This GAZ-52 project was created as a deep dive into high-end automotive CGI, photorealistic 3D modeling and cinematic asset production. We wanted to push the level of detail as far as possible and build a vehicle asset using the kind of workflow typically found in high-end film and VFX production.
We started by finding an actual GAZ-52 truck and capturing it through high-resolution photogrammetry, using several thousand photographs to cover the exterior, interior, chassis, underside and smaller mechanical details.
The photogrammetry data became the foundation for the 3D model. From there, we rebuilt and completed the asset, adding missing chassis and transmission components, reconstructing the interior and modeling the engine to create a production-ready digital vehicle.
The texturing process was equally demanding. Each material was unwrapped across 40–50 UDIMs in 4K resolution, providing the texel density required for extreme close-ups.
Photogrammetry artifacts were manually cleaned and rebuilt where necessary, with additional materials created from scratch in Substance Painter. The entire asset was developed using a fully PBR-based texturing and shading workflow.
The final stage was the rigging and animation. The GAZ-52 was given a highly detailed vehicle rig by Mikhail Zagainov, allowing the suspension, wheels and mechanical components to behave according to the real-world characteristics of the truck. Even details such as the characteristic figure-eight movement of the wheels were taken into account.
The result is a photorealistic 3D vehicle model built for cinematic rendering, automotive visualization and close-up VFX work. Although the project was created as an internal exploration, the production workflow and level of detail directly feed into our commercial automotive CGI, vehicle rendering and VFX work.
We also created the soundtrack ourselves, while the real engine and mechanical sounds of the GAZ-52 were recorded by our team on location, completing the project as a fully original audiovisual piece.