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The Anthropocene Extinction | Blender Short Film

Created for UTAS Object Design 2025. All primary assets [3x characters (sculpt, rigging, animating), foreground elements (log, cage, pesticide container, tyre, utility boot), and the city environment (including indoor section)] were created by myself, as well as the overall camera movement + compositing. External assets listed below.
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The Anthropocene Extinction explores humanity’s profound impact on wildlife through the journey of a single lizard navigating our rapidly-transforming world. Created through 3D modelling, this animated work of speculative fiction shows the relentless pressure to adapt or perish, as species struggle to survive in the Anthropocene epoch.
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The colour palette transitions from rich, saturated forest greens to desaturated urban greys, and the composition shifts from organic, curved forms to harsh, angular geometry as adaptation pressure intensifies. The lizard’s escape from a funnel trap induces ataxia, a neurological effect that progressively worsens throughout each environment, causing increasingly uncoordinated movements. The animation concludes with the lizard accepting its fate; its death is not the result of an abstract and harsh world, but a direct consequence of human actions.
The aim of this project was to raise awareness about animals at risk of extinction as their natural evolutionary responses cannot match anthropogenic change, and to encourage meaningful action to protect the biodiversity of our planet.
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EXTERNAL ASSETS (BlenderKit, Royalty-Free or CC0):
- “Tropical Forest" by Peeraphon Viriyahirunpaiboon
- “Forest Axe Resting Scene" by Matteo Pascale
- “Sunflower Silo Road" by Joyble
- “Domestic Cat (Rigged)" by Paweł Wałasiewicz
- “An Abandoned Barn" by Toby Noby

SOUNDTRACK (Pixabay, Royalty-Free Music):
- "Jungle Ambience" by Emilysoundzzzz
- "Falling Tree in Woods" by nematoki
- “Ambience_Farm_02.Wav" by freesound_community
- “Tractor Sound. Ambient Farm Sounds" by White_Records
- “Haunted Scene Ambience" by dbsound
- "Soft Wind" by storegraphic
- "Smooth Cold Wind" by Shut_Up_Ghost
- "Slow Footsteps" by freesound_community

Final Animation

Animatic (sketched prototype)

RAINFOREST: Two iterations were created - one with geometry nodes to procedurally scatter instances of each mesh variation and one with a particle system (this allowed for precise placement via weight painting)

RAINFOREST: Two iterations were created - one with geometry nodes to procedurally scatter instances of each mesh variation and one with a particle system (this allowed for precise placement via weight painting)

AGRICULTURE: A cast shadow from the cat was created by animating the strength of a spotlight behind the model.

AGRICULTURE: A cast shadow from the cat was created by animating the strength of a spotlight behind the model.

CITY: An array modifier was utilised for efficient generation of the brick wall. All assets have optimised topology (edge loops are only used where necessary)

CITY: An array modifier was utilised for efficient generation of the brick wall. All assets have optimised topology (edge loops are only used where necessary)

The windows were created with ambient occlusion and curvature maps to reflect the natural accumulation of dust, dirt, and airborne particles at ground level (albeit in a rather exaggerated manner)

The windows were created with ambient occlusion and curvature maps to reflect the natural accumulation of dust, dirt, and airborne particles at ground level (albeit in a rather exaggerated manner)

Breakdown #1: Exterior city location

Breakdown #2: Interior city location

Report