The background plate was taken during a trip to Peru in November, 2009.

trees imported from Europe and Peruvian mud-soil

This is the original concept sketch (something that I rarely do). The idea of ancient insects and creatures preserved in amber for millions of years is exciting.

sketch 01

Photographing “amber” at home on a window sill. This hefty piece of material is actually resin. Thank you, Gale!

resin

Second sketch was done with quick untextured renders of 3D models to test placement and overall composition. To view some renders of insects form a previous post, click here.

sketch 02

Final composite ready to be taken into After Effects. This is my most complex piece to date, which I greatly enjoyed working on. Next step – building a housing for the monitor (or an animation box, as I like to call them). Stay tuned!

final composite

You can view the final animation here.