A VFX breakdown from my music video "The River, the Shore".

2+ years in the making, the full music video combines real footage with Blender composited in After Effects and Resolve - with many of the scenes being fully CG!

Full music video in the link below: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrrZCnXuPCs&lc=UgxA5OVrazcW0YI43B54AaABAg

Let me know what you think :)

No generative AI was used for this work.

I had the pleasure of working with the best Houdini HDA for fabric and knitted assets. With a small team of super talented people, we created this BB8 Fan Art.

Creative projects like this are extremely rewarding for me. It's fun to step outside your comfort zone and learn things. I was doing the environments, fx, lookdev (on the saber) and lighting and comp. Lighting is my bread and butter - learning how to bring it all together is a challenge and super fun.

That is art - that's why I click and not type.

Thanks to everyone involved in this project!

Thanks Fibric for that awesome hda

So a little background, I finished filmschool about 1.5 years ago, and along the way I discovered After Effects and later I learned more specialised software like Blender, Maya, Houdini and Fusion.

Currently I study 3D animation, and I am leaning a bit more towards animation instead of vfx. Still I love vfx tho.

So tomorrow there is this vfx gathering and artists who worked on “the lost bus” will give a presentation about their approach to the vfx of the movie. Afterwards we’ll grab drinks and talk.

This is my first time going to an event like this, so what do I do? I want to meet people and throw myself out there, but idk how to make lasting connections. I cant just ask for their number or linkedin or something right? So is the move to keep going to events and meeting the same faces over and over until they recognise me? Or is there some secret/technique that I dont know about?

I want to buy a PC to do my vfx work on. I’m a vfx compositor using Nuke and would like to get into 3D animation using blender. I want a computer that runs smooth (explained in the ‘side note’ section). I would say I have about a $3,000 to $4,000 expense range. Any recommendations?

Side note: I have a Dell XPS 15 that is about 2 years old but it sucks when working in Nuke. I’m talking freezes every 5 to 10 minutes. That is no way to work. It’s terrible! It’s almost like I’m giving it too much to do with roto, 3D camera tracking, 2D tracking, etc. The computer itself has had problems with it too like not turning on sometimes, acting like it was brand new when it would turn on, and other things. I’ve cleared my catche folder, changed external hard drives, switched hard drive wires, and have even factory reset my computer. Resetting helped for a bit but it’s getting back to how it was. It doesn’t have any warranty so I can’t return it or exchange it. I just want a good working computer I can do my work on without so many issues (I know computers are gonna be slow and act wonky sometimes).

Is anyone using Conductor to manage their rendering? How is it? Is it saving money? Better than AWS? Are there alternatives which are superior? Please let me know your thoughts.

Im totally new to this, and just need a 2sec shot to be rotoscoped for a short film, and it looks fantastic so far, except the edge jitters / noise..

How do i get rid of those?

I recently graduated in majoring VFX, and I’ve noticed that most film VFX studios aren’t hiring many junior artists or fresh graduates right now. On the other hand, there seem to be more entry-level opportunities in the animation and game industries.
Personally, I’m much more interested in film VFX than animation or games, but I don’t have any professional experience working in the film VFX industry yet.

I’m wondering if it would be a good idea to take a junior artist position in animation or games to gain industry experience, improve my skills, and work my way up. Would it still be possible to transition into film VFX later on, even if I’ve progressed to a mid-level or senior position in another industry?
Or would working in animation or games make it harder to break into film VFX because the workflows, skills, and expectations are different?

Would I apply for an available job in a related industry for now, or continuing to focus on applying directly to film VFX studios?
I’d really appreciate advice from anyone who has experience working in film VFX, animation, or games, especially anyone who has made a similar career transition.

For past 4 month, i deep dive learning integration of ComfyUI + Blender + Davinci.
Then i discover using Gemini Gems as custom chatbot for example MiniMax H3 by feeding AI documentation .md from hugging face.
So when i have shot that needs generate some part i can put proxy mp4 footage and help me generate what i need to do.

How about you guys did? I saw alot ai tool nowadays like Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, or even open weight like Qwen, Meta Llama.

I created a couple Blinkscripts to make a trippy melty effect. Not sure what else to do with them, so here they are. You can copy paste them into two separate blinkscript nodes and compile. Add a vector blur to make it all the traily and stuff. can also change the position and radius of the overall effects. You need a little bit of over-scan just FYI.

One is for a chromatic wave and one is for the dripping effect. I'll try to post a quick script setup in the comments. you can add an expression to the time parameters to have it animate.

//ChromaWave

kernel ChromaticWave : ImageComputationKernel<ePixelWise> {

Image<eRead, eAccessRandom, eEdgeClamped> src;

Image<eWrite> dst;

param:

float amount;

float frequency;

float phase;

float mix;

bool autoCenter;

float2 customCenter;

float falloffRadius;

local:

float2 resCenter;

void define() {

defineParam(amount, "Hallucination Strength", 30.0f);

defineParam(frequency, "Wave Scale", 0.05f);

defineParam(phase, "Time (Type 'frame/10' here)", 0.0f);

defineParam(mix, "Mix", 1.0f);

defineParam(autoCenter, "Auto-Center to Plate", true);

defineParam(customCenter, "Custom Position", float2(960.0f, 540.0f));

defineParam(falloffRadius, "Wave Falloff", 800.0f);

}

void init() {

resCenter.x = (float)(src.bounds.x2 + src.bounds.x1) / 2.0f;

resCenter.y = (float)(src.bounds.y2 + src.bounds.y1) / 2.0f;

}

void process(int2 pos) {

float x = (float)pos.x;

float y = (float)pos.y;

SampleType(src) base = src(pos.x, pos.y);

float lum = base.x * 0.2126f + base.y * 0.7152f + base.z * 0.0722f;

float cx = autoCenter ? resCenter.x : customCenter.x;

float cy = autoCenter ? resCenter.y : customCenter.y;

float dx = x - cx;

float dy = y - cy;

float dist = sqrt(dx*dx + dy*dy);

float norm_dist = min(max(dist / max(falloffRadius, 0.001f), 0.0f), 1.0f);

float mask = 1.0f - (norm_dist * norm_dist * (3.0f - 2.0f * norm_dist));

float masked_amount = amount * mask;

float r_x = x + sin(y * frequency + phase + lum * 5.0f) * masked_amount;

float r_y = y + cos(x * frequency - phase + lum * 5.0f) * masked_amount;

float g_x = x + sin(y * frequency + phase + 2.0f + lum * 5.0f) * masked_amount;

float g_y = y + cos(x * frequency - phase + 2.0f + lum * 5.0f) * masked_amount;

float b_x = x + sin(y * frequency + phase + 4.0f + lum * 5.0f) * masked_amount;

float b_y = y + cos(x * frequency - phase + 4.0f + lum * 5.0f) * masked_amount;

SampleType(src) out;

out.x = bilinear(src, r_x, r_y).x;

out.y = bilinear(src, g_x, g_y).y;

out.z = bilinear(src, b_x, b_y).z;

out.w = base.w;

out.x = base.x * (1.0f - mix) + out.x * mix;

out.y = base.y * (1.0f - mix) + out.y * mix;

out.z = base.z * (1.0f - mix) + out.z * mix;

dst() = out;

}

};

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

//Melting

kernel SmoothMelt : ImageComputationKernel<ePixelWise> {

Image<eRead, eAccessRandom, eEdgeClamped> src;

Image<eWrite> dst;

param:

float meltSpeed;

float dripWidth;

float edgeHardness; // NEW: Controls the contrast/sharpness of the drip edges

float randomness;

float phase;

float mix;

bool autoCenter;

float2 customCenter;

float falloffRadius;

int minSmearSamples;

local:

float2 resCenter;

void define() {

defineParam(meltSpeed, "Melt Speed", 15.0f);

defineParam(dripWidth, "Drip Width", 0.02f);

defineParam(edgeHardness, "Drip Edge Hardness", 1.0f); // Default to a soft, natural curve

defineParam(randomness, "Stagger Start Times", 5.0f);

defineParam(phase, "Time (Type 'frame/10' here)", 0.0f);

defineParam(mix, "Mix", 1.0f);

defineParam(autoCenter, "Auto-Center to Plate", true);

defineParam(customCenter, "Custom Position", float2(960.0f, 540.0f));

defineParam(falloffRadius, "Melt Falloff", 400.0f);

defineParam(minSmearSamples, "Minimum Samples", 25);

}

void init() {

resCenter.x = (float)(src.bounds.x2 + src.bounds.x1) / 2.0f;

resCenter.y = (float)(src.bounds.y2 + src.bounds.y1) / 2.0f;

}

void process(int2 pos) {

float x = (float)pos.x;

float y = (float)pos.y;

SampleType(src) base = src(pos.x, pos.y);

float cx = autoCenter ? resCenter.x : customCenter.x;

float cy = autoCenter ? resCenter.y : customCenter.y;

float dx = x - cx;

float dy = y - cy;

float dist = sqrt(dx*dx + dy*dy);

float norm_melt = min(max(dist / max(falloffRadius, 0.001f), 0.0f), 1.0f);

float meltMask = 1.0f - (norm_melt * norm_melt * (3.0f - 2.0f * norm_melt));

// Generate the base undulating drips

float drip_seed = sin(x * dripWidth) + sin(x * dripWidth * 0.43f);

float drip_val = (drip_seed + 2.0f) * 0.25f;

// THE FIX: Apply the edge hardness (gamma curve) to shape the drips

drip_val = pow(drip_val, edgeHardness);

float local_phase = max(0.0f, phase - (drip_val * randomness));

float total_melt = local_phase * meltSpeed * drip_val * 20.0f * meltMask;

float r_accum = 0.0f;

float g_accum = 0.0f;

float b_accum = 0.0f;

int steps = max((int)minSmearSamples, (int)ceil(total_melt));

steps = min(steps, 200);

for (int i = 0; i < steps; i++) {

float step_factor = (float)i / (float)max(1, steps - 1);

float current_melt = total_melt * step_factor;

r_accum += bilinear(src, x, y + current_melt).x;

g_accum += bilinear(src, x, y + current_melt).y;

b_accum += bilinear(src, x, y + current_melt).z;

}

SampleType(src) out;

out.x = r_accum / (float)steps;

out.y = g_accum / (float)steps;

out.z = b_accum / (float)steps;

out.w = base.w;

out.x = base.x * (1.0f - mix) + out.x * mix;

out.y = base.y * (1.0f - mix) + out.y * mix;

out.z = base.z * (1.0f - mix) + out.z * mix;

dst() = out;

}

};

Hey! I run a clothing brand on Instagram with about 40K followers. I’ve been making my own short videos with 3D models composited into real footage, and I’m looking to hand that work off to someone else as I’m kind of ehhh at doing it. It’s not too difficult, but between the brand and life I’d rather just pay someone. Please see the video to understand what I’m trying to do.

What the job involves:

• Placing 3D models into real footage, either still shots or moving shots that need camera/motion tracking
• Basic lighting, shadows, and compositing so the models look like they belong in the shot
• Matching the style of my existing videos (I’ll send a reference)

What I provide: All footage and 3D models.

Pay: $15–150 USD per video ($15+/hour), depending on complexity. Simple still-camera shots should take about an hour; tracked shots take longer and pay more. Paid per finished video, not commission.

First project: Recreate one of my existing videos. If it turns out well, this becomes consistent, ongoing work.

To apply, DM me with:

• Examples of your CGI or compositing work
• Typical turnaround time

Thanks!

Sharing our latest showreel, featuring selected work across CG production, from asset creation and animation to FX, lighting, and compositing.

Were an independent CG studio passionate about creating cinematic visuals and connecting with fellow artists and studios on interesting projects.

Check out our 2026 Showreel!

Note: My previous account was unexpectedly suspended for reasons I’m not aware of, so this is my new account. If there are any issues with my account or posts, please feel free to contact me. Thank you!

This is a bit of a software-agnostic question, since many workflows are similar, but if it matters I'm using DaVinci Resolve. The director handed me a shot that is a man standing on rocks that looks out across a valley. Behind him are trees blurred by depth. I need to keep those in, but replace everything else behind that with a different scene.

Standard keying seems impossible because I cannot get the blue sky and fuzzy leaves to separate properly. Some leaves are more in focus than others. I could try and get rid of the trees, but vines from the trees lay onto the stones on the ground that I need to leave in.

I have no idea where to go from here.

TL;DR: Keying a slightly moving nature shot's distant background out with no chroma backdrop support.

For general context, I'm Undergraduate Visual Effect major currently 1/3 through Sophomore Year of Uni and recently, after doing some research, I've come to understand that the industries I'm studying to head into looks to be in a very undesirable state. I'm now at very stressful liminal space at the moment, trying to determine the best plan of action.

I'm thinking of switching over to another discipline of study like Motion Media, which seems to be a far more optimal pathway, however another part of me thinks it's best to just stick with what I've already started in order not to extend my time in school, plus from what I heard, your degree doesn't matter either way and all that's really important is how much good work you have in your portfolio. (granted, it's genuinely not much at the moment.)

I'd really appreciate some advise on where I should go next. Truthfully, my passion isn't really even in VFX (I honestly prefer Motion Design and Illustration so much more that they're my double minor.), so I want to definitively exit this state of uncertainty by gage the pro and cons of every outcome.

Hi everyone!

I’m a writer/director currently in post on my indie horror short, and I’m looking to connect with a VFX artist who might be interested in collaborating on the project!

We’re not quite at picture lock yet, but should be within the next few weeks, so I’m hoping to start conversations now and get a better sense of scope, workflow, and budget.

There are a handful of shots that need VFX work, most of which are compositing, a few things like blood, smoke, glass cracking, getting rid of a mirror reflection, iPhone screen replacement, along with one particularly fun sequence involving a supernatural portal/tunnel. We built and shot the portal practically, and I’d love to enhance and extend what’s already there while preserving the practical tactile look and feel.

It’s an independently financed short, so we’re working within an indie budget, but I’m happy to discuss rates, scope, and what’s realistically achievable.

We’re aiming for a festival run in 2027 so ideally we’d be wrapped up with post by February.

If you’re interested, feel free to comment or DM me with your reel, rates, and availability. I’m happy to share more details and footage so we can discuss!

I am working on a fantasy film with a lightning bug character that interacts with the world and lights up the space as it moves past things. It can be a little bigger than a lightning bug.

I would like to find a solution that is not CGI generated.

It would be nice to be able to move a practical light around on set and just remove the stick that is holding the light in post. I think I might need different sized sources for different focal lengths.

I've tried an LED light on the end of a stick, but that is just not bright enough. The closest I got was a pen light, but does anyone have any better suggestions? Ideally the light source radiates out in all directions and is not directional.