Project Overview

Before the release of Alita: Battle Angel in February 2019, 20th Century Fox was developing promotional content for the film’s Blu-ray release later that year. To engage both longtime fans and new audiences, they aimed to provide backstories that connected the film to the original manga and anime, offering deeper insights into the rich world of Alita, created by Yukito Kishiro in his Gunnm manga series.

• Adam Vadnais from Mob Scene, an agency specializing in promotional content for major blockbuster films, reached out to NUEN STUDIO for a collaborative project. Their goal was to create a series of high-end background paintings, designed to be animated in a motion-comic style and included as special features in the Blu-ray release.

• NUEN STUDIO produced 11 high-quality, layered background paintings, depicting Iron City at night across multiple locations, including bustling streets, a bar, a factory interior, the Motorball stadium, and panoramic cityscapes. These artworks played a crucial role in bringing the world of Alita: Battle Angel to life for audiences.

Outcomes and Impact

The additional motion-comics helped immerse new audiences into the world of Alita: Battle Angel—and they did it exceptionally well!

• The Blu-ray release was a major success, topping the home video sales charts for two consecutive weeks as of August 2019.

• By December 2019, Alita: Battle Angel had generated over $50 million in home video sales, solidifying its popularity among fans.

Our Process

As always, NUEN STUDIO followed its three-step workflow to ensure efficient production and high-quality results for this project.

Each background painting took approximately five days to develop, from initial sketch to a fully illustrated, animation-ready artwork.

Our workflow follows these key steps:

1. Sketch & Composition Approval – We begin with composition sketches, refining ideas until we receive client approval.

2. 3D Blockout & Iteration – Once approved, we move directly to 3D blockouts, developing the scene’s structure. We collaborate closely with the client, receiving daily feedback to refine details.

3. Final Illustration & Optimization – The 3D base is enhanced with detailed painting and lighting, resulting in a fully polished background painting ready for animation.

With limited reference materials available, we relied heavily on trailer screenshots from the movie during production. Our goal was to stay true to the film’s vision of Iron City while incorporating subtle personal touches as a tribute to Yukito Kishiro’s original manga.

👉 Click on the thumbnails on the right to view the final 3D blockouts.

The final paint-over phase, completed in Photoshop, played a crucial role in enhancing the quality of each image. From lighting and color grading to intricate details like street reflections, every element was carefully refined to capture the unique cyberpunk-meets-antique aesthetic of Iron City.