Being honest, I didn't plan on writing this article, but while I was updating my portfolio, I thought it would be cool to put down on paper how the whole process went. It's good for the record, of course, and it might inspire other artists to take the leap and do the same (or something similar).
The project came together thanks to a free, non-commercial mentorship from the Brazilian studio Miralumo Films , led by Gustavo Ribeiro and Maronilson Júnior .
The original goal was to recreate from the scratch a shot from a movie as closely as possible, or as Gustavo put it:
- It needs to be at least the same, and if we can, even better!
But, as the project moved along and we got more comfortable with the models and the style, our standard of 'doing the best we can' kept getting higher and higher, with our goals always on the rise.
Initially, the mentorship participants were split into groups of 3 or 4 so they could get the project done in the 5-week timeframe. Tatiana, Thiago and me took charge of this scene from “Big Hero 6”:
First things first, we watched the movie, of course. After that, we dove into "The art of Big Hero 6", by Jessica Julius, Don Hall and Chris Williams. Also we googled every picture, illustration, fanart and reference about the movie.
The artbook helped us to check out the evolution of the concepts and really soak us in the film's vibe, gettin familiar with the style they used. We also picked out some screenchots os scenes that would help us complete our own setting.
The movie is set in San Fransokyo, a mix of San Francisco and Tokyo, which really shows in the architecture. We used Google Maps to explore both cities and grab some urban, architectural, and greenery references.
We reached the same level of quality as the film, and Gus kept pushing us and encouraging us to take the realism of the props and buildings even further. We kept working on the materials, paying even more attention to the details.
At this point, our scene looked like this:
At first, it was just going to be the scenario, without any characters. But seeing the level we reached in our scenes, all groups were challenged by our mentors again. Our task was to include the main character and other characters, and to test the scene lit up at different times of the day and night.
And here is the result we managed to achieve, 100% made in Blender:
Did we think it wouldn’t be possible to reach the goal? For sure! Doubt is part of it and comes with any challenge.
Did we get frustrated at times? For sure, many times, at every stage of the pipeline. But dealing with that was part of the process and the learning experience. Everyone's dedication, the organization, and the teamwork were essential for the success of this project.
Personally, it showed me how much I love making art in 3D. I can speak for myself, but I’d bet the others feel the same way: it was totally worth it to spend several nights getting little sleep to get everything done. Being able to do what we love is just too good.
So, what did we learn? A lot more than we expected! Not just the technical stuff like modeling, look development, and lighting, but also things like observation, decision-making, project pipeline, teamwork, organization, and problem-solving. And all of that is what makes us artists; it’s what turns us into big heroes!
Chek out all the details here: Big Hero 6 Fanart