Offering to Santa Muerte

"Offering to Santa Muerte" is a piece inspired by my Latino heritage. In our culture, it is believed that Santa Muerte guides and protects us. As we live through uncertain times, society seeks that kind of protection. Through this artwork, I present my own offering.

Song:
Eric Miller - Dia de los Muertos

BREAKDOWN

Setting Up the Scene
From the beginning, I knew I wanted to create a piece rooted in my Latino heritage. Every asset placed in this scene reflects elements of a traditional shrine for Santa Muerte. Most assets were downloaded from different websites.

Texturing

Apart from the food, every object shown was textured using Substance Designer. The figurine of Santa Muerte was textured using a blended material.

Render

This is the final render in Arnold after applying white lights, including individual lights for each candle. At this stage, I knew I wanted a sequence with flickering lights and smoke rising from the incense sticks.

Grading

Once in Nuke, I graded each light to maintain a consistent, warm color composition throughout the scene.

Smoke

I then added smoke video cards, placing them to rise from the tip of the incense sticks.

Flames

Each flame is a video card, and each one had to be roto’d, then given glow, color grading, and flicker. For efficiency, I then rendered them to act as a single video card and placed it on top.

Individual Lights

As mentioned earlier, each candle has its own individual light. I added a flickering effect to each one to enhance the realism of the scene.

Atmosphere

Using my depth pass, I graded the scene to create a very dim atmospheric feel.

Defocus

I applied defocus and centered the focal point on the figurine of Santa Muerte to create a more intimate and personal feel, while softly revealing the portraits.

Vignette and Grain

These final two choices reflect my passion for photography and help achieve a more cohesive, polished aesthetic in the final render.

Final Sequence

Thank you for making it here.