Stylized Look Exploration
I explored styles loosely inspired by watercolor paintings, using data from past Pixar movies. Each test explored different topics and techniques, not for production, but to learn more about different ideas.
The initial goal of this test was to use a compositing method inspired by watercolor painting. Unlike typical CG rendering, which is usually an additive layering (ex - diffuse + specular + ambient + ...), this approach emulated the multiplicative characteristics of watercolor washes, darkening the image from white instead of brightening from black. Color bleeding effects were also explored, primarily through sparse point cloud lookups in the shader. A basic toon shader and an inverse ambient occlusion implementation were also used.
This test focused on a multi-layered compositing approach using partial "washes." Each layer was rendered with fractal noise patterns, randomly offset, and combined in Nuke using a multiply blend mode with tinted colors. Lighting contributions were selectively applied to certain layers. The key artistic decisions, such as adjusting layer contributions and color palettes, were intentionally deferred to the compositing stage rather than being determined during rendering in 3D.
This tree test used simplified shading: each leaf had a single, flat color. Per-leaf lighting was approximated with a low-resolution volume. A fractal noise pattern (controlled by a color ramp) determined the color, and lit/shadowed colors were intentionally decoupled, mimicking hand-painted inaccuracies.
In this procedural painting test, a simple growth algorithm was used on the point clouds. As the color values travel, they blend with existing colors, and dynamically created lines connecting the travel path to neighboring points is used for the non-uniform blur effect.