Since the final animation will be rendered in Blender, my workflow involves using both Maya and Blender seamlessly. After completing the animation in Maya, I export the models and animations in Alembic (.abc) format. This format is incredibly useful as it allows me to preserve the animated geometry and import it directly into Blender without any loss of detail.
One of the major advantages of the Alembic format is its ability to export not just the models and animations but also the camera animation. This feature saves me a lot of time because I don’t need to recreate the camera movements from scratch in Blender. Everything, including camera angles and motion, transfers smoothly, which ensures consistency between the animation and the final render.
This workflow enables me to take advantage of Maya’s robust animation tools while leveraging Blender’s rendering capabilities, particularly for the ink wash material I’m using. It’s been an efficient way to combine the strengths of both software tools and streamline the production process.
After importing the animation into Blender, one of the first tasks is to re-link the materials for the models. This includes applying the ink wash material and adding the ink outline effects to achieve the desired artistic style. While this process generally works well, I noticed some issues with how the material interacts with the models.
For example, the ink wash material can sometimes cause loss of detail in certain areas of the model. One notable instance is Xu’s face. In Maya, it’s clear that her mouth is slightly protruded, which adds depth and detail to her expression. However, after applying the ink wash material in Blender, the contours of her face become less defined, making her mouth and other subtle features harder to notice.
Fortunately, the ink outline effect helps mitigate this issue to some extent by enhancing the edges of the model. The outlines add clarity to the shapes, making it easier to distinguish features like the mouth and other small details. While it’s not a perfect solution, it does improve the overall visual quality and ensures that important details are not entirely lost.
This experience highlights the need for balancing artistic effects with clarity, and I’ll continue refining the materials and outline settings to achieve the best possible result.