Final Year VFX Project - Robot Plant Pot
A project for my VFX module; the task was to create and render a 3d model of a robot, and composite it into a clip or on top of an image, to make it appear as though it is part of the scene. Camera tracking or perspective matching was required. Sound effects were not marked but added for fun.
Had a lot of fun with this one! The leaves were definitely the trickiest part, Tyflow is a bit of a nightmare. Fortunately some kind internet people helped me out and, with further tweaking on my end, I got them working to a standard I was happy with. My second highest marked module (by 1 point!), I'm really proud of how this turned out and would love to try something like this again.
For improvements, I'd definitely do more with the texture. I was too subtle with a lot of the details, and they didn't come through in the Vray renders. I'd also add something over the monitor and perhaps show it off more, as a lot of the animation is hidden behind the legs, and it's very washed out without a glass panel over it.
The final composition, complete with sound effects from FreeSounds.com
Renders of the robot in rest and alert form; the final tri count was around 620,000. I kept it unoptimised for maximum detail in the renders, as real time performance was not a concern.
The original design sketches for the robot; I tried to visualise early on how the mechanisms for the legs would work, including how they tuck up under the body.
The robot was rigged directly on the mesh using 3DSMax's ik chain building tools.
The animation I created for the screen, using After Effects and Illustrator. It shows the status of the plant, which in this case needs water.
I used Tyflow to create the leaf physics, using different values for the sturdier stem and more pliable leaves.
Textures for the plant. Edited from various images of leaves, with cleanup such as removing specular lighting and unifying colours
Textures for the robot. I kept these fairly clean with a bit of dirt and scratches, as this is a newish, indoor robot.