DIGITAL MATTE PAINTING

Digital Matte Painting/ Bachelors of Design in Creative Media / Taylor's University

Samantha Jizan Amrullah / 0375606

PROJECT 1 

The entirety of the module’s main project is one continuous project that follows the flow from project 1 to the final project as a step by step process that will eventually create the final output from start to finish. This is due to the fact that it is quite a large scale project that requires an in depth knowledge on the field before diving deeper into the main focus of the project. It all starts with a basic start of project 1 being the brainstorming process. We were first tasked to choose a movie we are interested in watching as reference for our project. 

Below is what I came up with as my project proposal.

After proposing my idea, I move on to the rough sketches of what compositions I want to create, such as these 3 sketches

EXERCISES

To really get a deeper understanding of matte painting, there’s a series of exercises I’ll go through. These are designed to sharpen my skills and help me grasp the core principles that make matte work effective. Here’s what I’ll be working on:

1. Perspective Studies (Landscapes and Interiors) – This is crucial for understanding how objects and environments should look based on where the viewer’s perspective is.

2. Compositions – I need to learn how to frame a shot in a way that makes the scene feel balanced and visually engaging.

3. Value Studies – This helps me figure out how to use light, dark, and everything in between to create depth and mood in my compositions.

4. Sky Replacements – Sometimes, the sky is all wrong for the scene, so learning how to swap it out seamlessly is key.

5. Virtual Plein Air – This exercise teaches me how to create digital landscapes that mimic the look and feel of traditional outdoor painting, which is essential for setting the mood.

6. 2.5D Mattes – I’ll be creating layered 2.5D scenes to give a sense of depth without going full 3D, keeping things manageable and effective.

7. Invisible Set Extensions – The final and most exciting part! This is where I extend environments invisibly, making it look like the camera could keep moving in the scene when really, I’ve digitally extended the world.

Overall, this task is all about breaking down the process of set extension and matte painting into manageable chunks. Through these exercises and the creation of a mood board, I’ll be able to experiment and refine my skills. Each step is a building block, helping me understand how to make raw footage and digital assets blend seamlessly.

PROJECT 2

In this task, I’ll be diving deep into the world of matte painting and set extension, building on the foundational knowledge from Task 1. The goal is to show my technical capability in conceptualizing and creating assets that will either complement raw footage through invisible set extensions or be completely recreated from scratch. This process is not just about designing cool visuals; it's about understanding the environment and context of the footage itself.

First up, I need to dissect and deconstruct raw footage. This means I have to really pay attention to the details of the footage, what's in the environment, what’s missing, and how the set extension will fit seamlessly into the scene. The goal is to get a solid grasp of the footage’s natural world and to figure out what elements need to be extended to make it feel complete.

One thing that stood out during the process is the importance of references. I use the movie Lord of The Rings as my main inspiration, however, I did not use any screenshots from the movie directly for my composition as that would be considered as plagiarism. Instead, I mostly use unsplash.com to search for assets and materials that i can use for my photobashing process as it all includes photos and pictures of real life sceneries.

Rookies registered profile link: https://www.therookies.co/u/samanthaamrullah