Giant of the Steppe

INTRODUCTION

Within these 80 seconds of film we follow the girl, Asel, through her morning routine on the back of this huge beast.

This film was made at Howest - Digital Arts and Enterainment under supervision of Dirk Lambrecht.
Music by Lea Keyaert, Sound Design by Liam Nagels.

BEHIND THE SCENES

CREATURE PROCESS

Plov the Giant Yakram went through quite a few iterations. He is based on a large assortment of animals, including bison, yaks, and musk oxes. In the early stages of his development he was about the size of a large horse, but with every iteration he grew until he reached the whopping 13m height he is today.

Plov's scale was a challenge to translate, as we had to convey his immense weight in the way he moved. This was applicable to the fur as well, as it had to sway very slowly but not look floaty. Since the audience sees him from very up close, we also had to simulate the hair incredibly densely so as not to show bald spots.

Concept by Mari Gallet | Model and rig by Theoni Fotoglou | Fur Simulation by Arnout Zeghari | Animation by Finn De Brie

CHARACTER PROCESS

Concepts by Mari Gallet |Model by Katharina Alexander | Rig and Clothes by Theoni Fotoglou | Animation by Finn De Brie

ENVIRONMENT PROCESS

Concepts by Mari Gallet | Environment and Props by Katharina Alexander | Saddle by Theoni Fotoglou | Rope Simulations by Roy Terium | Water and Smoke Simulations by Arnout Zeghari

LIGHTING & COMPOSITING

We wanted to convey a soft, early morning atmosphere which was achieved by warm sunlight and a purple-pink ambient lighting.

We combined offline with realtime rendering in unreal engine, to speed up rendertimes.