The Era Before

The text in Chinese says “In the era before the avatar, we bent not the elements, but the energy within ourselves.”

The original scene from the TV show Avatar: The Last Airbender.

I wanted the style to look like old Chinese artwork, where they tell the story in calligraphy on the artwork, like this example.

The lion turtle represents power before the age of the avatar; so I wanted to work in a mix of art styles that would fade from the foreground (showing the avatar in a modern 3D style) to an old painting style in the background (the lion turtle island).

Another example where you can see the transition from 3D style to painting style in the water. The effect is based on depth from the camera and appears more natural than a simple painting filter.