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The "Animators Assemble!" thread for Daz animation WIPs, clips, and tips

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  • CoXComicsCoXComics Posts: 96

    It would be time consuming.

    I'd remove any object intended to move and render the static background with the spherical camera. That would be the base layer for the animation and the dome. After that render each moving object as a layer with the dome invisible and stack them into a video editor for the final render and spatial injection. The hardest part for me would be timing the vehicle wheels to turn at a rate that matches the vehicle movement. Some of the layers could be looped to make the main loop start and finish less obvious.

    Turning wheels to match movement is always difficult for me.

  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 38,464

    I used to do 360 videos

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUi6tBcmD7A&list=PL403UZF5-5dIRzfe0i4NVT-GyicTfVvpE

    but without a VR viewer they get boring fast and more importantly take way too much drive space

  • FirstBastionFirstBastion Posts: 7,815

    The technology for full 360 degree ability on every frame of the video is mindblowing.  I don't doubt these are really big data files.

  • GordigGordig Posts: 10,166

    Dartanbeck said:

    The tough part, I think, would be having all of the people and non-parked vehicles perpetually in a looping motion

    Houdini could spawn an infinite number of agents at a regular or even random interval so that you don't even need to worry about looping. 

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,709

    Gordig said:

    Dartanbeck said:

    The tough part, I think, would be having all of the people and non-parked vehicles perpetually in a looping motion

    Houdini could spawn an infinite number of agents at a regular or even random interval so that you don't even need to worry about looping. 

    Perhaps. The looping part is because it needs to become rendered out into a final viewable file

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,709

    CoXComics said:

    Turning wheels to match movement is always difficult for me.

    Enter the Four-Wheeler Animation Template System!!!

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,709

    CoXComics said:

    It would be time consuming.

    I'd remove any object intended to move and render the static background with the spherical camera. That would be the base layer for the animation and the dome. After that render each moving object as a layer with the dome invisible and stack them into a video editor for the final render and spatial injection. The hardest part for me would be timing the vehicle wheels to turn at a rate that matches the vehicle movement. Some of the layers could be looped to make the main loop start and finish less obvious.

    Turning wheels to match movement is always difficult for me.

    All of these would be rendered using the same camera:

    • Outer Layer 360 background image - Very distant background
    • Inner set of buildings - no backdrop (Alpha) with Iray Floor On (for shadows of buildings
    • Set of vehicles placed around the scene - all pointing the same direction, but at different distances from the camera - no backdrop (Alpha) with Iray Floor On (for shadows of buildings
    • Repeat but different vehicles pointing the opposite direction - no backdrop (Alpha) with Iray Floor On (for shadows of buildings
    • Loitering people who don't actually travel the scene, but are set to a short loop for less frames of render - keep them distant for faster rendering - no backdrop (Alpha) with Iray Floor On (for shadows of buildings
    • A fog layer that can be set at various places within the stack in the final edit and various strengths - to mimic depth

    The only layer mentioned above that really needs more than one frame would be the people. In post add a radial blur to the vehicle wheels and let a fog leyer help simulate the idea of movement. Make the entire final output enough frame to rotate the vehicle passes far enough around behind the inner buildings to look convincing. Loop the people into all of it - placed in areas where they can simply blend into the background.

     

    Just food for thought on how I'd initiate my own appoach to this idea

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,709

    Possibly also another set of buildings - a mid layer that goes behind the inner and in front of the distant background.

    Although I would render my fog layer at full opacity, I'd mix it into many layers very weak each time, rotating them differently to help sell the idea of a living world

  • GordigGordig Posts: 10,166

    Dartanbeck said:

    Perhaps. The looping part is because it needs to become rendered out into a final viewable file

    How do you figure? It doesn't need to loop to be renderable.

  • CoXComicsCoXComics Posts: 96
    edited January 25

    WendyLuvsCatz said:

    I used to do 360 videos

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUi6tBcmD7A&list=PL403UZF5-5dIRzfe0i4NVT-GyicTfVvpE

    but without a VR viewer they get boring fast and more importantly take way too much drive space

    The files can eat some space depending on resolution. Rendering the entire scene frame by frame ends up giving ~50meg or so individual images at the resolution I start with, 7680x4320. I noticed that the first few videos in your list were done in 2008 and drive space was certainly at a higher premium. It's a little easier now. Once production is done, I dump the whole thing onto an 8TB external drive.

    Edit: I see the later videos were just last year. The Troll Cave video looked great in VR.

    Post edited by CoXComics on
  • CoXComicsCoXComics Posts: 96

    Dartanbeck said:

    CoXComics said:

    It would be time consuming.

    I'd remove any object intended to move and render the static background with the spherical camera. That would be the base layer for the animation and the dome. After that render each moving object as a layer with the dome invisible and stack them into a video editor for the final render and spatial injection. The hardest part for me would be timing the vehicle wheels to turn at a rate that matches the vehicle movement. Some of the layers could be looped to make the main loop start and finish less obvious.

    Turning wheels to match movement is always difficult for me.

    All of these would be rendered using the same camera:

    • Outer Layer 360 background image - Very distant background
    • Inner set of buildings - no backdrop (Alpha) with Iray Floor On (for shadows of buildings
    • Set of vehicles placed around the scene - all pointing the same direction, but at different distances from the camera - no backdrop (Alpha) with Iray Floor On (for shadows of buildings
    • Repeat but different vehicles pointing the opposite direction - no backdrop (Alpha) with Iray Floor On (for shadows of buildings
    • Loitering people who don't actually travel the scene, but are set to a short loop for less frames of render - keep them distant for faster rendering - no backdrop (Alpha) with Iray Floor On (for shadows of buildings
    • A fog layer that can be set at various places within the stack in the final edit and various strengths - to mimic depth

    The only layer mentioned above that really needs more than one frame would be the people. In post add a radial blur to the vehicle wheels and let a fog leyer help simulate the idea of movement. Make the entire final output enough frame to rotate the vehicle passes far enough around behind the inner buildings to look convincing. Loop the people into all of it - placed in areas where they can simply blend into the background.

     

    .

    Just food for thought on how I'd initiate my own appoach to this idea

    Pretty much the same approach I outlined. Anything that moves has to have its own layer and the same lighting. The default loadout of Xi's Steampunk City street is only wide enough for vehicles to pass in one direction. As the scene stands, there are 5 figures meant to be idling and three to move. Of course all the idea spawning is making me less interested in my current project and want to go play with this. Wheel template kit put in the wish list.
  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 38,464

    CoXC

    the first few videos in your list were done in 2008 

    I didn't even have a PC in 2008 cheeky 

  • CoXComicsCoXComics Posts: 96
    edited January 25

    WendyLuvsCatz said:

    CoXC

    the first few videos in your list were done in 2008 

    I didn't even have a PC in 2008 cheeky 

    It shows this: "Streets of Asia Stonemason DAZ 3D set 360 VR madcatlady 35.5K subscribers Subscribe Like Share Download 2.6K views 8 years ago". My dyslexia transposed the 8 yeares ago to 2008. Doh!

     

    Post edited by CoXComics on
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,709

    AI - Assited Keyframe Animation Enters Daz Studio!

    Enter a world where we can sculpt our own animations for Daz Studio as easily as deciding on the next outfit our characters should wear, or which new hair they should have.

    The amazing developers at Cascadeur are constantly improving software that was really, Really great for this for quite some time already - but it just keeps getting better!

    I'm starting off 2025 with a subscription to the Pro tier plan of Cascadeur to really dig into this amazing endeavor.

  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 38,464
    edited January 27

    I really do render a lot of [sily stuff] wink so don't share here often

    (it would be awfully spammy if I did given the utter volume cheeky)

    But, I bought that Xi Steampunk scene too yesterday and had to plonk it into Twinmotion and see how it looked

    edit, forgot to add a person or people to the car before I saved it to the User Library in order to add to a motion path so that's why it's empty, was too lazy to do it again for the umpteenth time after editing (adding rotators, tweeking materials etc)

    Post edited by Richard Haseltine on
  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,709

    That's awesome Wendy!!!  I Love It!!!   heart

  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 38,464
    edited January 27

    oh BTW not only does Twinmotion render 360 videos (but not on my PC without a huge struggle the earlier versions without Lumen etc worked OK but meh shading)

    but

    You can use it in VR mode apparently working and export VR presentations, just something CoXComics might be intersted in

    not sure if still free though, might be, look on Epic Games

    edit, if you are poorer like me and most people not millionaires yes

    Twinmotion is free for students, educators, hobbyists, and companies earning under $1 million USD in annual gross revenue. Above that threshold? Find out about pricing or get a free 30-day trial today.

    oh and thanks Dartanbeckheart

    Post edited by WendyLuvsCatz on
  • TugpsxTugpsx Posts: 747
    edited January 27

    Good job @Wendy, lots of activities happending in the environment. I'd use some movie magic and change to a blue light to represent night scenes so that more information is presented. Some of the scenes were a bit dark.

    Great job anyway thanks for sharing.

    Post edited by Tugpsx on
  • TugpsxTugpsx Posts: 747

    Dartanbeck said:

    AI - Assited Keyframe Animation Enters Daz Studio!

    Enter a world where we can sculpt our own animations for Daz Studio as easily as deciding on the next outfit our characters should wear, or which new hair they should have.

    The amazing developers at Cascadeur are constantly improving software that was really, Really great for this for quite some time already - but it just keeps getting better!

    I'm starting off 2025 with a subscription to the Pro tier plan of Cascadeur to really dig into this amazing endeavor.

    Awesome work Dan, these workflows make animating in Daz much easier when you can get realistic ani-motions via a combined mocap and hand posed. keep up the great work and looking forward to more Cascadeur tips and tricks. 

  • DartanbeckDartanbeck Posts: 21,709

    Hey man! Thanks!!! I really appreciate that!

    More coming soon... I hope! :D

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