CG Water Splashes

This afternoon I played around with creating large scale CG water splashes using compositing tricks. The results are below...

Background Plate

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CG Splash Element

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Final Composite

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For a more in depth rundown of how I created this effect, head over to the CGTalk Particle Flow Discussion Thread

As a side note, today is my 3rd wedding anniversary to my wonderful wife Sarah. I love her very much, and I look forward to the many more years we will spend together.

VFX Tip #2 - Lightwrap: Less is More

Light wrapping is a useful technique for making a blue/greenscreen subject or CG object really set in the background it is being composited into. It creates the illusion of the light from the background plate appear to bleed over the foreground, which helps the element blend naturally with its background.

However, this technique should be used subtly. A common mistake I see often in composites is using too much lightwrap. If you just leave the lightwrap effects at 100% opacity, most of the time, it will be too much. In fact, I try not to go above about 50% opacity. Look at the example below to see what I mean.

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Clearly, the default 100% is far too much lightwrap, which looks unnatural, and gives away the composite. However, on the right, the lightwrap is only at 25% and feels far more natural.