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“I've watched Alex Alvarez's
training DVDs on Dynamics... and they are
amazing! I've learned so much from the lectures, they have
helped make me a better visual effects artist. I started
using Maya for effects animation when I joined Square USA
for the film "Final
Fantasy" about
4 years ago. I wish I had these DVDs then. Well, better
late than never. ”
- Andy Chen
Effects Animator
Dreamworks Feature Animation
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With the fundamentals of softbody
effects understood, this lecture moves on to more specific
applications. The first group of demonstrated techniques focus
on a variety of ground plane effects including oceans, puddles,
mud, sand and snow. Each of these are related, yet differ in
how they react to external stimuli such as fields and collisions.
Water reacts quickly yet the deformation is scale dependant:
an ocean responds with large swells while a shallow puddle
produces fast-moving, tight ripples. Mud, sand and snow effects
are much slower reactions where the surface will gradually
(if ever) return to smooth equilibrium. The lecture then moves
on techniques for combining softbodies with rigid bodies, blendshape
deformers and auxilliary spring effects for the creation of
flags, saliva, and interconnected softbodies.
Product Code: DYN09
Create Softbody
Springs
Fields
Emitters
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Animated
Textures
Rigid Bodies
Deformers
Component Editor |
 01:
Introduction
02: Ocean
03: Kid on Mound
04: Puddle
05: Mud and Sand
06: Spring Effects
07: Stringy Goo
08: Net Trap
09: Credits
Click here to
view a sample clip from this DVD. Note that while this
clip is 640x480 the actual movie size is 720x480 with
higher quality compression. View the stills to the right
to see the actual resolution.
Alex is founder and director of The Gnomon Workshop
and of Gnomon School of Visual Effects in Hollywood. Alex has been published
in industry magazines, websites, and books - plus he has taught courses
at several major trade conferences. His character animation projects
have appeared on many computer graphics websites, on the cover of the ‘Maya
Character Animation’ book published by New Riders, and his 'Zufuhr'
project was commissioned by Alias for their Siggraph stage presentations.
Alex is president of the Los Angeles Alias Users Group and sits on the
Advisory Board for Highend3D.com. Prior to Gnomon, Alex worked for Alias,
as a consultant and trainer for studios in the Los Angeles area. Alex
is an alumni of the Art Center College of Design and the University
of Pennsylvania.
For more of Alex's work, visit:
www.alexalvarez.com.
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