Zach Shukan

The new osd_limit VEX function gives direct access to limit-surface derivatives, revealing the principal curvatures and directions that describe a surface’s true shape. Learn high-end VFX production-focused VEX methods with Pragmatic VEX. https://lnkd.in/g7bmudJR https://lnk.bio/animatrix If our content resonates with you, consider backing us on Patreon or exploring our Gumroad collection. It helps us create more content like this. #sidefx #houdini #houdini3d #houdinifx #houdinitips #houdinitricks #quicktip #fx #vfx #visualeffects #simulation #vex #pragmaticvex #pragmaticvfx #cgi #math #mograph #tutorial #course #patreon #ilm #animatrix #shorts

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I spent a chunk of today testing out Runway's Aleph. I have some thoughts. The TL;DR is: it's amazing what it can do AND I don't think anything I made today would be able to pass QC at any VFX facility I've worked at. I'll admit that I might not be doing it right. In the video I'm showing my prompts, feel free to let me know what I should do differently, I still have some credits left. Shot 1 - Adding Snow. It's amazing that it was able to extract the main character, blend it into a background (adjusting lighting), added snow on actor (that maintained consistency when his arm left frame and then came back) and added believable snow falling. But it also changed the actor's facial expression, his smile, his eyes and his overall placement. The flag's movement was different as well, but changing the actor's performance is a huge deal. Shot 2 - Various shots of the guy running in and throwing the chair. I tried changing perspective/camera angle of the shot. It's crazy how it was able to do that, very impressive. It struggled mightily with the action of the people in the shot, in one case, adding another guy completely. When I asked it to remove the chair, it appeared to do nothing. Shot 3 - Slow-Mo punch - I thought this would be easy, but the crowd was a mess. Very distorted people and crazy motion. There was also a massive color shift that appeared on this shot. Shot 4 - People removal - It will be hard, if not impossible to spot this on your phone, but the shot immediately lacked detail and struggled with the different fencing at different depths. Lots of wobbly details in the environment as the camera moved forward. Shot 5 - Two talking guys over bluescreen - Simple prompts lead to very bad comps with no integration with the background. But there was some improvement when I asked specifically for the background lighting to affect the actors. But then it would ignore this part of the prompt in later attempts. And it would often dramatically change the actor's faces. Using References made it worse. One part that worked pretty well was asking for it to create an alpha channel. It didn't make any miracles with hair detail or motion blur, but if you needed a quick temp, this could totally work. Shot 6 - Changing action - I tried making one guy punch the other. It would dramatically change the actor's position, even when asking it not to. Any quick motion made the actors look like jelly. Last shot - extraction - while not perfect, I was impressed with this one. This was an actor over partial greenscreen that would normally require a lot of roto. The matte isn't perfect, but in about 2 minutes I would have something that I could use for a temp that normally would be a lot of work. You can see the promise of where this tech will go, but there are a lot of questions. Would a studio let you upload their work to Runway's servers? What was this trained on, and could your studio be sued if you used it?

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When a client asks for character animation, most beginners start keyframing every limb manually. But pros? They rig. In this tutorial, I broke down the process of using Duik Angela—a free tool inside After Effects—to build a custom skeleton and automate complex character movement using Inverse Kinematics (IK). What I covered: • What is Rigging? Creating a skeleton system that lets one body part influence the others—for example, when you move the arm, the hand follows naturally. • Planning the Character: I designed a custom character (“Karubhuddhi Lal Bhaiya in an MJ jacket”), broken into layers—arms, legs, torso, hands, etc.—to prep for rigging. • Setting up Duik Angela: Built a full bone structure using custom joints, linked everything together, and created a fully controllable puppet. • Animating with Ease: Used controllers to animate the dance sequence, with smooth movement and minimal manual keyframing. 

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EXPERIMENT: VFX + Camera Transitions in Veo 3 I've been playing with VEO 3, trying out some cool VFX and camera transitions with simple prompts. Check out these 6 examples (plus all the prompts) ... 👇 ----- I used VEO 3 over at Leonardo.Ai for these tests. I also used Lucid Origin to generate the thumbnail image used as the start frame. Prompt: [cinematic fashion editorial cinematography], [mid-shot of a model in bold statement wear], [eye-level shot capturing regal posture], [neon green faux-fur coat over a geometric patterned dress, paired with heart-shaped sunglasses and platform sneakers], [model confidently reclines on a lavish, golden throne in the middle of a misty field], [expansive outdoor setting with moody fog enveloping the landscape], [vivid neons contrasting muted natural tones], [soft morning light filtered through fog creating an ethereal effect], [slight motion blur enhancing the surreal dreamlike feel], [Kodak Portra 800 film stock for color vibrancy and texture] -------- #1 Concept: Play with analog distortion + Rapid Zoom. Camera Instructions: 1. Apply glitch transitions with VHS-style effects. Make it seem like the video “glitches” into different versions of the same location—fog density and color tone change abruptly. 2. Zoom-in on her sunglasses, freezing for a split second before snapping back to a wide shot. -------- #2 Concept: Night Vision The scene turns to nighttime, subject glows in UV -------- #3 Concept: Hurricane The scene turns to hurricane-level winds, subject struggles to hold on to throne as the gusts increase -------- #4 Concept: Heat Haze Ripple Heat-haze style distortions ripple from her feet outward, bending the grass and throne edges. Camera Instructions: Slow dolly in; overlay refractive displacement maps synced to ripple waves. -------- #5 Concept: Lens Flares Lens flares intensify as the camera zooms toward her. Camera Instructions: Fast push-in; gradually increase glow threshold. -------- #6 Concept: Rap Subject raps at the camera. -------------------------------- THAT'S A WRAP! I hope you've found this helpful. Follow me Mark Isle for more. If you loved this, please don't forget to bookmark it and share so others can benefit from it too! #GenAI #AIVideo #Veo3 #PromptShare #AIFashion

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Did you know that in stop mo, the animation stage can actually be faster than 2D or CG? It’s the fabrication that takes the longest, not the animation! On CNESST - Hanging by a thread, only 3 animators animated a full 1-minute film in just 4 weeks. That surprises a lot of people, but it’s true. In a single CG or 2D shot there might be many departments handling all the elements like hair, clothing, clean up, render, texture etc. that only one stop motion animator takes care of all by themselves. This is how we (See Creature animation) can deliver stop-motion projects consistently just as fast as other techniques. But, when productions aren’t managed properly, reshoots happen. And in stop motion, reshoots mean days of setup, lost trust, and budgets that start to get out of control. So how do we avoid that? - We make feedback part of the creative process before animation begins. - We rework the animatic until everyone’s voice is heard. - Then we build a photomatic: Shoot one photo per shot with the creatives in the studio, so they can see how it all fits together before we capture a single frame. This collaborative, transparent approach seems like a huge extra step, but it saves time, money, and sanity, plus this keeps everyone excited instead of anxious. Here are 4 steps you can take right now to avoid costly reshoots: 1. Involve clients early in the animatic stage. 2. Create multiple versions of the animatic and try out every idea, things are cheap to change now. 3. Build a photomatic with creatives in the studio. 4. Keep clients constantly up to date with the edit. Follow these steps on your next stop motion project and you’ll enjoy a smooth production, clear communication, and no surprise reshoots. Don’t let the assumption that stop motion takes forever to animate hold you back. With the right planning and process, it can be one of the most efficient and rewarding techniques out there.

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