Digital Matte Painting
26.09.2025 - 22.12.2026 ( Week 1 - Week 14)
WANG JINYI / 0374697
DST60904 / Digital Matte Painting / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Final Project Compilation
TABLE OF CONTENT
Fundamentals of Matte Painting
Perspective Studies
I practiced one-point, two-point, and three-point perspective sketches to understand depth and space. I used Procreate to sketch these drawings. My early exercises had mistakes in vanishing points and spatial relationships, so after feedback I corrected them and rebuilt the perspective.
Value Studies
I converted selected screenshots and sketches into grayscale to study light and shadow. This helped me better identify primary light sources and control contrast before adding colour.
Sky Replacement
The sky replacement exercise taught me how to combine a new sky into a realistic scene. I selected some photos of the sky at different times and used masks and color adjustments to blend them into my base image. At first, I tried hard to match the light direction and color balance, but I improved the edges and color temperature until the sky and ground lighting matched.
Virtual Plain Air
For virtual plain air, I picked a reference photos and painted quick environment sketches. This exercise was done in Photoshop with custom brush sets. The focus was not on details, but capturing light and atmospheric colour shifts. I had issues blending some elements smoothly at first, so I adjusted brush opacity and layer blending to achieve better transitions.
Invisible Set Extensions
This exercise involved extending an existing environment naturally. I used Procreate and Photoshop to expand the base desert image, adding distant dunes and sky continuity. I worked on matching perspective, lighting, and texture to avoid any visible seams. I found that matching grain and shadow direction took multiple refinements before it looked convincing.
Stone Practice
Project 1 – Desert Composition Exploration
In Project 1, I developed basic compositions based on the Dune theme. I experimented with foreground rocks, midground dunes and distant horizon edges in different layouts. I used Procreate to test variations, and adjusted scale and perspective for a more expansive feel. Some initial versions had awkward space distribution, so I replaced elements and refined placement to improve spatial flow.
Project 2 – Photobashing
In Project 2, I chose my strongest composition from Project 1 and created a photobashing base. I collected desert photos and texture elements, then combined and blended them in Photoshop. During this stage I constantly adjusted angles, sizing, and lighting to match the scene. Some elements did not integrate well at first, so I replaced them or adjusted lighting and hue until they fit the overall environment.
2.5D Matte & VFX Integration
For the 2.5D matte and VFX part, I separated key layers from my photobash and prepared them for camera projection in Blender. I imported these layers into After Effects and used simple camera movement to add parallax. I also added subtle dust and atmospheric motion effects. I encountered some issues with edge halos and flat areas, which I fixed by increasing texture variation and adjusting mask expansions.
Final Outputs
I prepared final images for each task and the final 15–30 second video exported from After Effects in the required format (H.264, 16:9, 1440×1080, 25 fps). The video was uploaded to my YouTube channel as the final project presentation.
Throughout the semester I primarily used:
Procreate & Adobe Photoshop for sketching, photobashing, sky replacement, and composition adjustments.
I tested simple camera viewpoints in Blender to verify perspective.
Adobe After Effects for 2.5D matte projection and simple VFX animation.
Experience
This module was more challenging than I initially expected. At the beginning, I thought digital matte painting was mainly about painting landscapes digitally. However, as the course progressed, I realised that it involved many more technical aspects, such as perspective relationships, material studies, value studies, lighting direction, and colour projection. Many of these were things I had never worked with before, so the learning process felt intense but engaging. Throughout the semester, each task pushed me to try unfamiliar techniques and workflows. Although some exercises were difficult and time-consuming, they helped me understand how much planning and technical thinking goes into creating a believable environment.
Observation
During the classes, Mr. Kannan’s feedback played a big role in shaping my understanding of digital matte painting. He explained concepts in a very visual, humorous, and engaging way, which made complex ideas easier to understand. His demonstrations showed how flexible and powerful digital painting tools can be when used with the right approach. By observing the feedback sessions, I became more aware of common mistakes in my own work, especially in composition, lighting consistency, and scale. Seeing how small adjustments could significantly improve an image was something that stood out to me during the course.
Findings
From this module, I learned that digital matte painting is not just about painting skills, but also about problem-solving and decision-making. The process of learning, testing, and correcting was more important than producing a perfect final image. While I do not feel that my final outcome has reached the level I hope to achieve in the future, I can clearly see progress in my understanding of environment design and technical workflow. This experience made me realise that I still need more practice and time to build confidence and consistency. However, it also motivated me to continue improving and refining my skills beyond this module.
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