Pixeldust blended anime, 3D animation, archival photography and AI-assisted imagery into a launch film for Kyrie Irving’s ANTA KAI 1, featured on Kyrie’s own Instagram.
Kyrie Irving’s first ANTA signature shoe, the KAI 1, needed a launch film as singular as the player himself, and there would be no film shoot to build it from. Every frame had to be created.
For the launch of Kyrie Irving’s first ANTA signature shoe, the KAI 1, Pixeldust created a promotional film that was featured on Kyrie’s own Instagram.
The story follows Kyrie’s personal and professional journey and his deep connection to the number 11, merging anime, live action, 3D animation and archival photography into one seamless, high-energy piece that reflects both his basketball prowess and his spiritual philosophy.
Blurring the lines between reality and AI
Anime-inspired sequences give Kyrie’s story an epic, mythological feel: sprinting across an open field to face “Big Mountain,” squaring off against towering basketball giants and dodging arrows that stand for his critics. Some shots began as photographs and were transformed into a stylized anime look; others were built in 3D first and then converted, with hand-drawn elements layered on top.
There was no dedicated film shoot, so every image had to be created. AI was part of the toolkit, but never a shortcut. Pixeldust works with proprietary tools and feeds them far more than a single reference: walk cycles, color schemes, human figures, character designs and many other variables, all directed by our artists.
That deliberate approach is what keeps Kyrie’s likeness, movement and branding consistent from shot to shot, with results that are predictable rather than lucky.
A montage takes Kyrie around the world, from the pyramids to the Taj Mahal and the Great Wall of China, compositing a robed traveler with Kyrie’s face into layered 2.5D environments in After Effects. Photographs from Kyrie’s team were reimagined to show him growing up, from his childhood driveway to an NBA court surrounded by paparazzi.
The KAI 1 was modeled and textured in 3D and composited onto figures in fully rendered 3D environments, with Kyrie’s signature dribbling recreated through rotoscoping and motion tracking. The finished film tells the story of an enlightened warrior, standing 11 strong.
Before going digital, Pixeldust tried to shoot the shoe moves practically, rigging the KAI 1 in the studio in front of a high-speed motion control robot. The setup delivered precise, repeatable passes, but never the dynamic, gravity-defying moves the story called for.
A second rig test tried a different setup for the shoe moves, with the same outcome: precise, but limited. Rebuilding the shoe in 3D, combined with AI-assisted imagery, set the camera and the shoe free from physical limits: spins, flips and moves no rig could achieve, while still matching the real product exactly.
To tell the story of Kyrie’s past and keep it authentic, Pixeldust worked from archival photos supplied by his team, enhancing and reimagining them to show younger versions of Kyrie in a natural way, then bringing them to life with 2.5D animation. The live-action moments were built the same way: stock footage, generated photographs, traditional animation and real images combined into compositions that read as true live-action cinematography, from Kyrie practicing in his childhood driveway to an NBA court ringed by paparazzi and a mystical desert temple where the KAI 1 is unveiled.
Blending this many styles into one film only works if every frame stays true to its subject. Close attention to Kyrie’s likeness, branding and movement kept the piece from being spectacle alone and made it part of his story. The result resonated with his fans worldwide: the KAI 1 film didn’t just show a shoe, it told the story of an enlightened warrior, standing 11 strong.
Stills
