Hello, I'm Ryan Molini
Post-Production Manager | VFX Producer | Production Coordinator
I'm a VFX Production Manager, Producer, 3D Artist, and Art Director with experience in branding, product marketing, logo design, stylized and photorealistic CG modeling, texturing, and rendering. I hold degrees in both Film and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and am currently a M.F.A. candidate in 3D Animation & VFX at the Academy of Art. I thoroughly enjoy understanding how others think and how I can help them out. A few subjects I am passionate about include film, photography, animation, music, and sound design, alongside the many sports that keep me active.
VFX Producer
Omni Loop, 2024 (Feature Film)
2024 SXSW Dramatic Feature entry
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VFX Production Manager
A Desert, 2024 (Feature Film)
2024 Tribeca Film Festival entry
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VFX Producer
HDCC, 2024 (Documentary)
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VFX Producer
Astronomical Units, 2024 (Short Film)
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VFX Production Manager
Coming Home, 2024 (Short Film)
Producer
Finny, 2024 (Upcoming 3D Animated Short)
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VFX Production Manager
Self Sabotage, 2024 (Short Film)
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Producer
Scraps, 2024 (Upcoming 3D Animated Short)
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VFX Production Manager
Angel Hunter, 2024 (Upcoming Short Film)
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VFX Production Manager
Party Animals, 2024 (Short Film)
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VFX Production Manager
Unannounced Title 2024 (Short Film/Feature Treatment)
2024 Reel
What software I use
Adobe Suite
I utilize Adobe Photoshop (texturing), Substance Painter (texturing), After Effects (Compositing), and Audition (Sound Design) to bring together an animated composition to completion.
Maxon ZBrush
ZBrush offers various tools in order to texture and Sculpt3D meshes to higher detail over multiple layers and attributes.
Autodesk Maya
After getting comfortable with Blender, I decided to transition over to Maya, a more industry-standard 3D software that fulfills professional-level animation pipeline qualities. Although Maya is licensed, learning the software has been a very useful tool to have.
Nuke
Nuke allows me to composite animations in an industry-standard way. The handy node editor give plenty of customization when it comes to VFX.
Professional Renders
Client Work and Product Marketing
For this client, I was able to achieve photorealistic renders of their wine bottles. After they had experimented with in-person production including studio rentals and production crew totaling $15,000, virtual production and CGI for the product visuals in their marketing provided a necessary change in workflow. These renders are the results of R&D in glass, caustics, IOR, and material science studies.
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My Work
Concept to Completion
A VFX Breakdown
I conceptualized, modeled, UVed, texture-painted, rendered, and composited this 3D asset from scratch. I value each step in the process and while they are typically delegated to different departments and artists at a large VFX or Animation studio, I though tackling each step on my own would give me a better understanding of how each step can be done in a way to make the entire process smoother.
Photoreal Textures
Painting height, color, roughness in Substance Painter
For this boot, I first started off by painting a brand new boot without any aging or mud on it. I utilized masking fill layers to create height and roughness differentials for the individual seams and torn leather. I wanted to tell a story by aging the boots as they appear to have been used in a muddy landscape, possibly by a cowboy after a rainy day herding their cattle. Storytelling is essential in design and can lead to interesting new concepts and critiques to help evolve the artwork to a new level of depth.
Advanced Modeling
Use of expert techniques to develop
creative models
What I love about this tank is that I used multiple references from Sci-Fi tanks and WWII tanks to create a completely original design. I focused on modeling using NURBS curves and surfaces in order to create complex surfaces converted into polygons. This turntable render is standard amongst animation studios as a way to "show" a model to others. This hard surface model is a premier example of a mesh ready to be passed along the animation pipeline.
-RM
High-Fidelity Displacement Maps
ZBrush sculpt to displacement map
After sculpting the bump and height of the toad, exporting the highest subdivision as a displacement map and the lowest subdivision as a base mesh allowed for the displacement map to carry much of the weight in affecting the silhouette. The painting smaller bump, diffuse, and roughness maps added on to the realism of this frog.
Example Logo Design
Creative ideas for high-detailed logos
This logo was done in a contest for a new semi-professional baseball team in Wisconsin. This entry finished 2nd amongst 800+ contestants and entries. I focused on the modeling of the Kraken animal and wanted to give him a sense of motion within a still logo, as it wraps its tentacles around the letters and baseball bat.
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