Adrian Vallecilla’s 5-hour workshop details a complete workflow for integrating hero assets into backplates with photorealistic results. Using a classic technique in visual effects production, Adrien reveals how to transform a 3D scan of a train into a production-ready asset using Maya, discussing the important hard-surface modeling theories while demonstrating the process. The texturing portion includes how to clean up textures from the 3D scan and project them back onto a clean 3D asset using Mari — a standard practice that ensures the CG asset is usable in VFX production.
Back in Maya, the look-dev, lighting, and rendering is handled with V-Ray. Adrien discusses the importance of matching the lighting of the plate with the 3D asset being integrated for truly realistic results and demonstrates how to recreate the correct lighting scenario. Using Maya’s render setup tools, Adrien shows how to export all the necessary lighting passes required for professional compositing in Nuke. As well as detailing the process, he also discusses what to look out for when creating realistic CG integrations using Nuke.
Provided with this workshop is Adrien’s low-res model of the environment and camera (.mb file for Maya) used for the shot, which you can download and use with your own assets. An HDR image and backplate courtesy of HDRI Haven is also included from their free collection.
