ZKsync Racing

ZKsync, a rapidly expanding verifiable blockchain network secured through advanced mathematical proofs, wanted to make a big splash for the highly anticipated launch of its ZK Token airdrop. To capture the “fast and furious” energy of this exciting milestone, the Matter Labs team sought a launch video that felt like a high-stakes race to the finish line.

AOIN Involvement:

Creative studio Look Mister partnered with AOIN to bring this ambitious vision to life. While Look Mister handled creative direction, storyboarding, and final editing, AOIN was responsible for developing the Unreal Engine asset, animation, and rendering pipeline—all within a tight 6-week timeline. This project required extensive expertise and innovation from AOIN’s Lead Technical Artist, Jeffrey Hepburn, who brought a wealth of toolset development wizardry to the table.

Technical Challenges:

One of the biggest hurdles was the limited timeframe, which influenced every aspect of the project’s development. The goal was to create a robust yet flexible technical process that allowed for rapid prototyping, iterative improvements, and procedural, non-destructive customization.

The team developed a sophisticated car livery customization system that enabled the creation of over 20 unique car designs efficiently. This system offered intuitive options for paint schemes, color palettes, decals, and even driver helmets and jumpsuits. Technical artists could use simple dropdown menus to adjust settings and store presets, making it easy for clients to review and approve designs instantly. The drag-and-drop functionality allowed the team to swap cars on the track seamlessly, ensuring a vibrant, dynamic race environment.

In terms of animation, the cars featured nanite meshes for extreme close-up shots, attached to low-poly skeletal rigs for smooth movement. Tires and suspensions moved fluidly with procedural animations that responded to the track’s banks and curves. Driver characters were rigged with inverse kinematics (IK) to grip the steering wheel accurately. Additionally, AOIN developed a group spline system that controlled all cars collectively, allowing animators to position vehicles efficiently. This setup automated steering, wheel spinning, and suspension adjustments, reducing days of manual work to mere minutes.

Character Development:

The project also required the creation of a hero character, Zeek, the ZK mascot, designed in the style of a classic Formula 1 racer. Modeled, textured, and rigged in-house, Zeek featured a custom skeleton with facial blendshapes for expressive animation. As the project evolved, Matter Labs requested the addition of other beloved partner characters, like Pudgy Penguin, who was animated to wave the checkered flag at the finish line—just in time during the final week of production.

Services Rendered
Environment Design
Character Design and Modeling
UE Character Rigging and Animation
UE Blueprinting
UE Rendering Pipeline

AOIN Team Credits                              
Producer - Nicole Plaza
Lead Technical Artist - Jeffrey Hepburn
Character Rigging and Animation - Yanjun Chen
UE Technical Artist - Mihai Nicula

Associated Parties
Look Mister
ZKsync
Matter Labs
Unreal Engine