Step into the electrifying world of Pavle, better known as Crnovision, a digital artist from Belgrade, Serbia, who's been pushing the boundaries of 3D and VFX for over five years. With a decade of digital artistry under his belt, Pavle has carved out a niche in the pulsating realm of music video production, while also dabbling in short films and animations. His recent claim to fame? Snagging third place in Pwnisher's "Kinetic Rush", which is sponsored by Fox Renderfarm, a leading cloud rendering services provider and render farm in the industry, and also dubbed the Internet's Largest 3D Challenge - with a heart-pounding scene of man versus nature. Drawing inspiration from cinematic epics like "War for the Planet of the Apes" and "The Revenant," Pavle's winning entry throws viewers into a visceral chase sequence, where a lone figure flees from pursuing bears in a masterclass of tension and visual storytelling.
Join us as we dive into the mind of this Serbian sensation, exploring how he blends Hollywood-level drama with cutting-edge digital craft to create unforgettable visual experiences.
Fox Renderfarm: Hi, Pavle Crnobrnja Crnovision! Thank you so much for accepting our interview! Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
Pavle Crnobrnja Crnovision: Hi, it’s my pleasure, thank you for inviting me! As you know, my name is Pavle, aka Crnovision, and I am from Belgrade, Serbia. I’ve been in digital art for around a decade, and in 3D and VFX for over 5 years, mostly working in the music video industry, with a few short films and animations on the side.
Fox Renderfarm: It's fantastic to see your work recognized as third place in the Internet’s Largest 3D Challenge ‘Kinetic Rush’! Could you briefly introduce the work that you brought to the challenge?
Pavle Crnobrnja Crnovision: Thank you! It was definitely a challenge. The whole scene was created using Blender, which is an amazing free 3D software. My main inspiration for the environment was Alaska, and the huge evergreen forests in that area. I started with the rough blocking of the scene and then got a lot of 3D scans of different rocks, which was a huge help with reaching realism. For the vegetation, I used Botaniq, which is an add-on, and scattered everything around using Geometry Nodes and Particle Systems. The scene came together after I added some lights, and made it look dramatic. The water simulations were also done in Blender, using Flip Fluids.
WIP Shots from the Kinetic Rush Submission:
© Pavle Crnobrnja Crnovision
Fox Renderfarm: Within the context of 'Kinetic Rush,' what specific elements or ideas inspired you to create your piece? How did you connect your concept to the overall theme?
War for the Planet of the Apes © 20 Century Studios UK
The Revenant © 20 Century Studios
Pavle Crnobrnja Crnovision: Just before the contest got announced, I watched two movies that inspired me a lot to create this piece - War for the Planet of the Apes and The Revenant. For the initial idea, I mostly got inspired by the cave in the War for the Planet of the Apes. I don’t want to spoil the movie, but people who watched it know the scene. Next to that, recently I visited a cave, and there were stories of huge pre-historic cave bears, which also sparked the idea of having a bear. The Revenant reminded me of that and helped a lot with the vibe and cinematography.
Fox Renderfarm: Were there any alternative versions or compositions you considered before settling on this final piece?
Pavle Crnobrnja Crnovision: Yes. I had multiple ideas in the beginning, ranging from explosions and cop chases, to different sports, but I decided on the bear chase in the end, as it had the biggest impact on me.
Fox Renderfarm: Could you elaborate on the technical challenges you faced when animating the sprint and bear interactions? How did you achieve such realistic and fluid motion?
Pavle Crnobrnja Crnovision: The biggest challenge I had was fitting it all into the challenge rules - the timing of animations and the length, which limited me a lot to play around with characters and bears’ emotions. For example, the character's fall wasn’t that realistic, as it was a 4-5 meter jump into the shallow water, but in order to fit the loop, I had to make him keep running. As well as the first bear chasing him, there was no way it could stop that fast, but I had to do it this way. For the animations themselves, what helped a lot was references. I found hundreds of videos of bears running, fighting, and playing. As well as different parkour and javelin throw videos for the character’s jump and spear throw. Regardless of all the challenges, I am very happy with the results.
Fox Renderfarm: Have you had any experience with Fox Renderfarm's cloud rendering services in the past? If you have, what is your opinion of our cloud rendering offerings?
Pavle Crnobrnja Crnovision: Yes I did, I used your render farm a lot in the past and I am really happy with it. It’s quick and works perfectly.
Fox Renderfarm: What advice would you offer to aspiring 3D artists entering competitions like Kinetic Rush?
Pavle Crnobrnja Crnovision: Most people think, I can’t win, why bother spending time on it? But that’s not the way I look at it. Even highly skilled artists learn a lot from challenges like these, so it’s 100% not a waste of time. So don’t be afraid, you are going to learn so, so much from this. And in the end, it’s really fun.
Thanks again to Pavle Crnobrnja Crnovision for accepting our interview! Wishing new heights in you and your team’s professional career!
Pavle Crnobrnja Crnovision’s social media:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crnovisionvfx/
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Crnovision
