Hey Everybody! --I decided to start a new topic instead of digging up the old one

While lighting 2_08 I had some ideas (it's a bad thing, I know). Storms can really add drama to a scene (espicially this scene) and if there's some sun light poking through it can really heat things up. I don't know if the outside scenes are lit or not, but if they aren't we might consider having a storm rolling in while they enter (this might also give them a reason to want to go to Yoops castle).

Anyway here's a quick test I did--

Click to view attachment

I made some white spots in PS with an alpha channel and added it as spec size/intesnsity reflection and color for drops on the windows. The only bad thing is that they need to be bigger to be visible and they need to be animated trickling down (one map would probably be okay for all windows, you usually don't see two at once).

The only thing that has me stumped is how to do rain outside. Ideally, you'd have tree branches and leaves blowing in the wind and visible rain pouring down. Any ideas? I think if the rain came straight down (no wind) we could get away with having a still matte of the background. However, it would be really cool if we could have rain that had refraction (i think that's it) to distort the enviroment.

Any ideas?

Thanks-Lee

Ah rain. There was a thread a long time back about outside rain but nothing was resolved. It involved using sprites/streaks. I don't think we have the power to do refraction rain.

Looking at your image. The windows seem quite bare without (net) curtains. I think they would add alot to it. Also, if there's a storm outside, you're less likely to have sun light streaming in the windows right?

It looks good though and I like the idea of there being a dark storm with thunder that leads into the Yoop castle scene (Tinman hates rain). Perhaps at this stage, it may be too early for rain though as there is a bit of business outside with trying to lift up Tinman. It could be getting dark and distant thunder now though.

A very timely topic. I need rain soon for my song sequence. Heavy rain even. When I get home I'll dig up a rain.mov someone did a while ago that I think Ken is mentioning. I personally will expreiment with particles and see how it works.

It did seem a little bare, I think I might try this, thanks Ken!



Click to view attachment Less likely to have light streaming through the windows, but more likely to have a cool lookin storm




Cool! Two heads are better than one, if we both try something maybe we'll figure out how to do it

Lee

That's a nice looking atmosphere you have there with this lighting. I like it. I agree that the windows look bare though. And while at that, the walls could get some hooked objects too. When people were living in that sort of houses they didn't have a lot of cupboards and they ended up hanging all sort of stuff on the walls.

OK, here's the rain.mov that I saved from way back when. I wish i saved the thread.

Does anyone remember who made this and how?

I believe it was Bennytoons (?)......the guy doing the face capture anyway. It'd be in the archives around this time last year. Try searching for rain effect in the TWO effects section.

Edit: D'oh....it's right in this very forum on the first page.

http://www.hash.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=20246

The project appears to work, but you have to pan/zoom/rotate the view to "refresh" the drops and see them. Maybe you'd report it if you get it too.

Edit: Whoops. Didn't realize I was looking at a cached post on my end.
Ken posted the right link.

Brilliant! Thanks, Ken. Time to experiment and learn from the "Dotted Ninja"

Adding some pots and things would be a good idea, thanks Yves!

Thanks for that link too Ken!

Here's my test with sprites:

Click to view attachment

Lee

Some of the things they used to hang on the wall are hunting tools like rifles and powder containers, garden vegetables hang there for drying, candles and chandeliers, framed portraits. Next to the door, were generally coats and hats hanging there and shoes on the floor. On the wall, about 1 foot below the ceiling, was a running molding used as a shelf, large enough to hold small things like pots, toys and small framed portraits, etc.

Here's my first attempt with the rain. I think it looks a little flat so I may add another patch with rain but with different settings to enhance the illusion.

I like it! TW just needs some streams running down him to finish the effect. Unless he's under a shelter of course.

Thanks Ken. You read my mind, I want TW to be wet, and I mean wet, with water splatter, droplets, and drops running down his heart and body. But I got so overwhelmed I didn't know where to begin So, I called my dear friend who works at DreamWorks whose specialty is water dynamics and behavior!

For the rain to look 3 dimensional, she suggested that I have three rain objects; foreground, middle ground and background, all with the same settings but have collision turned on for the middle ground rain so that it 'bounces' off TW and his heart.

For the splatter she suggested sprites or blobbies. And for the water droplets running down the body, she said there's no way around it but good old fashion animated objects or material decals.

Sooo...... here's my first attempt with the 3 rain objects. I think it's falling too much and too hard. Took an hour to render 100 frames, so I'll have to tweak it tomorrow.

That does look better. I agree, it seems heavy.
Maybe a small bit of a blue tint in the drops would be good. I also wonder what shortening the foreground drops would do.....they're taking up alot of scree space.....maybe that would make it seem less heavy. Also, having a few sizes (in each of the three sections) would be the way to go.

Are these animatable? For example, can you use wind to change the direction?

Good work and keep it up! (Keep that DW contact on the phone )

That looks great Dhar! I wonder, since the TW has little engravings on him if there are ways to make little dribbles of specular in the engravings, that might help make it more believeable (maybe that's already been said) . Good work!

Lee

Dhar,

I saw this thread, and read your friend's suggestions. Wish I'd read that when I was working on rain the first time.
I guess I grasp sprites better now, but I suddenly realized how to do sprite drops. I just got an effect almost as good as my original- in fifteen minutes. Doh.

Here is movie and project. The edges are quite rough, as this was just a proof of concept. Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

Thanks Ben. That looks pretty good. Yeah, well, you never know who you'll meet that'll get you out of a pickle

I'll experiment with your project tomorrow.

In the meantime, here's a tweaked version that I think looks better.

Ben; I opened your project, I can't seem to get the sprites to render. What setting am I missing?

Is render sprites/hair turned on in the render dialog? That would be my first guess, cause every time I throw a fit about sprites it's because I forgot to turn them on.

If you have The Ultimate Toy Box set of Toy Story dvds, they have some info on what they did for rain in Toy Story. They used a moving bump map for the rain on the windows.
Here's one frame from the moving bump map and the final image...
Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment


An example of Shrek 2 rain. The drops are smaller and not as bright as in Dhars test.
Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

Nice examples! Also, fog can be used to add effect. Perhaps the bump map idea would work on tinman.

Has anyone tried using a simple 6 patch lathed raindrop in a flock? I was just thinking about it and saw this thread.

Good luck

Ben

The animated bump idea, I think, looks pretty good. This was a test I did last year and was thinking along the lines of water streaming down a window. This was a turbulence bump where I changed the amplitude over time as well as the translate values of course. I would think it would work out well on both the window and the tin man (not splashes but streaming wetness) with the right translate speed.

Oh my goodness, that's nice, Mark. (I think I've seen it before but now I'm seeing it as a TWO effect.) Are you ready to come back on TWO? Send me an email.

That's a great looking effect. I have no idea how you achieved that. This can really come in handy.