Blog

Short, specific answers to the questions brands, agencies and other artists ask me. Each article covers exactly one question.

• What Is Compositing?

  Compositing is the step where separate image layers are combined into one final image. In VFX and animation those layers are rendered 3D passes, filmed footage, mattes, particles and graphics. The compositor matches colour, light, grain, blur and depth so that all of it looks like it was captured by one camera, then grades the result. It is the last place a shot can still be changed cheaply, because adjusting a layer in comp takes minutes while a re-render can take hours. Below: how compositing works, what layers go into a comp, what you can fix in comp and what needs a re-render, which software is used, and who composited which of my own projects.

  Updated 2026-11-02

• What Is 3D Rendering?

  3D rendering is the process of turning a 3D scene into a 2D image or video frame by calculating how light interacts with the objects, materials and camera in it. The scene holds geometry, materials, lights and a camera. The renderer, a piece of software such as Redshift, Arnold or Cycles, works out what colour every pixel should be and writes the result to a file. Photoreal commercial work uses offline rendering, which is slower and more accurate. Games and live previews use real-time rendering, which is fast and approximate. Below: how rendering works, how it differs from modelling, what files you actually receive, what makes it slow, and what I rendered for my own client work.

  Updated 2026-11-02

• What Is Rotoscoping?

  Rotoscoping means tracing over live-action footage frame by frame. In animation, the traced drawings become the animated character. In visual effects, the traced outline becomes a matte, a cutout that separates a person or object from the background, so you can replace the background, put a 3D element behind the subject, grade only the subject or remove something that crosses it. The name comes from the rotoscope, a device Max Fleischer patented in 1917, and it survived the move to software. Roto is slow because every edge has to be right on every frame, which is why green screens exist. Below: how it works, how it differs from keying and tracking, whether AI can do it, what drives the effort, and a free check for your own footage.

  Updated 2026-10-26

• What Is VFX?

  VFX stands for visual effects. It is work that adds to, removes from or changes a filmed shot so the final image shows something the camera did not capture. Typical jobs are clean-up, set extension, CG objects and simulated fire, water or smoke. VFX is the purpose, CGI is one method, and SFX are effects done physically on set.

  Updated 2026-10-19

• What Is CGI?

  CGI stands for computer generated imagery: any picture or video built by software instead of captured by a camera. A shot is modelled, lit, animated, rendered and composited. It covers a product still, a digital double and a full animated film. Brands use it for products that do not exist yet, shots a camera cannot film, and many versions from one build.

  Updated 2026-10-18

• What Is Computer Animation and How Does It Work?

  Computer animation is any moving image generated by software rather than photographed or drawn on paper. It splits into 2D, where flat artwork is moved and deformed in a plane, and 3D, where objects are built in a virtual space with depth, then lit and filmed with a virtual camera. In practice it is a pipeline: build, look development, animation, simulation, render, composite, grade. Almost every product commercial, title sequence, explainer and game cinematic you see is computer animation, and the technique is chosen by how many versions the film needs and how much has to change after approval.

  Updated 2026-10-26

• 2D vs 3D Animation: Which One Should You Use?

  Use 2D animation when the idea is graphic, when the message is explanation rather than object, and when the film is made once and never varied. Use 3D animation when a physical product has to be seen from every angle, when materials, light or physics carry the message, or when one build has to feed many shots, formats and campaigns. The real difference is not how it looks, it is what a change costs you after approval, and how much of the work survives into the next project.

  Updated 2026-10-19

• What Is Mixed Reality Video Production?

  Mixed reality video production means filmed footage and 3D animation sharing the same frame. The camera move in the footage is solved in 3D, digital elements are placed into that solved space, lit to match the plate, and composited with the same grain, blur and lens character. It is technically the same craft as visual effects; the difference is that mixed reality content usually wants you to notice the collision between real and digital rather than hide it.

  Updated 2026-09-08

• What Drives the Cost of a CGI Commercial?

  The cost of a CGI commercial is driven by how many unique shots there are, how much has to be built from scratch, how much simulation is involved, how many formats you need, and how many approval rounds sit in the schedule. Duration barely matters: a five second shot with a cloth simulation can cost more than a thirty second film assembled from existing assets. This article explains the levers so you can shape a brief that fits a budget, rather than guessing at a number.

  Updated 2026-10-09

• How Are Hyperrealistic CGI Portraits Made?

  A hyperrealistic CGI portrait is built in six stages: sculpting the head, developing the skin shader, grooming hair, simulating fabric and secondary detail, rendering, and compositing. Realism comes from the small imperfections, pores, peach fuzz, asymmetry, subsurface scattering, uneven skin tone, not from resolution. The single biggest jump in believability comes from skin look development, and the second biggest from grooming.

  Updated 2026-09-08

• How Is 3D Animation Used in Music Videos?

  3D animation shows up in music videos in four ways: as a fully animated video, as animated sequences cut into live action, as digital enhancement of shots that were filmed, and as looping visual content for social and live playback. Which one a project needs is usually decided by budget and release date rather than by taste, and the sequences approach is the most common because it puts the spend where the song peaks.

  Updated 2026-09-08

• Houdini vs Blender for Commercial VFX: When Is Each the Right Tool?

  Use Houdini when the work is simulation-heavy, procedural, or likely to change repeatedly after approval, its node-based setups let a late change propagate instead of forcing a rebuild. Use Blender when the project is modelling, look development and straightforward animation on a tight budget, or when the team already knows it. Both render commercial-grade images; the difference is how much a change costs you in week five.

  Updated 2026-09-16