Ancient Elephant Cave' (Goa Gajah) 3D Replica

Goa Gajah, or the 'Elephant Cave' – a Balinese sanctuary hewn from the living rock, veiled in ancient lore, with its inception dating back to the 9th century. It’s a site that breathes myths, where history seeps from every crevice.

Originally, this was a place of stillness, where monks found solace and spirits conversed in hushed tones. But now, this serenity is shattered, not by marauding armies of yore, but by the relentless surge of development and the cacophony of tourism. The hallowed grounds are now encircled by vendors peddling wooden phalluses and other trinkets, a stark contrast to the cave's dignified legacy. The incessant hum of commerce, the scent of street food mingling with incense, the sight of tourists clamoring for a piece of sanctity to take home in their selfie galleries – all of this desecrates the once solemn atmosphere.

Compelled by a desire to reclaim the cave's lost sanctity, I embarked on a mission: to digitally preserve Goa Gajah. Through advanced photogrammetry techniques, I captured its essence, allowing us to reconstruct it in a 3D realm. Here, we peel back the layers of modernity and restore the cave's mystical and primal beauty, as it was meant to be seen – not obscured by the presence of soda-sipping tourists, but standing in its pure, unadulterated glory.

The Goa Gajah you will witness through this project is silent save for the echoes of ancient Balinese spirits, a sanctum untouched by time or technology.

As you journey through this digital resurrection, feel the weight of centuries slip away. Welcome to a Goa Gajah reborn, a monument that once again whispers the sacred stories of old Bali, inviting you to listen to the silence that speaks volumes.

In real life, the cave astonishes with its magnificent ancient carvings, but the hordes of tourists and the overarching vibe of a tacky Asian bazaar with cookie-cutter souvenirs just trash the whole experience of connecting with the legacy of this sacred spot. Now, don't get me wrong – I'm not saying tourism is the bad guy here. People can and should visit ancient sites, especially gems like this one, but the way the tourist scene is managed around this landmark is a total freak show.

As a globetrotter, I'd rate this attraction a meager 3 out of 10 for the way visitors and locals alike have disrespectfully turned this ancient temple into a flea market.

That's exactly why I decided to hit up the cave again at dawn, when the tourist swarm thins out, and snapped some shots to later remodel the entire cave in 3D, crafting my own short scene. I aimed to convey those mystical, reverent vibes I felt peering at this age-old masterpiece.

To craft the character's ambiance, I tapped into the primal essence of the ancient Rangda mask, queen of the leyaks. A relic I'd previously scanned, it's not just a piece of history—it's a portal to the past, a face-to-face with Balinese mythology.

Blender Eveee 8К

To bring this scene to life, I armed myself with a beast of a camera, the Sony A7S3, snapping up around 800 shots of the cave's surroundings to capture every gritty detail. Next, I threw those into the digital cauldron of Agisoft Metashape, cooking up a photogrammetric scan with a whopping 16K texture.

Then, I dove into Blender, where the real magic happens, for some intense sculpting action and tweaking the real-time rendering settings using the Evee engine like a wizard.

The grand finale? A jaw-dropping scene rendered in crisp 8K resolution.

Crafting this project was all about recapturing the mystical Balinese vibe and channeling it through the lens of my creativity.

▶ Producer / Animator / 3D Artist - Voogie
▶ Poncho Design - @maria.nazarova
▶ Barong Illustration - @fedos.art
▶ 3D Fabric Simulation - @future_deconstruction
▶ Rangda Mask Photogrammetry Cleanup - @dmtryjd
▶ Sound Creation - @magicpimpman