We were tasked with creating a hyper-local, almost-realistic animation of a classic car passing through a busy Kenyan shopping center. From start to finish, this scene demanded a full pipeline approach—beginning with collecting real-life reference footage and photographs of Nairobi estate setups, matope-filled parking lots, and typical kiosk signage.
Using Blender, we modeled every element from scratch—the environment, the buildings, the textures, and of course, the vintage car. The animation captured subtle physics-based motion like tire suspension, camera shake, and sun-angle shadows to enhance realism. Textures were hand-painted and projected using references, while lighting and rendering were done in Cycles for that crisp, real-world feel.
This project challenged us to balance stylization with grounded realism—bringing digital life to a setting every Kenyan can recognize. The result? A short 3D sequence that feels like you’ve just walked past Mamu’s shop on your way to the stage.
