The making of "Nepal School" by Shadowplay Studio

Introduction

Hello CGAward Community!

We’re Shadowplay, an architectural visualization studio working across still imagery and cinematic films. In this article, we’re sharing the process behind a single image from our [Nepal School Competition] project, selected for its atmosphere and narrative focus.

We’d like to thank CG Award for inviting us to take part and share this breakdown. What follows is a look at some of the creative and technical decisions behind the image, from early concept and scene setup to lighting, atmosphere, and final polish.

About the project

This shot is part of an architectural competition project for a school in Nepal, conceived to respond to cultural and social conditions across varied contexts rather than a single specific site. The project was developed in collaboration with FISH-I Studio, who led the architectural design, while we focused on the visual interpretation of the proposal.

With this image, we aimed to capture a moment of local folklore and communal activity within the school environment, where architecture becomes a setting for gathering, movement, and shared experience. The intention was to show how the design can support learning, cultural expression, and social interaction.

Concept & Artistic Direction

The conceptual direction of this image was shaped by the idea of the school as a social and cultural space rather than a purely educational facility. The intention was to show the architecture as part of everyday communal life, where learning, gathering, and cultural expression can overlap.

Cultural references such as prayer flags, traditional clothing, and local folklore dances informed the atmosphere and the way people inhabit the space, while references to Nepal’s mountainous landscape and soft contours guided the framing and sense of scale. Material choices followed the design constraints, with locally sourced materials shaping the visual language and its relationship with light and climate.

Scene Foundation

The project began with an architectural model developed by FISH-I. Building on this foundation, we refined the model and introduced additional detail to selected elements, including the roof structure and the metal supports, to better support the visual intent of the image.

Next, the prayer flags were modeled and textured in a simplified manner, as they were intended to be completed later through matte painting in post-production rather than rendered directly. Supporting wires were modeled, and the flags were distributed along them using Forest Pack by iToo Software, allowing their shadows to be generated naturally within the scene.

From a compositional perspective, the selected shot follows a symmetrical setup that brings the building, central court, and human activity into a single readable frame. This approach allowed the architecture to remain clear while framing the courtyard as a shared space, reinforcing the idea of the school as a place for gathering and cultural expression.

Materials/Texturing

Material development was guided by reference images to achieve believable, accurate-looking materials.

For the roof material and painted wall surfaces, we incorporated materials from Quixel Megascans and tweaked them based on visual references to match the intended look and feel of the design.

The perforated brick walls were treated differently. Instead of using a ready-made brick wall material, the brickwork was modeled directly to keep control over scale and pattern. The individual bricks were then assigned randomized IDs using a script from ScriptSpot, and a Multi/Sub-Object material with three brick variations was applied. This helped introduce subtle differences in color across the surface while keeping the overall appearance consistent.

Scene Lighting

The scene was lit as a daytime shot to support the cultural activity in the courtyard and to align with the project’s function as a school. A clear daylight setup helped keep the space readable and active.

Lighting was kept simple using a V-Ray Sun and V-Ray Sky with default settings. Different sun angles were tested until one was found that provided good contrast and depth while clearly defining the building form and supporting the chosen composition.

Post-Production & Compositing

Post-production focused on developing elements that were intentionally left flexible during rendering and refining the image through an iterative process.

The prayer flags, which were set up mainly to generate accurate shadows in the render, were completed through matte painting to allow finer control.

Human activity was also shaped at this stage. The folklore dance, surrounding crowds, and supporting figures were matte painted and carefully blended into the scene to reinforce movement and communal use of the courtyard.

The background landscape, including distant mountains, was added to extend depth and complete the spatial context.

Throughout this process, Magnific AI and Photoshop Generative Fill were used alongside traditional compositing to support targeted adjustments and refinements. Final color grading and contrast adjustments were then applied to unify the image.

Closing Thoughts

In conclusion, the goal of this shot was to present the school as an active cultural setting rather than a static architectural object, where learning, gathering, and local traditions can coexist within the same space. Focusing on a single frame allowed us to shape that idea clearly through architecture, activity, and atmosphere.

Working on this image was an enjoyable process for us, particularly in developing the cultural activity and human presence that bring the space to life. We hope this breakdown has been useful, and thank you for taking the time to read through it.

About the author

Shadowplay Studio

We visualize architecture like a scene from a film: full of atmosphere, tension, and beauty.

Shadowplay Studio