i-m-a-g-i-n-efx-august

Inspiration Training
Olivier Dubard uses
SketchBook Pro to
flesh out a concept
he initially made in
3D, using a toon
shader to generate
the outlines.
Olivier’s video on
environment shows
you the ropes, to help
you decide if it might
be a career for you.
During the pre-composition
stage, Olivier uses Nuke to
control colour and focus.
Olivier goes through
every main stage of an
environment project,
including creating
custom textures in Mari.
Environment Creation
for Film and Cinematics
MAKe A SCeNe Master the basics of producing scenes and backdrops
for films and video games, with pro environment artist Olivier Dubard
ZBrush gives Olivier
the toolset he needs
to make pristine
objects damaged and
imperfect, which adds
to their authenticity.
Publisher The Gnomon Workshop Price $49 per month (subscription) Format Streaming video Web www.thegnomonworkshop.com
aking CG characters might
be the glamour roles in
M visual effects and games,
but there’s plenty of
creative opportunity in the more
niche areas, too. Those fantasy and
sci-fi backdrops and props don’t
design themselves, you know.
In this brisk video on environment
creation, Olivier Dubard offers a broad
introduction to a specialism he excels
at. In a little under two hours, he goes
through every stage in a single project,
taking an atmospheric alleyway from
concept to final rendering. Covering so
much territory in relatively little time
inevitably means that some technical
detail is lacking: although you’ll pick up
some useful tips, it’s better to think of
this video as a career overview.
Olivier mixes 2D and 3D skills
according to the needs of the brief
rather than following a strict pattern.
An environment that features in a shot
Topics covered
n Gathering reference
n Concept art
n Modelling and layout
n Texturing
n Lighting and
LookDev
n Pre-compositing
n Matte painting
Length
111 minutes
Rating
★★★
with lots of panning, for example,
might require more 3D objects than a
scene intended for a static shot, where
more 2D painting could be called for.
Particular points of interest in this
project include the use of 3D at the
initial concept stage, where a toon
shader applied to a roughly blockedout
scene gives Olivier the perspective
lines he needs to start painting and
photo-bashing with precision. And
artists who associate ZBrush with
character sculpting might be surprised
to see Olivier using the software to
craft hard-edged objects later on:
working on them in ZBrush enables
him add the imperfections that
convince the viewer the parts are real.
Yet while there’s much you’ll find of
use here, you may well end the video
wishing Olivier had shared more of his
knowledge. This feeling is exacerbated
by the frequent musical interludes that
alternate with the narration.
Artist profile
Olivier
DubarD
Olivier is an environment artist
who specialises in film and
cinematics. With a background in
comic books and illustration, he
attended the Gnomon School of
Visual Effects in Hollywood, and
now handles different aspects of
production, from concept to the
final photo-real CGI image. He’s
also created digital environments
for the film industry, working
on blockbusters
such as Star Trek
Beyond, The Hunger
Games series and
Terminator Genisys.
www.olivierdubard.com
August 2017
97