Heroes of Bronze in 2025

Hey everyone,

I hope you’re all doing well! As 2025 approaches, I’m feeling a mix of excitement and determination about what’s ahead. It’s been a long journey getting to this point, and I wanted to share some of the plans I’m working on with you.

Finally Releasing My New Blender Course

It’s been two years in the making, but my Master Cinematic Storytelling in Blender course is finally coming out soon! This has been a real labour of love, and I’ve poured so much into it—everything I’ve learned about creating cinematic 3D art. I can’t wait to share it with you.

More Heroes of Bronze!

1. I’m planning to publish two more short stories that dive deeper into the Heroes of Bronze world. These stories mean a lot to me, and I’m also starting to prep for a printed edition. Imagine holding the world of Heroes of Bronze in your hands!

2. On the animation side, I’ll be starting to work on a brand-new short film for Heroes of Bronze. Getting back into animated storytelling feels like coming home.

3. I’m also planning to build a dedicated team to help with future projects. It’s time to bring more people on board to make these ideas even better…

Some Ideas I’m Considering…

I’ve got a few more things in mind that I’m playing around with:

• A Heroes of Bronze YouTube Channel: This would focus on educational and narrative videos about ancient Greece. It’s something I think could be really fun and valuable.

• Non-Photorealistic Rendering (NPR): I’ve been thinking about experimenting with this style for storytelling. It’s different from the photorealistic approach I’ve been using, but it could open up some great creative opportunities.

• A Heroes of Bronze Comic Book: How cool would it be to see Heroes of Bronze in comic form? I’m considering hiring an artist to help bring this idea to life.

Staying Grounded

With all these plans and ideas, the biggest challenge is staying focused and not overloading myself. I’ve spent a lot of time building the world of Heroes of Bronze, and I’m so excited to get back into creating animated art and stories again in 2025.

What Do You Think?

I’d love to know which of these projects excites you the most. Your thoughts and support mean the world to me, and I’m always grateful for your feedback.

Here’s to a creative and inspiring 2025. Thank you for being part of this journey…

Chairé!
Martin

The third short story is out!

I am happy to announce that a new illustrated short story set in the world of Heroes of Bronze is now available!

"A Pathetic Piece of Freedom" is focused on Penelope, the wife of Nikephoros, and the narrator of the Heroes of Bronze The Memory short film.

This might be a hard one to swallow for some. The lifestyle of Athenian noblewomen in ancient Greece was very restrictive. They spent the majority of their time indoors, managing the household, raising children, and knitting. Anything beyond that was frowned upon by men...

I've chosen one such (not so) ordinary day in Penelope's life to narrate my story...

Young Penelope

An excerpt:

The two men stood facing each other – Nikephoros calm and composed, but bleeding from the forehead, arms and legs. There was a deep gash on his right thigh as well. He seemed to ignore all that, though. His eyes were locked on the stranger.

The slave was breathing deep and hard, battered and red in the face. He held the shiv in front of his body, sticking it dangerously close to Nikephoros’ face.

“Look,” he gasped breathlessly, “Nothing happened here, alright? I didn't do anything – just a bit of fun, eh? I barely even touched her.”

Nikephoros didn’t react. He just wiped the blood from his face. It left a long red smear across his cheek. Looking at him, Penelope had to shudder. She could almost see the furies, spreading their wings behind his back...

Hope you'll like this one, and don't forget, there are 2 more short stories waiting for you at my Gumroad page, or they are free to download for all my Patrons!

Heroes of Bronze shortfilm is done!

Let me invite you for a few moments into ancient Greece. At least, the way it lives in my mind… I’ve always wanted to depict this era in a more realistic way than 300 did, and yet, still capture the sense of wonder and larger-than-life events of the period. I hope I was able to achieve it with this first huge milestone of my project…

If you want to learn more about the story and history behind the shots, definitely visit this page:

A STORY COMPANION TO THE SHORTFILM

Along with the shortfilm, I was able to finish up a first breakdown video, condensing 4 years into 2 minutes. Hope you’ll like it!

For now, that is all from me. Enjoy the video, enjoy the breakdown and be ready for more news from the Heroes of Bronze project. Before that, however, I will get a little bit of long-awaited rest…

Chairé!

Martin