A visual tale of Bank of Baroda TVC’s Directed and Produced by Studio EEKSAURUS

In a world where there are millions (an understatement) of products vying for the consumers attention to break through the clutter is a feat. The Bank of Baroda TVCs in their most unique way has grabbed many eyeballs. Suresh Eriyat of Eeksaurus, a man who requires no introduction tells us in his most animated, exuberant way of their adventure on making Bank of Baroda TVCs. We tell this tale through a visual tapestry, so get your volumes up and understand the mechanisms of brand building through art. Read More...

RamSinghKumaresh : The Animation MasterClass 2 at Pune

June 26, 2010 saw RamSinghKumaresh conduct their first MasterClass in Pune, their second in the series they have recently launched. The 2 day MasterClass had an enthusiastic group of eager students and faculty from some of the leading animation training institutes of the city, all awaiting to interact with the trio. Read More...

A very comprehensive Interview with Mr. Jeff Wike, DreamWorks Animation & Mr. Ray Gilmartin, HP

We bring to you a very comprehensive interview of Mr. Jeff Wike, Director of R&D, California Studio, DreamWorks Animation and Mr. Ray Gilmartin, Worldwide Marketing Manager, Media and Entertainment, HP Workstations. Read More...

Magic of Technology - The Magicians HP, Dreamworks & Nvidia

What would you miss if HP technology did not come to Dreamworks’ rescue? ...hmm say, the very handsome and charming Ogre; Shrek, the escapades of Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman in Madagascar, the very lean and sleek Kung Fu Panda, the flying joy ride of Hiccup on his trained dragon and of course the many dreams that Dreamworks continues to weave, one of them being Megamind. Read More...

Autodesk's Digital Entertainment Solutions 2011

To give the audience a head start into the new ways of technology Mr. Chetan Jain, Business Head, Tasaa Netcom Pvt. Ltd. spoke of the end to end solutions they provide. By end to end it means from software to hardware, training and orientations committed to high level supports. Business domains of Tasaa cover product solutions like Autodesk, Adobe, Corel, Wacom, Plugins , Apple and Business application development (ERP & CRM Solution). Read More...

Industry Speaks its Mind on CGTExpo & CGTantra Community Awards 2010

Having CGTExpo’10 over we did not want to continue blowing our own trumpet, we wanted to know the opinion of our speakers and CCA jury also the opinion of winners. We know it’s too much to ask for, one of the speakers might have commented “Oh! Please give me a break”, but nevertheless they conceded in giving us some credit. Let us take this opportunity to again thank our speakers and judges and associates and of course the audience for making this event a grand success. A BIG THANK YOU GUYS! Read More...

FX School and FXPHD collaboration surfing the New Waves of Today’s Age

FX School is making waves with its progress. Now it has grabbed more eyeballs since its collaboration with FXPHD. An interview with Mr. David Edgar, Mr. Leonard Coster, Mr. Abhyudaya Morarka and Mr. CB Arunkumar gives us a clear view of FX School and FXPHD’s tie-up, vision, horizon and skies beyond. Read More...

An Interview with Raj Naiksatam - The Man behind Story Vision Magic

CGTantra Team recently caught up with Raj Naiksatam, the Man behind Story Vision Magic, a Visual Effects veteran who after a successful career in Los Angeles has set his base in India to explore the best of the talent here. It is our immense pleasure to feature you on CGTantra.
Read More...

Digital Tutor - Largest Summer Training Release

For the past few months, the team at Digital-Tutors has been planning a special Summer Training Release. June and July are synonymous with full schedules and holidays, so Digital-Tutors decided to provide all active members with their largest training release to date; making it convenient for artists to learn something new during their action-packed days. Read More...

CGTantra Community Awards 2010 - A Review

A family of 250 sat together on the Jade Terrace Gardens, Nehru centre, Worli on 29th May, 2010. They are a family belonging to artists. They enjoyed themselves over good music, cocktails and sumptuous food. Oh! I forgot to add CGTantra also gave away exciting prizes to winners of the CGTantra Community Awards. Read More...

Mothership’s David Rosenbaum & Dael Oates Direct Domino Effect for Sprint 4G Phone

Venice, CA—June 3, 2010—Mothership directors Dael Oates and David Rosenbaum have teamed up with Goodby Silverstein & Partners to roll out the world’s first 4G mobile phone, the Sprint HTC EVO. Titled “Firsts,” the :30 cinematic TV and in-theater commercial (with an extended :60) broke June 2nd, and showcases an elaborately choreographed domino effect toppling the world’s technological and cultural Read More...

Alioscopy & Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute's Strategic Partnership at InfoComm

Companies Unveil First Conversion Service that Interpolates Stereoscopic 3D Footage to Multi-View, Auto-stereoscopic ‘no-glasses’ 3D. Read More...

Houdini 11 Sneak Peek

One of my favorite times of the year is when we first reveal a new version of Houdini. Last week in Los Angeles, we hosted a forum with a number of top studios to review the new tools in Houdini 11 and to discuss ongoing development initiatives. This is an annual event and the feedback we get has had a big impact on the development of Houdini 11 as well as future versions.Now it is my pleasure to bring you a quick look at the key Houdini 11 features being released this summer. Read More...

The theory of relativity’s meaning sunk in when CGTExpo’10 was over. Today we are reliving the moments by watching the photographs again and again, waiting for the next season to start soon.
Two days the 29th and the 30th of May saw many eager students with very curious eyes, entering the Nehru Centre. They waited to experience the magic of the industry they worship. The days unfolded as a story, a story of action, fun and admiration. Read More

Frameboxx Presents Frameflixx 2 @ Goa - A Review

Speak of Goa and one thing that comes to your very creative mind is FUN, scenic beaches and FUN again. To add to the excitement was the Frameboxx‘ Frameflixx Awards. The animation community was spirited about viewing and awarding the very original “flixx” meted out by the students and their equally hard working faculty. Read More...

CGT Newsletter May 2010 :: Register now for CGTExpo 2010, Vote for Frameflixx 2 short films & more...

Maac Indore presents "Paarkhi 3d & VFX Awards" - A Review

Connoisseur of animation commemorate the apprentice

5th Annual Day celebration of Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics successfully held.
Indore, 30th April 2010: Renowned 3D Animation training institute Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics celebrated their 5th Annual Day Celebration at Ravindra Natya Auditorium. Read More..

RamSinghKumaresh Module 1 - A Review

It was on a sleepy Saturday morning this IPL season that RamSinghKumaresh™, the animation master-class, opened to bat their debut innings. The first of a three-module-master-class was held at Whistling Woods before an eager audience of eighty five (85) participants from across the country. Read More...

Shrek Forever After: Watch the Final Trailer!

An Interview with Director of Toonpur ka Superrhero - Mr. Kireet Khurana

CGTantra Team recently caught up with Mr.Kireet Khurana- Director of Toonpur Ka Superrhero in a candid conversation with us. He was generous enough to give us a sneak-peak into what’s cooking up behind the scenes as he takes out time from his ongoing busy schedule.
Read More...

An Interview with Aaron Sims - Production design, Character Design, Visual FX

Here is a man for whom any introduction would fall short! His creatures speak for him. He is the genius behind many of today's most memorable movie monsters. Currently working as "character designer on Green Lantern", "fantasy world designer on Sucker Punch" and "production designer on Castelvania", Aaron Sims is one of the most innovative and versatile concept artists working in films today. Read More...

CGTantrik Interview - Akash Abhishek Karmakar

Everything around us is inspiring but a single ray of hope and encouragement is enough to bring out the creative sense hidden within. CGTantrik Akash Abhishek Karmakar - CG supervisor, PRANA Studios is one of his kind.With passing time Akash matured as an artist and now has amazing work like Tinkerbell, Unstable Fables & Delhi 6 in his basket. We have him on board to share his experiences and unfold the secrets behind his success and achievements. Read More...

ASIFA India's "Commercials : Behind The Scenes" Cg MeetUp A Great Success !

In its continued effort of sharing knowledge by bringing forth some of the most interesting topics for the benefit of the animation and vfx community, ASIFA India's latest Cg MeetUp saw a packed house at the Whistling Woods auditorium. Read More

CGTantra Community Awards 2010 - Send your Entries Now!

An Interview with Animation Technical Director of Avatar - Rob Powers

CGTantra Team recently caught up with Rob Powers, who originated the Virtual Art Department (VAD) for James Cameron on AVATAR. Rob recently joined NewTek as Director of Entertainment and Media Development, Read More

CGTantra - Animation Community Partner for Toonpur Ka Superrhero Director's Blog

Latest Announcement from CGTantra Desk

CGTantra collaborates with Mr. Kireet Khurana and is the official Animation Community partner of Toonpur Ka Superrhero - Director’s Blog. You can keep yourself updated on the same by going to the homepage and clicking on the Toonpur Ka Superrhero - Director’s Diary. Read More

Making of Stop-Motion USHA Commercial by Mr E Suresh

Experimenting with new styles and techniques brings out the best from an idea pushing its creative limits. The new USHA Sewing Machine Commercial which looks vibrant and splendid at its best on tv, is a perfect example of creativity redefined. Read More

FICCI Frames 10 - BAF Awards

A glimpse of Best Animated Frames Awards 2010. Read more

FICCI Frames 10 - A Review

A Review on FICCI Frames 2010 - Global convention on business of entertainment. Read more

3d Illustration Challenge is a contest for Professionals as well as students. Create a 3D Illustration on the theme - LOVE. Get creative about the characters, scenario, era, culture, universe, race and anything you can think of. Zombies, Animals, Gods, Reptiles, Warriors, Vampires, Cartoons, Insects, Ogres - Or think of any kind of couple you can imagine and place them in their own kind of environment. Model/Sculpt the Characters, Texture & Light them, create a Environment or just paint a BG for them. Prizes from Pixologic ZBrush, EON Vue, Digital Tutors, NVIDIA, www.3d.sk, Topogun, CGTantra TShirts & Goodies etc. Deadline - 30th April Details :: 3D Illustration Contest

ARTTWar 4 - Students Team Contest

http://www.cgtantra.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=165

 

ARTTWar's fourth edition starts March 2nd. ARTTWar is a contest for Student Teams. Topic - GAME OVER. Form up a team of 2 to 3 students and prepare a Digital Illustration on the topic - Game Over. Prizes from Pixologic ZBrush, EON Vue, Evermotion, Digital Tutors, NVIDIA, www.3d.sk, Topogun, CGTantra TShirts & Goodies etc. Deadline - 30th April Details :: http://arttwar.cgtantra.com

Feb "The FLAWLESS FACE" Rigging Contest Guidelines

There is nothing in the world that is flawless. So is the case with Character Setups in Digital Animation. But the task here is to derive a Facial solution that stays flawless in most of the instances of Character Animation. Read More

Tasi Presents FUR in the JUNGLE!

An Interview with Ernest Adams - Game Designer, Writer & Educator

Q:A lot of students want to know whether it is important for a game designer to be a programmer too? Can a pure artist/story teller become a good game designer?
A: It is not necessary for a game designer to be a programmer -- after all, the most successful game designer in the world, Shigeru Miyamoto, began as an artist and is still an artist. However, a game designer must understand what computers do, and what their limitations are. Otherwise he will design games that cannot be built. Read Article

"Zokkomon" Walt Disney India's First Hindi Film

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, India, has unveiled the poster and trailer of its first live action Hindi feature film – “Zokkomon”.

Darsheel Safary, Zokkomon's lead actor, and Satyajit Bhatkal, director of “Zokkomon” and the National Bravery Award winners, unveiled the first poster and trailer of the movie at a press event in New Delhi. Read More

Adobe Photoshop, the software product that redefined creativity in the digital age, turns 20 on Feb. 19, 2010. Around the world, Photoshop fans are celebrating the impact their favorite software has had across photography, art, design, publishing and commerce. Read More

PrimeFocus Ltd Chennai, delivered about 1800 VFX Shots for AAYIRATHIL ORUVAN

For the recently released block buster Ayirathil Oruvan, we at PrimeFocus Ltd Chennai, delivered about 1800 VFX Shots. Which are all Creative & challenging in nature. SelvaRaghavan the Director of the Movie was very particular about the outcome of CG & realism. As his story featuring 80% of VFX in the movie depends on it. Read Article

ARTTWar 3 Nominations announced. Vote Now -

 

Top 5 Entries from ARTT War 3 :: Final winners will be announced by adding the points given by the Judges and these votes. Voting is open till 20th Feb 2010. Final winners will be announced on 25th Feb Online. VOTE NOW

Making of Zubaan Pe Lagaam & Jingle Bells by Nupur Bhargava

 Case study of Zubaan pe Lagaam & Jingle Bell by Nupur Bhargava.
Nupur Bhargava has been working with MTV, India as a supervising producer and director.She did her graduation from the National Institute of Design, India in Animation film design. She has a string of popular and award winning animated works to her credit. For her, each idea and story is treated as a new opportunity to experiment with new styles and media. READ THE ARTICLE

Detailed & Exclusive VFX Case Study of 3 Idiots by Fablefarm

Here is an VFX Case study of the movie which is all over the news and every one seems to be talking about it. Check what all went behind its making and discover the unknown. CGTantra got fortunate enough to have a candid conversation with Mitul Patel - Vice President, Fable Farm to tell the audience about the VFX work that went into the making of 3 Idiots. READ THE ARTICLE

CGTantra Artworks Calendar 2010

We are proud to present you the best of the artworks of the year 2009 in form of a monthly Calendar of 2010 for your desktops. We are thankful to the artists who contributed their artworks to CGTantra this year. Hope to see many more in the coming year. DOWNLOAD LINK

Video interview with Shrek The Third Co Director - Raman Hui

Raman Hui started his career in Hong Kong as a Cell Animator and thereafter moved to Canada to study at Sheridan College. In the year 1989, Raman started working at Pacific Data Images which was later acquired by DreamWorks Animation. Ever since then, he has worked on blockbuster movies like Antz, the Shrek movies, Madagascar. Raman co-directed 'Shrek The Third' and Directed Kung Fu Panda 'Secrets of the Furious Five' and wears various other hats that of being Animation Director, Supervising Animator, Storyboard Artist.

Recently, Forum Leaders Anand Baid (andy_maxman) and Amrit Derhgawen (Mr.keyframe) along with Forum member Prashant Cavale caught up with Raman Hui for a video interview.

Continue reading....

Nasscom Animation and Gaming Summit 2009 was held on the 6th and the 7th of November 2009 at HICC, Hotel Novitel, Hyderabad. The event this year had a different feel to it. Fruitful sessions that cater to the gaming and the animation industry also had an artist's perspective to it.
Shelly Page, Head, International Outreach, Dreamworks and Nitin Chawla, Executive Producer, Walt Disney Interactive Media Group started with the key notes before we moved on to the sessions.

Click on the image to view the article

Prime Focus recreates 26/7 Mumbai floods in Tum Mile with over 300 VFX shots and DI

Prime focus, a global visual entertainment services group delivers yet another visual treat for Mukesh Bhatt's upcoming movie titled 'Tum Mile' with the VFX team led under the creative guidance of Merzin Tavaria, Chief Creative Director and the Digital Intermediate team led by Rohan Desai, DI head and Chief Colorist , Prime Focus.

Click on the link to view the article

Future Works Delivered challenging VFX Shots for Tum Mile - an unusual love story Directed by Kunal Deshmukh set in backdrops of Mumbai's rampageous 26thJuly'05.

Tum mile takes a calamity that hit Mumbai in 2005 monsoons and tries to recreate the horror that the deluge brought with it. The protagonists of the film, played by Emraan Hashmi and Soha Ali Khan, are stuck in the deluge, as has the whole of the city.

Through their eyes the film tries to convey what people might have gone through in those dark damp days when time ceased to move. It takes a satirical view on the administration and its preparation before monsoon.
Future Works took the opportunity to take the directors vision to another level and make each shot believable and visually appealing so that the audience indulge in the story. We caught up with the Future Works team, which talks about their challenges and experiences on working for the Tum Mile.

click on the image to view the article

Interview with Charles Darby – Sr. VFX Supervisor, Aladin.

Eyecube Creative Director Charles Darby gives us an insight of the most awaited and one of the biggest VFX Bollywood film - Aladin. CGTantra speaks to Charles about his experiences about pulling off a mammoth amount of 1600 VFX shots, the Characters and VFX Industry. We are thankful to Charles for taking time out for this interview and to Vamsi M. Ayyagari, Sr. Executive Producer for providing all the artworks for this article.

Charles Darby is one of the International visual effects wiz and has been associated with more than 45 films in the last 14 years. Darby’s work includes Academy and BAFTA award-winning work on films such as 'Titanic,' 'The Matrix', 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon', 'The Fifth Element' and 'Minority Report'.

Read Complete Interview....

Chitrakatha 09 @ NID, Ahmedabad - CGTantra Editor Rishabh reports....

Chitrakatha 09 starts tomorrow in NID, Ahmedabad.. Rishabh Shrivastav, Editor, CGTANTRA will be giving you a daily dose of the activities around there on CGTantra Blogs, so stay connected ,

Chitrakatha 09 Blog

Cheers Chitrakatha 09!

n a fancy Parisian Cafe, an uptight businessman is about to pay the cheque when he finds out that he has lost his wallet. To save time he decides to order more coffee.
French Roast is a character driven short film about appearances. Without any dialouge, the story is told through character animation, music and sound.

click on the image to view the video and the article

Blue is a fast paced action film, which has over 1200 shots that have passed through the vfx pipeline.
Commenting on the project, Merzin Tavaria, Chief Creative Director, Prime Focus and VFX Supervisor on Blue, mentioned, "The visual splendour of the sea has never been captured before in any Indian film like it is in Blue. This is underpinned by a huge pipeline of VFX shots which were delivered by our team here at Prime Focus. We are proud to be associated with such an ambitious project and hope that the movie turns out to be a visual effects treat for the viewers."
Reupal Rawal, VFX supervisor on the project added, "It is a pleasure to have worked on a big budget visual effects wonder called Blue. Considering that the theme necessitated plenty of visual effects work, the director allowed us a great deal of latitude to showcase our creativity and skills to create some fabulous VFX shots. We are proud to be associated with projects such as Blue which we believe will raise the bar of visual effects in Bollywood."

Click on the image to view the article

Moritz Mayerhofer talks about 'Urs'

Many years Urs looked after his aging mother. But now he sets out for a dangerous journey: He carries her up a mountain to find a better place for both of them. But his mother doesn't want to leave her home. . With appealing layouts, symbolic cinematic approach and beautiful matte paintings the film takes you with it. Let's go behind the scenes of the film.

click on the image to view the video and read the article