In anticipation for their new permanent exhibit, Museums Victoria invited Dirty Puppet to help bring to life the most expansive science and biodiversity gallery in Museums Victoria’s history.

Our Wondrous Planet is a breathtaking new multisensory gallery at Melbourne Museum. Visitors traverse the globe on an epic journey from polar ice flats to vibrant reefs to discover their place in nature’s dynamic living network.

Building off of our previous success and experience from TYAMA our team played a central role in the new museum exhibit, shaping both its visual and interactive experiences.

Finding the right look for the animals was key.

Working side by side with the Creative, Science, and Story teams from the museum, it was paramount that we honoured each animal’s natural movements and behaviours with accuracy.

It was tricky to find the balance of scientific authenticity, emotional expressiveness and artistic impression, but Kate Moon and Vivienne To worked together to create stunning concept art that steered our creative direction.

Rather than feeling like a nature documentary, the goal was to evoke the impression of the environments and animals within and to make the audience feel as through they share the same spaces.

A seamless mixture of custom built 3D assets, hand drawn 2D elements, matte paintings and 3D simulations were woven together to create a cohesive, unique visual style.

Animating so many different types of animals – bipeds, quadrupeds & various aquatic types – required a lot of study and attention to detail. We worked meticulously to maintain a tangible feeling of accuracy despite the impressionistic, stylised aesthetic.

For environmental effects, integration, and many of our smaller animals we used cel animation to keep audiences immersed in our painterly world. This involved painting each frame by hand and matching in with 3D animation.

This exhibit utilises unique projection spaces, each one different with their own creative and technical challenges.

Projection surfaces included four-metre-tall curved walk ways, multi-screen immersive caves, a spiralling roof projection, and interactive floor & wall surfaces.

Some films were long form linear narratives but others worked interactively with the audience. Seamless loops and triggered layers create key story moments that visitors can play a part in as they walk through, touch and interact with the environment around them.

We worked directly with the museum team to shape the exhibit in real time. As the various physical structures were being built, on-site testing ensured our team could adapt our ideas to flow through to reality.

Extending our core team with selected key partners is key for a nimble studio like us on a project such as this. We partnered with our friends at White Owl Sound to help expand our animated world into an interactive, multi channel soundscape. Our storied professional relationship allowed us to work closely with them to create detailed and delicate sound designs as well as textural atmospheric music compositions that immersed our audience in the beauty of each unique biome.

Working again with Museums Victoria was both a fun and rewarding brief, the kind that brings out your best work. From the start, their team came in with a clear sense of purpose and a genuine passion for their mission.

Thanks to the amazing team of creatives we brought on for this project. They brought in expertise across so many areas and we couldn’t have done it without them.

Being such a big part of this exhibit has allowed us to help create an experience that is not only informative, but also immersive and unforgettable.