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Ian Hubert's 2010 VFX Reel

63

Ian writes:

All of the 3d stuff was modeled/rendered in Blender (all Blender internal renderer, if anyone's taking note :P) and composited in After Effects. However, the lines between what constitutes 3d and compositing are pretty blurred... for example a lot of background plates start with a 3d base, then manipulate it in Photoshop to make it look more how I want, then animate it in aftereffects; it's a very non clean-cut process.

About the Author

Avatar image for Bart Veldhuizen
Bart Veldhuizen

I have a LONG history with Blender - I wrote some of the earliest Blender tutorials, worked for Not a Number and helped run the crowdfunding campaign that open sourced Blender (the first one on the internet!). I founded BlenderNation in 2006 and have been editing it every single day since then ;-) I also run the Blender Artists forum and I'm Head of Community at Sketchfab.

63 Comments

  1. Amazing!

    I hope this guy will be part of the Project Mango team, when the time for it arrives.

    Bringing Blender to a new level!!

  2. Great Visuals!
    I hope to read one day:
    All stuff made in Blender (modelled,rendered in Blender Internal) and also Composited in Blender 3d! (not After Effects)!

  3. [quote]Why does that Movie remind on “Ghost in a Shell”?[/quote]

    Because the author is obviously some anime weeaboo.

    Seriously, he should be using his skills on more original stuff instead of copying generic manga mecha robot designs like every 8 year old kid nowadays does. Welcome to this time and age to learn what true contemporary art is all about (free tip: does not include either anime or manga).

  4. I don't really care about the art being generic. It's till visually very impressing, probably one of the best things I've seen produced (partly) with Blender.

  5. comment is ... no comment!!!!
    blender's gone unleashed ...
    bravo ... !
    cannot compare to any movie i have seen uptill now ... may be because it's the best one !

  6. Wow.
    Just Wow, really good. While watching it I was reminded of watching Tron Legacy and being absolutely not impressed by it. But this little piece of indie footage really moved me. I'm going to answer Sophie Salt here and say that, while this is obviously heavily inspired in Anime, it does not look like a rip off, it is not 'generic' in any way, it has a certain look and feel that, while not unique, it certainly is characteristic. I don't think this is Art(yes, with a capital A), nor it is supposed to be. This is entertainment, it is storytelling, and it has an artistic(with a lowe a) component. If you try to judge it by how groundbreakingly 'artistic' it is, well, yeah, it is not much, but groundbreaking is usually a very short phase of artistic production, and trying to be groundbreaking is, to me, a stupid effort. I mean Rock has been around since what, the 1950's, in its current incarnation, and we still get good rock bands that really add up to it, without straying from the guitar bass drums vocals formula.
    This is just really good, non pretentious, self conscious work, clearly rooted in a well established genre(like so many great films). I love how the shots are framed, I loved the timing, I dig the well defined mechanic parts(that shuttle landing, when the legs are deployed is just beautiful). I'm also reminded of the Transformers movie, which bored me to death btw, and those nonsensical mechanisms that kinda hurt when you tried to figure them out, and also those awful fight scenes where it seemed they had spent millions of dollars in CGI and then motion blurred the whole thing. The designs aren't groundbreaking but they are good, that's what matters the most in this case.
    I hope it is a good movie, I want to like it. Being honest, though, like so many indie, lower budget films, I'm guessing we'll get a visually stunning production with an awful script, which is usually neglected in the rush to prove that you can accomplish hollywood level visuals.

  7. Speaking as someone who majored in fine art, I'd also like to add my 2 cents that, yes, while mindlessly mimicing someone else's visual expression doesn't add up to quality art, that merely being in a manga style doesn't make something low quality either. To be frank that reeks of xenophobia and closed mindedness. You would never say that something was bad quality art because it was abstract expressionist and other people (including most 8 year olds! :P ) had done abstract expressionist work before. Criticising someone for using a genre that best expresses themselves visually just creates a "my genre is better than your genre" mud slinging match.

    To me what matters is whether the work visually expresses something genuine of the artist. We are all unique, and so great art tends towards being unique in some way, but many people get this mixed up arguing that uniqueness = artistic greatness. All through the art scene you see pretentious people trying to do something for no other reason than to be different from what has come before. That's no more self expressive than doing something the same just because that's what's come before. Both just reference the past and not the artists own self expression.

    Personally I loved the look of this work and found the unusual juxtaposition of the melancholy music against a very gimey, used looking future tech unusually moving for a demo reel. Yes, there were heavy manga influences, and to me they fit very well with the other aspects of the reel. I'd say this was excellently done and I hope to see more Ian's work in future.

    Good job, man and keep pumping out the art in whatever medium and genre moves you. :)

  8. By the way Ian, the only tech criticism I would give is that in the shot with the two guys sitting on the tower that they look like they could be colour corrected to look like they fit into the background better and... the plain, brightly coloured 2D text of your email / site really drag down the quality compared to the excellent quality of the actual shots.

    Other than that.... ace!

  9. "All through the art scene you see pretentious people trying to do something for no other reason than to be different from what has come before. That’s no more self expressive than doing something the same just because that’s what’s come before."

    Very nice.

  10. pretty decent 3d stuff - pretty terrible graphic design what a contrast.

    even when this is a common style the finish and professionalism he
    shows in his work is I would say beyond what most people do with Blender
    and that already should be credited.

  11. I'm studying industrial design and I can say that I really liked it, and the designs as well, also I think the same as Blendiac and DifferentSmoke, I don't see why a work or design cannot be influenced by styles like anime series nor manga, in some senses they have a more developed design concepts than americans in some areas (to pic one example there are also european styles, etc.), and in others it could be vice versa.

    It's been years if not decades long since the last completely original creation/stuff that was made (or at least stuff that we can understand not super hard physics concepts that noone understand yet today), and since then we human have been simply reinventing/redesigning everything around us ad-infinitum, be it Art, objects, physics, economics, and even concepts. So its normal for anyone today to simple be influenced, witch is not bad since in this way trends appears, as well as styles.

  12. Hey! Thanks a ton for the kind words everyone!

    That's a hard question, Kristopher, just due to the workflow... the shots themselves typically don't take very long, but the creation of the content in the shot can take a very long time, and it totally depends on what's being made. That said, I'd probably charge more than would be ideal for a 'no-budget indie' (unfortunately).

    Haha, I'd say more cyberpunk-in-general influence than manga/anime (though there's crossover between the two, yeah)- but it's true, many of the visuals are seated pretty heavily in the genre. And I appreciate the mindset that it's possible to operate in a genre without also being wholly derivative.

    alsoyes8yearoldsareprobablymytargetaudience :P

    endike! Hey! I love your work! I don't really have any features I've been needing, but I'll keep an open mind!

    differentsmoke! Thanks a ton for your thoughts! I'm flattered! :D Aye, I wrote the script when I was 18, so it is what it is- but! Scripts are generally written long before the CG, so the idea of a tradeoff one-or-the-other isn't exactly accurate; I did the best job I could do on both!

    Yes! I was bummed I missed the last SeaBUG!

  13. Kickarse stuff there, you should be very happy with it. Love the shot of the sun and refineries silhouetted, seems familiar- inspired by anything in particular?

    To those commenting on subject matter, doesn't exactly look like my cup of tea either, but he's decided what he wanted to make, and spent a couple of years of his life actually *doing* it, and executing it well. That in itself gets big respect from me - real artists get shit done.

  14. Project London is a great example of what talented Blenderheads can do.
    Next step...Mango. Today, the majority of professional CG involves composting CG elements into live plates; not 100% CG from scratch. With the primary focus on pipeline integration, VFX and rendering improvements, I hope to see Mango push this area forward even more; proving/making Blender a strong alternative to proprietary software.

  15. Ian,

    No need to thank me, this was very good work. I have a question(bear in mind that I'm neither a pro nor an amateur filmmaker/VFX artist): The reason you use after effects instead of trying with the blender composer is because

    you couldn't possible do what you're doing with the internal composer?
    it would be excessively harder?
    you just don't know how to compose in blender?
    Or is it another reason, like personal preference/comfort?

    Looking forward to project london.

  16. I was thinking 'Oh wow, someone is making a live action Appleseed!' Where'd you guys get 'Ghost in the Shell' from. Know thy manga.

  17. Finally, I believe that Project London may actually have a great story. Already knew the graphics were superb and this again shows us that.

  18. Best reel I've seen :)
    But the 2d animation is a bit jarring. Don't get me wrong it's cute and entertaining but watching it I was amazed with your 3D presentation and underwhelmed by that one segment.

  19. I didn't see the "Manga" influence so much as robots and spaceships flying around.
    And that's what really matters.
    I hope to see plenty of sh*t blowing up in the future.
    :D

  20. I don't care about the fact that the compositing was done with AE; it's the tool that I use to do my compositing with anyway. You use the tools that you're most comfortable with.

    Good demo reel, Ian. I loved the feeling of mass that you achieved with your animation. Liked the lighting, the camera control, the atmospherics, too.

  21. Wauw. cool.

    Good example of how 3d is used as a medium to paint. And than add camera rides to see paralax in 3d objects.
    The coloring is very good. The animation is also very good. Everything seems to have the right weight and move as it should.
    Bravo. ( Made me think of http://vimeo.com/18275127 . Toning down the colors and detail make the picture.

    Cool flares and stuff too. I personaly don't like mimics of camera faults but it makes it look real i guess.
    Also camera shake,... hmm... been seeing it sooo much that everytime I now see it its a hint of the shot being CG. :P

    Very good prove that colors/atmos is really made in post, and that blender is very capable of doing mech anims.

    Cudos.

  22. I Commend you and thank you for allowing us to view your creations. You inspire those of us who have stories to tell.

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