Rhamphorhynchus Paleo Animation 2023

3DS Max Animatic Blockout

Idle Test Animation

A personal paleontology-inspired animation project featuring a fully recreated Rhamphorhynchus, an iconic Late Jurassic pterosaur. The animation was initially developed in 3DS Max, then transferred into Unreal Engine for final lighting, rendering, and polish. This piece served as my first full animation test inside Unreal Engine 5.

My Role

Responsible for every stage of production, from creature creation to real-time animation and rendering.

Responsibilities

Modeling: Sculpted and modeled the full Rhamphorhynchus body, including anatomical details informed by fossil references.
Rigging: Built a custom rig in 3DS Max using the CATRIG system to support wing folding, gliding poses, and dynamic movement.
Texturing & Lookdev: Textured the model and created PBR material setups to achieve naturalistic skin, wing membranes, and fine detail.
Fur & Detailing: Applied groom/fur elements to replicate the fine pycnofibers (hair-like filaments) known from fossil impressions.
Animation: Created the base animation in 3DS Max, then finalized timing, movement, and presentation inside Unreal Engine.
Lighting & Rendering: Set up real-time lighting in Unreal Engine and rendered the final sequence.
Import Pipeline: Imported assets and animation using FBX and Datasmith, testing a complete workflow from offline DCC into Unreal.