SCAD X Harbor - Week 5
- Wei Lou
- Feb 2
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 17
Feedback
Kyle
Lock the camera by next week.
Use a super macro shot for Shot 2.
The petal should curve under the weight of the water in Shot 3.
Consider combining Shots 4 and 5 to show both the droplet and the water residue. Slightly rotate as well.
Reframe the logo.
Vi
The motion feels too slow.
The logo/bottle composition is too close to the top in Shot 6.
Molly
Reference: The bottle has more dynamic movement.
The motion feels too slow.
Add more dynamic lighting to maintain energy in Shot 5.
Adjust texture scale, displacement, and bump.
Hailey
Shot 5 is elegant but needs a more dynamic feel.
The branch shader is off.
Adjustment I Am Responsible for Based on Feedback:
Make petal curve under the weight of the water in Shot 3.
My Remaining FX Work to Complete This Week:
Adjust petal proportion.
Build droplets simulation for Shot 3.
FX Tasks
Petal Proportion Adjustment
The proportions of the camellia didn’t look quite right, so I brought the reference into Houdini’s view-port. I set the bud as the center and matched its size to adjust the outer petals accordingly.
References
Petal & droplets Simulation Breakdown
3.1 Petal Curl
My initial approach was to use Vellum and RBD to simulate a sphere dropping onto the petal, creating a curling effect. However, after two hours of simulation, I realized this method was too time-consuming, and the reference video showed only a slight bend in the petal rather than a dramatic curl.
To analyze the motion, I brought the video into Nuke and observed that the petal bends downward at frame4, bounces back at frame 44 and stays still at frame 95. Instead of running a full simulation, I opted to animate the petal using a Bend node, which allowed for more control and efficiency.
3.2 Droplets Simulation
I tested three different approaches and created a graphic to illustrate how I separated each simulation:
A -One simulation for all droplets: difficult to make changes
B -Simulating each droplet individually: easier to make changes but could be simplified
C -Splitting the simulation into three groups: I realized the red and yellow droplets from approach B could be combined to reduce workload.
Red- Initially built with a FLIP solver; however, the bounce-back animation impacts the droplet. I tried adding POP Wind to counteract it and adjusting FLIP parameters, but it's difficult to maintain the same shape. This is a mesh geometry using Copy to Points to attach it to the petal.
Green- The FLIP simulation gradually decreases in size toward the end to hide in the middle. Added POP Wind to increase air resistance.
Blue- Flip simulation using volume source.
Here is a visual comparison between using a sphere and selected primitives as the emitter, both with the same parameters.
Using a Bend node to make the top of the simulation appear smaller to match the reference.
Merging together- Using VDB after completing the three parts.
Other Tasks
We had incorrect renders for shots 1, 2, and 3 at the end of the week. I’m helping re-render shots 2 and 3.
Here’s what we have so far—Alice did an amazing job pulling everything together. I really appreciate her patience in waiting and making last-minute adjustments.
Comments