Death Battle: Crazy Carnival Park
Environment overview, Lighting information, and episode stills from Harley Quinn vs Jinx, a 3D episode that I directed and provided much of the Visual Post work for on Death Battle.
Establishing shot from the episode, where the lights flare after coming on. A totally custom set utilizing various Marketplace assets, modifications, and custom elements. Entirely designed and lit by myself.
A glowing, slowly rotating Ferris Wheel dominates the skyline of the park providing a lot of backdrop imagery.
The entrance to the park is moody and moonlit, far more in shadow as a contrast to some of the brighter visuals leading up to its appearance.
Combat for the episode starts near the entrance and moves up this alley, with damage building up from explosive fx, with plenty of objects for acrobatic movement. Fire creates little additional pops of orange interest as they are spawned.
Another view of the main alley set piece down which the initial action will go. The trick was making it appear cluttered and haphazard while also providing space and paths for the characters and cameras.
This heavily modified, functional merry-go-round is a major set piece of the episode, where the camera and characters move along with it. I created a blueprint that allowed parenting and steady, simple rotation with automated individual horse movement.
A High-Striker and prize tent created for key moments within the episode. Has a bit of stage lighting to help stand out within context of the shots themselves. Behind it is the roller coaster, a destructible environment element.
Basic lighting passes. As the episode was to be rendered at a cinematic 24 fps, goal was to keep average frame rate around 40-60.
Optimization passes. As the episode was to be rendered at a cinematic 24 fps, goal was to keep average frame rate around 40-60. A few light density heayy sections like the merry-go-round are present.
Main environment light placements
Final image improvement passes
Still from the episode. Confetti fun.
Still from the episode. This shot can be seen in motion on my demo reel. Showcasing the merry-go-round segment.
Still from the episode. Despite going for a stylized cel-shader like character looks, lighting direction and colors did still contribute to their appearance.
Still from the episode. This shot can be seen in motion on my demo reel. A roller coaster cart set goes rocketing through various teleported sets, passing through portals and generally creating bright, flashing havoc.
Still from the episode. Once again, strong light sources can still be seen to contribute to the cartoon-style characters.
Still from the episode. Madness overlays, numerous mirrored surfaces, fx, and a Zoetrope inspired run cycle for Harley make this a particularly unique shot.
Still from the episode.