SCAD X Harbor - Week 3

Feedback

From all Mentors:

• The smoke doesn’t feel natural or connected to the nature theme. It might be worth exploring other elements that fit better.

Kyle:

• The nature/flower/water concept is beautiful.

• Adding reflective water could take it to the next level.

Justin:

• For the last shot, try adding one or two more passes of petals to make it feel fuller.

• A lower camera angle would work better for live-action shots and give it more impact.

Billy:

• Make sure the imagery and design match the brand’s style and feel consistent.

Adjustments

General:

• Remove the smoke effect based on mentor feedback.

• Capture footage of spray and composite it into the scene to reduce the FX workload.

• Remove the petals in the final shot to maintain continuity since there are no falling petals in the flower close-up shot.

My FX Work:

• In Shot 1, the flower starts half-open (using the exported cache file from Shot 2).

• In Shot 2, the flower transitions from half-open to fully open to ensure continuity in the story, rather than starting to bloom from a closed bud.

Here is our new previs.

Tasks

1. Research and references

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Petal-shape-variability-of-Camellia-species-Petals-from-A-C-fluviatilis-B-C-kissi_fig3_288654639

We decided to use the Rose Double-Form Camellia as our reference because of its elegant shape. The curves and slight indentations along the edges of its petals give them a heart-like appearance.

https://kenmatthewsgardencenter.com/camelias/

Here is a time-lapse of a blooming camellia and some close-up photographs of droplets on its petals:

2. Blooming flower R&D

   
   

Skin Modeling

Using a ramp to adjust the shape.

To make it look more organic, I extruded the left side at 0.8 scale to create asymmetry.

Skeleton

Using a ramp controls the length of the arms.

Animation & Vellum simulation

Bud

Bloom

Steps:

1. Set bud pose and bloom pose then animated the transition in between.

2. Copy the transformation from a single skeleton to 31 instances.

3. Create points group to ensure petals stay connected during the vellum simulation.

   
   

Here is how I change points' position & rotation:

Use a matrix3 to set rotations along the Z and Y axis, adding a random function to give the transformation a more organic look.

Make sure the /copy2/ry parameter matches the rotateY value in /attributewrangle2 to avoid any spinning during the transition from bud to bloom.

Apply the matrix to the points so it’s ready for the Copy to Points workflow.

(Modified version of John Zunk's code)

VEX for transition by frames

Blend with Vellum Constraint

Helpful Link:

1. Bao Motion Design. *How to make organic flower grow | Houdini tutorial* [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoPVLm7PswY&t=2005s

2. Krause, C. (2023). *Flower Garden | Paris HIVE 2023* [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bsb-WBGPTc&t=238s

3. John Kunz. https://www.johnkunz.com/

This week, I focused on creating the node graph and ensuring everything functions as expected. I’ll work on matching the blooming reference and begin creating the droplets in next week!

Here is a photo when we film at Tybee Island ^ ^