THE GHOUL PROJECT
The short film “A Calling. From the desert. To the sea” is about a compelling story about an intelligent creature set in a desert environment.
While creating the creature for our short film, we explored published creatures and researched desert animals to establish a desired aesthetic.
From beginning on we evaluated our production resources and team size to determine a realistic VFX scope.
Research
During the concept phase, we combined elements from different animals and quickly generated a variety of sketches. Director Murad Abu Eisheh provided feedback, focusing on silhouettes and shapes, which helped us to narrow the selection down to two designs. We further developed and refined these chosen concepts, exploring details and iterations.
Texturing
Closeups were examined to ensure texture resolution and photorealism. Various lighting scenes were explored using HDRIs from the shoot, with specific emphasis on closeups of the head and different parts of the body. These steps aimed to refine the visual details and overall appearance of the creature.
Rigging & Animation
During the concept phase, we started rigging to research locomotion. We created a flexible modular rigging tool scripted in Python, allowing easy adjustments and rebuilds. The rig consisted of separate modules for arms, legs, and spine, enabling updates to affect the entire rig. We used a template approach for control shapes and connected all modules, resulting in a complex rig in Maya. The rig included standard features like FK/IK, space switches, and soft IK, with a switch to toggle between biped and quadruped modes. Anatomical considerations were made, such as sliding patella, scapula movement, and ribcage extension for breathing. For the face rig, we used a FACS-based blendshape system and employed a joint-based ribbon system for the mouth. A fleshy eye system with shrinkwrap-based eyelid attachment was implemented, preserving mesh deformation with an added blendshape.
VES Award winner 2023
Find more information about the award winning project here
Breakdown