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Turn a Polymesh object into a surreal celestial render using C4D noise and Volume Displacement in Arnold.

In this quick tutorial, Shawn Astrom shows you how to turn a polymesh model into a Lee Griggs style render. You can also refer to the Arnold documentation here to take a deeper dive into the process.

Let’s dive in.

Need drag-and-drop Arnold materials? Get over 350 curated textures with the Everyday Material Collection.

The post Using Volume Displacement in Cinema 4D and Arnold appeared first on Greyscalegorilla.

I remember those days when I used to play building and matching games in my pocket videogame device. However, with the advent of hi-tech gadgets, the video gaming industry has evolved massively. Moreover, sometimes I feel, wish we could relive those 80s and 90s video game vibes in 2019. Guess what Ogre Head Studio recently launched their ‘Ogre Head Minis’ series with the first game, Color Ride.

“Creating Asura was a long term commitment and our next project is even more ambitious, more polished and it takes even longer time frame to let it roll among the audience. The team and I work on tons of prototypes to keep our creative juices flowing. When we saw rays of potential glimmering in these projects, we figured why not work on them a little more and release it for the mass,” said Ogre Head Studio co-founder and director, Zainuddin Fahad .

The idea of launching mini-games popped last year and finally, they launched in 2019. These are small games they create in the studio as prototypes and play during their free time just for fun. As the series name suggests, these are small games usually made in the span of a couple of days or a week by the studio and are fun-sized packages of thrill and entertainment. In conversation with AnimationXpress Fahad expressed that “The plan is not to be out of touch to the audience. Our games are not mostly on the mobile platform and are mostly hardcore gaming. Therefore we rolled out these mini-games to increase the fun element in gaming.”

The first game of the series is Color Ride which is an English car game where one has to merge the colour of the car with the colour of the obstacles in the form of walls. The game style is similar to a popular platform game of the 90s where one has to match the colour of the shooter ball before it collides with that of the series of RGB coloured balls.

Apart from that the game also has an album track which gives the vibe of 80s electro pop music, created by Vishwas. The track can be separately purchased from the game itself. Speaking further about the collaboration Fahad expressed, “Since it is not possible all the time to collaborate with peers for our main games, this is our chance to collaborate with the people within the ecosystem and experiment with our mini-games.”

On asking about the strategy behind the creation of the minis and the time interval of the publishing the game he added “ there is no hard and fast rule for us in creating and publishing the game. There is no strict deadline for it since we also offer services. The idea is to launch games in between two to three months interval.”

Although the studio has lined up two games already. one is likely to launch in the coming week and one more in the next month. The upcoming game which is probably slated for a next week launch ( they are in words with Google play and iOS)is somewhat of “You are sitting with your friend at the coffee shop you are getting bored, then you pick up your phone and both of you starts playing the game with one device with a single screen,” he expressed.

Another uniqueness of their upcoming mini-game is the use of weird, wacky mouth sounds which are funny and created by their in-house team, he says “It can be annoying – it can be funny.”

Color Ride is free to play the game with regular Google ads monetisation scheme, which is similar to a lot of mobile games. The game has in-app purchases to remove the ads from the game.  “We are beginning with iOS and Android we want to see how players are responding “he added.

Overall the primary strategy of Ogre head is to launch the games to cherish the fun factor of gaming as well as to engage and feed the audience with consecutive newer mini-games within a small span.

The post Ogre Head Studio launches mini games’ series, eyes community engagement appeared first on AnimationXpress.

FICCI Frames 2019 has just begun and it is already a big success. The first day of the three-day event which will be held from 12 to 14 March, commenced today at Grand Hyatt, Mumbai and saw a series of enriching and insightful sessions spanning across several media and entertainment industry.

The 20th year of FICCI Frames began with dignitaries lighting the lamp followed by FICCI vice president Uday Shankar giving the opening address about the booming media and entertainment industry in India. He said, “The great media and entertainment (M&E) journey has just begun as the industry is ready to contribute more than any sector in the country.” His address was followed by the industry address by Motion Picture Association of America chairman and chief executive officer Charles Rivkin and National Geographic Partners chairman Gary Knell. Rivkin pointed out, “There is huge potential in Indian content market. Big names in the business – Sony, Viacom, Netflix, Disney, Fox and others are deeply interested in India.”

Knell too noted, “We’re seeing a dramatic shift in the content market and audience. More than 60 per cent of the Indian audience is under 35 years and prefer good quality content on streaming platforms.”

Film producer and UpGrad chairman and co-founder Ronnie Screwvala added on the similar points of the flourishing of the media and entertainment industry of which 10 per cent is contributed by the Bollywood industry. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Amit Khare also gave his inputs on the M&E industry which is growing by “… 39 per cent and produces almost two million jobs, create revenues and reflects the vision of India to the world.”

After FICCI secretary general gave the concluding address, Netflix product VP Todd Yellin in conversation with CNN NEWS 18 editor Anuradha Sengupta, mentioned that the streaming giant is like “DNA, a double helix system for technology and entertainment.” He also mentioned that interactive storytelling works well with the audience around the world and they attempt to provide that. He said, “Competition is a great motivator for us, and a positive thing for the audience.”

The theme session ‘Indian M&E Industry – Global Goes Indian’ had Khare along with Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India chairman Dr Bibek Debroy talk about India as the growing media market in the world. They also discussed about the adding on of Indian content, helping India to capture attention globally.

Post lunch the audience was enthralled by a session by renowned author Devdutt Pattanaik who explained brilliantly how the Indian scriptures are relevant in the ever-changing world of M&E. He noted, “Telling a story in India is different than that of West, as there is no concept of justice in Hinduism but ‘Karam’ and ‘Fal’. It’s a cyclical thing. The Ramayana is not about war or revenge, but separation. Sita’s separation from Rama, Mandodari’s separation when Ravana dies. The problem is Indians don’t understand the brilliance of scriptures, to the mythology and history are the same many times.”

After Pattanaik’s session, Viacom18 media group chief executive officer and MD Sudhanshu Vats revealed a lot about the current scenario mainly, content shift from broadcast to smaller screens, technology – how it has bettered the way of storytelling and how a story can be told better through it catering to a particular audience, difference between curator, creator and consumer. ”

He explained, “The advantage of OTT is the ability to customise, experiment and explore.”
Another session alongside talked about the shift in the media and telecom industry. The panel addressed the biggest question on every media person, how the data will help shape M&E in the future?

Vixen Labs CEO James Poulter shared the changing ways of consumer engagement through voice. The session saw a discussion about the technologies like Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and others playing a huge role in making the brand reach out to consumers.

The Powering M&E industry session saw a lot of inputs from Rajya Sabha member M V Gawda, Lok Sabha member Arvind Sawanth moderated by Neeraj Roy talking about how the Indian M&E industry has a significant footprint both in terms of economy and the effect on the populace.

Gawda said, “Indian media and entertainment industry accounts to almost 40 billion. There is a certain kind of magnetism that connects the sector with the citizens.”
The panel also emphasised on the importance of thinking on a global scale by being diverse, attractive and imaginative.

Next was the keynote by MX Player CEO Karan Bedi talking on ‘Local vs Global’ through a PPT presentation that showcased how ‘Made for India’ gave tough competition to ‘Made for the World’. He focused on how MX Player is gradually becoming a prominent name in the OTT business, in such a short span of time than its inception.

UFO Moviez joint managing director Kapil Agarwal also took the audience on the journey of his company, and how it has gained reputation by being the first one in the business to deliver movies in theatres through satellites and revolutionising how movies were distributed.
Ernst & Young advisory services partner Ashish Pherwani next presented the FICCI EY report and highlighted its few pointers. Online gaming has seen a rapid growth spurt of 52 per cent whereas Animation+VFX has gone up by 18 per cent. Digital Media too has seen a rise of 42 per cent with Digital ADs and subscriptions growing by 34 per cent.

The last session was a special one as it was a candid chat with Bollywood filmmaker Rohit Shetty who has produced five 100 crore hits and three 200 crores blockbusters. He informed that the 90s charm has worked well for him and his films as he could make/deliver them in his own style and way.
Shetty also focused on piracy and how we should end it with all the measures. “If we stop watching, piracy will end automatically. With content going online, chances are high of piracy but we must stop it.”

He concluded by mentioning that state-wise entertainment should be considered as the tax differs and so does the audience.
The evening ended on a musical note with popular singer Papon entertaining the audience with his magical songs.

The inaugural day of FICCI thus ended on a successful note raising expectations for the rest two days. 

The post FICCI Frames 2019 opens, tracks the growth of Media and Entertainment scene appeared first on AnimationXpress.

When I think of a bold, strong, sassy, unique and one-of-a-kind comic female character, I cannot think of anyone but Catwoman. Introduced in the world of comics in June 1940 in Batman by DC Comics, Catwoman has made headlines in the comics world since then.

Originally characterised as a supervillain and adversary of Batman, Catwoman is a Gotham City burglar who had been sometimes portrayed her as an anti-heroine, often doing the wrong things for the right reasons. She has enjoyed a huge fan-following over the years and is now coming to entertain audience through Catwoman #9.

Launching from today, Catwoman #9 is written by Ram V. This is Ram V’s second collaboration after Batman Secret Files. A spokesperson from DC told AnimationXpress, “We’re happy to share that Ram V has written an issue of DC’s Catwoman in March! It’s his first full issue of a comic here at DC unlike Batman: Secret Files which was a short story) and we’re excited to pair him with John Timms as artist for the issue.”

Currently, Ram V is a well known name in the comic industry and one of the writers from White Noise studio, responsible for writing Paradiso from Image, These Savage Shores from Vault, Brigands and Ruin Of Thieves from Action Lab, Quake from Titan and the graphic novel Grafity’s Wall. He had his first DC Comics story appear in Batman Secret Files.

The synopsis of Catwoman #9 goes like:

When crooks break into the pawn shop where Catwoman has set up her secret headquarters, they make off with a personal item that she has to get back. The trail of loot leads her to the Broker, the man who moves all illicit merchandise in Villa Hermosa. Now, Catwoman could just walk in and ask for her property back, but that’s never been Catwoman’s style. Instead, she’s going to pull off a heist that will teach her foe a lesson, making sure the Broker never crosses the Cat ever again. 

We have a quick chat with Ram V on Catwoman :

What’s unique about the character of Catwoman that you enjoy and why?

 I love the chaotic ambiguity within which she thrives– only ever choosing to navigate by a vague moral compass showing her true north. It makes her unpredictable and enigmatic. You often question her choices, but you hope that she’ll end up doing the right thing eventually.

What are the challenges that you’ve faced while working on this project, given unlike Batman, it’s a full issue? 

You’re still telling a complete story, eight pages or 22 – so in that sense a lot of the challenges are similar. The most interesting thing for me, given the content of the issue, was to construct a complete and working con-job that had set-up, execution and pay-off within the 22 pages while still telling a cohesive story outside of it. Beyond that it’s all understanding character, structure and having fun with it!

Did you feel any pressure of the immense popularity that the character enjoys or maintaining its aura?

 Not really. I mean, you want to do justice and write well and tell a good story. But those things are all internal and about taking pride in the work you do and I always push myself to do those things regardless of the character I’m working on. I understand there are expectations when you write a character as popular as Catwoman but it doesn’t add to the pressure of just writing a good story, only to the excitement!

Where you influenced by any of the books of this female superhero while you were working on the upcoming issue?

Yeah, I spent some time researching what I wanted to do with the character. Darwyn Cooke’s Selina’s Big Score and parts of the Cooke, Brubaker run are woven into the fabric of this story, if you will. But beyond that I’ve drawn influences from film and animation.

Ram V

How did the art by John Timms help you in writing the story?

John is absolutely the perfect artist for this story. When I saw the first pages from the script come in, I knew he’d absolutely nailed the aesthetic. The whole story feels dynamic, slick and opulent. And while my script for this was dense with some complex action sequences, John opens it all up and pulls off the action with ease! Absolutely thrilled I got to work with John on this. 

What is it like to be associated with DC Comics for the second time?  

I’m enjoying it tremendously. I love working with my editors on stories. I think it’s important to find people who back your work and understand what you’re aiming for with your stories. The editorial at DC has been an absolute pleasure to work with. 

 What are your upcoming projects in the near future apart from Catwoman?

 On the personal side of things- I’m working on a graphic novel and a creator owned series at the moment and there are more things upcoming at DC in 2019. But all projects that are yet to see official announcements. So I’ll have to keep you in the dark a little while longer. 

The post After ‘Batman Secret Files’, Ram V talks about ‘Catwoman #9’ and his second collab with DC! appeared first on AnimationXpress.