Free Underwater Animation Tutorial

In this super simple tutorial we show how to animate a submarine traveling underwater.  This is a very basic tutorial aimed at beginners in Maya. 

The idea is to do some simple animation of an underwater scene, then add a caustic effect to reproduce the effect of light penetrating water. 

The lighting effect can be achieved with just a few clicks.

Lighting in Arnold - Beginner Tutorial

In this simple tutorial, for Autodesk Maya beginners, we explain how to achieve a super basic lighting setup in Arnold using the settings in Physical Sky. This is as simple a setup as it is possible to achieve in Arnold, and gives good results for an outdoor scene with just a few clicks.

How Pixar Light a Movie

Kim White, Director of Photography on Cars 3

At this week's VIEW Conference in Turin, Cars 3 Director of Photography Kim White talked about the challenges involved in lighting a Pixar film.

As you'd expect, lighting a Pixar movie isn't just about technical skill - it's about helping to tell the story, supporting the narrative and solving visual problems along the way.

As Pixar movies get more and more realistic in their visualisation, the lighting department has had to draw on sophisticated reference and resources to make their work believable.

Why Does Maya Batch Render Too Dark?

Utah Teapot

Lighting your scene using Autodesk Maya can be a tricky process. You get your lights to look just the way you want them to, and when you render out a single frame, everything looks fine.

But then, when you come to do a Batch Render of your final frames, Maya gives you a very different result - the images look much darker. Which is not what you wanted at all.

So why does Maya do this - and what is the solution?

Simon Maddocks Brings Lighting Masterclass to Bucks on Monday 20th April

Visual Effects Lighting specialist Simon Maddocks will bring a Masterclass in Lighting for Animators to Bucks on Monday 20th April. We're excited to welcome Simon to High Wycombe; he is a highly accomplished veteran of London's visual effects industry and he brings a wealth of experience to our VFX classroom. Simon's visual effects credits include Godzilla, 300: Rise of an Empire, World War Z, Iron Man 3, John Carter, Moon, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, The Golden Compass, Underdog, The Omen, V for Vendetta, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, King Arthur, The Day After Tomorrow, Star Trek: Nemesis and, well, you get the general idea.

Student Showcase - Anton Alfimenko re-creates Old Trafford

Old Trafford stadium by Anton Alfimenko

Anton Alfimenko is one of our first year undergraduates, studying on our new Animation and Visual Effects course, launched in September 2012. One of the reasons that Anton came from Kazakhstan to study in the UK is his passion for Manchester United, and you can see the excellent "Super Fergie" animation he did as a tribute to the retiring club legend Sir Alex Ferguson. As part of his first year studies, he has re-created a digital Old Trafford club stadium. Here at Bucks we salute Anton's digital skill and his enthusiasm for the club.

Student Showcase - Mike Swan's graduation year project

Bucks student Mike Swan has just completed an ambitious project for his final year - the modelling, texturing and lighting of an Aston Martin sports car. We asked him a few questions about his project and how he put it all together.

Bringing the Digital World to Life

Modeling, texturing and lighting by Mike Swan

Here at Bucks we don't just tackle animation - we also train our students to be experts in a full range of digital skills. Students often ask "should I become a specialist - or a generalist? Which is best?". The answer of course - is both.