The project in five facts.
Challenge, approach and results.
The author covers the entire process of planning, creating and post-producing a digital 3D environment for film production. The central part is the practical project Forgotten City – a post-apocalyptic, overgrown city designed as a case study of the transition from concept design to a finished 3D animated visualisation.
The research question is whether an individual working independently with accessible tools (Photoshop, Blender, DaVinci Resolve) can achieve professional-level visual credibility. The theoretical part links composition, perspective, light and colour with the production pipeline (blockout, modelling, textures, lighting, rendering in Cycles), while the practical part documents all phases of the project and costs it as a commission on the Slovenian market.
Problem
Digital environments are now standard in film production, but their creation is mostly known from large studios with teams of specialists. For a young 3D artist it is unclear which part of the process is decisive for a convincing result and how much of it can be done independently with free tools.
- kako konceptna zasnova (skice, kompozicija, perspektiva) vpliva na hitrost in usklajenost 3D-faze
- katere tehnike osvetlitve, materialov in tekstur ustvarijo verodostojen filmski kader
- where the technical limits of building a large scene independently lie (geometry, vegetation, render time)
Solution and method
The author uses a case study with an analysis of reference films (Ruin, The Maze Runner, I Am Legend) and carries out the project in phases: reference research and mood board, concept sketches in Photoshop, blockout and modelling in Blender, materials and textures, lighting with a low sun, fog and long shadows, camera animation and rendering in the Cycles engine. Post-production in DaVinci Resolve adds shot editing, colour correction, a cinematic aspect ratio and ambient sound. A time and cost plan (about 120 hours, simulated cost about €3,000) places the project in market conditions.
Rezultati
The results are the short animated film Forgotten City and a final render which, according to the author's technical and artistic analysis, achieve compositional consistency comparable to the reference scenes. All three hypotheses are confirmed: precise concept design speeds up the 3D phase, physically correct materials and advanced lighting increase credibility, and correctly designed perspective enables coherent integration into a cinematic shot. The author solved problems with dense vegetation geometry by grouping and hiding layers. The environment can be upgraded for transfer to Unity or Unreal Engine and for use in games and virtual reality.
Results
Product, documentation and analysis – published.
- Kratki film Forgotten City
- Dokumentiran produkcijski potek
- Tri potrjene hipoteze
From the project.
Module, programme and stories.
Your diploma project for a real company.
A diploma thesis at Academia solves a challenge from a company – often the one where you do your 800 hours of placement. Read about the 3D animacija module or book a consultation.