Overall thoughts
I am happy to have completed this artwork, as it symbolizes another significant step forward in my ability to capture complex ideas and narratives through a series of illustrations. I really like how the development of this project unfolded, especially the technical challenges that helped shape the final result. One key takeaway from this project was the importance of becoming familiar with a wide range of tools in order to effectively problem-solve and discover creative workarounds.
BACKSTAGE LENS PODCAST episode
Listen to the Backstage Lens episode for a behind-the-scenes look at the project’s creation, from the initial concept and creative process to the challenges, discoveries, and lessons learned.
Project tools
Explore the software used to bring this project to life, with estimated percentages highlighting each tool’s contribution to the overall production process.
Hitfilm - Usage 30%
Image compositing and color grading
Unreal Engine - Usage 30%
Scene and character setup
ChatGPT - Usage 10%
Character relighting and scene concepts
Google Gemini - 10% Usage
Character and environment relighting
Daz3D - 5% Usage
Character poses
iClone 3Dxchange - 5% Usage
Retarget poses to other character models
Photoshop - 5% Usage
Photo VFX (Liquidify)
Topaz Photo AI - 5% Usage
Upscale images
Skills Applied
A combination of creative and technical disciplines brought together to develop the final artwork.
CREATIVE DISCIPLINES
Digital Illustration
3D Art
Visual Storytelling
Digital Compositing
Character Art
PRODUCTION SKILLS
Concept Development
3D Scene Assembly
Character Posing
Lighting & Rendering
Image Compositing
Color Grading
Image Enhancement
Production Difficulty
Each production stage is rated on a scale of 1 to 10. Higher scores indicate greater difficulty encountered during development.
4.2/ 10
OVERALL DIFFICULTY
01 – Concept & Research
3/10
02 – Character Preparation
8/10
03 – 3D Scene Assembly
3/10
04 – Lighting & Rendering
5/10
05 – Image Compositing
4/10
06 – Final Enhancement
2/10
References
A collection of visual references that helped shape the artwork’s creative direction, composition, atmosphere, and overall aesthetic, serving as inspiration throughout the development process.
Drafts & concepts
Early tests, visual explorations, and ideas that helped establish the final direction. Only the most meaningful iterations are shown.
Selected Frames
A curated selection of frames highlighting the finished artwork’s composition, visual details, atmosphere, and key creative elements, offering a closer look at the final result.
Key takeaways & Lessons Learned
A reflection on the creative discoveries, challenges, and lessons learned throughout the project, highlighting the experiences that shaped the final artwork and contributed to personal and technical growth.
01 — Creative Discovery
- AI speeds up brainstorming and concept development.
- AI relighting can change lighting while keeping the image consistent.
02 — Acquired Skills
- AI scene and character relighting.
- Liquify and Warp tools.
03 — Challenges & Limitations
- Exporting character poses from Daz3D.
- Importing and retargeting poses to main character model.
- AI image generation can be inconsistent.
- Main character model has an object that cannot be removed, only hidden from certain angles.
04 — Lessons Learned
- Use AI to quickly explore ideas and filter out concepts I cannot execute.
- AI is unreliable for consistently adding new elements to an image.
- Keep creations, assets, and edits in separate layers for easier, non-destructive editing.
Project Overview
- Format : Artwork (Illustration)
- Platform(s) : ArtStation
- Status : Complete
- Difficulty : Intermediate
- Software/Application used : 7
- Collaborator(s) : Solo project
- AI Assisted : Yes
- Start Date : 2026-04-16
- Complete Date : 2026-05-31
- Project Cost : $28 CAD