The Goal was to design, model, and animate an extremely detailed, cute, and festive 3D Hongbao for RUNNER's Lunar New Year 2026 social media drop.
The client needed a high-fidelity 3D asset that captured the traditional essence of a red envelope but fit a modern, stylized social media aesthetic.
Behind The Scenes
An additional challenge was to integrate the "Cowboy" and "RUNNER" brand marks onto a custom, textured banknote peeking out of the wallet flap.
I custom-designed the banknote in Photoshop, and created additional PBR maps to bring out the specific properties like embossment, golden foil, and black ink.
Finally, I brought everything together in Octane for Blender, creating a complex layered material.
Bonus
I have also animated the Hongbao by creating a satisfying reveal effect.