Rigel Brown is poised for the next big one with his success in the European Space Agency scientific FX move, Ambition !
Cebas: would u say that Ambition is the culmination of your VFX experience as an artist, or is there a rival production that you have done and was extremely satisfying?
Oh definitely! Ambition was an exceptionally challenging and wonderful project both in production and conceptually. First of all, getting the chance to work with a fantastic studio like Platige, a studio that has done such amazing work, should be culmination enough for my young career on its own. To top it all, I was given the reigns to a huge destruction effect that would start off the film so I was very thrilled.
Cebas: can you tell us how you became part of this awesome project? And why you chose thinkingParticles?
I came to be part of the project after a conversation with the fx supervisor, Jakub Knapik, and the producer Tomasz Wachnik . It didn’t take long for me to see how amazing the project would be...not to mention the allure of working with such a talented team under the direction of an Academy Award-winning producer, Tomek Baginski. Needless to say, I started working the second they could accommodate me.
After several smaller Fume elements, my primary focus turned to a large stone explosion that was described as an anime style 3 stage explosion with large clouds of debris (see video). No other tool enables easy setup of such a complicated destruction and still give me, the 3D artist, a large amount of control like the way thinkingParticles does, so, I didn’t even think twice about my decision to use thinkingParticles.
After the VFX of breaking the mesh into large chunks, I used helpers animated along splines to activate the force controlling the cracking. The larger pieces were held together (and eventually blown apart) by passing them procedurally down into groups with descending levels of static and dynamic friction each affected by a cylindrical force. The debris system was created using MatterWaves particles emitted from the cracked edges and their motion controlled through animated friction operators.
Cebas: in completing the VFX for Ambition, did thinkingParticles help provide you with the experience of being art-directed in your creations or were there any technology challenges in getting to where you want?
The wonderful thing about thinkingParticles is the versatility it provides. It’s very conducive to the artistic process knowing that your toolbox will allow you to create anything you can conceive with a little creative thinking and technical know-how.
Cebas: what is the most fun or rewarding part of being a FX Artist?
Sharing my process and final products with my 7 year old daughter Akasha. She always has so many questions about what I do and I love answering them. To her everything she sees me do is amazing and that support keeps the magic and wonder alive for me.
Rigel Bowen - The Legend of Hercules - Factory VFX from Rigel Bowen on Vimeo.
Cebas: what features/functions in thinkingParticles particularly helped you achieve creative breakthrough, in a sense… to be art-directed in your FX work, instead of tool-directed?
Really, in my opinion, the greatest feature/function of thinkingParticles is the community that surrounds it. We, the thinkingParticle-users, are surrounded by immeasurable talent. Experts like Fabian Buckreus, Anselm V. Seherr-Thoss, Joe Scarr, and the social media communities are always a willing and helpful resource.
Gylph Logo Reveal from Rigel Bowen on Vimeo.
Cebas: Rigel, do you have anything to add to the thinkingParticles ‘7’ wish list?
My thinkingParticle 7 wishlist consists of a turbulence field generator, Vray instancing, and, at the top of my list, improvements to the caching system. My kingdom for a cache resume function!
Cebas: any tips you want to throw in for a new VFX artist ?
The best advice I can give is to keep working, read everything, take the time to take care of your body, utilize the community and prepare yourself for very little free time.
Cebas: could you give everyone a sneak peek into what’s up next?
Well.. now that I've wrapped Ambition and a bunch of thinkingParticles-driven Fume elements for Mockingjay Part1, I'm moving forward to a large destruction feature. Thanks to the magic of NDAs I can't share much now but you'll definitely be seeing it in the future!
Thank you so much, Rigel! cebas Visual Technology wishes you evermore exciting and challenging ventures ahead with VFX art and that you will show the world what thinkingParticles can do to surmount those challenges!