New Animation

I feel like render challenges keep coming up. Just when you think Pwnisher is wrapping up, someone else hosts one.

I have things to do, dang it. Wrapping up coding for a BIG optimization add-on that just came out. Doing screenwriting in my free time. Heck, I’m moving out of my apartment.

Well, I fell into temptation. I joined yet another render challenge.

It’s Calver’s “Worlds Next Door” competition, where first-person POV animations are all edited together via a transition of the character walking through a door. Here’s his video if you’re curious:

I took the month of June to work on it. Well, when I can. I’m still juggling a bunch of projects, so this was kind of a low priority, when-I-have-the-time kind of project.

I went down a kind of geometry nodes rabbit hole. I used it to make the sand dunes, the sand swirling around the tower, the arc lightning, and even the sand particles. No, those aren’t simulated; just cleverly animated with the help of noise.

Regardless, I think I got it to a good place. Here’s a final render:

You can find the full animation (which utilizes the transition to show my viewport render) on portfolio.spencermagnusson.com/worlds_next_door/

If you want me to do a breakdown of it, let me know!