Modeling · Lighting · Rendering

Alice in Wonderland
Recreation & Courtyard Study

A study created entirely in Autodesk Maya, beginning with a recreation of the 2010 movie reference and developing into an original courtyard inspired by its design.

Project overview

Studying the movie, then creating my own version.

I first studied a scene from Alice in Wonderland (2010) to understand its structure, organic shapes, camera view, and lighting. After completing the recreation, I kept recognizable ideas from the movie scene but changed the colors, plants, mushrooms, and lighting to create a brighter original courtyard.

SoftwareAutodesk MayaFocusModeling, lighting, materials, and renderingMy workBlocking, scene assembly, lighting, and final look

Movie reference

Finding the shapes before building the scene.

I drew my own blocking lines over the movie reference to break the scene into large architectural forms. This guide helped me plan the pillars, doorway, framing, scale, and camera placement before I started modeling in Maya.

Alice in Wonderland movie reference with Maygen's blocking lines — **Movie Reference with Blocking Guide***Alice in Wonderland* (2010) reference · Blocking lines by Maygen

Grayscale Maya blocking and early lighting test — First blocking and lighting test · Autodesk Maya

First Maya test

Blocking the architecture and testing the light.

I modeled the main blocking first so I could understand how the scene would fit together. I recreated some of the organic shapes and built details such as the door frames. This grayscale render was my first test for seeing how the lighting and shadows would move across the space.

Reference and recreation

Matching the original lighting as closely as possible.

The recreation became a focused lighting study. I compared my Maya render with the movie frame and adjusted the light, color, shadows, and overall mood. The result is not an exact copy, but it comes close to the original direction.

Side-by-side lighting comparison between the movie reference and Maya recreation

Finished recreation

Assembling the complete movie-inspired scene.

I brought the pillars, windows, chandelier, character model, rug texture, other materials, and candles into Maya and arranged them around my blocking. I then handled the scene lighting, look development, and rendering.

Front view of the completed Maya recreation — 01
**Recreation Front View**
The main view showing the full composition, architectural elements, character, textures, and lighting.

High-angle view of the completed Maya recreation — 02
**Recreation High-Angle View**
A darker high-angle view that shows the rug, floor pattern, shadows, and layout from above.

Inspired courtyard study

Reworking the scene into something new.

After finishing the movie recreation, I rebuilt the look while keeping several of its main design elements. I recolored the environment, added plants and mushrooms throughout the courtyard, and changed the lighting to create a brighter and more dreamlike atmosphere. The wide and detail views show the same finished courtyard from different distances.

Bright white courtyard with plants inspired by the movie recreation — Inspired Courtyard Study · Modeled, lit, and rendered in Autodesk Maya

Wide view of the inspired courtyard — **Inspired Courtyard Wide View**Full composition and lighting

Close-up view of the inspired courtyard — **Inspired Courtyard Detail View**Closer view of the entrance, plants, and materials

Project credit

Created in Autodesk Maya.

I completed the blocking, custom architectural modeling, scene assembly, lighting, materials, and rendering in Maya. Some scene models were sourced online and brought into the project, while I created the final composition and visual direction.