creating global clouds to outdo Andrew

[Antony Buonomo]

Hi

This is a rough test I did for a recent production –
https://www.vertigo.co.uk/test/CameroonEstablishMap4.mov
(10mb)

If you’re looking for something like this then I think it’s not hard. Start with fractal noise>Swirly/Linear on a white solid. Contrast high and Brightness low; these will control the amount of cloud cover you have.

Uncheck ‘Uniform Scaling’ and make width roughly 2x height; I used 163/83 but it depends on the size of your comp.

Animate the evolution.

Then play with the Twirl effect (in Distort menu) to make eddies and swirls.

Then wrap using CC Sphere, precomp and place over your globe with Linear Dodge blending.

I’m sure I have forgotten some things but I hope this helps a bit.

A

[Mike Procunier]

What about trying your Fractal Noise & add some swirling by experimenting with some of the Distort effects like Swirl, Liquify, Mesh Warp or possibly Puppet Tool? I’ve done some neat things with Puppet Tool, it has a lot of possibilities, even in non-cartoon applications.

[Darby Edelen]

[craigcow7] “Andrew animates the position of his atmosphere which is cool but I want it swirling and swooshing.”

Swooshing can be accomplished fairly easily and decently with Turbulent Displace or a Displacement Map. Swirling, as in a hurricane, would be more complicated. You can get a pretty good spiraling effect with Time Displace and a radial gradient. Then in order to make the interior of the hurricane move faster than the exterior you’d probably need to use Timewarp with a track matte (maybe the same radial gradient that you use for the time displacement).

I’ll work on this and see if I can get you a sample later today.

Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA

[Mike Clasby]

Here’s a Cow tut for slow movements (swirly included):

https://www.creativecow.net/articles/quince_graham/liquify/index.html

[Darby Edelen]

So it doesn’t look nearly as nice uploaded to Google Video, but you should be able to get an idea for the motion and what you try for yourself:

https://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2337851367281373845

Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA

[Craig Wall]

I very much appreciate the suggestions.

Darby you are doing well selling a hurricane but I am more challenged when the fractal density is much more dispersed.

Antony, you are certainly closer to my particular objective. What you have done certainly works and maybe that’s about the best one could achieve. Ideally I’d like a little more realism…like an ultra time lapse of real weather coursing over the planet.

[Darby Edelen]

[craigcow7] “Darby you are doing well selling a hurricane but I am more challenged when the fractal density is much more dispersed.”

If you look at images of the earth from space you’ll find that clouds obscure much of the earth and that, while there are some wispier clouds, there isn’t really much low density cloud cover visible.

https://akvis.com/img/examples/chameleon/earth-in-sky/image-earth.jpg

Looking at reference material I would recommend creating a series of cloud systems (pre-comps) that circle the globe slowly at slightly different rates. You could definitely use a subtle evolving distortion mesh (as has been suggested previously) to create the impression of currents.

I think it’s a fairly large undertaking, but that you can do a very good job of it if you put the time in.

Darby Edelen
DVD Menu Artist
Left Coast Digital
Aptos, CA

[Craig Wall]

Perlin Noise is a powerful technology and I have a (little) understanding of it’s principle.

Clouds like this are indeed just another type of fractal noise…it’s trying to understand how to manipulate the variables to achieve the desired effect.

I also am intrigued more with the liquify effect. I was inspired to realize there is more under the hood with that little baby than you would guess from just the name.

I’ll let you all know if i come up with anything!

[Mike Procunier]

Check out Aharon Rabinowitz’s new tutorial on Using Puppet Tool With Particles. He creates some neat looking swirly smoke that might be up your alley.

[Craig Wall]

Thanks, Mike_P

When I watched that tute the other day I kept thinking of how it would have been easier had Aharon used Bezier Warp.

(Not that I am not almost-always in awe of Mr. R’s tutes, believe me!)

My hunch is that particle systems won’t be the trick with this treatment. Thanks, though.