These Two Artists Combined 2D & 3D Animation to Achieve a Unique Art Style

In case you missed it, a couple of weeks ago, 3D Animator Nicolas Roth blew up on social media by presenting what has to be one of the most unique-looking animation projects you've ever laid your eyes upon.

Created in collaboration with Digital Artist Boris, a.k.a. handsome_boris, the mixed media sequence, named STARTAFIGHT after the song playing in the background, seamlessly combined 2D and 3D animation techniques, playing on the strengths of both of its creators to achieve a distinctive art style. According to the project's description, the duo has spent half a year creating the animation with the goal of "discovering our unique artistic voice".

Recently, Nicolas provided an unexpected yet very welcome update on the project, releasing a concise breakdown of the working process behind it.

In his breakdown, the author explained the role that the character's model and complex facial rig played in conveying the mood of the song, revealed that the animation's unique and organic feel was achieved by using hand-painted Normal and Texture Maps, spoke about setting up lighting and shadows, discussed using 2D FX in a 3D space, and more. You can read the full breakdown by clicking this link.

Although it wasn't outright stated by the creators, the 3D side of the animation was likely handled using Blender, a popular 3D software and an app Nicolas is incredibly proficient in. In the past, the animator already wowed us on several occasions with his Blender-powered endeavors, including a fluid character dancing animation and a realistic umbrella rig.

Earlier, Nicolas also joined 80 Level to tell us how Vesper – The Mad Emperor, a Smaug-inspired 3D character animation, was conceived and brought to life using Blender. You can find the full breakdown here.

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