Photorealistic Vans Sneaker Animation
At Zajno we see each new project as a chance to level up – and when it comes to projects with a photorealistic element, that can mean clinging on against quite a steep learning curve. But this makes these projects fertile ground for trials and experiments.
Like every complex undertaking, this one began from a mood board on which I gathered a variety of materials, backgrounds, and, of course, different sneakers. In this part of the process, technical considerations are furthest from my mind; I’m seeking only to imagine what I want the end result to be.
Once that vision is established, though, it’s time to bring technical capabilities to bear. Here, I modeled the Vans in Cinema 4d, and handled the UV unwrapping in Rizon UV. Only once everything looked perfect did I set about creating textures in Substance Painter – though here I was content to use the ready-made materials, albeit with a few adjustments.
With the models completed, I got right to work on the animation. The Vans sneakers had been pretty simple to model, leaving me free to use deformation instead of rig mode. With this done I then added plain, divided into equal parts to ensure the step is even and the sneakers don’t slip on the ground.
To be seen at its best, every photorealistic image requires a suitable background. I downloaded the models for the background from Quixel and painted them in Substance Painter to give the appropriate texture, before setting them out in Cinema 4d. For a touch of playfulness, I added some sound effects and background music via Davinci Resolve.
Because the human eye can detect the sligthest infidelity, the final touch was to ensure that everything was lit in a way that it would ring true. To that end, I used Reshift Sun for the illumination, and filled in the necessary places with additional light sources.
Special thanks to Michael Skripin for his help in finding the answers to my digital dilemmas.
The big question is whether the results look truly photorealistic. Please drop your verdict in the comments if you have time.
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