HOW TO BECOME A GREAT VFX COMPOSITOR

2D Compositing VFX, Cinematography, Filmmaking, Lighting, Nuke, Painting, Study Tips, tutorial, VFX, VFX Compositing Leave a comment

Michelangelo Caravaggio, The Calling of Saint Matthew (1599–1600). Photo: Public Domain

Learning the software is just a small part of your journey to becoming a great VFX Compositor. Developing your eye for detail and photorealism is even more important. The best way to do that is to leave the computer behind, get up and go out.

  1. Walk around town and observe everything around you. Take a tube to the different part of town and stroll around looking at the architecture, the way the light hits the buildings and objects. Look at the way shadows fall and overlap. Look at the people, the way they move, mingle, interact and dress.
  2. Get inspired. Go to Piccadilly, enter bookshops, Waterstones or Hatchards and browse through art books. Make notes of artists that stir or intrigue you so you can research them further at home. Are they still alive and exhibiting in town soon? Is their art displayed in one of the London museums or galleries? Seeing their art for real will enable you to examine and experience the work more deeply.
  3. Visit museums and galleries and look at the art created through history. In London we are very lucky as there are tonnes of museums and galleries with free entry. Map of London galleries. Examine classical artists use of light in their art.
  4. Take photographs and learn about what makes a good composition. You don’t even need to own a camera. You can just use your phone. Check out Iphone photography tips.
  5. Join life drawing classes. There are many benefits to life drawing. It makes you stop and observe. It improves your drawing skills so you can present your ideas better. It let’s you meet people like you who love art. You can just Google free drawing classes near you or just get out of your comfort zone and draw at The National Gallery

An then you can go home and check out the new Youtube channel Mastering Cinema by Rodrigo de Deus to learn about visual storytelling, cinematography, lighting and composition, through his Gladiator II breakdown. Keep watching and learning from the best artists in the industry talking about their art on Befores and Afters. And watch a lot of films!!!

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