The Digital Matte Painting Handbook
Who Should Read This Book
How to Contact the Author
Chapter 1: What Is a Matte Painting?
A Brief History of Matte Painting
Chapter 2: Photoshop Workspace, Tools, and Custom Brushes
Setting Up Your Workspace
Working with Image-Based Brushes
Chapter 3: Composition and Concept
Creating a Castle on a Hill
Creating a Concept Sketch
Assignment: Create Your Own Castle Concepts
Chapter 4: Perspective Basics
A Brief History of Linear Perspective
The Three Types of Perspective
Chapter 5: Perspective Drawing
Setting Up Your Vanishing Points
Adding Detail to the Castle
Finding the Light and Dark Sides
Assignment: Tone Your Castle Drawing
Chapter 7: Texturing and Color Correction
Levels and Curves in Color Correction
Working with Reference Photos
Assignment: Texture and Finish Your Castle
Chapter 8: Preparing Your Photoshop File for Camera Projection in Maya
What is Camera Projection?
Getting Started in Camera Projection
Setting Up for Camera Projection
Positioning the Camera Using the Reference Grid
Assignment: Prepare Your Castle for Camera Projection, and Set Up the Maya File.
Chapter 9: Building Geometry for Camera Projection in Maya
Lining Up the Reference Box
Sculpting the Foreground Hill
Adding the Remaining Geometry
Assignment: Build Geometry for Your Castle
Chapter 10: Projecting Textures in Maya
Adding Materials to Geometry
Adding the Animated Camera
Assignment: Assign Textures and Create an Animation Using Your Own Castle
Chapter 11: Lighting Techniques
Preparing the Daytime Plate
Preparing the Nighttime Plate
Assignment: Take Your Own Plate From Day to Night
Chapter 12: Changing Seasons
Assignment: Take Your Own Photo From Summer to Winter
Chapter 13: Getting Started in After Effects
Preparing a Painting for After Effects
Getting Into After Effects
Setting the Duration of the Animation
Precomposing the Summer Version
Cross-Dissolving to the Winter Version
Dissolving to the Winter Dusk
Assignment: Create an Animation Changing Summer To Winter Using Your Own Painting
Chapter 14: Working over a Moving Plate
Compositing the Painting over a Moving Plate
Positioning Layers in 3D Space
Parenting Layers Together
Adding Moving Spotlights to a Building
Preparing the Project for Animation
Assignment: Create Your Own City
Chapter 15: Using After Effects' True 3D Space.
Importing the Painting into After Effects
Adding a Camera to the Comp
Turning Off Collapse Transformations
Setting Up a Ground Plane Using a Solid
Projecting a Texture onto the Ground Plane
Positioning the Other Layers
Extracting Figures from Green Screen
Adding the Keyed Figures to the Scene
Assignment: Create Your Own Vision of Hades
Appendix: About the Companion DVD
What You'll Find on the DVD
