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Creating Cinematic Underwater Lighting in Maya

by Mason Dashtban

Throughout these Maya tutorials we'll learn how to achieve a cinematic look for an underwater animation. Software required: Maya 2015, NUKE 8.

What you'll learn

Throughout these Maya tutorials we'll learn how to achieve a cinematic look for an underwater animation. We'll cover how to create underwater assets and particles such as bubbles, as well as a caustic pattern to simulate realism. Next, we'll animate our bubbles with Soft Body and construct some kelp. We'll finish our details with underwater particle creation and secondary lighting. Finally, we'll finish the Maya training by learning how to setup V-Ray render settings and composite in NUKE. Software required: Maya 2015, NUKE 8.

About the author

Mason Dashtban is a senior CG Generalist, Lighting Artist, and 3D Sculptor working in Hollywood studios. He has over 10 years’ experience in the VFX, Animation, and Game Industry. He’s well versed in Maya, ZBrush, MARI, NUKE, After Effects, and several render engines such as V-Ray, Arnold, and Mental Ray.

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