​Roman Sidewalk exhibit

---

As part of the iEmona exhibition we made 3D character animations for a holographic projection of a cross section of the Roman inhabitants of 1st century Emona.
In our seamless 9 minute looped projection soldiers, merchants and ordinary citizens are walking on the excavated remnants of the original Roman sidewalk.

The 3D animated characters wear clothing typical for the time period, geographical location and their status all based on archaeological evidence. Using cloth simulations in combination with dynamic simulations we made realistic designs with natural movements and properties approaching the real thing.

The different accessories, jewelry and weapons worn by the CG 3D models are exact product visualizations of artefacts found in this area. With great eye for detail we designed the materials properties to be as lifelike as possible. We recreated the authentic colours, fabrics and textures through an intensive process of organic modelling and texture painting.

Our animators studied human walk cycles and anatomy using selfshot live videos, and translated this knowledge into 3D CG imagery. During the designing process we've put extra emphasis on the anatomically correct and fluent motion of the characters. Taking into account the real life location settings, we rendered and created the lighting setup accordingly. This way we created the most realistic and aesthetically pleasing 3D characters.

We added audio samples to illustrate the movements and actions of the 3D animated passersby, which also contributed to the realism of the exhibition.

For the Ctrl Art team it was a very interesting and challenging experience to bring back to life the inhabitants of Emona into the smallest details.

We strongly believe 3D graphic design is an esential tool in reconstructing cultural heritage.

---

---

---

The Roman Sidewalk exhibit shows historical reconstructions of 1st century A.D. Roman clothing and accessories. It was produced as part of a permanent digital exhibition on Roman settlement of the area of today’s Ljubljana. The reconstruction of clothing shown in the animation is based on Roman clothing styles characteristic of the area and time of settlement, i.e. 1st century A.D. Accessories, buckles, pins, etc. are based on local archeological findings.

Roman Sidewalk was produced by CtrlArt in 2012, as part of a digital exhibit for the iEmona exhibition, MGML, Ljubljana, Slovenia.

---