Tutorials

New Nuke teaching Wiki

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 04:50:16 +0100

Dear all,

Here is a Wiki I have written for my compositing students here in Sonagpore's Nanyang Technological University. It is not as advanced as these esteemed pages, being more intended for young students with very little experaince, but usefull to some here perhaps. Feedback welcome.

http://opticalenquiry.com/nuke/

The lens distortion model in the Card node explained

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 23:30:12 +0100

(The following information comes courtesy of one of the research engineers at the Foundry).

The Card node implements the PtGUI lens model.

The formula used by the Card node is:

r_src = a*r^4 + b*r^3 + c*r^2 + (1-a-b-c)*r
* r_src is the radius between the source pixel and the center of the image
* and r is the output radius from the center of the image
* where the radius is scaled so that width/2 is 1
(unless you toggle "lock to vertical" where height/2 is 1)

So the parameters should map *unle...

Create Deep Images for Nuke in Maya/Prman

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 01:25:06 +0100

Create Deep Images for Nuke in Maya/Prman

Nuke's deep implementation can currently only uses .dtex files rendered out of Prman 15.2 or newer. In this example I will show you how to generate them out of Maya & Renderman Studio.

Here is my scene full of 3d geometry Spheres

Render Settings

1. Goto your "Render Settings" in Maya
2. Change the "Render Using " option to "RenderMan"
3. Change the "Image Format" to "EXR" (not required but a good idea when working with Nuke)

A...

Animating a sky in Nuke based on luminance

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:44:20 +0100

This is a little trick which I’ve been using for a few years. The aim is to quickly add a sense of depth and motion to a sky matte-painting or photograph. When I first developed this technique I was using 3d Studio Max and its volume select modifier, for this example I’ll be using geo displacement in Nuke.

This is an example using this technique with some extra lighting effects added

http://vimeo.com/33310960

Step 1: Choose the sky plate. This technique works best on a cloudy sk...

Rescuing Broken Nuke Scripts

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 10:21:26 +0100

Especially when using the Roto/Paint nodes it sometimes happens that scripts get broken. You then get messages like: "Missing close brace" or "Variable XY not defined" when opening files. There are some general things you can do about this:

* Save lots of versions

* use my autosave backup script

* use a version tracking software like Subversion, Mercurial or GIT and commit often

What you will always need for a rescue trip is a good text editor with TCL support, because .nk is essentially TCL....

Measuring Plugin Speed

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 10:00:47 +0100

This was recently discussed on the nuke-dev mailing list and some approaches were new to me, so I thought I would add all answers here:

* Use the -P switch to pute nuke into performance mode

* Have a test .nk (e.g Read->MyNode->Write) and compare times how long it takes to render on the command line with "nuke -x"

* set the number of threads to 1 (nuke.env['threads']=1 or -m switch) and put print statements in the engine function, with timing info (e.g time elapsed from start of method to ...

Setting up Prman for Nuke 6.2 launched from the shell in OSX/Linux

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:21:55 +0100

Lots of people are having issues getting Prman working with Nuke 6.2. So this is a basic tutorial on setting up the proper environment variables you need for launching Nuke from the shell under osx & linux.

Bash Shell setup

In a text editor create the file ".bash_profile" in your $HOME directory (/Users/yourUserName under osx or /home/yourUserName under linux)

1. Add the following to your bash_profile:

Osx:
export RMANTREE=/Applications/Pixar/RenderMan.app/Versions/Render...

Setting up Prman for Nuke 6.2 launched from the gui in OSX

Fri, 31 Dec 2010 11:47:08 +0100

Some people are having issues getting Prman working with Nuke 6.2. So this is a basic tutorial on setting up the proper environment variables you need. This only works when Nuke is launced from the gui under osx. I have a separate tutorial for getting it to work when you launch Nuke from the shell.

1. Download the system preference pane called RCEnvironment and install it.

This prefpane is for creating an environment.plist file which osx needs for setting environment v...

How to build an automatic Write node

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 02:39:20 +0100

How to build an Automatic Write node.

Generally, most of the information needed for the output of a Nuke script is contained in it's name. We can reduce manual name-changing on behalf of comp artists and simultaneously increase consistency by creating a Write node that creates (and updates) it's own output path by parsing the script's name. I call a Write node that's customized in this way an AutoWrite node. We're only adding a little functionality to a Write node, so instead of wrapping it in a...

Launching Nuke from the command line

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 21:40:37 +0100

I decided to write this simple and quick tutorial on how to Launch NukeX from the terminal since it took me a while to figure it out. I am not very good with command-lines which is why it took my some time to figure this out. hopefully this will save you a lot of time.

Open terminal and type: sudo nano /etc/profile

(Might ask for a password)

After you type the above, a new screen will pop up that looks like this

Under # System-wide... is where I put my alias, Here is what I t...

Render Manager - Deadline

Tue, 05 Oct 2010 15:04:24 +0100

Written by Mike Owen, Senior TD, Burrows Nvisage - www.burrows.info

In this tutorial, I'll show you how to submit Nuke jobs to the Prime Focus (aka Frantic Films VFX) render management software known as "Deadline". I will assume that you already have a running PF Deadline installation (runs on ALL OS platforms) and that Nuke is already deployed to your pipeline. (If not, see the following links to download Deadline for eval (your first 2 render slave licences are FREE! and the numbe...

Using the nuke.math Python module to do Vector and Matrix operations

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 11:00:26 +0100

Nuke has its own python math module (nuke.math) that provides support for Matrix, Vector, and Quaternion classes, and useful functions to operate with them.  If you need to do any maths involving vector operations in Nuke (like adding or substracting vectors, transforming vectors with transformation matrices, calculating vector reflections, inverse-projecting a 3d vector into 2d screen coordinates, etc), then the nuke.math module can be of great help.

Unfortunately, at this time there is no ...

Shake to Nuke, a transition guide - Part IV: Operators (nodes)

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:22:12 +0100

4. OPERATORS (nodes)

In this last part of the Shake to Nuke transition, I'll go through the different categories of nodes in Nuke, and outline some of the biggest differences you may find coming from Shake.

For a full description of the available operators/nodes available in Nuke, the user manual is the best reference available. If you come from Shake, there's a useful table of equivalences between Shake and Nuke operators in Appendix C of the user manual (p. 1101). You can always check ...

Shake to Nuke, a transition guide - Part III: Data Flow

Sun, 22 Aug 2010 04:28:02 +0100

3. Data flow

Visual indicators:

Both Shake and Nuke are node-based compositing packages, so if you're used to working with Shake, you won't have too much trouble building and interpreting a script in Nuke. However, Nuke does provide a few more visual cues than Shake as to what's happening on each node. Here's a sample of the different node indicators you may find in Nuke:

Layers/Channels:

Apart from learning to read the node indicators, a key factor to understanding Nuk...

Shake to Nuke, a transition guide - Part II: Color Management

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:51:29 +0100

2. Color management in Nuke

In compositing, we often need to combine multiple elements from different sources (film scans, digital photographs, CG renders, digital video…). It is likely that we'll need to use materials that are encoded in different colorspaces, so it is vital that we have the means to bring them all into the same colorspace so we know our color correction tools, filters, etc will behave consistently with all of them.

Shake is colorspace agnostic, and leaves it up t...

Shake to Nuke node guide

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:17:29 +0100

This is a reference guide that I wrote in late 2007, and then posted on VFXTalk in about November of that year. As such, it's more based around Nuke 4.8, and I'm sure there's a good amount that probably should be updated.

It is all, obviously, only my opinion, and it was also written by me at a time when I had very little Nuke experience...

For now, though, I just wanted to put it up on here as-is, and then I'll go through updating it as things crop up.

Any Nuke node that begins with "N_" is p...

Creating a 3D image plane

Tue, 17 Aug 2010 23:24:36 +0100

Many people wonder how to line up a 3D Card in away that it fits the render camera's frustum perfectly and thus it's texture is unaltered in the render. In other words: How to create an image plane in Nuke?

First make sure that the texture you will be using on the card has the same exact aspect (width / height) as the render camera's film back (haperture / vaperture). This is important because by default the card will adjust itself to the incoming texture's aspect in order to distort it. A...

Understanding UVMaps - Warping with STMap - Pt. 2

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:06:29 +0100

Following the first tutorial for STMaps this second tutorial should give you some idea what else appart from recreating precise lens distortion warps you can do in Nuke using the same set of tools.

Assuming you have a 3D scene set up, doesn't matter if it's a Nuke 3D scene or a scene in Maya or Max, it can be a very time consuming task to fix renderings, to apply selective color corrections to a shot with moving camera or to switch a texture on an object. In any case - there is never a way aroun...

Shake to Nuke, a transition guide - Part I: The Interface

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 08:35:36 +0100

Changing a piece of software you work with on a daily basis can be a frustrating experience at first. If you come from a Shake background and have decided it's time to dive into Nuke, here's a small guide that will hopefully help you quickly get past some of the differences between the two softwares, and start benefiting from the multiple advantages Nuke has over Shake.

Please note thet this guide is just a compilation of information I consider useful for people who are making the sw...

Additive Keyer

Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:58:25 +0100

Intro

This is not a keyer, as it does not create a matte that is of use. It is more of a 'relative mixer' or image blending tool. It is very good for separating translucent fine details (such as motion blur, dust or hair) that a keyers with mattes might have difficulties extracting.
To get it to work requires a lot of prep work on the screen and reference to work with uneven screens.
It is used in combination with normal keyer that provides the main core of the comp and the additive ke...

RenderManager - Qube!

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:40:13 +0100

In this short tutorial, I'll show you how to talk to the Qube! API within the Nuke interface for job submission. I will assume that you already have a running Qube! installation and that it is already capable of rendering Nuke jobs.

First, download the qubeSubmitter.py file from Nukepedia

1) Talking to the API

First, you need to tell nuke where to look for the API. It should be installed in your Qube installation folder. For exemple, under OSX, it is located under "/Applications/pfx/qube/a...

Understanding UVMaps - Warping with STMap - Pt. 1

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 18:22:58 +0100

Here at RISE we started using UVMaps to apply camera lens distortion to matte paintings, cg renders and all sorts of footage when there was no (or at least no cheap) way to get the lens distortion value from your favourite 3D tracking application into Nuke. In this first example I'm going to show how to do this - although now there are plenty of ways to get i.e. Syntheyes' or PFtrack's lens distortion values into Nuke - or to use the Nuke tracker right away for undistorting and redistorting.

Usu...

Developing Nuke Plugins on Windows

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 10:54:51 +0100

Now that the Nuke distributions come with a standard Visual Studio solution to be used as a template for your own Plugins, it has become quite easy to set up your dev environment.

1) Prequisites

You need a copy of Nuke version 6+ (no PLE) and a copy of Visual Studio 2005 (you can possibly use the 2008 version, but that is not officially supported). Express versions will work, but you cannot build x64 plugins.

2) Using the sample project

Navigate to your NDK development directory (C:\Program F...

Render Manager - Alfred

Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:52:21 +0100

INTRO

You’ll find in this article the general method we have been using at Mikros Image to tie Alfred (1) with Nuke (2).

ALFRED

Let’s start by the end.... To work, eg launch Nuke render jobs, Alfred needs to deal with some particular TCL script (alfredscript) describing a subset of commands with reserved and specific keywords. This script is ran by Alfred and the different commands are sent to different render boxes.

We are using python commands in the alfredscript. These python commands are ...

RenderManager - RenderPal

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 09:32:06 +0100

Setting up RenderPal to work with Nuke to build your farm without much trouble.

RenderManager - BackBurner

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 09:54:55 +0100

Use Backburner to render your Nuke scripts with nuke2backburner.

10 tips to optimising Nuke and creating efficient workflows

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 02:55:39 +0100

Speed matters, 10 tips to make your scripts fly.

Understanding Nuke's unique Layer and Channel system (including the Shuffle Nodes)

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 16:01:22 +0100

Understanding Nuke's layers and channels.

Camera Trigonometry

Thu, 17 Jun 2010 04:59:01 +0100

Ever wondered about camera trigonometry?

Working with Pipe Numbers

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:26:08 +0100

Understand pipe numbers and their order when creating groups and custom tools.

Noise Curve

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 12:15:24 +0100

Learn how to randomize your curves using expressions controlled by knobs

Using Eclipse with Nuke

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:09:31 +0100

Setting up the Eclipse editor to work as your NUKE IDE