Dreams scene creation and much more. I hope you enjoy the issue. Rob Redman, Editor rob.redman@futurenet.com…

The Gallery CG art to inspire STYLISED NASA NAIL GUN Original concept by Colin Geller (artstation.com/artwork/ZePYrR) ARTIST Joseph Burgos SOFTWARE Maya, Marmoset Toolbag 4, RizomUV, Substance Painter “I often spend time on ArtStation admiring weapon designs. After stumbling across this amazing design from Colin Geller, I started to imagine different ways I could bring it to life, in both model and animation. I find that changing my styles of work help me think of new ways to tackle problems. For that reason, I chose this project to be stylised and using only a SubD workflow. When blocking this out, I played around with animations using first-person arms I found online. This really helped me consider how this weapon would function as well as how this game-ready asset will feel for…

Feature Love, Death + Robots Vol. 3 Executive producers David Fincher (Zodiac) and Tim Miller (Deadpool) established Love, Death + Robots to provide a platform for various filmmakers from around the world to channel the mature sensibilities of cult classic Heavy Metal and prove that animation is not only for children. After two volumes, 26 episodes, and 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, the Netflix anthology has released a third volume consisting of nine shorts that include Fincher’s animated directorial debut Bad Travelling as well as Swarm by Tim Miller, Kill Team Kill by supervising director Jennifer Yuh Nelson (Kung Fu Panda 2), and Jibaro by Oscar-winner Alberto Mielgo (The Windshield Wiper). Making the transition from live-action to animation was not a huge adjustment for David Fincher. “His eye and sense of storytelling…

Artistic choices were not made as an animator but as a painter by Alberto Mielgo when making Jibaro… “Everyone is asking me how I chose this style,” observes Mielgo. “Actually, my style is how I paint. The style found me in a way. I’m self-taught. I never went to school. My painting style comes from me not knowing what I’m doing. I ended up developing a technique, look and taste that is based on years of working. When I start on a project, I don’t peruse around trying to find the right style. It just comes out of myself naturally.” The rules of painting are applied. “What I like is the physics of light and how colours and everything react to light. To make it something that is painterly rather…

The coronavirus pandemic derailed original plans for Swarm… When asked about how he approached the animation style, character design and world building for Swarm, Miller jokes, “We have a set of eight-sided dice and we roll them!” Despite being set in zero-G the plan was to do some motion capture. “But then the pandemic hit and motion capture was not an option anymore. I didn’t want to get caught in the uncanny valley either, so I decided to stylise the characters to a certain degree, which helps the story not be quite as horrible as it would be otherwise.” “I loved making the show,” continues Miller. “It was a challenge to think about the physics of how people move through zero-G and anything with lots of creatures is a good…

Brought on to look after the animation for Kill Team Kill was a new recruit… Looking after the animation for the series’ violent, action-packed Kill Team Kill short was a new recruit. “I got to work with [animation studio] Titmouse, which we didn’t get to work with on the other seasons,” states Yuh Nelson. “They’re an amazing studio with a wide variety of different styles. I got to work with Antonio Canobbio and Benjy Brooke who helped to find this look. It’s a 2D style so it has to be animatable. The character designs themselves are covered with veins and packets of ammo, which are hard to animate but we had the benefits of a team of amazing animators from all over the world and you can see that level…