SOFT WARE: BLENDER
Practical tips and tutorials from pro artists to improve your CG skills
Paul Hatton After graduating with a first-class computer science degree, Paul Hatton has spent nearly two decades working within the 3D visualisation industry.
Mike Griggs Mike Griggs is a digital content creator with over two decades of experience creating VFX and CGI for a wide range of clients. www.creativebloke.com
Glen Southern Glen runs SouthernGFX, a small Cheshire-based studio specialising in character and creature design. He is a Wacom ambassador, VR Artist, and accredited ZBrush instructor. youtube.com/c/SouthernGFX/videos
Pietro Chiovaro Pietro is a freelance 3D artist and YouTuber. An expert in the creation of game assets and environments, he shares many of his creations on his channel. www.pietrochiovaro.com
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Paul Hatton replies
Motion blur is a vital part of the cinematic world and a key element of how cameras work in real life. Let’s begin with some camera technology to set us on the right path. Cameras let in light by opening and closing the shutter. The slower this opening and closing is, the more time that objects will be captured by the sensor. This also means that if those objects move within that time, they’ll be captured in multiple locations within the image. It’s this movement that’s imprinted upon the sensor and gives motion blur.
This effect is found most commonly on objects that are moving fast, like car or bike wheels, people running, or objects flying through the air after an explosion. A long history of cinematic motion blur has trained us, as viewers, to expect this phenomenon to be present at times of fast motion. If it’s lacking when it should be there then the shot looks odd. If a car is travelling at high speed down a road and the video you’ve created shows no motion blur on the wheels, the audience will know there’s something up straight away.
Aside from this, motion blur can be used creatively to suggest faster or slower movement within a shot. Shutter speeds and other parameters can be adjusted to fine-tune this effect. Within Blender it’s possible to turn motion blur on and off, and by default it’s set to off. Within the Motion Blur rollout there are then a range of settings, including the shutter options in relation to th
