Hi there,
Sorry if this post is in the wrong area....new here. hehe
Anyway, my question is this: We're looking to combine 2D and 3D elements in a project we're working on. We want to use 3D backgrounds, and 2D main characters. I'm just not 100% sure how to do this.
Should we animated the 2D characters with a transparent background, then import that clip into the 3D program and continue to animate from there? Do we animate the 3D background and then export that and animate our 2D characters over that?
Sorry, would really appreciate some help.
Thanks a bunch!!! :-)
I'm sure you'll get more specific advice from other members here, but you might look into getting some kind of toon shader program for your 3D stuff, so it meshes better with the 2D. They did this extinsively on Triplets of Belleville, and the DVD has a nice extra on the subject.
thanks for the quick response! We've looked into toonshaders for our 3D program (Lightwave) and none of them are really great at giving variable line weights and such, which is what we really like about the 2D aspect.
We love the look of 2D, and the artistic, natural quality of it. What we want to do with camera moves and such (panning, zooming, etc) is what's making us thing that 3D backgrounds would work better.
We're working on a feature-length project, so for us to budget and schedule it, we have to figure out which is the best way to go.
Anyone here have any feature experience?
I've been experimenting with this for a couple years now with varying results. I use different filters (poster edges, watercolor, etc.) in Photoshop CS2 to "Cartoonize" 3D stills that I use for backgrounds. If the background is moving footage I apply similar filters using After Effects. Good Luck!
-Cathy :)
you could always keep it 2d, and for camera moves, rotoscope a 3d environment?
I know that doesn't exactly answer your question, but I've only worked with Maya toon shaders/outlines a little, and don't know much about varying the line width either.
If you can't get the answer here, try http://forums.cgsociety.org/
in fact:
http://forums.cgsociety.org/showthread.php?t=116615&highlight=toon
http://www.ef9.com/ef9/LineFX.htm
apples : oranges ::