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Creating a Virtual Studio Set in Pro Animator
Hey there,
I’m trying to create a virtual set with Pro Animator in After Effects. I’ve read all Pro Animator Tutorials I could find as well as the Zaxwerks Manual, but now as I’m going to really create something for the first time it’s kinda hard to get it started.
What I’m trying to achieve is a 3D Studio-Set to use with greenscreen footage. It should look as realistic as possible, so I am going to create a floor, one or two walls (parts of that should look like they were made out of different materials such as small bricks and wood). So a lot to do. I know how to do that in theory, but I was wondering which way to do it would be best and if there are any tipps or tricks to do it.
So these are the main things I am thinking about at the time:
– Should I build all shapes in Illustrator or should I use Pro Animator Primitives?
– To create a realistic stone-wall I will have to deal with the Bumpiness of the material. Are there any tutorials about that? Will it work if I just create a Bump-Map (white for all parts “closer” to the camera)?
– Which camera-settings will work best? I’d like to use the After Effects Camera if possible.
– Should I use AE lights or build in lights? I’d like to give my set a realistic and nice looking light-setting. But it doesn’t look as I want until now. How do I create a cool look, shadows and so on?
Thats it for now. Would be great to hear your thoughts.
Thanks a lot! -
6 Replies
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Another question that came up: How can I change the behaviour of my Texture. For example: I’m using a .jpg texture of a brick-wall – it fills up all of my plane-object. Can I transform (scale, position) it? Or is there a work around? (Preparing the .jpg in Photoshop somehow?)
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Hi Mark,
You’re in luck. We’re releasing a series of tutorials by Joe Mason that will cover creating virtual sets in 3D Invigorator/ProAnimator. In the mean time, I’ll do my best to answer your questions so you can get started.
Depending on what your virtual set looks like, you may need shapes from both Illustrator and ProAnimator primitives as well. You can use primitives to create simple walls and boxes, but you may need Illustrator to create more advanced shapes.
For bumpiness, look into our manuals. It covers bumpiness. Basically, use white for areas that you want to “pop” and use dark (black) for areas you want to recede.
You will be able to use both After Effects cameras, as well as the After Effects lights. The After Effects lights will give you more flexibility as you can create spot lights in your scene. You can get shadows by turning on the “Casts Shadows” options in the Light settings.
Best.
Edward -
Hi Mark,
You will need to make all the texture map changes in Photoshop before importing it into ProAnimator. Texture maps are set to fit in ProAnimator. So any map you apply onto an object will automatically be stretched to fit the shape.
Best,
Edward -
Hey Edward,
Thanks so much, that really helps getting started.
Tutorials about Virtual Sets, perfect.. do you know when and where they will be released?All the best
M. -
Hey Edward,
Thanks so much, that really helps getting started.
Tutorials about Virtual Sets, perfect.. is there a release-time yet?
By the way, it was Joe Masons clip on the zaxwerks website (https://zaxwerks.com/cgi-bin/gallerymovie.cgi?M=mg12&P=&N=Joe%20Mason) that inspired me to make something similar. I love the look, that’s exactly what I am trying to do.All the best.
M. -
Hi Mark,
I don’t have a set release date for the tutorial, but it might be released some time this month, of possibly by next month. Joe Mason will go over how he created the clip of the virtual set.
Best,
Edward
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