Crossbones

A team of 7 initially handled R&D and asset creation for four months, followed by a production phase peaking at 15 people. This allowed us to deliver full CG shots swiftly, some in less than a week.

Key developments included detailed modeling and texturing of ships, utilizing Maya, Mudbox, ZBrush, and Mari. We rigged the ships with dynamic controls for masts, yards, and sails, simulating realistic cloth behavior with Maya nCloth and vray shaders.

For water effects, we used Houdini Ocean Toolkit, generating water interactions and wake simulations tailored to each shot. We created a 500-frame animation cycle for ship movements, sails, and water interactions, streamlining the process for most shots.

We also animated digital crews, adding life to the ship decks. These animations, combined with interactive water and cloth simulations, were crucial in creating believable scenes.

Our lighting workflow, based on Vray's physical sun and sky setup, allowed us to quickly produce high-quality drafts. We enhanced these with HDRI domes and CG clouds, using Vray 3.0 for deep rendering, which we composited in Nuke.

Working in deep compositing, especially for smoke and fire effects, enabled seamless integration of elements, ensuring high visual fidelity. The majority of compositing was done by lighters, who finalized their own shots, ensuring consistency and quality.