Conclusion

I have learnt more than I ever thought I would in this unit.

The book I have been using (Mastering Autodesk Maya 2011 by Eric Keller) has been such a good resource. It has given me little tips and trick and helped me progress. It has also given me ideas about what else I could try even if it has not directed me how to do it.

Some of the tests have been less than perfect and more than a few times have I just wanted to give up. However, more often than not, the test have come out much better than I thought they would after a lot mor persevering.

At one point I did completely run out of ideas about what to do because I thought I had exhausted all my options. It just shows how important reference and research is because I probably would not have touched the ocean shader again after the first couple of tests but it actually turned out to be the best option.

So a fews things I have learnt:
1) Never underestimate Maya
2) Fluids will never render or even simulate on my computer
3) Realflow is definitely a good second place option
4) If in doubt, look for reference
5) Research, research and more research

The first and last thing I tested was using the ocean shader. From early tests it did not look like it was going to work but I should have researched and looked at reference sooner because I managed to produce a good river and find a solution for objects that need to pass through it i.e wakes. Not only that but I also managed to make the log float on the river. This means that is does everything we need it to do to make our film. It does not take too long to render either so in the long run, will save us a lot of time, energy and frustration. I think I could still explore this more. As I have said before, I think I would not be completely satisfied until I have tested it using the actual models but time and the fact that they havent finished being modelled yet, has not allowed me to do this.

Maya fluids were good to try but did not work at all in the end. My computer just kept crashing before I could do any real tests with it. It would not even simulate most of the time. They could have worked but it would have been a lot of time spent trying to set it up and test and we would have certainly needed to use the render farm. I think because of the time constraints of this assignment and the film, I dont think it would have been a good idea to use them.

Realflow was something I really enjoyed using. It was something new and different to learn. I was surprised at how easy it was once you knew how. The effect it created was really good but I would of liked to have the opportunity to render it using mental ray in maya just to see how the finished piece looked. It was also a lot of money to spend on an educational license if I only used it for our film. I think if the ocean shader had not of worked out then I would definitely use realflow and spend the money on the license because it is a million times better than anything else you could use. It did not take too long to simulate but I would have liked to have checked rendering time. Unfortunately this was an option that I did not have the resources or finances to test properly but was definitely great to use.

Another method that was spoken about but that I did not test was layering 2D over 3D. This was something I did not really have the time to test as all my focus was on rendering the other tests. Rendering took up at least half of the project time and I spent far too much time on working issues out with my maya crashing and with my computer. I think if it had all gone perfectly and nothing had crashed or frozen or I had not run into any problems, I would of had time to explore 2D over 3D animation. To be honest, I dont think I would have been the best person to try this anyway as I'm not very good at drawing.

I think if I did this again, I would research a lot more and get all my reference before testing. I would also make sure I had a computer that would be able to cope with the rendering. I could have used the render farm to get at least one fluid test done but time constraints and the fact I had other projects to do meant thatI completely forgot and then when I remembered it was too late. This taught me to have a plan of action before I start. I would have tried to contact more companies as well. I did think about doing this at the start but again with the other projects, I completely forgot and then Dan mentioned it and tried to contact Philip Hunt (Director of "Lost and Found") but it was too late and I had hardly any time left. This was another lesson to keep organised for any other project I am doing.

It was a good learning experience and one that I can use to help my film when it does come to the river scenes. I cannot say it went smoothly because I ran into more problems with maya than I ever have done in the past but if things had not gone wrong then I dont think I would have got as much out of the experience.