Panikhida is a prayer for the departed in the Eastern Orthodox churches. It is held to remember the deceased and remind the living about their own mortality.

This project is deeply inspired by Slavic culture- its rituals, mysticism, and rich symbolism - to create a world that feels both ancient and surreal.

Technically, it was an exploration of hybrid workflows. We used strong 3D foundations to maintain control over layout, lighting, and consistency. AI was integrated as a creative tool to assist in worldbuilding and detail generation. Also, we used matte painting on top to tie everything together visually, ensuring a coherent and immersive final result.

Storyboard

3D PRODUCTION

__CHAPEL

The chapel is almost the actor itself. We manually blocked it to ensure the readability of the silhouette, see-through condition on the ground level and overall style of the architecture. AI was used to add custom details to the massing and fitting accessories.

Chapel in the final shots

Chapel 3d massing and AI detailing

AI generated candle holders

__3D ENVIRONMENT

To keep the consistency between shots, we decided to create all the environmental details in 3D. The space was compact, so we were able to add maximum production value to all the shaders, water, and plants we had in the scene.

__CHARACTERS

The characters participating in the ritual are inspired by traditional European costumes (eg. kukeri) and the Orthodox liturgy. They were developed, posed and generated in 3d with the help of various AI tools.

Research in Midjourney

AI posing characters

Selection of 2d cutouts and AI generated 3d models

Characters in the final shot

The final post-production took two days, simply because we already got a lot for free from 3D scene. Unfortunately, the AI generated models were far from perfect, but with lots of matte painting and some AI tools (like Firefly and Magnific) we were able to retrieve the details.

Post-production timelapse

__CREATURE

The animation shows the interplay of two parallel worlds. The red one is inhabited by the creature -- the being that was supposed to be relatable on one hand and undefined on the other. We transformed the silhouette of the chapel to establish the volume of the creature, turning the architectural piece into a fleshy being. The humanoid part is manually crafted in the middle and adds the relatable, more understandable grounding to the otherwise totally unfamiliar creature.

Using AI and matte paiting to make the Chapel > Creature transition

__CREATIVE SANDBOX

Having a complete, detailed scene allows us to treat it as a creative sandbox. We made a few additional images testing different perspectives, lighting scenarios and moods.

__PROCESS

Clay renders

We used Kling.ai to animate the shots. (And on that note, here’s a special shoutout to Project Dream and Pulze for extra credits!) It works surprisingly well, but sure enough, some shots were problematic. So as a cherry on top, here’s a compilation of some of the less successful shots from this project.

Hope you enjoy watching it!

Artur Tamioła

Bartosz Domiczek

Thank you for watching!