Struggle in the Ant Caves 2024

Struggle in the Ant Caves is a high-intensity action sequence set inside a vast subterranean cavern teeming with mutated giant ants. The illustration captures a desperate team of heroes fighting their way through swarms of aggressive, oversized insect mutants.

My Role

Sole Creator: Responsible for the entire pipeline from concept to final render.

Responsibilities:

Concept & Scene Direction

• Developed the core idea of a team of heroes trapped in a collapsing ant nest, surrounded on all sides.

• Constructed the composition in a wide V-shape to emphasize swarm density and isolate each hero’s silhouette.

• Blended elements of pulp adventure, sci-fi action, and stylized fantasy to build a unique narrative moment.

Character Creation

• Designed, modeled, textured, and rigged all main characters featured in the fight.

• Gave each hero a distinctive pose, combat stance, and energy effect to showcase personality and abilities:

  • Micheal’s glowing electric power

  • Teodoro’s sharpshooting posture

  • Samantha and other allies poised in melee combat positions

Creature Design & Swarm Development

• Created the giant ant species from scratch—designing anatomy, mandibles, segmentation, and stylized proportions.

• Modeled multiple ant variants for diversity across the swarm.

• Rigged the ants with fast, aggressive movement in mind for dynamic posing.

• Densely populated the environment with layered ant placements to convey overwhelming numbers.

Environment Modeling

• Built the cavern interior with rock formations, tunnels, debris, and broken terrain.

• Added dust layers, fragmented stone, and narrow shafts of overhead light to enhance atmosphere.

• Designed the environment layout to funnel action toward the heroes.

Texturing & Lookdev

• Painted stylized textures for:

  • Ant carapaces (glossy, rough, and dirty variations)

  • Hero suits and equipment

  • Cavern surfaces, moss, soil, and stone

• Developed shader setups to give the ants a slightly translucent, organic sheen under light.

Lighting & Rendering

• Created a dramatic lighting scheme using:

  • Warm indirect light from fissures overhead

  • Harsh contrast to shape silhouettes

  • Glow and emissive effects from energy weapons and powers

• Used volumetric fog and dust to deepen the cave atmosphere and enhance depth cues.

FX & Cinematic Motion

• Added environmental FX such as dirt sprays, floating debris, and dust clouds kicked up by movement.

• Integrated subtle motion blur cues through posing and streaked elements for added action clarity.

Compositing & Final Polish

• Performed full compositing pass: depth-of-field, glow treatments, color balancing, and light wrap.

• Enhanced particle density, contact shadows, and atmospheric volume.

• Finalized the piece with cinematic grading to unify tones and emphasize urgency.

Software Used

3DS Max, Maya (Rigging and Posing), Corona Renderer, Substance Painter, TopoGun 2, After Effects, Photoshop