The animation with a .... je ne sais quoi!
I don’t think I ever posted that old video where Supervising Animator Scott Clark, takes us behind the scenes and quickly features Pixar’s animation software, Presto, and Sulley’s dance shot from Monsters University.
I love the little aparté on Motion Capture and I can only agree:
“It isn’t realism that we are trying to get in animation, I would just be a Mocap artist (otherwise), I wouldn’t be an animator.”
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There has been some development in the secrecy surrounding Pixar’s animation software in the past few weeks but before we get started, you might want to refresh yourself with the previous article I wrote about Menv and Presto.
Pixar animation software part 1
Pixar officially revealed their software Presto (aka Menv 13) to the world, in a jaw-dropping tech demo illustrating the benefit of relying on GPU and Nvidia latest tech for that matter.
Maya and other 3d animation softwares look so antiquated compared to Presto. Unlike Autodesk and their mono-threaded CPU viewport, it is quite obvious that Pixar engineers are listening to the users.
In the following video you will get to see some features animators have been screaming for and no-one seems to be listening to it.
1. Invisible on-viewport local trigger controls.
Forget about having to constantly disconnect your sight from your model and having to keep half of your screen free for a silly GUI:
See how the presenter simply click on the geometry to activate the transformation gizmo. If you pay attention you will also notice that the smile to sad control he is activating, triggers automatically the mouth corners up/down and in/out values.
2. Realtime animation WITH hair!
It is a lot more predictable to pose a character when you can see a closer representation of the final groom and if on top the playback is real time…. damn!
3. Realtime shadows
Nothing too exceptional here. Most 3d packages have been doing this for quite a while but definitely not with fur visible in realtime.
4. The pose library is not that different from other software but some people might be interested to see it :
Here is the extract from the demo followed by the full presentation showing the realtime lighting engine:
http://www.ustream.tv/embed/recorded/45386636
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Pixar animation software part 1
So you want to be a rigger (TD) huh?
Pixar Brave wireframes
This article is the first of a three part series
Pixar animation software part 2
Pixar animation software part 3
Wondering what animation software Pixar uses to bring us magical movies like Monsters inc 2? Wonder no more!
In a latest Open Subdiv demo, Autodesk Meet the experts presentation, Pixar’s engineer lead Dirk Van Gelder lets us have a quick peek at his computer screen so we get to see what Pixar’s Marionette looks like.
If you didn’t know, the software’s 30th iteration of Marionette or Menv (the name comes from the original name, Modeling environment), is now called Presto, as a tribute to Doug Sweetland’s 2008 short film.
Around 18 minutes into the presentation, we can have a good look at the interface and see Monsters University’s character, Dean Hardscrabble, the dean of the School of Scaring faculty, in motion. Here is a screenshot.
Instead of being displayed in the viewport as we are accustomed to, the controls or Avars (this is how they are called at Pixar) are tucked to the bottom right of the screen and displayed as some sort of advanced channel box or spreadsheet since this is the term used in Animation Language AL, the ancestor of Pixar’s Menv.
An other interesting thing we notice is that Presto runs on Linux and the Gnome environment. This could be surprising when we think that Pixar’s CEO was also Apple’s CEO.
If you want to see Presto in action a little bit more, check out that Guardian’s interview with Toy Story 3’s Animation Supervisor Bobby Podesta : (the video seems to have been pulled out, here is an other one instead)
or that one with Sanjay Patel:
Ah and to finish this post, what a better way than posting Monsters University’s third trailer!!! As a side note, Monsters Inc is still my favourite Pixar feature 😉
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Pixar Brave wireframes
