Death Battle Sprite Fights
Death Battle sprite fights offered a truly creative challenge. As a visual post artist on the show, the animators would pass their Adobe Animate files off to us, and we would either take those animated assets into Unreal Engine using flipbooks or we'd use After Effects to composite those elements into an Unreal rendered background. Environments were usually pre-lit when the viz-post team received them, so additional lighting by individual artists was typically unnecessary. Viz-Post artists mostly concentrated on camera, character, and FX timing and placement. Additional 2D FX and compositing FX were added using After Effects.
From Death Battle Episode 183: Gojo vs Makima
Fire FX placement and background rendered in Unreal Engine. Character sprites and 2D FX composited in After Effects.
From Death Battle Episode 183: Gojo vs Makima
From Death Battle Episode 183: Gojo vs Makima
Character sprite, 2D FX, and additional comp FX done in After Effects.
From Death Battle Episode 183: Gojo vs Makima
This got a good laugh in dailies. Blood FX placement and environment rendered in Unreal Engine.
From Death Battle Episode 183: Gojo vs Makima
Backgrounds rendered in Unreal Engine. Graffiti and character sprite were composited using After Effects.
From Death Battle Episode 179: Martian Manhunter vs Silver Surfer
Backgrounds rendered in Unreal Engine. Character Sprites, 2D FX, and additional comp FX composited in After Effects.
From Death Battle Episode 179: Martian Manhunter vs Silver Surfer
Planet and environment rendered separately in Unreal Engine. Character sprite, planet destruction, 2D FX, and additional comp FX composited in After Effects.
From Death Battle Episode 175: Stitch vs Rocket Racoon
This was a fun sequence to work on. Character sprites were brought into Unreal Engine so they could have some light and shadow interaction with the environment. 2D FX comped in After Effects.
From Death Battle Episode 175: Stitch vs Rocket Racoon
Sprite animation and environment rendered together in Unreal Engine. 2D FX comped in After Effects.
From Death Battle Episode 175: Stitch vs Rocket Racoon
Stitch sprite animation and environment rendered together in Unreal Engine. Rocket Racoon sprite animation composited in After Effects.
From Death Battle Episode 175: Stitch vs Rocket Racoon
Sprite animation and environment rendered together in Unreal Engine. Additional 2D FX comped in After Effects.
From Death Battle Episode 175: Stitch vs Rocket Racoon
Sprite animation and environment rendered together in Unreal Engine. Additional 2D FX comped in After Effects.