Carolina
Panthers
Brand Video
A cinematic 3D animation built to reignite the roar. We were brought in to model, rig, and animate a fully realized Panther from scratch — carving a legacy out of stone for the 2024 season debut.
Client
Carolina Panthers
In Collaboration With
EP William Boyér @getulravideo
Deliverable
3D Animation / Brand Film
Debut
2024 Season Opener
Scroll
100+
Reference Photos Gathered
3
Core Software Platforms
2024
Season Opener Debut
NFL
Production Scale
The Brief
Carving Out
Their Legacy
Tattoo Studios came to us with an ambitious concept for the Carolina Panthers’ 2024 season opener: a brand video built around the idea of “Carving Out Their Legacy.”
The ask was specific and technically demanding — create a photorealistic 3D replica of the Panther statue that stands in front of Bank of America Stadium, then bring it to life. Not just animate it — make it feel alive, dangerous, and iconic.
The vision: Panthers players chisel black obsidian. From that stone, the Panther emerges. He grabs the podium, cracks it apart, turns his head, opens his jaws, and roars. A creature forged in darkness, stepping into the light.
The Process
How We Built
the Beast
01
Step One
Reference & Research
We gathered extensive photographic reference of the real Panther statue outside Bank of America Stadium — every angle, every surface, every detail of the bronze. This reference library became the foundation for a faithful digital replica.
Photography
Reference Gathering
02
Step Two
Sculpting in ZBrush
Using ZBrush, we soft-body sculpted the Panther from scratch — building out the full form, musculature, fur texture, claws, facial anatomy, and fine surface details. The base mesh was exported as an FBX while the fine detail was baked into a UV normal map.
ZBrush
FBX Export
UV Normal Map
03
Step Three
Set & Scene Build
In Cinema 4D we built the Panther’s lair: a hard-surface obsidian podium mirroring the real-world statue base, scattered black obsidian rock formations, cracked floor geometry with light breaking through from below — creating a hostile, unstable environment fit for an apex predator.
Cinema 4D
Hard Surface Modeling
Environment Design
04
Step Four
Octane Lighting & Texture
Octane Render drove the look — deep Panthers blue rim lighting, volumetric fog rolling across the floor, dramatic shadows, and physical-based materials that made the obsidian and the Panther’s skin read with cinematic weight. The palette was dark, edgy, and unmistakably Carolina.
Octane Render
PBR Textures
Volumetric Fog
05
Step Five
Rigging & Animation
We rigged the full Panther skeleton and animated the hero sequence: paws gripping the podium, stone cracking away under his weight, the neck turning, the jaw opening wide into a full roar. Every motion was designed to read with power and intention at broadcast scale.
Character Rigging
Keyframe Animation
Facial Rig
06
Step Six
Final Composite
The rendered animation was handed off to Tattoo Studios for final compositing with the live-action player footage. The result debuted before the 2024 season and was met with massive response — exactly the kind of hype the Panthers wanted to ignite.
Compositing
Final Delivery
Broadcast
Behind the Build
Process Gallery
The Outcome
Built to Make
an Impact
Season Opener Debut
The animation debuted before the 2024 Panthers season — one of the highest-visibility moments in the team’s annual calendar, reaching fans across broadcast, social, and in-stadium screens.
Brand Reconnection
The “Carving Out Their Legacy” concept hit exactly the emotional note the Panthers needed — a rallying cry that put the iconic Panther front and center and gave fans something to rally around.
NFL-Scale Execution
From a single statue reference to a fully rigged, animated, lit, and composited CG character — this was a ground-up production executed to professional broadcast standards for one of the NFL’s iconic franchises.
3D Modeling & Animation
Fortitude Creative
Production Partner
Tattoo Studios
Software
ZBrush · Cinema 4D · Octane
Client
Carolina Panthers / NFL
More Work
fortitudecreative.com