Environment 1: Alchemist's Study
Alchemist's Study - 2025
Medium: 3D Animation, 3D Model
Duration: 34 Seconds
Project Objective
The goal of this piece was to create an animated and fully rendered magical environment. Environment 1, or the Alchemist's Study, was a practice environment that we initially worked on in class, following along with the instructor and creating the same objects while adding our own style to them. We individually developed the environment into a piece that told a story, creating additional unique assets and textures. Additionally, the goal was to learn the basics of Maya and Adobe Substance Painter and apply them. We animated and rendered several objects and cameras within the room to create an animation that we could then add sound to and use to present our unique spin on the Magic Room.
Concept
For the assigned Magic Room, I wanted to make a room that represented a very harried but studious Alchemist and Potion Maker. I imagined them working out of a dusty stone castle by the light of warm candles and the moon, studying ancient texts and mixing glowing substances. Despite their brilliance, their work area would by cluttered and slightly chaotic.
Final Animation
Design Choices
To achieve my vision, I heavily utilized textures, atmospheric fog, and numerous lighting types as well as populating the room to achieve the desired level of clutter. I downloaded stacked stone and slate textures from Adobe Substance Communities to add onto the walls and floor. I also created a staff that doubles as a stirrer and that was also later modified into a quill for writing. The candles utilize emissions and a mesh light to try to simulate fire as accurately as possible, and the cauldron liquid emits a purple glow as well. I also used Area and Directional lights in cool purple tones to create a moonlight effect. I tried to stick to a primary color palette of gold/yellow, purples, warm browns, and cool steel and silver. For the unrolled scrolls, I added Old Irish text sourced from real legends through The University of Texas Linguistics Research center. I added a reflective gloss to the book covers to simulate a protective outer substance against liquids. The short table features purple handprint stains on the wood.
Stills
