How I Made a Stylized Blender Short Film - NOXIOUS Breakdown — Kay Hilman

In this deep-dive breakdown, I take you behind the scenes of my 2024 HKU graduation film, Noxious.

Watch the full film here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsNwxE1JOHg

From early 2D concepts and custom NPR/Blender projection pipelines to an intense production crunch that forced me to cut my shot list in half, I share the full story of how this world came to life.

We’re also joined by the film's composer and sound designer, **Mikael Umarov**, who gives a look into how he crafted the score.

Whether you're interested in 2D/3D hybrid workflows, camera projection tricks, geometry nodes, or just navigating the messy creative process of a major project, I hope this breakdown inspires you for your own work!

In this video, we cover:
- The core philosophy behind mixing 2D illustrations with 3D animation
- Developing camera projection & line art pipelines in Blender
- Translating real-world organic decay into sci-fi environment design
- Re-scoping a project after hitting burnout and crunch
- Mikael Umarov’s breakdown of the score & sound design
- Overcoming perfectionism and releasing work to the world

What’s Next?
Now that Noxious is out in the wild, I’m using this channel to share my technical & artistic workflows. Focusing on procedural setups, Geometry Nodes, and non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) techniques.

If there’s a specific shot or pipeline from Noxious you’d like a dedicated breakdown on, drop a comment below!

Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
1:07 - The Obsession
2:48 - First Ideas
4:49 - The Backgrounds
5:39 - From 2D to 3D
8:32 - The Environment
9:51 - The Ecosystem
11:32 - Building Noxious
13:52 - Confrontation
15:18 - Music & Sound
24:50 - Full Circle
26:46 - Looking Ahead

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My Website: https://kayhilman.com/

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External Sources:

[0] NOXIOUS (2024) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsNwxE1JOHg

[1] The Computer (2019) https://www.instagram.com/p/B1ot6b3Ft7F/
[2] Ladybird Jetpack Dude (2019) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bxrs-8dFSxU/
[3] Logman (2020) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-wp1FrH0fh/

[4] DEPART (2021) https://vimeo.com/563670352?fl=pl&fe=sh

[5] New Year Animation (2020) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6wSXexHstS/

[6] Scavengers (2019) Joseph Bennett & Charles Huettner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TRzemJbUsw
[7] Playground - Trailer (2023) Rodrigo Goulão de Sousa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8U22dvli4w

[8] Art shop (2022) Alariko https://www.artstation.com/artwork/PerK9o
[9] Cloudy day (2023) Alariko https://www.artstation.com/artwork/Evg6Dn[]

[10] Arcane Bridging the Rift (2022) Riot Games https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mz4-38d3-AE
[11] Deep Dive Into the Arcane Look and Camera Projections (2022) Lightning Boy Studio: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG7ZoP3fd1w

[12] The King and the Mockingbird (1980) Paul Grimault https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079820/

[13] (2022) Dirty Iron https://x.com/_dirtyiron_/status/1571160901658738688/photo/1
[14] (2022) Dirty Iron https://x.com/_dirtyiron_/status/1601254520600014850/photo/1
[15] (2022) Dirty Iron https://x.com/_dirtyiron_/status/1731344915475599794/photo/1

[16] Scavengers Reign (2023) Joseph Bennett & Charles Huettner https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWQH8cMpWTU

[17] Showreel (2026) DOT4 https://dot4.co/work/showreel-2025
[18] CARTON (2025) DOT4 https://dot4.co/work/carton

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Music:

Song: Algoma
Composer: Ross Bugden
Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQKGLOK2FqmVgVwYferltKQ

Song: Jul
Composer: Scott Buckley
Website: https://youtube.com/user/musicbyscottb

Song: The Chimes
Composer: Ross Bugden
Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQKGLOK2FqmVgVwYferltKQ

Song: Life In Motion
Composer: Scott Buckley
Website: https://youtube.com/user/musicbyscottb

Song: Flowing Into The Darkness
Composer: Nyoko
Website: https://soundcloud.com/redowthered

Song: Stellar Hills
Composer: GalaxyTones
Website: https://soundcloud.com/galaxytones

Licenses: Creative Commons (BY 3.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Music powered by BreakingCopyright: https://breakingcopyright.com