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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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While surfaces are the obvious
application of softbodies, lattices and curves can also be
converted to yield several useful results. When faced with
situations where only a small region of a surface need behave
dynamically, lattice softbodies can be applied in order to
greatly improve performance. We also look at a situation where
a lattice softbody is used to create a layered softbody effect
where a softbody becomes a goal for another softbody. This
is useful when field effects must be isolated for indepenent
control. Softbody curves applications, on the other hand, derive
from the fundamental uses of curves in Maya. Curves involved
in modeling operations, curves as particle emitters, curves
as particle flow goals, or curves as IK spline handles can
produce infinite results when turned into softbodies including
laser blasts, chains, rope, or dynamic skeletons (tentacles,
tails, etc).
Product Code: DYN10
Create Softbody
Springs
Fields
Lattices
Curve Flow
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Clusters
Skeletons
IK Spline Handles
Component Editor |
 01:
Introduction
02: Bubble
03: Lattice Log
04: Laser Tendrils
05: Flow below Softbody
06: Chains
07: Zufuhr Lanterns
08: 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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