Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

CG Geek Makes VFX Look Easy This Week In the NVIDIA Studio'

03/10/2023

Editor's note: This post is part of our weekly In the NVIDIA Studio series, which celebrates featured artists, offers creative tips and tricks, and demonstrates how NVIDIA Studio technology improves creative workflows. We're also deep-diving on new GeForce RTX 40 Series GPU features, technologies and resources and how they dramatically accelerate content creation.

Releasing a 3D tutorial dubbed The Easiest VFX Tutorial Ever takes supreme confidence and the skills to back it up.

Steve Lund a.k.a. CG Geek - the featured artist of this week's In the NVIDIA Studio installment - has both in spades. It's no surprise that over 1 million people have subscribed to his YouTube channel, which features tutorials on animation and visual effects (VFX) as well as select tech reviews.

CG Geek has been a content creator for over 13 years, starting with videos on stop-motion animation before moving on to 3D software. Films and movies are his primary sources of inspiration. He grew up creating short films with his family - experimenting with and implementing video effects and 3D characters - which became a critical foundation for his current work.

Artists can strengthen their creative arsenal with the new Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2, available for pickup today. It's powered by GeForce RTX 4060, GeForce RTX 4050 or NVIDIA RTX 2000 Ada Generation Laptop GPUs with 13th Gen Intel Core processors, up to 64GB of RAM and a 2TB SSD. It features a bright, vibrant 14.4-inch PixelSense Flow touchscreen, a 120Hz refresh rate, and Dolby Vision IQ and HDR to deliver sharper colors.

The versatile Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2. The Easiest VFX Tutorial Ever CG Geek also happens to be a geek for Blender, free for 3D enthusiasts, who regularly create impressive, individualistic art.

I love the amazing Blender 3D community, he said. Whenever you need inspiration or creative feedback, they're the most helpful, kind and talented collective of ever-growing artists.

CG Geek wanted to make a tutorial that could prove that virtually anyone could get started in VFX with relative ease, from anywhere, at any time.

Work on VFX from anywhere - even the outdoors. The first step, he instructs, is to capture video footage. To keep things simple, CG Geek recommends mounting a camera or mobile device to a tripod. Note that the camera lens determines the focal length and sensor size - critical details to input in Blender later in the process.

Keep track of the camera's focal length and sensor size. Keep a close eye on the video footage lighting for shadows and light intensity - it helps to snap a straight-down photo of the environment the 3D element will populate, namely for light bounces, to help create more realistic shadows.

Seasoned visual effects artists can capture and scan the entire 3D area. Next, secure a 3D model. Create one with guidance from an NVIDIA Studio blog or watch detailed tutorials on the Studio YouTube channel. Alternatively, look online for a 3D model equipped with basic physically based rendering materials, as well as a roughness and normal map.

Sketchfab is an excellent resource for acquiring 3D models. Next, combine the video footage and 3D materials. Open Blender, import the video footage and line up the 3D grid floor to the surface where the model will be presented. The 3D grid doubles as a shadow catcher that will grab the shadows being cast from the 3D elements. With an added texture, lighting will bounce back against the object, resulting in heightened realism.

The 3D grid floor will determine where the 3D model will be placed. Then, light the 3D model to match the video footage. Most commonly, this is achieved by acquiring a high-dynamic range image (HDRI), a panorama with lighting data. CG Geek recommends Poly Haven for free, high-quality HDRIs. The key is picking one that resembles the lighting, color, shadow and intensity of the video footage.

Poly Haven has HDRIs for use in VFX work. Use the HDRI lighting to align the sun's rotation with the shadows of the footage, adding further realism.

Lighting adjustments in Blender. From there, import camera information into Blender and render out passes for the 3D model over a transparent background in Cycles. Create as many render layers as possible for added post-render editing flexibility, especially in compositing. Shadowcatcher, glossy passes, Z depth and ambient occlusion layers are recommended for advanced users.

Speedy renders in Blender on NVIDIA Studio hardware. These layers can then be combined in popular creative apps like Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve or any of the over 100 NVIDIA RTX GPU-accelerated apps. This workflow, in particular, will be completed in Blender's custom compositor.

Speedy renders in Blender. Add shadows to the live footage with a multiple overlay. Then, carry over the 3D elements render layer to adjust the intensity of the shadows, helping them mesh better with the video capture. Individual layers can be edited to match the desired tone.

CG Geek made use of Blender Cycles' RTX-accelerated OptiX ray tracing in the viewport. Rendering in Cycles with multiple render layers and passes, along with the NVIDIA OptiX Denoiser, made animations and early tests a breeze, he said.

All my rendering changes can be visualized in real time thanks to the power of NVIDIA Studio before ever even hitting that button. CG Geek

Finally, perform simple masking on areas where the 3D model passes in front of or behind objects. CG Geek's one-minute YouTube tutorial can help guide this process. DaVinci Resolve or Premiere Pro's AI-powered magic mask features can further speed the process by automatically masking background elements, saving the effort of painstakingly editing videos frame by frame.

These AI features are all accelerat
LINK: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/2023/10/03/cg-geek-blender/...
See more stories from nvidia

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

04/09/2026

Net Insight to Launch Nimbra 1020G at 2026 IBC Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/09/2026

Disney, Optimum Renew Carriage Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/09/2026

ACEMAGIC First to Introduce Ryzen AI Max+ PRO 495 AI Mini Workstation at IFA 2026

ACEMAGIC First to Introduce Ryzen AI Max PRO 495 AI Mini Workstation at IFA 202...

04/09/2026

Krotos Brings Video to Sound Footsteps Directly into Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve

Krotos Brings Video to Sound Footsteps Directly into Premiere Pro and DaVinci Re...

04/09/2026

RED DIGITAL CINEMA Comes Out Swinging at IBC 2026 with Next-Generation Live Broadcast Technology

RED DIGITAL CINEMA Comes Out Swinging at IBC 2026 with Next-Generation Live Broa...

04/09/2026

Orty v2.0-web - the cold-outreach assistant moves to the web

Orty v2.0-web - the cold-outreach assistant moves to the web Brie Clayton September 4, 2026 0 Comments Orty today announced v2.0-web of its AI cold-ou...

04/09/2026

Lightware expands LARA capabilities with new GUDE driver

Lightware is expanding its LARA (Lightware Advanced Room Automation) platform with the GUDE Power Distribution Units (PDU) driver module. GUDE devices can now b...

04/09/2026

People Behind the Technology - How Lightware Invests in W...

Lightware shares the second release in its ESG communications series. Following the first piece, which focused on the companys environmental performance, this r...

04/09/2026

Big Blue Marble delivers record 10 Tbps for European publ...

Big Blue Marble supported a leading European public service broadcaster in delivering the Soccer World Cup 2026 streams, supplying more than 10 Tbps of bandwidt...

04/09/2026

Hitomi MatchBox Glass is honoured with Emmy Award

Outstanding achievement in engineering, science and technology Hitomi Broadcast has been recognised with an Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy from the Ac...

04/09/2026

California, Hollywood at a Crossroads

California, Hollywood at a Crossroads Andy Marken September 3, 2026 0 Comments I'm doing everything alone. Crossing roads alone. Seeing the Eiffe...

04/09/2026

Berklee Announces Winners of 2026 SongwritersdB Songwriting Contest

Berklee Announces Winners of 2026 SongwritersdB Songwriting Contest Students Luca Alexandru, Annika Wild, and Johanna James received the top prizes for origin...

04/09/2026

EVS, Matrox Partner on EBUs Dynamic Media Facility Initiative

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/09/2026

TAG Video Systems Unveils TAG Blue

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/09/2026

Orlando Magic and Gray Media Ink Full Season Broadcast Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

04/09/2026

RT ANNOUNCE NEW DRAMA THE MURDER OF MR. MOONLIGHT BASED ON THE DISAPPEARANCE AND MURDER OF BOBBY RYAN

RT ANNOUNCE NEW DRAMA THE MURDER OF MR. MOONLIGHT BASED ON THE DISAPPEARANCE...

03/09/2026

Yospace releases new Ad Presentation solution, unlocking revenue opportunities with non-linear ad formats

Yospace will be at IBC from 11th - 14th September (booth 5.C78). For more inform...

03/09/2026

Creative Technology Group Announces Leadership Transition Effective January 2027

NEP Group has announced leadership changes at Creative Technology Group. Founder and CEO Graham Andrews will step away from day-to-day leadership at the end of ...

03/09/2026

NFL and TikTok Renew Multi-Year Partnership

The NFL and TikTok have announced a multi-year partnership renewal expanding the league's presence on the platform. NFL posts on TikTok increased more than ...

03/09/2026

Grass Valley Appoints Ronny Van Geel as Vice President, Cameras

Grass Valley has appointed Ronny Van Geel as Vice President, Cameras. Van Geel began his career in 1999 at Philips DVS and moved into product management in 2005...

03/09/2026

IBC 2026: Telestream to Preview Vantage Super Resolution

Telestream has announced Vantage Super Resolution, an AI-powered upscaling capability for the Vantage media workflow platform, developed in collaboration with N...

03/09/2026

IBC 2026: Solid State Logic TCA Tour

Solid State Logic (SSL) will debut the TCA Tour at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Stand 8.B45), a portable production system built from System T components in a desktop frame...

03/09/2026

IBC 2026: DPA Microphones Launches 6388 CORE+ Headset Microphone

DPA Microphones has announced the 6388 CORE Headset Microphone, making its debut at IBC2026 (Hall 8, Stand D60). The supercardioid headset features a physicall...

03/09/2026

IBC 2026: Qvest to Demonstrate Multi-Vendor Dynamic Media Facility Showcase

Qvest will present a multi-vendor Dynamic Media Facility (DMF) showcase at IBC2026 (Booth 10.C24), demonstrating how the EBU's DMF architecture can be imple...

03/09/2026

IBC 2026: Imagine Communications Debuts Magellan PanelFlex

Imagine Communications will showcase the Magellan PanelFlex control surface and other control portfolio updates at IBC2026 (Stand 1.B73, RAI Amsterdam, Septembe...

03/09/2026

IBC 2026: Bridge Technologies Launches Software-Based VB440 Deployment Option

Bridge Technologies will announce at IBC2026 (Booth 1.A71) that its VB440 production probe is now available as a software-based solution, deployable on commerci...

03/09/2026

Audio-Technica Launches BP350ST Mid-Side Stereo Microphone in Two Variants

Audio-Technica has unveiled the BP350ST MS (mid-side) microphone in two versions: the camera-mount BP350ST-UL and the boundary or gooseneck-mountable BP350ST-UB...

03/09/2026

IBC 2026: Jnger Audio flexAI Adds CastCompanion, 12G-SDI, NDI, and TVU MediaMesh Integration

Telos Alliance will introduce updates to the J nger Audio flexAI audio processin...

03/09/2026

DUNKMAN to Expand in 2027 with Team Competitions, Junior Division, and Global Qualifiers

DUNKMAN, the professional dunk league founded by Shaquille O'Neal in partner...

03/09/2026

Orlando Magic Tap DAZN as DTC Streaming Partner, Will Join OTA Distribution Plans for 2026-27 Season

Orlando's WRDQ TV 27, WFTV Channel 9 previously named over-the-air broadcast...

03/09/2026

EverPass Media Expands NFL Agreement with Netflix for Commercial Venues

EverPass Media has announced a multi-year commercial distribution agreement with Netflix, expanding on an existing partnership that has delivered NFL Christmas ...

03/09/2026

Yahoo Sports and Apple TV Partner on MLB and MLS Alternate Broadcasts

Yahoo Sports and Apple TV have announced a partnership to deliver alternate broadcasts of select Friday Night Baseball and MLS games on the Yahoo Sports website...

03/09/2026

BIG EAST's Scott Hecht on the Evolution of Campus Production and What Comes Next

With another academic year underway, college athletic departments across the cou...

03/09/2026

ESPN Debuts Revamped, Cutting-Edge Studio W in Bristol as New Home to NFL Live, College Football, and More

Facility becomes permanent home of NFL Live on Sept. 9; centerpiece studio for c...

03/09/2026

Anthony Marinelli launches Bass DNA course

Create musical synth bass sounds from scratch Anthony Marinelli Music have recently announced the launch of Bass DNA, a new online course that teaches music...

03/09/2026

IK Multimedia unveil the Tonex Board

Most powerful Tonex hardware to date IK Multimedia's latest release introduces their most advanced Tonex hardware unit to date, combining their AI Machi...

03/09/2026

Penteo Audio Plugins announce Penteo 8

Upmix & downmix software upgraded Penteo Audio Plugins have announced that the latest version of their powerful upmix and downmix software is now available....

03/09/2026

Young talents begin their training at SGL Carbon in Germany

With the start of the new apprenticeship year, young talent has once again begun their professional careers at SGL Carbon's sites in Germany. Recently, the ...

03/09/2026

Calrec advances EBU's Dynamic Media Facility vision at IBC 2026

With the industry increasingly embracing hybrid, software-defined production models, Calrec will preview a series of Argo and ImPulseV software enhancements at ...

03/09/2026

NAB Backs Most Proposed EAS Changes at FCC

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/09/2026

TiVo Expands FAST Channels, AI Discovery with Latest OS Update

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/09/2026

Eluvio Advances Content Fabric, AI at IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/09/2026

Haivision Adds Bonded 5G Cellular Support to Makito ONE

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/09/2026

Alex Pannell Joins Gravity Media as Chief Business Officer

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/09/2026

AI-Media To Feature Multilingual AI Developments At IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/09/2026

Tuxera and ATTO collaborate to deliver blistering macOS n...

Recognizing the ever-increasing demands for media throughput in challenging environments like post-production, two leaders in network technology have worked tog...

03/09/2026

EVS and Matrox Video Join Forces to Accelerate Dynamic Me...

EVS, a leader in live video technology and production infrastructure solutions, and Matrox Video, a leader in software-defined media technology and IP-based vid...