Animation Process in Maya

[pmaric]

What is the process for creating an architectural animation in Maya?

 

I have 5 models of interior scenes that I'd like to animate and put into a demo reel, but am unsure how to do this. All the models are lit with global illumination, and the final rendered stills are composited using a color pass and an ambient occlusion pass in photoshop. Would I have to composite each frame of the animation the same way as the stills; using a color pass and ambient occlusion pass?...then assemble the frames in a different program to create the final animation?

 

What program(s) is the most widely used to create animations/demo reels?

[mathes]

I use Adobe After Effects for my post processing of animations.

 

Since you're using FG, here's a tip that I have found helpful...

 

-Turn off beauty/alpha/depth passes in the render globals

-Under Final Gather, turn rebuild Off, and enter a file name.

-Batch render the animation, this will go through every frame and build up the final gathering, and since you're not rebuilding it each time, it will be quicker and reduce flicker

-Go back in, turn beauty, alpha, etc back on.

-Turn FG rebuild to Freeze, and keep the file name in there.

-Batch render. This also works well with render farms, since each computer there can use the FG file that you made.

 

A seperate AO pass is preferable, since it'll allow you to give it a slight blur, and manage the opacity in post. Otherwise, just use the built in AO features of the mia_material. If you need to save on rendering time, just use this type of AO on the bigger features that will benefit the most.

[pmaric]

Thanks Jeremy! I'm sure your suggestions will be helpful.

[dannydesil]

Amazing stuff dear...thanks

Edited November 27, 2009 by dannydesil