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[Riot Art Contest] - Chantal LeBlanc

Lokii288
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Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
Hey all, I can't wait to get started on this FX challenge! I'll be doing my FX in Houdini with game usability in mind. I'll be sure to upload my progress as I make it.

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  • jf_hereng
    Nice for Houdini. You have already some ideas ?
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    I've got a few ideas I'm looking forward to sketching out later tonight hopefully. For one effect, I'm thinking of making a global magic based ult similar to ashe's arrow or jinx ult. For this I'm thinking of something similar to Ahri's orb with some smoke and particle simulations.

    For my second effect I was thinking of something like morgana's tormented soil except made of sand and would create an area of effect slow. For this I'd like to do something really fun with particles and some kind of interactive texture maybe.
  • Jelligeth
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    Jelligeth polycounter lvl 3
  • Sirhaian
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    Sirhaian polycounter lvl 3
    Aaah, Houdini! I'm really interested in this program. Can't wait to see how it'll turn out! :D
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    Houdini is so great for effects! I'm looking forward to putting it to use with this competition. I'll finally be getting started this weekend so I'm looking forward to updating you all on my ideas! :D
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    Alright guys, I have my first effect! So basically it will be a variation of the Janna ultimate but sand based. The idea is she raises a Sand Storm instead of a Monsoon. Can't wait to get started! I have some great ideas I want to experiment with. :)

    5dmLTtS.jpg
  • Sirhaian
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    Sirhaian polycounter lvl 3
    Ooh, nice idea! :D
    I already imagine it in-game. Would look awesome! \o/
    Can't wait to see your future updates! :)
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    Alright Ladies and Gents, I have my first roughed out FX. Now before anyone says anything, I am first doing a version completely in Houdini to get the look down. Then I will be making sprite sheets and making it game ready in Unreal. So here's a still frame for now to let you know where I am going in general with my idea. I think it could use some more particles at the moment and probably some more billowy smoke as well. I will also be adding some ribbon like "swirly" textures to fade in and out and go around in the sandstorm as well to add to the more cartoony feel. Its rather bare bones at the moment. I'll upload either a video or a gif for you all to see the animation tomorrow. I also have yet to add the second sphere and the impact the sandstorm will be making on it as well. Thanks :D

    8pSi6jR.jpg
  • Sirhaian
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    Sirhaian polycounter lvl 3
    Looking nice already! :D
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    Here's the same bare bones FX with some more particles. I'm going to fade in the particles so they don't pop in at the start. I'm also going to add a smokey texture to the inside of the circle and the ribbon swirls for a more cartoon feel. The initial "sand wall" feels anticlimactic though so I'm gonna try and figure out a way to fix that. I think I'm going to make a more billowing outward puff of smoke to make it more interesting. I'm also a little concerned about the lack of initial charge? The actual effect doesn't really have one but since the contest says to include one I'm thinking I should create one? I'm not sure.

    gFdlRE.gif
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    Most recent WIP. Still not sold on the outward smoke puff. Needs more finesse. I will also be moving the particle sim forward so it be in full motion around the same time the smoke puff clears. I'm also thinking of making the AOE circle a bit larger. Have yet to draw up the textures to use for my ribbons but progress is being made :) Still not sure if I should make a "build up" effect before the release to coincide better with the competition's rules. Let me know what you think! C&C welcome :D

    RI1UqQ.gif
  • THendersonVFX
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    THendersonVFX polycounter lvl 6
    Your swirling dust should be swirling the other way, while still expanding out from the center. I like the middle "poof" though; looks good.
  • Rusty_Gvfx
    Hmm this is the second person iv seen use that smoke texture that looks like that. Hmmm
  • Demno
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    Demno polycounter lvl 6
    Rusty, it's just a very common smoke behaviour in fluid sims. The mushrooming happens as the gas expands unless you break it up with noise and stuff.

    Loki, looks cool! Have you thought of how to cut it up so you can show it at the other angles? Or are you going to do a rerender for all of them?
  • Rusty_Gvfx
    Ah thought as much. Thanks for clearing at up Demmno. Man they look nice haha. I need to pick up a fluid sim.
  • Sirhaian
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    Sirhaian polycounter lvl 3
    You should try out Maya's Fluid Effects, Rusty. They are really nice! :)
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    Thenderson: whoops, you're right. Thanks for pointing that out!

    Denmo:I have thought about it actually. It seems like there's roughly 2 shapes that its being made up of. I'll need the puffs at the end that can be viewed as sprites from any angle and then the shape from the top of the smoke being pushed. I think that should about cover it. Time will tell :)
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    Hey guys, its been a while. Moving cross country during this whole contest has been a bit of a hassle XD. Anyway I wasn't too happy with how my first effect was going so I decided to put it down for a bit to work on my second effect.

    For my second effect, I decided to create something similar to a plasma rifle. In the end, its going to end up looking a lot like Caitlyn Ult but with a sci-fi/techy twist. For now, I have the reticle animation going. I was originally going to have the reticle on the player who is shooting the rifle to simulate "looking through the scope" but the more I look at it the more I'm starting to think the reticle should be on the target. I'll be working more on the actual plasma shot today and will hopefully have more to post for you all as well! And as always, C&C are welcomed :D

    qwRTs7.gif

    The "data" is eventually going to be animating runes or numbers so it wont be so static. Also ignore the static tick marks... I forgot to turn those off. Whoops
  • Sirhaian
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    Sirhaian polycounter lvl 3
    Looking really nice! :D
    Maybe a bit long and slow, though. And yes, I think it should be on the target. :3
    So that they can see they're being targeted and thus hiding behind a comrade or getting out of range. ^^
    But still, looking good, and I can't wait to see the full FX! \o/

    EDIT: Could also have some kind of "clock" or countdown. Like some kind of gears or something, adjusting or rotating, and counting down till the shot. Just an idea I got from looking at those 12(?) small lines going from a 360° to 90° in your fx. ^^
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    Oooh that is a good idea, thanks! I'll look into that. And You're also right about it being a bit slow. I'll crunch it down a bit and see how it looks. Thanks!
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    I increased the timing of the reticle. The whole thing completes in under 2 seconds which is the same as Cait Ult. I do like the idea of a timer but I'm going to add that once I have the caster build up and projectile working as well. color shaders are temporary and just for clarity at the moment.Also, not sure why the quality on this gif is so much worse but oh well haha.

    5ozBrM.gif
  • Sirhaian
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    Sirhaian polycounter lvl 3
    Nice! Really nice! :D
    For the gif, you might want to use ScreenToGif. :3
    It works really well. ^^

    For the bigger "spikes" (see picture), I'd see them rotating without scaling, until the end, where they'd shrink to the center, as if they'd "lock" the target right before the shot. :)
    Xsyv8eD.jpg

    A bit like this:
    (Sorry, I'm really bad at sketching xD)
    QpAhJd4.jpg
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    I'll try it out :) Thanks!
  • THendersonVFX
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    THendersonVFX polycounter lvl 6
    To speed it up a bit more, try having all the elements lock in at the same time. The markers readjusting and resizing at the end seems to delay it a bit more than it needs (imo).

    Also, if you are looking to get a countdown feel to it, you could have all your elements lock in quickly, then use the three rings in the center for your count down. Complete one at a time (large: start to finish, medium: start to finish, then the smallest from start to finish) To really push that concept home for the countdown, you could give each an analogous color, yellow/orange/red etc.
  • Mr.Nuget
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    Mr.Nuget polycounter lvl 6
    I liked what you had going in Houdini. You should give it a second chance :D
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    That's a really good idea THenderson. I think i'll definitely go with having the circles act as the timers. In which case I also agree the reticle will need to lock into place much quicker. I'll make a couple versions and you guys can help me pick :D.

    And don't worry Mr.Nuget I haven't given up on the Sandstorm, I just think I need to re evaluate the way I was approaching it. In the meantime though this one is much more straightforward and is turning out to be a good warm up almost to the more complicated idea of the sandstorm :)
  • Mr.Nuget
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    Mr.Nuget polycounter lvl 6
    cool good to hear that :D
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    Little update. I worked on something new for my Sandstorm effect and just wanted to share my progress. My problem with what I was doing before was that it was frankly pretty boring and simple. So I decided to try making the smoke vortex out and spiral like the sand was doing to create more interest. Here's a test of what I've got so far. Keep in mind its a work in progress test so the timing isn't considered yet. Let me know what you think!

    h98rJm.gif


    *Also ignore the bounding boxes. Can't hide those in a playblast unfortunately.
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    Alright, I just got a LOT of work done on my sandstorm and even have most of it running in Unreal. I'll get a gif of that uploaded tomorrow at some point. For now, I have a decal design I'm thinking of using for the "AOE" to show where the effect is going to land. I changed my initial effect to more of a lobbed projectile similar to Grave's smoke screen so this will be the decal to show where the effect is going to land. Not sure this is final, still open to change.

    fsYwilF.jpg?1

    Anyway, like I said I'll try and get the in engine gif up tomorrow. Can't wait to share my progress!
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    So here's my sandstorm in action in Unreal! I'm gonna work on the intial "Poof" and the AOE circle for while the effect is in action. Then I'm going to make the projectile and the "build up/impact" on the respective spheres. Hopefully have more to post tomorrow!

    8p2MVb.gif

    Comments and critics are very appreciated!
  • Sirhaian
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    Sirhaian polycounter lvl 3
    Woah! It looks epic! :D
    Maybe too bright ? :)
  • Aryo_Darmawan
    Cool stuff! I would try and break up the repetition in the cards a little. Maybe adding some rotation over life / uv distortion? I think it would also help if you made the dot particles rotate with the smoke so that it looks more blended with the effect. I like the fall off of value that is happening from the center to the outside of the effect, maybe push it a little more? Looking forward to future progress!
  • Lokii288
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    Lokii288 polycounter lvl 3
    Awesome, Thank you for the advice! I'll be sure to try it out :)
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