Durable Nature and its Durable Working Methods By Adam Torczyński, Director, and Piotr Wołoszyński Lead Animator of Design Studio Ars Thanea
In ‘Durable Nature’, our most recent CG animation project presented by ConceptD, the goal was to tell a story through a hyper-realistic rendering in which the environment drove the narrative.
The idea was born from a general fascination with nature and technology and their strength. The strength of nature and its adaptation was the starting point. Civilization, as we know, stands in opposition to nature. Man has a great influence on nature, which is not always good. However, the strength of nature and inner balance is amazing — and it is this that we wanted to reflect.
In this film we dreamed of just such a situation where nature and technology can coexist and create something new together — such a perfect balance between them and very durable. To a certain extent, this was reflected in the equipment we were using for the piece; there is a similarity between the idea of an amalgam of nature and art and the ConceptD 700 which contains wooden elements whilst being highly technologically advanced. This added a holistic element to what we were trying to do.
To start the process we found video references for the growing of plants from the germination stage to full bloom. Our aim became apparent pretty quickly; we would try to reflect this process as real as possible in CG. This research also gave us the vision of working with very subtle, almost ascetic, colors. Transparent water and reacting white ice on a dark background allows us to focus on the action. For this film the goal was to put a lot of emphasis on movement, form and contrast, not the color itself. When it comes to mood, in contrast to the simplicity of colors, we played with the dynamics of well-planned shots. It took a lot of animation and editing to create this contrast. The shots are often rotated, reversed, resized, animated in editing.
Once we had this vision, the creation process was very fast, and followed these key points: outline the idea, refine the idea, research, modeling, animation, simulation, lighting, rendering, music search, initial edit, corrections, sound and final film. This is the process we undertook.
To make it all work, we did have to be precise about exactly which software we should use to deliver this highly realistic project. The main software for creating the scene and its animation was 3DS max, and all the simulations were prepared using the Phoenix Fd plugin. The models were made in ZBrush. We used Adobe Premiere Pro for editing. Resolve package was used to attain the final color. In addition, we used ProTools software for sound design.
Hardware was another concern. We knew we would have to rig 3D models of the plant to give us full control over every aspect. The animation therefore consisted mainly of the rotation and scaling of each element of the model with proper delay. As such, we needed a set-up which would grant smooth movement. Creating on Concept D 700 meant we didn’t have to render time-consuming previews, letting us see everything in real time.
So far, so good — but we did encounter some challenges when creating ‘Durable Nature’ which needed to be traversed. For instance, capturing the simulation and its realism were definitely a challenge. Achieving the desired effect was not easy due to the short time of work and our expectations, as is often the case when you have a clear and accurate picture of the finished article in your mind. There was water that would change its physical state into ice and reacting with it creates an ice flower. To get the length of the shots and the initial rhythm as fast as possible, we needed to edit in stillomatic. Then we created an optimized simulation system. After the initial animation of the objects, the whole of the rest was simulated and rendered as sequences of lower quality. So as you can see it was a lot of hard-work for the team.
Another interesting challenge which fellow designers can relate to was how best to quickly develop a special effect like digital data that mysteriously appears inside liquid and ice. Here, we used a smart procedural animated shader imitating 3D particles. It was rendered separately where we add it finally in the composition stage.
Ultimately, what we are left with, we hope, is something more than just an animation. Our intention is to give the viewer food for thought and reflection. Also, if we can inspire other creatives it will be a great bonus — hopefully we can be the driving force behind experimentations in creativity for those who see this.
With Thanks to the Full Ars Thanea Production Team for ‘Durable Nature’:
Director: Adam Torczyński
Art Director: Maciej Mizer
Lead of Animation: Piotr Wołoszyński
3D Artis: Mateusz Bargiel
Compositing: Łukasz Stolarski
Concept Artist: Michał Urbański
Producer: Agnieszka Koterba
