1. Layout & Modeling
I started by matching the camera angle, focal length and framing to the original reference.
Some parts of the character also needed adjustments, including the eyes, eyelashes, eyebrows and mouth. I modeled and textured the clothing and worked on the materials to bring the character closer to the film’s appearance.
2. Lighting
The lighting was one of the parts I spent the most time adjusting. The original shot combines a soft frontal lighting with a rim light, creating a strong contrast between the character and the magenta background.
I experimented with the position, intensity, radius and falloff of the lights, comparing the results with the reference to get closer to its shadows and highlights. I also had to be careful with the magenta colour, particularly around the skin and subsurface scattering.
4. Rendering & Compositing
The scene was rendered in Arnold, separating the different lighting contributions into AOVs, including diffuse, specular, SSS and emission.
In Nuke, I worked on the exposure, colour balance and final grading, adjusting the contrast and saturation to get closer to the original frame. I also used a matte painting to complete parts of the image and help match the reference.
