Pipeline Breakdown

• Model the environment in Autodesk Maya.

  • Set up the camera in Maya.

• Matte Painters paint the environment with different TOD lighting based on the exact perspective from the camera in Maya.

  • Full control of color and lighting in 2D.

• Project the matte paintings back to the 3D ENV model using Camera Projection in Maya.

  • Downsize the 3D ENV model to a simpler form with minimum geometry.

  • Bake the texture from the projection to the 3D ENV model.

• Bring the 3D ENV model with baked matte-painted textures into Unreal Engine 5, alongside the cameras and Alembic-Cached animations for characters, cloth sims and props.

• Lit the animations based on the matte paintings.

• Export 3 passes for the animated assets.

  • Color pass - base character colors

  • Shader pass for the outlines

  • Shadow pass if applicable

• Compiling everything in After Effects.