I thought I would post some information about Digital Matte Painting and Camera Mapping for those that did now know anything about it. Basicly what happens is that a camera in the 3D program projects the background matte painting onto 3D shapes that are made to match the basic shape of the background. Then this allows you to move the camera some and get a little sense of depth. That way it does not look like you are just shooting a flat image. If you want to get a better idea of how this works watch Dylan Cole’s demo real . Dylan Cole is one of the more well known matte painters and you have probobly seen his work if you have seen any big buget movies lately. Dylan’s Site/Demo Reel

Also here is a very easy and simple video to show how it works but not as impressive as Dylans work of course.

Well after much research and testing I think I have finaly decided on the animation technics to use.  And since I like lists let me list what was needed and what will be used.

 Needed:

1. Not so labor intensive that 1 person or a small group could not get it done in 1-2 years.

2. Not so costly that it cant be done on my micro budget.

 3. A style that is aesthetically pleasing to me.

 4. If done with computers rendering times that were fast enough to be able to get done in a reasonable time. Also rendering times fast enough to be able to make test shots etc.

 5. A style that would be aesthetically pleasing to the audience.

6. A style that would tell the story well.

After figuring out what was needing and looking at every style/technic I could find I have finaly decided on how it will be done. First all animation will be done digitaly. Mostly in 3ds Max. Backgrounds will be mostly 2.5D camera mapped matte paintings to save on render times. Middle and forground enviroment will be a combination of true 3D , 2.5D and 2D objects.  Characters will be  true 3D , 2.5D and 2D. 

With using this aproach instead of doing full 3D on everything it will cut render times by a HUGE amount. Using this combination aproach it should allow for a very rich and full visual experience for the audience but still come in on our limited budget.