«Horns» is a 3D short film rendered in the aesthetic of Southern Gothic, incorporating elements of folk-horror and surrealism. Following an accident on a desolate road, a man with a dark past finds himself at the home of a mysterious family sporting deer heads. His attempt to escape the nightmare turns into a confrontation with his own cruelty and the inescapable reckoning for his deeds.

Runtime — 2–3 minutes.

The film is aimed at older teens and adult audiences (16+) interested in psychological horror, folk horror, and auteur-driven 3D animation. Primarily, it targets viewers who appreciate a dark atmosphere, unconventional visuals, symbolism, and ambiguous narratives.

Blender — hard surface/props assets, UVs, fur ZBrush — character sculpting, heads Maya — rigging, sculpting retopology, UVs Unreal Engine 5 — scene assembly, lighting, cameras, rendering Substance Painter — baking, textures Marvelous Designer — clothing DaVinci, After Effects — post-production, titles Animations — Mixamo + manual refinement + AI Mocap

A man drives down a deserted road through the fields. His dirty clothes, a photograph, and soiled ornaments hint at grim events from the past that remain off-screen. Distracted by a boy by the roadside, the protagonist encounters a suddenly appearing deer. Waking up in an unfamiliar house, he meets a woman and a child with deer heads. The woman kindly seats him at the table, but her familiar ornaments and the strangeness of the situation frighten the man. He suddenly wounds her with a knife and tries to escape. Catching sight of himself in a mirror, the protagonist discovers a disfigured deer head on his own body. Running toward the road, he sees the same boy on the porch. A car flies out of the fog directly toward the man—the story concludes.

Character designs blend familiar human traits with surreal elements, as if memories and reality have intertwined in a dream. The doe-woman appears as a nurturing homemaker, yet behind her hides a supreme force embodying retribution.

The disfigured head of the deer-man protagonist emphasizes his otherness and symbolizes spiritual death.

In contrast, the image of the small fawn lacks menacing features, embodying innocence and vulnerability.

Natalia Serous
3D Generalist / Visual Development / Unreal Engine

Creating atmospheric, moody 3D worlds with a highly expressive, cinematic presentation. Strengths include scene art direction, lighting and composition, 3D modeling, and cinematic creation. Developing a cohesive visual style for the project—from concept through final realization. Applying generative AI to explore artistic solutions and optimize the creative process.

Valeria Yartseva
3D Generalist / Characters / Sound Design

A 3D Generalist specializing in modeling and digital sculpting in ZBrush. My strengths lie in confidently handling form, proportion, and detail, as well as creating expressive characters and objects. Beyond modeling, I understand the fundamental stages of the 3D pipeline, including retopology, texturing, lighting, rendering, and model optimization.