Tornado

Here is an effect shot I finished recently.

My goal was creating a still image to be used in promotion material for CG Protege, the animation school I am currently working for as VFX instructor. In my mind, the still image needs to achieve 2 things:

• Just with one look anyone can tell that it is an effect shot, not a regular photo.
• The image should look good enough to invite interest.

I find the first requirement difficult. I cannot go the route of invisible effect shot: an effect shot in which I composite an object we see daily, say a car, so that viewers cannot tell that it is an effect shot. I thought tornado is a good solution for this requirement. I made it "in your face" even further by adding lightning. The second requirement is somewhat easier. As long as I am careful with quality control, the image should be interesting enough. I hope I achieve these. (Feel free to tell me what you think in the comments.)

Here is the breakdown.

I used 3ds Max and FumeFX to generate the tornado. I used 2 FumeFX simulations: one for the top part of the tornado, another for the funnel shape at the bottom. I rendered the passes using 3ds Max Scanline renderer. I used mental ray renderer only for the lightning glare. Finally, I used Nuke for compositing.