Working on the Bayou

While I was not born on any bayou, I have that song stuck in my head with a few of the words changed this week. I have begun my work on the Bayou set. It’s an arduous task, but I think I am up for the challenge. The original set was a good place holder but at the end of the day, it was far too barren for what is supposed to be an Alligator Lady’s den in the middle of a swamp. Also the land was far too high for what we wanted, and with a few changes to the story, I have to quickly model some extra, albeit small, assets that help add to character of the swamp, and help with continuity. The thing I am most excited for and a little nervous about is working with MASH networks to make the foliage look more… natural. I watch a few YouTube videos but ultimately, it’s going to come down to some hardcore trial and error over the weekend so I can hopefully get some of it done and imported for the Production Pass coming up next week.

Not much else is going on this time. Full focus is on Set work and then after that it’s lighting up the place. During that time, I’ll have to figure out how to make fog lights and god rays in a way that doesn’t bog down the scene and doesn’t break my brain. I’ve only ever done such things in Unreal Engine so trying to figure it out in Maya with the help of more videos will be an interesting journey into the unknown. But the plan is to have the entire Bayou ready for a full scene render by November so we can see what everything looks like all together. It’s kind of exciting to see everyone else’s progress with the animating though. I think there are some really wonder, awesome shots we have going and it’s only a matter of time, before we have a fleshed out short. Can’t wait to see the final thing all at once!

Until next time!