Japanese-Style Battle Animation | Zezowiz Studio

Japanese-Style Battle Animation | Zezowiz Studio

Anime　｜　2024

3D BackgroundCompositing

“Don’t give up, burn, burn… burn… let your spirit burn!” Late Studio was invited by Zezowiz Studio from Sudan to co-create this Japanese-style 2D action animation, mainly handling the 3D backgrounds and post-production (compositing). The team used Blender to build the 3D backgrounds and After Effects to create the fire and flame effects and to composite the Japanese-style 2D animation.

ClientZezowiz StudioBackground & CompositingLate Studio
Mid-battle with the boy, the enemy suddenly leaps backward.
Mid-battle with the boy, the enemy suddenly leaps backward.
The enemy gathers energy and triggers an explosion.
The enemy gathers energy and triggers an explosion.

Early Motion Design

When combining 2D and 3D in animation, how well the two blend is crucial. To better match the 3D backgrounds with the 2D visuals, the team first blocked out simple camera and character motion in Blender as a reference for the 3D work.

Early camera and character motion created in Blender.
Early camera and character motion created in Blender.

Set Design References

The visuals aim to convey a fiery, intense battle atmosphere, so the set design took inspiration from the setting and mood of a scene in “Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc”.

Set design references.
Set design references.

Set Design

Building and placing the required architecture and props in Blender, then adding lighting.
Building and placing the required architecture and props in Blender, then adding lighting.
Left: Using a simple humanoid figure to design suitable camera angles. Right: Setting up the 3D background and camera, with 2D assets overlaid for an initial composite.
Left: Using a simple humanoid figure to design suitable camera angles. Right: Setting up the 3D background and camera, with 2D assets overlaid for an initial composite.
3D backgrounds and camera setups for two other shots.
3D backgrounds and camera setups for two other shots.

Animation Production Process

The production process for this 2D animation with 3D backgrounds is not very different from a fully 2D one; the main change is that the backgrounds are 3D models rather than hand-painted. The one thing that needs extra care is compositing: since 2D and 3D are different elements, this kind of animation relies more on adjustments in post-production. Here is how the shots were made.

Production process for shots 1–4: clean-up, coloring, initial compositing (with 3D backgrounds) and final compositing.
Production process for shots 1–4: clean-up, coloring, initial compositing (with 3D backgrounds) and final compositing.
Production process for shots 5–8: clean-up, coloring, initial compositing (with 3D backgrounds) and final compositing.
Production process for shots 5–8: clean-up, coloring, initial compositing (with 3D backgrounds) and final compositing.

Compositing

For animation that combines 2D and 3D, post-production is a vital step. Besides adjusting depth, color and atmosphere to raise the quality and mood of the visuals, blending the 2D and 3D elements also depends heavily on this stage, merging two different elements into a seamless image. Compositing for this animation was done in After Effects.

Compositing process for shot 2.
Compositing process for shot 2.
Compositing process for shot 5.
Compositing process for shot 5.
Compositing process for shot 6.
Compositing process for shot 6.
Compositing process for the final shot. The sparks at the end were created almost entirely in compositing by layering different textures and effects.
Compositing process for the final shot. The sparks at the end were created almost entirely in compositing by layering different textures and effects.

A Late Studio Production

Japanese-Style Battle Animation | Zezowiz Studio

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