thinkingParticles Spurs The Avengers’ Feature Big BANG, Ground Collapsing Scene!
In a recent chat with Rick Fuentealba – a FX TD at Hydraulx Studio – we asked about his work in the movie and experience using tP:
"I was responsible for handling how we were going to create this destruction sequence being modeled and rendered in Maya. I knew that thinkingParticles would be the right solution off the shelf for this kind of work.
With the help of cebas and Thinkbox Software, XMesh, we were able to go from Maya to 3ds Max, setup the shattering, simulate and then export back into Maya".
Rick, then, explained the step-by-step workflow of the scene and what he liked best working with tP:
"My initial setup time was looking at creating a stack based simulation to cache a first system and then simulate the next. But in the end I was able to simulate everything in one sim.
I used many of the different tools inside of tP. My personal favorite and one I found extremely useful was Light activation via animated painted map. This helped activate many of the rigid bodies, including the glass blowing out.
Since we had to have destruction coming from a center point, I used a combination of activating by the radius of a point and painting a map to activate the RBDs. This allowed for some fantastic control.
The joints system was excellent in helping maintain structure on the pieces, so that you don't get everything collapsing easily".
He concluded the conversation, saying:
"I found thinkingParticles to be a very robust system and with its procedural nature, it makes it extremely useful for effects, both for the user and the team".
Thank you Rick for your time, we enjoyed talking to you and loved every little detail about that sequence!
Stay tuned for more interviews with Hydraulx artists coming soon.