The Breach

The Breach

ORGANIC MODELING

THIBAUT MASSON : We started the project by looking for references to create the dark, horror-inspired hallway. Our aim was to do two shots, one to set the mood and reveal the creature's sillouette, and then a close-up of the creature screaming.

To create the creature, I started by taking a lot of references to agree with the team, then I drew a concept so I could have a base of what I wanted, even if I won't stick to it exactly.

Once I had sculpted the base using Dynamesh, I created some polygroups so that I could use a Zremesher to create a clean topology. These same polygroups were then used to create my uvs. After these steps, I was able to add my final details.

I work closely with MATTEO DESTOT to ensure that my pose and topology are appropriate for the rig.

RIG

MATTEO DESTOT : My goal for this project was to create the creature's Rig as quickly as possible so that THIBAUT MASSON could start on the layout and animation without delay. I first created the most important Controllers for the main movements, then sent the Rig to Thibaut. We worked by importing the rig as a reference, allowing him to begin animation while I continued to work on the rig. It was simply a matter of reloading the Rig for it to update so Thibaut could continue his animation without interruption.

The Rig is rather basic, with an IK/FK system for all the creature's arms. The legs were designed similarly to those of a quadruped; to ensure contact with the ground, we decided to use only IK. For the tail, I used an IK Spline to make it easier to animate.

For the skinning, I spent a lot of time placing the joints to ensure the movements and deformations were as accurate as possible. This helped me minimize the time spent on skinning, and I used a delta mush to improve the skinning pass.

Texturing

MAXIMILIEN DUSSAP-GALLET : For the Texturing of our creature, I tried to achieve a horrific design as well as giving it a storytelling, as if it had just come out of a scene where it had just devoured the personnel of a spaceship.

For the Shading, I drew inspiration from the Covenant in Halo, with its fleshy skin, and from the Xenomorph in Alien, for his shiny side.

LAYOUT | SET DRESS | ANIMATION | LIGHTING

THIBAUT MASSON : To speed up the workflow we used meshes from a REX Hsu pack that I was able to use to create two major assets that I was able to duplicate to create the corridor.

Once the corridor was created, I started by animating the creature and the door for the first shot, and then reused part of the animation from the first shot to move the creature forward in shot 02.

Once the scene was finished, I transferred it to Houdini, thanks to VINCENT QUET and MAXIMILIEN DUSSAP-GALLET for relinking the textures. Then I lit the scene on shot 01 to illuminate the whole corridor, and left FRANÇOIS-CLÉMENT MICHEZ to light the shot 02.

FX

VINCENT QUET : For the first shot I've made some sparks then I proceeded to create a procedural cobwebs that can be attached to almost any surface available, after that a smoke for the ground to add movement when the monster passed by and finally some dust in the air.

Then, for the second shot, I did some saliva for the monster, I've also made some sparks again and reused the cobwebs and add some dust one more time.

Fx Breakdown for The Breach :

COMPOSITING

FRANÇOIS-CLÉMENT MICHEZ : Working on this shots was quite a challenge. Given the time I had, I had to have a clear idea of what I wanted to achieve in order to get a great result fast. My main references where from the original Alien movie. I look a these shot that are 40 years old and I still find them mesmerizing. I wanted to give that anamorphic, blue and grainy feeling to the shots while also keeping a dark atmosphere which would make the audience feel claustrophobic.