Context
For this week’s theme of ‘Play and Abstraction’, I tried to create an abstract image using the VFX capabilities of the MASH tool in Maya.
Method
To get the result seen above, I played around with the options in the MASH tool. I experimented with it a lot to get the result that I desired and saw fit for this week’s topic. First, I created a simple cube and generated a grid-like structure using the MASH tool. I then played around in its editor to create nodes like Dynamics and Randomer to make the cubes move a certain way. After I was happy with the way it moved, I added some trails and particles to the generated result and started playing with the materials and the tool’s options to get the desired result. I then played around with the position of the camera to get the view that made sense to me and added some light to make it more dramatic. Finally, I added some depth-of-field to the camera and rendered the final image.
Response
As a response to this week’s theme, I rendered an abstract image using the MASH tool in Maya and rendered it using Arnold Renderer.
Reflection
For this week’s theme, I wanted to try out something that I hadn’t done before. I wanted to use a software that I was familiar with but wanted to try out something new in it. My choice was between Autodesk Maya and Unity since these are the two software that I am most familiar with. After researching a few things about abstract animations and looking at other people’s work, I figured out I wanted to do something related to VFX to create an abstract illustration. I looked around in Maya to see what was new and ended up choosing to work with the MASH tool. I enjoyed playing and experimenting around in the MASH Editor. My laptop’s capabilities prevented me from diving more deeply into the tool, but it is something that I will definitely check out in the future.
For this week’s theme, the idea of Play comes from experimentation and messing with the tools and it’s options in Maya. The idea of Abstraction comes from the final result I achieved and the fact that I was unaware of what I was doing the whole time