
Meraas. Design Quarter ft. Steven Harrington
Embark on a breathtaking voyage into Steven Harrington's realm, a boundless world of unrivaled creativity where rules surrender to boundless imagination.
Let's dive into the process behind crafting these visuals for Adidas’ state-of-the-art materials across their running footwear. The ask? Adidas gave us 5 different materials to replicate in a 3D environment and have them interact across 8 different materials. And yes, if you’re checking the math, that’s 40 deliverables. Better get down to business!
The Challenge
Adidas provided us with these sketches of their materials, alongside a physical of a description of each property. We took these properties and their behaviors into C4D to build the materials, then animate their unique movements.
The Solution
In C4D, Houdini and AE we dove into refining the material, inspired by Adidas' sketches to create the 8 different materials. With the numerous iterations, finding the perfect fit required consideration and precision. This guided our approach, ensuring that each module not only stood on its own but also seamlessly integrated with others to accurately portray Adidas' innovative technologies.
For the animation, we focused on the motion of a real step, which meant R&D to refine how each material behaves. Using reference footage from Adidas and our own sources, we studied how different soles should respond—some light and springy, others firm and supportive.
Finally, we animated the collider to form a footstep, ensuring each material reacted naturally. Pairing and fine-tuning these interactions meant making sure every texture and movement felt just right. In the end, we found the perfect balance of function and style.