Saurora: My Sci-fi Short film
The monster
The mechanised underwater suit
Several stills from Saurora. Back in 2016 rendering 6 mins of animation in Blender was a different beast. Going with 720p was the only way for me to power through such a massive render load given what path-tracing volumetrics meant back in the day.
Breakdown of layers needed to plant actor's footage inside already rendered 3D suit in Blender. Head glass interior was rendered again separately and subtracted from main layer, footage comped in and then glass layer put back on top as the final step.
Sometimes the character was so far a fully cgi head just made more sense.
Rigging test
Rigging test
Rigging test
Poster ready (...in case I get the call from IMAX eventually)
And here it is!
My independent full-CGI short film blending live action with animation, set in the freezing depths of the ocean planet Saurora – a world of mechanized underwater suits and dangerous deep sea monsters. Starring Robert Zapf and Travis Work. Directed, animated and visual effects by me in Blender/Cycles