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After crash landing her spaceship, Ana must trek across a landscape full of hidden perils. A friendly — though not always helpful — alien creature meets her along the way as she races toward rescue.

The student team conceived of The Way Home as an ambitious test of the Unreal Engine 4 game engine as a filmmaking tool.

Process Gallery

  • Color script by Georgia Low and Karen Mei showing various scenes from The Way Home animation.
  • Grayscale storyboard drawings by Joshua Yang showing an action sequence from The Way Home.
  • Sketch and description of the character Ana, an astronaut protagonist from The Way Home, in her flight suit.
  • Character design sketches by Karen Mei, Pang Kai Lun, and Toh Yan Yu showing a young astronaut and friendly alien creature.
  • Character textures by John Liew showing grayscale, viewport render, and shader versions of an astronaut and alien creature.
  • Images showing the facial expressions of the astronaut Ana and her alien creature companion.
  • Concept drawing by John Liew and 3D model by Muhammad Faiz showing the spaceship crash site from The Way Home film.
  • Concept art by John Liew showing a crashed spaceship with design sketches of alien plants and rock features.
  • Designs for modular rocks, modular trees, and flora; 3D models by Toh Lay Siong and textures by Ean Koh.
  • Initial sketches and color tests for the manta’s nest, located atop of a waterfall on an alien planet.
  • Color sketches of the manta creature flying across a cloudy sky at sunset.
  • Images of the manta’s nest; concept art and 3D paintover by John Liew and 3D model by Alvan Lim and Ean Koh.
  • In-engine still frame showing an astronaut and alien creature standing on a rocky outcrop, looking out at the sky at night.
  • An astronaut explores a vast cave with hexagonal rocks, concept art by John Liew and 3D models by Clement Tan and Ean Koh.
  • Visual development sketches of astronaut character inside a vast cave with hexagonal rocks and unknown light source.
  • Still frame from Unreal Engine 4 showing a cave entrance at night.
  • Various concepts, mood sketches, and UE4 render showing the astronaut and alien creature looking out at an alien landscape.

Awards and Recognition

Official Selections

  • 2019 SIGGRAPH Asia Computer Animation Festival
  • 2019 National Youth Film Awards

The Team

  • Qian Yong Joshua Ang

    BFA in Digital Art and Animation

    Role: Producer

  • Jin Wei Chan

    BFA in Digital Art and Animation

    Role: 3D Artist

  • Shen Yen Ean Koh

    BFA in Digital Art and Animation

    Role: UE4 Specialist

  • Wee Tat Lee

    BFA in Digital Art and Animation

    Role: Character FX

  • Xin Mun Winona Leong

    BFA in Digital Art and Animation

    Role: 2D Artist

  • Yu Liang John Liew

    BFA in Digital Art and Animation

    Role: Art Director

  • Wei An Alvan Lim

    BFA in Digital Art and Animation

    Role: UE4 VFX

  • May Ling Georgia Low

    BFA in Digital Art and Animation

    Role: Story/Music

  • Jia Qi Karen Mei

    BFA in Digital Art and Animation

    Role: Animator

  • Muhammad Faiz Bin Mohamed Hussain

    BFA in Digital Art and Animation

    Role: 3D Artist

  • Kai Lun Pang

    BFA in Digital Art and Animation

    Role: Director

  • Gen Hieng Clement Tan

    BFA in Digital Art and Animation

    Role: 3D Artist

  • Yan Yu Toh

    BFA in Digital Art and Animation

    Role: Animator

  • Lay Siong Toh

    BFA in Digital Art and Animation

    Role: 3D Artist

Animation Stills

  • Astronaut runs from a crashed ship into an alien forest.
  • Astronaut and creature look upon a beautiful alien landscape with manta rays flying in the distance.
  • Astronaut embraces an alien creature.
  • Young woman in futuristic flight suit rides above the clouds on a flying creature.