Winamax, in collaboration with Soixante-Seize, invited us to continue participating in the live tournament campaign 2023-2024, presenting, this time, featuring a colossal 20-meter-high dragon as the central protagonist.

From experimenting with diverse skin textures to utilizing real-time technologies like EmberGen and Unreal Engine, we’ve crafted a unique and visually stunning experience, ensuring the dragon’s seamless integration into various scenes, from flight to fire-spitting.

Crafting the Winamax dragon involved a quest for uniqueness, establishing a profound connection with the sword and the epic surroundings. Through experimentation with various skin textures, we settled on a rocky gold-amber mix. The official teaser required meticulous detailing, involving the inclusion of a trophy silhouette within the dragon’s eye. This was achieved using a more elaborate dragon head, providing precise control over the animation.

To bring the dragon to life across different scenes, we began by creating basic 3D environments. This enabled Maya artists to animate a range of movements, such as flight, landing, walking, roaring, and fire-spitting. Prioritizing realism, we employed EmberGen, a real-time fluid simulation tool that provided precise control over the physics of fire and dust elements.

The implementation of real-time technologies, such as Unreal Engine, created a conducive environment for experimentation, enabling an efficient and smooth CGI pipeline, and achieving a seamless integration of our artists’ work.