Topic: Star Wars Space Battle - CG

Hello everyone,

I am currently working on my Star Wars stop motion series called "LEGO Star Wars Rebel War" and I have always had an idea for an action packed space battle episode. What holds me back, is that I don't know how to accomplish something like this. My first option for doing it would be CGI which I have done quite a bit already (but nothing in a "space battle" scale). Up until now, for all the CG shots I have been using Blender but I am not really happy with it. When working on something small, it is all perfect but when trying doing more complex shots, Blender tends not being very "interactive" with compositing software like After Effects. I know I am doing something wrong in the process.

My question for you is, do you have any other 3D animation software that you know (or have used) which I could try? I am also open to any advice especially from people who might have worked on space battles before. I would prefer if you could give me an advice on Blender since I am not really happy in the idea of using and learning an entire new software.

Andrew BrickMovies - Stop Motion Animator

Re: Star Wars Space Battle - CG

Well, you've learnt how to use blender far better than I have, since I can't figure out how to use it at all mini/lol but the only other software I know of is K-3D, which is free, but I've never used it, and to be honest if you can use blender then it is probably better than any other free software, sorry mini/confused

YouTube   |  Twitter

Who even reads this?

Re: Star Wars Space Battle - CG

You could just do it in After Effects. But if you know how to use blender, that seems like your best bet.

This world is a dark place. One day I will see my Savior face to face.
My Youtube

Re: Star Wars Space Battle - CG

I'm not sure what you mean by 3D, but if you just want to composite/move images around in 3d space Apple's Motion5 is one of the easiest/most intuitive programs I've found (if you have a mac)

If you need to use actual 3D objects, AE with the element3D plugin is probably your best bet, but I believe that hitfilm4 has limited 3d file support as well.

A light version of Blackmagic's Fusion is also available for Free (limited to 1080p and no stereo video support) and it is extremely powerful (Fusion was used to do the VFX for The Hunger Games films) but not that easy to learn.

keep in mind that AE, hitfilm, and Fusion only allow you to animate/composite 3D objects, and you will need to create them in another piece of software.

Also remember to search YouTube as there is a lot of good tutorial materiel out there.  mini/smile

http://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=0B-S9Gk-8REITRVJVQXVwZkdBRk0
“But the enterprise in which I’m about to embark on is fraught with imminent peril.”

Re: Star Wars Space Battle - CG

Can you be more specific? I'm not sure what you're stuck on.
Blender is compatible with compositing software, just make sure that you check the "Transparent" box in the "Film" tab (found in the render section) or, if using the internal renderer, switch the alpha to Transparent in the shading tab. Set the output to PNG and the colour to RGBA and it will export your animation as images with a transparent background.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/341/32154997096_f26d8af45e_o.jpg

Re: Star Wars Space Battle - CG

bataton wrote:

Can you be more specific? I'm not sure what you're stuck on.
Blender is compatible with compositing software, just make sure that you check the "Transparent" box in the "Film" tab (found in the render section) or, if using the internal renderer, switch the alpha to Transparent in the shading tab. Set the output to PNG and the colour to RGBA and it will export your animation as images with a transparent background.

Thanks everyone for your replies!

What I am mostly stuck on is that I cannot find a way to transfer the camera information (when animating camera movements in blender) to a compositing software like AE. I am not really sure if there is a way to get like the keyframe date from blender into something like a null object in AE.

Andrew BrickMovies - Stop Motion Animator

Re: Star Wars Space Battle - CG

In that case, you could use the Blender compositor.
I would stick to Blender for the CG because, while I haven't tried other software, I have used Blender before and Cycles is quite powerful.

Last edited by bataton (April 19, 2017 (08:02am))

https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/341/32154997096_f26d8af45e_o.jpg

Re: Star Wars Space Battle - CG

I've been considering doing a few scenes like this for a Star Wars film I'm currently writing. I'll most likely translate it into a Brickfilm due to budget constraints. I'll be sure to check back on this topic and leave feedback or do some behind the scenes when I come to it.

YouTube Channel - Please Subscribe to Help me out!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9br8o … UGih5jf8zA

Re: Star Wars Space Battle - CG

I'd actually be happy to give you a had, I havent done a colab in awhile. my worst 3d work in space is here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrw-TDiodIo
I remember seeing a website with lego sets made in 3ds programs....