Samurai Battlegrounds

by Adriano Montecalvo, Roberto Gutierrez and Geoff Merson

 

This project was done entirely in Blender, using artist-created textures with the help of Substance Painter. The goal for this piece was to design an environment and experiment with effects such as particles, forces, and cloth simulations in order to achieve a highly polished output. This was then rendered out as frames and sequenced and color graded in Premiere Pro to make a roughly 10 second loop.

 

The inspiration of the project was to replicate classic film moments using 3D rendering, while creating a visually distinct environment. Much of the visual aesthetic comes from Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai, and the fight scene between The Bride and O-Ren Ishii towards the end of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Vol. 1. The environment depicts the aftermath of a battle on the grounds of a cherry tree grove, with weapons and armor scattered throughout the background, snow and cherry blossom petals blowing in the breeze, and in the distance, plumes of smoke coming from a temple that had been set on fire.