Atlas — Commander
Atlas rose to command not through rank, but by proving himself in the most brutal close-quarters environments. His hand-to-hand proficiency set him apart early, honed through relentless training and live combat. He leads Lycan Squad with uncompromising discipline.
Lycan Squad’s origin remains classified, buried beneath layers of Republic command secrecy. Their designations are redacted
Crypt — Intel
Crypt serves as Lycan Squad’s intelligence and signals specialist, responsible for slicing systems, intercepting comms, and gathering real-time battlefield data. Analytical and adaptable, he turns information into leverage. His RC designation is classified under Republic security protocols.
Steel — Scout
Steel operates as Lycan Squad’s forward scout and spotter, tasked with reconnaissance, route clearance, and target identification. Fast, observant, and dependable under pressure, he keeps the squad one step ahead of the threat. His RC designation is classified. His role is critical — eyes forward, path clear, targets marked.
Reaper — Marksman
Reaper provides precision overwatch and long-range threat elimination for Lycan Squad. His engagements are calculated, his results consistent. No missed shots. No collateral — unless deliberate. His RC designation remains classified under Republic command protocols.
MAKING LYCAN
Lycan has been a passion project over a year in the making. Developed as a non-profit fan film, it’s been an incredible learning experience — especially alongside the rapid evolution of Unreal Engine. As the project progressed, new tools and features opened up opportunities to push the fidelity and cinematic quality even further. Below is a small glimpse into the behind-the-scenes process — There’s much more to come, and I’m excited to share the final result soon.
Set Building
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Using Unreal Engine and the Electric Dreams suite, we’re able to create high-fidelity, fully customisable environments. Procedurally generated blueprints allow for efficient set construction without the need for full world builds or heavy pre-built assets, significantly reducing render times.
Metahumans
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Metahumans unlocked new possibilities for building custom clone characters. Using the Mesh to Metahuman tool, we repurposed older head meshes into fully rigged, animatable Metahumans. Eye animation controls proved especially valuable during Lycan — the results will be clear on release.
Using FK rigs ​
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The majority of Lycan was animated using forward kinematics (FK) — a time-consuming process, but one that proved valuable from an animation fundamentals standpoint. During production, we were still developing a method to clean mocap data with Control Rigs in Unreal, aiming to keep the workflow fully in-engine.
Upgrading to IK Control rigs ​
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Transitioning to IK rigs was a game-changer, enabling faster mocap cleanup and more efficient custom animation. The process of building IK rigs for a custom skeleton was a valuable learning experience, offering greater flexibility and control. Creating Control Rigs from scratch also allowed us to adapt existing systems to better fit the needs of the project.
Cleanup & Blocking ​
Blocking scenes in empty levels became a key part of the workflow, allowing for faster renders and focused exploration of camera work and mocap cleanup without the engine processing full environments
Before and After​
These work-in-progress shots compare raw engine renders with lighting-only passes. All effects shown are achieved entirely in-engine, with final VFX passes still in progress.
SOUNDS INTERESTING?
Kryptik Studio is an independent, self-funded project focused on pushing real-time storytelling. If you’d like to support the development of future films and behind-the-scenes content, consider joining the Patreon — every bit helps bring these projects to life.
