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The Polar Express





Programs:
Cinema 4D
Illustrator
After Effects
Audition
Mentor:
Miguel Lee

Partner:
Isabelle Lin
Recreating pivotal scenes from "The Polar Express" using a paper-cut style illustration, turning the movie's magical journey into a storybook-like sequence that captures the essence of childhood wonder and the timeless winter magic.

This project aims to arouse people’s good memories of the original movie. We want to create an ending title that’s more connected to the story. We also want to reinterpret the journey in an illustrative style that’s distinctive from the original movie.




Styleframes




Process

   


Storyboard Vector art in progress Initial style render

3D preview 3D layout --> Add materials --> Add lighting Working with f-curve timeline in C4D to smoothout the animation (the most challenging and time consuming part of this project)




After creating the storyboard, we began developing vector illustrations in Illustrator. We then imported everything into Cinema 4D (C4D) to set up in 3D, focusing much of our efforts on animations using the f-curve, which proved challenging, particularly in achieving a smooth camera flow. Following this, we applied materials and set up lighting for the scenes. The project concluded with compositing everything in After Effects to produce the final result.




©Leni Gao 2025