America The Motion Picture is a Netflix original movie which released in 2021. I worked on this movie for two years, and was involved in many aspects of the production. The longer timeline of a movie production offered many opportunities for artistic and technical innovation. Some of my achievements on this project included:
Modeled and rigged complex 3D animated assets
Created 3D environments and sets to be used in still backgrounds
Textured 3D assets and sets to match the established background style
Established lighting within 3D environments
Staged shots and set camera angles within 3D environments
Modeled and rigged 3D characters based on 2D designs
Animated 3D cameras to create moving backgrounds
Created organized and layered PSD files of 3D renders for the backgrounds department
Designed procedurally generated 3D environments for extended chase sequences
3D Modeling
Vehicles
This a Double Decker Bus AT-AT I modeled for America The Motion Picture. I created this asset through a combination of modeling, texturing, and kit bashing. This was a particularly interesting asset to work on due to the many mechanical parts which needed to move coherently in animation. In order to achieve this a lot of extra care was put into modeling the different parts to fit together cohesively, aligning their pivots, and testing their movement in the proper hierarchy. I utilized the wire parameters in 3dsMax to make the gears reactive, and rotate together at the proper ratios.
This is a throne I modeled for King James in America The Motion Picture. This asset was a challenge due to the extensive detail shown in the provided design. The numerous small parts had to be meticulously modeled with quads to allow the geometry to subdivide cleanly at render time, while remaining as light weight as possible in the viewport. This model also utilizes a V-Ray toon shader which adds outlines to the model. All edges had to be set up to create the desired toon outlines, and work well with the cell shader material.
Characters
The characters in America the Motion Picture are animated with highly advanced 2D rigs in Harmony that mimic the appearance of three dimensional movement. In order to create this effect the characters are designed with a strong and consistent 3D base in mind. 3D models of these characters are then produced to use for blocking in shots, and as a tool for the 2d animators to help draw accurate, on model roughs. These characters were meticulously polygon modeled to ensure low poly count, and ensure the guide lines of the characters were on model. These models needed to be transferred to Harmony which didn’t support textures, so these lines had to be added to the model as polygons with a separate material applied. Once the character was modeled it was then rigged using the 3dsMax CAT rig system. I was responsible for modeling all the characters shown below, and included an example of the provided design for Edison along with the finished 3D model.
3D Environments
3D Backgrounds
In America the Motion Picture fully 3D backgrounds were often utilized for chase sequences. These backgrounds received a full texturing pass, and were generated procedurally to accommodate the large set sizes needed. I created this environment of historic Philadelphia using Railclone to generate randomized buildings, carriages, sidewalk bricks and street cobble stones.
3D Animation
Chase sequences in this movie include a lot of action and dynamic shots necessitating the use of 3D animated cameras and vehicles. The historic Philadelphia environment I made was used for this scene chasing Benedict’s carriage, which included many visually complex shots. The environment needed to accommodate the wide span of space seen throughout this sequence while matching the storyboards and background style. It was also set up to include cryptomatte selections for details like window lights to be lit by the comp department.
