That Dolby Feeling is an Instagram Reel series that visually captures the experience of Dolby Labs' tech. For this holiday installment, I developed and animated this colorful fire to capture the magical warmth of the holidays.

To design the look of magical fire, I knew I wanted something warm and cozy, glittering in all sorts of unusual colors. After modelling the scene, I created a particle system with buoyant physics to produce a fire-like effect. Then, the fun part: choosing colors. I experimented with a few different looks, but landed on starting with reds and yellows that roll off into a vibrant magenta-purple before the particles die. When the fire gets really hot, there are even a few bursts of green and blue. All together, this struck a balance between wacky magical hues, and colors just real enough that it still felt like fire. Then, by layering several copies of the simulation using different particle shapes, sizes, and effects, I found a look complete with wicked flames and flickering embers. Finally, I added textures and interactive lighting to the scene and camera animation to complete the composite.

Role: 3D Artist (Modeling, Texture, Lighting, Particle/Fluid Simulation), Compositing

Art Direction by Michael Boyce and Kyle Cernicky. Sound Design and Music by Matthew Giacalone.