Richard Bielawski - FX Artist

Pushing the Limits: Maelstrom

My Maelstrom project is probably my most ambitious projects to date. It's undergone at least three major revisions, each iteration deepening my understanding of FLIP simulations. Inspired by the Rebelway's Advanced Water FX course, I started this project with a goal to push the boundaries of simulation scale and create a scene reminiscent of a shot from "Pirates of the Caribbean."

The magic of this simulation was a custom gravity setup. The initial simulation was done on a very thing surface to optimize RAM usage and rendering times, and in SOP a custom gravity field was created with rotational forces, and gravity switching the further we come to the center. After the sim the simulation was deformed to get the desired look.

Initially, I tackled a full-scale scene for the FLIP simulation. While it technically worked, the resolution wasn't fine enough to capture realistic water physics at that scale. To achieve the desired behavior, I strategically scaled down the scene. This involved utilizing substeps and slowing the simulation to achieve the correct water speed. To optimize resolution further, I creatively split the shot into two plates: a foreground plate with the high-resolution simulation and a background plate for the rest of the scene.

For the compositing I asked a good friend of mine, Jonas Jochum, to really polish the shot up. He did an amazing job and created a cinematic out of the shot, leaving  me very proud of this project.

Burning Car on the Move

For a recent ArtFX workshop, we were challenged to create a live-action shot with burning pyrotechnics (pyro FX). I initially envisioned a stationary car engulfed in flames, but my instructor pushed me to create a moving vehicle. Finding reference footage of a burning car in motion proved difficult, the next best solution was to keep a still shot of the car on fire as primary reference, and then further combining elements from various sources to achieve the desired effect.

Knowing that pyro simulations weren't my strongest area, I opted for Axiom software to allow for quick iterations. I optimized my workflow by running five separate simulations, giving me more control over the fire and smoke behavior. Furthermore, I frequently used velocity and density fields from one simulation to influence others, creating a more seamless look.

The guidance of my excellent instructors was invaluable in achieving a realistic look for the simulations, ultimately boosting my confidence in working with pyro. However, compositing the simulations onto the live-action plate presented the biggest hurdle. While I can handle basic compositing tasks, I wasn't comfortable integrating complex fire and smoke elements convincingly. Once again, my teachers provided crucial support, helping me achieve a believable final result. A huge thank you to the ArtFX instructors for their invaluable guidance!

Paris Café

For the "Paris Café" project inspired through my Rebelway Fluid FX course, time was tight due to my ongoing Master's project at ArtFX. I squeezed it into a single weekend, aiming for a visually catchy scene despite cinematography not being my primary skillset. To jumpstart the creative process, I embraced AI and used Stable Diffusion to generate a reference image that served as my inspiration for the project.

The workshop covered rain simulations, including techniques for creating realistic rain on surfaces, meshing fluids, and using the shallow water solver. I also learned about the main pop rain simulation. In addition, I explored incorporating Vellum for the awning and splashes to further enhance the effect.

My procedural setup for the splashes. They were instanced on a POP sim that used the age to define the pscale.

To optimize rendering time, I leveraged Megascans for props and textures. However, I wanted to add a touch more life to the environment with the time constraints in mind. Here's where Stable Diffusion came in again: I used it to texture the cafe window, populate the apartment interior, and add subtle imperfections to the building facade.

WATERFALL

This project was heavily influenced by the learnings from Rebelway's Advanced Water FX course. It also marked my first attempt at integrating an FX element into a live-action plate. However, the rendering process proved to be the most significant hurdle.

Redshift offered limited resources specifically tailored to water rendering. This lack of knowledge meant extensive experimentation was required. Initially, I opted for volume rendering to capture the cascading water. Unfortunately, the results didn't match my vision for the scene. 

I explored a hybrid approach, combining particles and volume rendering. While this yielded some progress, it still fell short of my desired aesthetic. Finally, I decided to explore a purely particle-based solution, which ultimately became the foundation for the final render.

While the waterfall rendering and simulation presented some challenges, I'm incredibly proud of the technical and visual achievement in the upper river section. The whitewater simulation flawlessly captures the turbulent flow, seamlessly blending with the waterfall simulation below. The meticulous mesh details add a layer of realism, particularly evident in the water's "stringiness," mimicking the dynamic nature of a rushing river.

I developed a little trick further after seeing it first in the Rebelway workshop. It cheaply gives surfaces more details and stringiness, but sadly this technique is limited to areas with high vorticities. After meshing your fluids, you transfer the velocities from your simulation particles, use that to feed a curl noise, and displace a subdivided mesh of your initial mesh. 

I am currently working on a new way to simulate and render a waterfall for my Master's project. Here's a little teaser rendering in Arnold