Compositing Essentials with Nuke

Name: Compositing Essentials with Nuke
Rating: 4.0 (29 reviews)

Journey to the World of Compositing

Created bySupratim Mukherjee

Last updated 5/2023

English

English [Auto],

What you'll learn

Understand the basic principles of compositing, including working with alpha channels, color correction and grading, and keying and chroma keying.
Develop proficiency in Nuke's node-based workflow, including the ability to create, connect, and manipulate nodes to achieve specific compositing goals.
Gain a comprehensive understanding of Nuke's advanced compositing nodes and workflows, such as keying and 3D compositing,.
Learn how to troubleshoot common issues that can arise during the compositing process, optimize compositing workflows to increase efficiency.
Apply the knowledge and skills learned in the course to a final project, receiving feedback and critiques on the final project, and gaining confidence.

Course content

7 sections • 113 lectures • 31h 14m total length

Reading material for What is compositing0:53
Reading material for History of compositing6:52
Reading material for Application of Compositing in industry8:35
Reading material for Role of a compositor in the visual effects industry5:49
Reading material for Modern day developments in VFX compositing12:10
Reading material for Future prospects of VFX compositing8:19

Introduction to Nuke4:15
Introduction to the interface of Nuke Part-115:47
Master the basic Nuke interface for digital compositing, exploring workspaces, panes, the node graph, viewer, and quick node creation with tab in a beginner-friendly introduction.
Introduction to the interface of Nuke Part-229:24
navigate the nuke interface with image, draw, time, channel, color, filters, and 3d toolsets; use read, viewer, and write nodes to import, preview, and render files.
Introduction to the interface of Nuke Part-329:24
Master the node graph in Nuke, connecting color correction nodes to adjust saturation, contrast, gain, and gamma. Learn to compare outputs with split viewers, wipes, and deactivation shortcuts.
Introduction to the interface of Nuke Part-4 (Transform Node)30:12
Discover the Nuke interface with curve editor, dope sheet, reformat and transform nodes to animate a bouncing ball using keyframes, motion blur, and 1080p project settings.
Introduction to the interface of Nuke Part-5 (Merge Node with Transform Node)21:36
Master composing two layers in nuke with merge and transform nodes, set up 720p, animate rotation, apply motion blur, and create a shadow using a gray node and backdrops.
Introduction to the interface of Nuke Part-6 (Viewer Display)15:15
Explore the viewer display in Nuke, including proxy mode, down res previews, pause, region of interest, and clip warning, then compare gamma, exposure, color space, and channel views.
Introduction to the interface of Nuke Part-7 (Timeline, Project Settings & Pref)31:50
Master the Nuke timeline and playback, adjust project settings and preferences, and learn about in/out points, endpoints, looping, and frame range management for precise previews.
Introduction to the interface of Nuke Part-8 (Working with different nodes)17:30
Discover how to use constant, checkerboard, color bars, and color wheel nodes in Nuke, adjust attributes, colors, and channels, and animate with keyframes across frames for glow elements.
Reading material for introduction to Nuke interface11:42
Reading material for Transform nod in Nuke15:33
Reading material on merge node and transform node16:55
Reading material on Nuke Viewer Display12:20
Reading material on interface of Nuke Part-7 (Timeline, Project Settings & Pref)52:58

Introduction to color correction nodes2:39
Explore color correction in nuke with color, grade, and hue nodes to adjust shadows, midtones, and highlights, using the toolbar and graphs for precise color changes.
Use of color correction nodes (Color Corrector node)10:47
Explore how to use the color correction node in Nuke, adjusting saturation, contrast, gamma, gain, and offset. Learn masking with roto and regression nodes to apply corrections to selected areas.
Use of color correction nodes (Grade node & Hue Correct node)28:11
Explore color correction in nuke using grade and hue correct nodes, a ramp with a grid node, and masks to adjust black/white points, lift, gamma, gain, and region-specific color tones.
Use of color correction nodes (Use of scops)26:11
Explore how to use color correction scopes in Nuke, including histogram, RGB parade, and vectorscope, to balance red, green, and blue, adjust saturation, and apply hue shift.
Color correcting raw footage16:02
Color correct camera raw footage by adjusting black and white points, exposure, and saturation using raw data, grade nodes, and scopes, illustrated with a 200-frame stock clip.
Matching colors of FG & BG25:19
Match foreground to background colors by correcting pre-multiplied edges, adjusting alpha, black and white points, shadows, lights, saturation, and applying defocus, light wrap, background blur, grain, and green color regression.
Reading material Introduction to color correction nodes10:49
Reading material Introduction to Color Corrector node6:32
Reading material Introduction to Grade node and Hue Correct node18:36
Reading material Use of color correction nodes (Use of scops)24:49
Reading material color correction7:07
Reading material color grading46:39
Reading material color correction of raw footage8:12
Reading material how to color correct raw footage in Nuke13:56
Reading material different aspects of color correction28:15
Reading material working with different color spaces20:06
Reading material describing psychology of color10:41
Reading material importance of color wheel in color correction10:18
Reading material How psychology of color create impact in color grading12:40
Reading material Color matching of foreground and background footages13:18
Reading material How color grading impact on the mood of a scene in a film6:15
Reading material Technical aspects of color correction and color grading10:59

Introduction to keying tools5:13
Explore chroma removal through keying tools in nuke, from luminance keyer to key light, primatte, ultimate, and ibk color and ibk gismo, with hair preservation and sky replacement techniques.
Using Primatte Keyer20:16
Master chroma keying with Primatte in Nuke by using auto compute, degrade, clean noise, spill suppression, and edge refinements for a fast procedural final studio based keying workflow.
Using Keylight30:11
Master keylight in nuke, create a garbage matte with roto, and invert alpha. Refine edges with hard matte and soft matte, and use hue correct spill suppression.
Using IBK Keyer25:19
Explore image-based keying with the ibk keyer, merging color and gizmo to create a clean green screen plate with accurate alpha and refined edges.
Using Ultimatte Keyer11:54
Learn to use the Ultimatte keyer to create a garbage matte, refine the edges with edge kernel and cleanup, and adjust gamma, density, and spill suppression for clean green-screen removal.
Use of Keyer Node15:12
Use the luma keyer to replace an overexposed sky by adjusting luminance thresholds and alpha. Crop and reformat to fit project, then apply a corner pin for perspective before merging.
Advanced Keying Part-114:48
Learn advanced keying in Nuke by locking the red channel, extracting it with a shuffle, and building a dispel with Keylight; refine with green channel tweaks and roto masks.
Advanced Keying Part-235:11
Master advanced keying in Nuke by building hard and soft mats, creating roto masks for hair, extracting alpha, and blending with a clean plate using color channels.
Reading material Chroma keying in compositing17:53
Reading material Process of chroma shoot12:33
Reading material How to test that chroma shot is ok or not?10:49
Reading material History of chroma keying20:53
Reading material Evolution of chroma keying over the years till modern age.6:32
Reading material Introduction to keying tools in Nuke7:04
Reading material Keyer node in Nuke11:09
Reading material Primatte node in Nuke11:45
Reading material Keylight node in Nuke7:49
Reading material Using IBK Keyer2:31
Reading material Using Ultimatte Keyer4:10
Reading material Advanced Keying procedure13:22
Reading material Shadow preservation process from green screen footage12:55
Reading material Hair preservation process from green screen footage12:27
Reading material Use of hard matte and soft matte in keying15:29
Reading material Use of spill suppression13:20
Reading material Using HueCorrect node to perform spill suppression4:54
Reading material Importance of grain management during chroma removal process6:36

Introduction to 3D in Nuke Part-120:11
Explore the 3D interface in Nuke by building Earth, Mars, and Jupiter, texturing spheres, lighting the scene, animating rotation, and setting up a camera and a C node for rendering.
Introduction to 3D in Nuke Part-227:56
Master 3d camera animation in Nuke by keyframing translate and rotation, then set up point, directional, and spotlight lights with falloff to reveal planets with depth.
3D Matte Painting Part-130:45
Learn to create a 3d matte painting in Nuke by extracting PSD Photoshop layers with shuffle nodes, arranging depth on cards, and building a parallax scene with a camera.
3D Matte Painting Part-235:11
Compositing Essentials with Nuke Part 2 teaches building a 3d matte painting with camera animation, parallax, lighting, volume rays, defocus, and depth of field to craft a cinematic scene.
Using Camera Projection31:21
Learn camera projection in Nuke by projecting images onto card geometry to create parallax, using merge geo. Animate lighting with grade, luminance maps, and looping curves to simulate flicker.
Reading material Introduction to 3D interface of Nuke20:43
Reading material 3D matte painting in Nuke21:21
Reading material Camera projection in Nuke20:47

4 Point Tracking20:42
Learn 2D four-point tracking in Nuke to replace a screen with corner pin, including tracker setup, reformatting, and color correction for realism.
Planar Tracker Node7:51
Use the planar tracker in Nuke to track a roto shape, align a planar surface and grid, and export a corner pin for screen replacement.
Introduction to 3D camera tracking Part-140:13
learn to create a 3d scene from 2d footage in nuke by performing 3d camera tracking, solving a virtual camera, and integrating geometry with masked tracking.
Introduction to 3D camera tracking Part-222:04
Track footage with a camera tracker, solve the shot in 3D, refine errors, and export a camera or 3D point cloud; align the ground plane for accurate scene geometry.
Introduction to 3D camera tracking Part-317:47
Attach geometry to 3D camera tracks in Nuke, align to the ground plane, and use transform geometry or model builder to place textured cubes, cylinders, and cards on track points.
Lens Distortion Correction16:35
Learn how to correct lens distortion in Nuke using the lens distortion node, analyze sequences or draw lines for precise undistortion, and prepare overscan footage for 3D integration.
Use of Write Geo Node13:24
Learn to create and place geometries in nuke, then export the 3d scene with the write geo node to abc or eb formats for use in Maya.
Use of Write Node to Render Sequence15:16
Render a two-dimensional image sequence from a 3D composite using the write node in Nuke, choosing PNG or EXR formats, and set a global frame range for sequence export.
Reading material Camera Tracking in Nuke20:00
Reading material Use of camera tracker node and camera tracking process in Nuke21:52
Reading material Lens distortion and how to undistort a footage in Nuke15:20
Reading material Use of WriteGeo node and the process of exporting 3D scene data5:17
Reading material 2D Tracking21:36
Reading material 1 Point Tracking10:49
Reading material 2 Point Tracking8:29
Reading material 4 Point Tracking10:59
Reading material Nuke Tracker Node2:29
Reading material Planar Tracking7:42
Reading material Planar Tracker Node in Nuke3:46

Reading material Render passes and its uses16:58
Reading material Introduction to Arnold AOV's15:11
Reading material Importance of using Arnold AOV's for compositing14:40
Reading material Introduction to open EXR format15:39
Reading material Introduction to multipass compositing in Nuke16:02
Reading material Introduction to Copy node, Shuffle node and ChannelMerge node14:28
Reading material Introduction to Alpha Channel and how it impacts compositing7:16
Reading material Difference between layer and channels8:07
Reading material Introduction to Live-CG integration in visual effects23:10
Reading material Compositing technique of Live-CG integration in Nuke8:16
Reading material Compositing techniques of different AOV's in Nuke9:21
Reading material Advance compositing technique of some additional AOV's5:24
Reading material Live-CG compositing example (Compositing a CG in live plate5:55
Workflow of Live-CG Integration20:13
Learn the workflow of live-CG integration with multi-layer EXR to place a Maya car into a background, matching lighting and shadows, using Nuke.
Introduction to AOV's40:26
Explore render passes and aovs in Maya Arnold, including alpha, id, crypto asset, normal, occlusion, diffuse, specular, transmission, shadow, and z-depth for flexible Nuke compositing.
Adding Passes to the Compositing Workflow by using Shuffle Node31:00
Assemble shadow, diffuse albedo, and occlusion passes using shuffle nodes, then combine six light passes with plus merges in a slap comp, guided by blending modes and alpha masking.
Fine Tuning all the Passes with Color Correction and Color Correction Mattes40:07
Explore fine tuning all passes in nuke, adjusting diffuse direct/indirect, specular, shadow and transmission, using color correction mattes, crypto material tricks, masks, and grain and wrap to match live action.
Creating Final Output with Fine Tuning and Detailing36:08
Learn to refine a CG car composited in live action with Nuke by applying final color correction, defocus, grain, light wrap, haze, and depth-based adjustments to achieve seamless integration.

Requirements

To successfully complete a course on compositing essentials with Nuke, there are several prerequisites that may be helpful: Basic understanding of computer systems: Students should have a basic understanding of computer systems, including file management and navigation, installing and using software, and working with different file formats. Basic understanding of digital media: Students should have a basic understanding of digital media, including image and video formats, resolution, color spaces, and codecs. Familiarity with image editing software: Students should be familiar with image editing software such as Adobe Photoshop or GIMP, as these programs share many features and workflows with Nuke. Basic understanding of compositing principles: Students should have a basic understanding of compositing principles, including working with alpha channels, color correction and grading, and keying and chroma keying. Knowledge of basic mathematics: While not strictly necessary, a basic understanding of mathematics (such as algebra and geometry) can be helpful in understanding some of the technical aspects of compositing. These prerequisites may vary depending on the specific course and the level of expertise required, but having a solid foundation in these areas can help students to more easily understand and apply the concepts taught in a compositing essentials course with Nuke.

Description

Welcome to "Compositing Essentials with Nuke," an immersive course designed to equip you with the fundamental skills and knowledge required to excel in the world of digital compositing using the industry-leading software, Nuke. Whether you are a beginner venturing into the exciting realm of visual effects or an intermediate artist seeking to refine your compositing abilities, this course will provide you with a solid foundation to create stunning, seamless visual compositions.

You will dive deep into the principles and techniques of compositing, focusing specifically on Nuke's robust capabilities. The course will begin with an overview of the compositing process, exploring concepts such as color theory, image manipulation, and visual storytelling. You will gain an understanding of the various elements that make up a composite and how to seamlessly integrate them to achieve realistic and visually compelling results.

As the course progresses, you will learn the intricacies of Nuke's powerful node-based workflow, enabling you to effectively manipulate and control visual elements. You will become familiar with essential tools and techniques, including keying, rotoscoping, tracking, matte creation, and blending modes. Through hands-on exercises and projects, you will apply these techniques to real-world scenarios, enhancing your practical skills and problem-solving abilities.

Furthermore, the course will explore advanced topics such as 3D integration, camera projections, and the use of CGI elements within composites. You will discover how to integrate CG renders seamlessly into live-action footage, adding depth and realism to your compositions. Additionally, you will explore the creative aspects of compositing, including color grading, lighting effects, and stylization, allowing you to add your artistic touch to every project.

By the end of this course, you will have developed a strong foundation in compositing techniques and a comprehensive understanding of Nuke's capabilities. You will possess the skills necessary to tackle complex compositing challenges and create visually stunning compositions. Whether your interests lie in film, television, advertising, or gaming, this course will empower you to unleash your creativity and take your compositing skills to the next level using Nuke. Get ready to embark on an exciting journey into the world of visual effects and bring your imagination to life!

Who this course is for:

Students and professionals

Compositing Essentials with Nuke

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction to compositing6 lectures • 43min

Introduction to Nuke14 lectures • 5hr 5min

Color Correction22 lectures • 5hr 58min

Chroma removal tools and techniques26 lectures • 5hr 50min

3D Compositing in Nuke8 lectures • 3hr 28min

Tracking in Nuke19 lectures • 4hr 42min

Live CG compositing in Nuke18 lectures • 5hr 28min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: