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AUGI
Autodesk User Group International
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Posted: Jul 19, 2007
Published by: the area
Homepage: none
Software: Autodesk Maya
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Haizheng Xiang
Prior to working in the field of 3D, Haizheng Xiang (Minong) studied at Shanghai University Art College where he majored in oil painting. After gaining tremendous work experience from three companies, his talent and passion won him an opportunity to work with a television production company where he was entrusted full creative freedom. In his occasional moments of free time, Xiang indulges in simple pleasures - watching movies and drawing.
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| The Area:
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Can you describe your project?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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I paid a lot of attention to the early stages of production - considering every camera angle thoroughly, spending a lot of time just planning the production. Making this kind of animation requires excellence in every aspect of its production. There can be no significant shortcomings or the animation just won't work. I normally work hard at learning new things, so the end result does not look too bad I think.
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| The Area:
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How many versions did you make before the final one? Did it have to be pre-approved by the client first? Were there any drastic last-minute changes they wanted to make?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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I made three versions, and deliberated with the client a few times. In the end the client was very satisfied with my product.
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| The Area:
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Who was the client for this project?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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It was a TV production company.
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| The Area:
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Was your team given the creative freedom to create whatever you envisioned, or was everything laid out for you beforehand?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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The original request was to have two dragons flying up through the clouds, then end with a pose. I didn't have any other team members, actually. I completed this animation by myself, so all the details were in my head originally. During the production I merely turned my ideas into graphics.
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| The Area:
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Do you think that it would have taken you longer to complete this project had there have been a team to work with? You had total control over the animation, so is that why the entire process took such a short time?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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I think there are many factors involved. In a team, everyone's skill must be at a certain level or it can easily become unbalanced.
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| The Area:
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Why was your team selected to do the job?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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Why did they choose me? I think it was because I love CG very much.
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| The Area:
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And why do you think they chose you over a team of people, given that this project had such a tight deadline?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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Because I was the only one in the company who had time to work on it. Besides, there was nobody else to partner with at the time.
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| The Area:
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How big is your company?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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The normal size, 30 to 40 people.
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| The Area:
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What software does your team use and how did Maya become your primary 3D tool?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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I primarily use Maya for 3D now. I did use other 3D software before, but I always found some essential functionality lacking - it really limited my imagination! Eventually I forced myself to learn Maya, learning as I went along by reading the help. Gradually I discovered Maya is very practical software, and finally came to prefer it over anything else.
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| The Area:
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What was your role in this project?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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I did everything.
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| The Area:
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Why did you choose to model with polygons over NURBS or subdi?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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At the time, I didn't know NURBS that well, although I knew they could be very useful. And I never considered subds, because they would be too slow for a model with 400,000 polygons.
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| The Area:
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Your scene looks complex - there is a 2D painting, water, smoke, and clouds. What software did you use for all of this? For the painting, for example? Were the clouds and smoke created in Maya? Or did you use a compositing package to create some of the effects?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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I used Adobe Photoshop for the 2D paintings. Most of the rest of the project was done in Maya, including the clouds and the smoke. Because my profession is special effects specialist, it wasn't too hard to do all of this.
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| The Area:
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For the textures of the dragon, did you use photo references (from some reptile, perhaps)?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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Ever since I started working in the field of CG I've never used photos to make textures. Before my current career in 2D animation and CG, I had 10 years of fine art experience. So drawing by eye isn't very hard for me!
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| The Area:
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How long did it take you to texture the dragon, and what was your technique, especially for all those scales?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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It only took me four days. There was no particular technique. I only drew the things that could be seen, given the limited time I had. The same for the scales.
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| The Area:
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The movement of the dragon looks real, even if there are no real dragons to compare it to. Was it through animal or creature studies that you were able to create such convincing movement for this mythical beast?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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As I mentioned, I have experience working in 2D animation, so creating movement is not too hard for me. I did study the motion of some reptiles to inspire me.
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| The Area:
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For this animation, how many render passes did you use for each part?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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More than a few dozen.
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| The Area:
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Did you render this production only for TV, or for other media such as HDTV or cinema?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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Only for television.
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| The Area:
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Can you describe to me the process you use for composition? Which software do you use?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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I use Apple's Shake for digital compositing. The process of how I compose is very easy to describe: I just keep adding layers.
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| The Area:
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How long did this project take to complete?
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| The Area:
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Can you break down how you spent the 22 days? For example, how much time for rendering and compositing?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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Certainly. It took me about two days to create the initial design, eight days for modeling and texturing, six days for animation and binding, and then about six days for rendering and composition.
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| The Area:
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What hardware did you use? Do you have a render farm?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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My machine is an Intel Pentium 4 P4X2, with a 3Dlabs Wildcat 7110 graphics card and 1GB RAM. Our company does have a render farm.
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| The Area:
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What other projects has your company completed in the past year?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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I just recently joined this company, so I'm not really clear about its complete portfolio. The company did a lot of Chinese movies last year.
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| The Area:
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Were the costs for this project enormous?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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They should work out to be relatively small.
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| The Area:
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Can you describe your deadlines for this project? I would imagine that you did not get too much sleep.
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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Initially, they gave me two weeks to finish this project, but this was obviously an impossible deadline. I took three weeks to complete it. Before I started, I planned to sleep just three nights a week, with no sleep for the last two days. That was the case.
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| The Area:
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Hah! I wasn't expecting that you actually planned for no sleep! That's quite incredible. So this entire project went like clockwork, would you agree?
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| The Area:
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Did you get big exposure in China after you did this project?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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No, unfortunately. The work I'm doing is still sporadic. It's a bit of a concern.
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| The Area:
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How is the 3D scene currently in China?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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There are a lot of people participating in 3D here, but those people who can produce great work are very rare. Maybe it would be different if there were systematic education here on the subject. Right now, everyone is learning by themselves.
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| The Area:
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Do you think there will be more 3D taught in schools in China eventually? What about the media? Are there not many 3D elements in commercials and movies?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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Sure, there's lots of 3D in the media. But currently it's still very difficult to find 3D being taught in any schools.
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| The Area:
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What's your next project?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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I'm planning with some good friends a short CG film about survival, to be completed in approximately two years.
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| The Area:
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We look forward to seeing it. Any sneak previews you can show us?
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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Not now, but soon. Right now we are mainly writing some plug-ins to create the special effects.
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| The Area:
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Thank you for your time!
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| Haizheng Xiang:
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Thank you.
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| Posted by mzli on Oct 21, 2009 at 09:32 AM
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| great
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| Posted by RedCobra on Oct 15, 2009 at 11:41 AM
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| you're my hero :P
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| Posted by kutudaun on Mar 14, 2008 at 04:37 PM
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| WOOOWW.. GREAAAATT !!!!! I like your dragons.. Awesome Mr. Haizheng Xiang.. -Gorgy-
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