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Trying to design my own lightning effects for new video.

I had no idea where to start. So I actually modeled my own bolt of lightning.

Added some glow effect and got an effect thats not too bad at all.

before I spend more hours modeling another bolt of lightning so I have several I wanted to see what

the experts here have to tell me. Thanks

Gene

tessst.mov

boltpictureglow124.jpg

tessst.mov

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See my suggestion in this thread:

 

"creating a line of of thing air"

 

 

Why not use a transparent material effector?:

 

Create the whole line for the animation beforehand and make it visible one by one with an animated transparent material effector.

 

In case your effector interferes with your other models in the chor, render out just the line separately and join it together with the rest of your animation in post.

 

See Example red line attached

 

Attached File(s)

ManniMan_UnternehmerN_Sor3_200.mov ( 375.49k ) Number of downloads: 15

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Looks good so far. Maybe you could make it illuminate in parts, starting at the top. 3 parts animated over 3 frames may be enough to make it more look like it really strikes down.

 

Actually, strike up, except really really quickly

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See my suggestion in this thread:

 

"creating a line of of thing air"

 

 

Why not use a transparent material effector?:

 

Create the whole line for the animation beforehand and make it visible one by one with an animated transparent material effector.

 

In case your effector interferes with your other models in the chor, render out just the line separately and join it together with the rest of your animation in post.

 

See Example red line attached

 

Attached File(s)

ManniMan_UnternehmerN_Sor3_200.mov ( 375.49k ) Number of downloads: 15

I am totaly lost in what a material effector is

the file does not download

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A material-effector is a "dummy"-object that can be placed over another object with an influence-area (a bit like a light). You can assign a material to the material-effector and where it hits the underlying geometry, it will replace the material of the underlying object with the one applied to the material-effector.

 

Like that you can very precisely change a surface-attribute (and other stuff like bump, etc.) at a specific area. The material-effector can be moved in 3d-space as a own very precisly positionateable effect.

 

One of the most famous examples is the burning-planet / burning astroid-example that can be found here:

Material effectors in animation

 

See you

*Fuchur*

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Very cool!

 

It is very cool ;)

 

One thing it laggs so is a "material effector list" (so you can specify which objects are effected and which are not, like a Lightlist does for lights...)

 

In these situation where you have to do that you will need to animate a gradient-material. Gradientmaterials are less not that well to handle and cant be positioned with the mouse-pointer (and cant effect several different objects) but they can be used at only one object.

 

The best thing possible would be a materialeffector with a "material-effector-list" and one that could be specified like a boolen cutter, so that you could give it any kind of shape.

With that it would be one of the most powerful tools... today it is very handy too, but we will see what can be done in future...

 

I have written a report for that.

*Fuchur*

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Very cool!

 

It is very cool ;)

 

One thing it laggs so is a "material effector list" (so you can specify which objects are effected and which are not, like a Lightlist does for lights...)

 

In these situation where you have to do that you will need to animate a gradient-material. Gradientmaterials are less not that well to handle and cant be positioned with the mouse-pointer (and cant effect several different objects) but they can be used at only one object.

 

The best thing possible would be a materialeffector with a "material-effector-list" and one that could be specified like a boolen cutter, so that you could give it any kind of shape.

With that it would be one of the most powerful tools... today it is very handy too, but we will see what can be done in future...

 

I have written a report for that.

*Fuchur*

Would it be possible for you to take my model and show me an example?

Right now I am about to pull a brain muscle taking this all in. LOL

Gene

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that material effector tute is really great! but your lightning bolt can be accomplished in a number of ways; animating a gradient is probably the *simplest*.

 

EDIT: Hey Gene, it just occurred to me after watching your test mov's that you might search YouTube for videos of lightning flashes. Maybe you have already...but the way you have yours blinking on and off, I think there's more subtlety in the real thing if you want to refine it. The animated material would be the way to go.

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that material effector tute is really great! but your lightning bolt can be accomplished in a number of ways; animating a gradient is probably the *simplest*.

 

EDIT: Hey Gene, it just occurred to me after watching your test mov's that you might search YouTube for videos of lightning flashes. Maybe you have already...but the way you have yours blinking on and off, I think there's more subtlety in the real thing if you want to refine it. The animated material would be the way to go.

 

 

I am using a cartoon look basically so being completely realistic is not needed.

using the three I have now randomly along with rain effects should be a great effect.

The animated gradient I am deffinantly interested in.

Hoping someone will take one of my models and show me how it looks.

I am a bit confused but I am sure it is easy once you know how.

 

Gene

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Your lightning looks great, Gene! More than good enough for a cartoon.

Thanks!

I figure add in rain and flashes of light it should work pretty good.

When I started this thread I had no idea what I was going to do to achieve a good effect. But looks like it will be ok.

Still curious about material effecter.

But I am quite pleased with results so far. And I posted 3 of my lightning models for anyone wanting them.

 

Gene

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Hm... seems to be a bug... I tried it and it works in Preview-Rendering (Progressiv / Green Button) but not in Final.

I'll write a bug-report for that.

 

You may try it with the material-possiblity... sorry.

 

See you

*Fuchur*

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never be sorry for helping!

I am curious to see it work though.

 

You can render it with the Progressiv-Rendering-Button. Just scrapp through the timeline to see the effect and use the Progressiv-rendering-Button.

Only Final-Rendering (blue button) and render-to-file doesnt work.

 

*Fuchur*

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I enclose the project, where I did use a material effector for transparency succssesfully.

 

Right click in chor > new effector , then create a material transparency 100 % and drag it ontop of the effector in PWS,

then adjust the effector in chor, that it hides desired modelpart (arrow).

(Not quite sure if it`s currently broken within AM though...)

TransparentEffectorTest.prj

ManniMan_UnternehmerN_Sor3_200.mov

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