Home » 2011»June»23 » cmiVFX - Softimage: ICE for a Production Pipeline
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cmiVFX - Softimage: ICE for a Production Pipeline
cmiVFX - Softimage: ICE for a Production Pipeline English | MP4 | AVC1 1024x576 | AAC 105 Kbps | 926 MB Genre: eLearning
In a sea of XSI training materials only one brand rises above to cater to real world problems in a production environment. cmiVFX created this new ICE video to fill a void in the Softimage | XSI training vertical market. While doing so we sought the help of ICE Master Thiago Costa who is currently dealing with ICE on several projects in a professional production pipeline. This very exciting release is a must have for any and all XSI users and should be the primary tool for anyone migrating from other procedural based FX software packages. When it comes to high end CG and VFX training there is only once choice... cmiVFXIntroduction to ICE workflow You didn't learn how to walk before you learned to crawl so in the first part of this video we bring you up to a fast walk in progression. You will get familiar with the ICE dataflow realtime evaluation and understand how everything works inside of the framework while learning the principles of designing efficient graphs. We continue with an overview of the nodes and connect things together to start designing effects in ICE so that your ready for what will come in the next chapters! Vector Math Basics We will start this next section talking about the basics about vectors. You will start from the beginning creating a couple vectors and experiment with basic mathematic operations to grasp the concepts of Vector Math in a logical way. This is the foundation for the most complex effects done in 3d whether its a fluids simulator complex deformation system constraint or 3d camera you will have to really understand vector fundamentals! Don't worry we designed the education workflow of this video to accommodate any production ready artist. Vector Math Part 2 Creating a Deformer You won't get far with vectors if don't try to build something with them! In this video we will start to understand the logic used to create a deformation tool. The techniques learned in this chapter are crucial in order to get a better understanding of how complex effects are created. Introduction to Math Notation Finding the Center or Mass of a Particle System Math notation can be a scary thing to look at the first time but with this lesson you will see how straight forward it is to translate an equation directly into an ICEgraph. We are going to show you how to model a very simple condition where the center of a Particle System get's shifted totwards the higher mass bodies in the system. Being a physical condition we can just apply the same principle to model the relation of any bodies with mass like the Earth and the Moon. Arrays and Strands In this next chapter you will get introduced to Arrays in ICE and see how basic array manipulation works by adding and removing items finding data into an array structure and using the low level nodes to manipulate data. Then we will see how to apply these same concepts in practice by creating and deforming a strand in ICE. The concepts presented on this lesson can be used to create many different tools and is essential to learn in order to create robust tool-sets. Arrays Part 2 Rotating a Strand See how we apply the concepts of the previous lesson by creating a specific array that contains the data necessary to rotate and deform a strand even further. This is the basic concept you need to know in order to create your own Strand deformation systems and start using arrays properly. This video is complementary to the previous chapter. Graph of a Function Visualizing Points in a Polar Coordinate System
See how Function curves work inside of a polar coordinates representation. Understand what the differences are between polar coordinates and the Cartesian plane. Learn how to create the classic graphs that yield the Rose shapes or the Lissajous curves by representing harmonic motion in a polar coordinates system. Investigate how to use Sin wave functions and Cosine functions to change the way that a system of coordinates work. Finally accept the ability to combine multiple concepts in a larger network of capabilities. Graphing on a Grid In this chapter you will use the same concepts of graphing but now on a Cartesian grid. Experiment with classic functions and learn how the output changes as its input changes. See how shapes emerge from simple function curves and use ICE as a graphing calculator. Understanding these concepts will make a big difference on how you think about your equations and what you can do with function graphs. Vector Math Rotating Vectors "Rotate Vectors" is useful tool for many different scenarios. You could for example create a propeller or a wheel without the need to change the kinematic state of the object. In this exercise you will see how to use vector rotation to add a bit of physics behavior to a system of points. Go from a basic vector rotation to lifting an object in the air with a simulated lift/drag system. Introduction to Locations: Locations are a data type in ICE itself that allows the user to communicate data between objects. Locations are very powerful and a core component of the ICE work-flow. Learn the essence of this very powerful feature and see how we can deform read and project data between objects. Locations make up a complex data structures and there are many ways that you could use it. This example gives you an overview of most types of locations encountered in ICE. Locations Updating Particle Positions In some scenarios you may need to stick objects to each other. The spatial features inside of locations are where its true strength starts to surface. See how we can use point locators to resolve problems that appear when doing half ICE effects and half standard Softimage ops. This example shows a different kinda of work-flow that can be used to store/read data update offset and create vectors between objects and a
