10-Minute Realistic 3D Anime

I’m producing a fully-rendered 3D anime short, at least ten minutes in length, built around a mystery/thriller narrative. The visual tone I’m after is realistic rather than cartoony, with an emphasis on nuanced, believable character expressions that carry the suspense.

Here’s the flow I have in mind:

• Story & Boards – I’ll share the core plot outline and key story beats; you help translate that into a tight storyboard/animatic that clearly maps out camera angles and pacing.
• Asset Creation – Realistic character models, facial rigs capable of subtle performance, plus environments that fit the darker, investigative mood.
• Animation & Lighting – Smooth, cinematic motion paired with lighting that heightens tension without drifting into stylized extremes.
• Final Render & Sound-Ready Cut – A minimum 10-minute video, rendered at 1920×1080 (or higher), with clean passes so sound design can be layered in on my side.

Blender, Maya, 3ds Max, or any modern pipeline is fine as long as facial rigging and expression control remain top-tier. I’ll review work in stages—first animatic, then grey-playblast, then final textured shots—so we can lock story beats before heavy render time.

If you thrive on realistic anime aesthetics and love building suspense through subtle performance, this project should be a great fit.