Game VFX starter tutorial resources?

[JagoX]

So I've had a number of people tell me that I should look into VFX work for games as another way to break into the art side of the industry since my current focus (environments) is a tad crowded & much harder to get into.

Now I've found some helpful tutorials for doing effects in UDK using Cascade as well as a few others on YouTube. However I am still lost as to the do's and don'ts for creating textures for the effects (i.e. flames, smoke, sparks, etc.) such as how large/small a texture needs to be, tips/tricks and so on.

Anyone care to help out or shed some light?

[3DImageWorks]

If you don't mind spending some money then check out Eat3D's DVD's on UDK effects.

[JagoX]

I have seen those and you sort of answered my 2nd question which was "Are they pretty easy to follow?"

Anyone else have any experience with the Eat3D DVDs (or anything similar)?

The funny part about the Eat3D UDK Cascade DVDs is that my wife actually used to work with the guy a few years back who did those tutorials...small world

[kooltrader]

what is your overall goal as the 2 positions are nearly opposite to each other career wise,

Environment Artist; Environment modelling, texturing and using various packages such as zbrush, mudbox, maya, max etc.....

VFX Artist; Creating textures, breaking objects apart, creating particle systems and ambient FX for levels etc...

as if your overall goal is to be an environment artist then its best to stick with that as once you go down the VFX route you would need to give it 100% as if you landed a job you aren't going to be doing much modelling and texturing if any, so If your goal is to be a VFX artist then start setting up goals for yourself try not to just rely on tutorials to create the end result, experiment, as theres fluid systems in maya, standalone packages for creating atlases aswell as standalone particle editors which you could play with to get to grips, as theres no easy book or tutorial on 'How to be a VFX artist' it all comes with knowledge and experience.

[Sharvo]

i agree with kooltrader, why would you do something if you didnt enjoy it or want to do it in the firt place? VFX is totally different to an Environment artist.

As for Eat3d very good, they give you all the neccessary files for you, also they have a free tutorial on how to do particles in udk, so take a look at that if its easy to follow, maybe invest in one or two! If you enjoy it, dont just do it and hope that by doing vfx stuff that you will get into the industry it is all about a passion to do it!

[JagoX]

@kooltrader: A little harsh of a response but I was looking for a tutorial on "How to be a VFX Artist". I'm simply trying to find (for the textures) info on how I should be saving out the textures, common mistakes that VFX artists make, etc. Also just to clarify I do know what is involved with both positions so it's not like I'm starting from scratch without any knowledge whatsoever of 3D packages, texturing, etc. I have been using Max for quite some time so playing around with the settings for various particles, fluids and other dynamic effects won't be hard.

VFX in games is something I know from first hand info I've been told from friends who are VFX artists in the game industry & those who have managed VFX artists. So since I can't 100% expect those friends to be ready at will to help all the time, tutorials are a helpful backup (imo.) I do know that I need to experiment & play around with the particle systems in engines like Unreal as well as particles in Max, Maya, etc.

You also mentioned standalone packages for creating atlases & particle editors...what would some of those be? As I said there is very little info on this stuff so anything you can share that is solid info would be much appreciated.

@Sharvo: Who said I was doing something I didn't enjoy? You're putting words in my mouth & I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that

Thanks for the info on the free tutorials for particles in UDK from Eat3D...I must have missed that on their page. I was planning on investing in some of those tutorials...I just wanted to get some input before I go dropping the cash on them since I am unemployed at the moment

As for "dont just do it and hope that by doing vfx stuff that you will get into the industry"...I have 5+ years experience working in the game industry so I'm not exactly a n00b it just wasn't in the development side of it. I've got plenty of contacts with Producers, Assoc. Producers, etc. as well as artists that I know from college & my wife's past co-workers.

[kooltrader]

Hey JagoX, apologies if my response came across harsh as it was never intended to be harsh, i didnt know your industry experience etc, I think that if you are going down the VFX route a good place to start is by listening to the FX guy from bioware on a podcast and his views on creating a strong portfolio;

Episode 16: VFX and UI Games Industry Mentor

then start looking at maya/max particle systems, eventually progressing to looking at other packages like realflow, unfortunately as i said there is no really good tutorials on creating FX unless you are looking at a games company that uses UDK then eat3d is a great place to start.

One thing that i may add though is, if your finding it hard to break into the industry as an environment artist that you will find it even harder as a VFX one, if you look at team sizes for environment artist average per company is maybe 5-20 environment artists and VFX artist range from 1-5 on average so as you may know those positions are not widely available, but get your head down and create a stunning portfolio and you will never be out of work or turned away for an interview

good luck and please post your progress

[PermaGrin]

An easy way to practice is to make effects in whatever 3D program you use. While you most likely will not be able to bring these out of maya/max into a game, playing with the emitter/particle attributes will certain help you in creating effects later on, cause in the end you will just have to learn where the buttons are rather than trying to figure out what they do.

[JagoX]

Thanks kooltrader No worries! I've actually listened to that podcast with Bryan Erck (the guy I mentioned in my initial post as well) a couple weeks ago. It was pretty informative & in fact I also initially met with the (former) VFX Director (Bryan's boss when he was at Shiny Entertainment) a month or 2 ago to get more insight on VFX work, etc. He pretty much told me the exact same thing that Bryan discussed in the podcast.

I do know that it is smaller niche to get into but I think it's worth a shot plus I've got my wife's backing as support so that always helps

Playing around with the particles in Max/Maya was the same advice I received as well but I hadn't heard about standalone publicly available particle programs so that helps.

Thx for the feedback & if anyone else has anything else to add it would be greatly appreciated!

[Rustychops]

Hey JagoX

Im a game VFX artist although I have only been working with VFX for around a year and a half . I also used to be an environment modeler!.I have to say getting tutorials for game VFX is extremely hard and rare. The only tutorials I have came across are the eat 3d ones for UDK. However you can try download free game engines and then try to re create effects out of games that you like to teach yourself. Iv taught myself everything from scratch by doing this. When im asked to create an effect I dont know how to create I look up other games that have created them and take reference.

Sorry I cant be of any assistance with tutorials but hopefully I gave you a brief idea on how to start. I would definatly look at the free Eat 3d particle tutorials on the UDK website to learn the basics then go from there. However I do warn you 90% of what you learnt from environments doesn't really carry over to VFX.