This was one of our first exercises at Lost Boys, taught by industry veteran Sean Lewkiw, and one of my most successful effects. I achieved this rotting effect with a combination of geometry deformation, lattice deformation, and material change. While this all sounds simple enough, the key to a convincing effect was the fine-tuning of the shader and stacking dozens of noises. The apple had three main stages, “good”, “bruised” and “rotten”, and each one had its own characteristics. Little details I added such as dots in the reflection, a gradient in the rotting color, folding the skin of the apple over itself in the rotten areas, and changes in roughness helped to create a realistic… and disgusting look. I first attempted to shade the apple using Redshift, however, I found that Mantra had more complex noises and was more flexible in layering.