Hello dear friend!
My name is Alexey Kashpersky, I am Creative Director in the VFX storytelling company. And this is Tamerlan - Albino supercrimson iguana. One of the rarest artificially created iguana morphs and quite a personality by himself :)
Hello dear friend!
My name is Alexey Kashpersky, I am Creative Director in the VFX storytelling company. And this is Tamerlan - Albino supercrimson iguana. One of the rarest artificially created iguana morphs and quite a personality by himself :)
Dragon and Me: Prologue shortfilm is the culmination of five years of dedicated work — a true love story between human and animal, shaped by the passion for art and made possible by those who believed in the dream.
Unfortunately, I am not allowed to share the full film yet due to the strict rules of film festival submissions, which require the right to the first screening in 2026.
However, I am delighted to share the film trailer with you.
Please enjoy!
Deep in the Appalachian wilderness, a solitary life is shattered by the accidental discovery of a mysterious extraterrestrial artifact — a force that tears apart the boundaries of the known world.
As official institutions attempt to control the anomaly, the hero stands at a crossroads: submit to cold authority or heed the fierce call of something far beyond human understanding.
Bound by an extraordinary connection to an exotic companion — a humble creature transforming in impossible ways — they choose to abandon control and step boldly into the unknown. Together, they forge a bond that defies reason and reshapes reality itself.
The Dragon and Me project has attracted over 400,000 followers on Instagram alone, with hundreds of thousands more across other platforms—support and belief that made the film’s production possible.
This short film serves as a prologue to a planned feature-length production.
The project was brought to life over 5 years of dedicated work, with a total budget of $18,790.
Iguana Tam, the main character of the film, belongs to an exceptionally rare species—only a few of which exist in the world—and was born blind, bringing a distinctive emotional depth to the narrative.
The portal light effect in the film was created using a $47 laser measurement line.
Most of the film was shot on the legendary Canon “Dream Lens” with an ultra-wide 0.95 aperture, contributing to its distinctive visual style.
A test video of the Draguana in flight went viral, reaching over 6 million views on Instagram and 20+ million on Tiktok.
Alexey Kashpersky was offered a lead role in a television series episode but declined due to scheduling conflicts with the Dragon and Me film's production.
The film’s creative team consists of 25 people, including artists, animators, musicians, and award-winning specialists such as Jason Snyman (Avatar, Game of Thrones, Godzilla, I, Robot), Nina Fisher (Game of Thrones, The Marvels, Em & Selma - 2025 Sundance selection), Hai-Tao Wu (two-time Emmy Award winner), and others.
Taking this opportunity, I’d like to give a HUGE shoutout to this incredible team—artists and true masters of their craft.
Without you, this film would NEVER have happened.
Five years in production is a long journey. Some of you have been with me from the very beginning, while others joined later.
Nevertheless, I am endlessly grateful for your skills, vision, support, and trust to each and every of you.
Music - Michael Hyman & Madil Hardis
Sound Design – Isiah Kendall
Director of Photography – HaiTao Wu
Camera Operators – Albert Kulakov, Elena Kashpersky
Matchmove, Rotomation, Pre-prod. - Ana Petrovikj, Toni Bozhinovski, Goran Kjulavkovski
Animation - Jason Snyman, Nina Fischer, Eevee Saucedo, Aimee Hochstein, Alexey Kashpersky
Particle systems - CG Record Studio, Amid Rajabi, Lê Vũ Văn Trường, João Teixeira
Draguana 3D model - Alexey Kashpersky
Watch 3D Model - Valentin Sorokin
Rigging - Truong Cg Artist, Alexey Kashpersky
Voice actors - Mark Christiansen, Tim Stephenson
Poster - Lev Savitskiy
Loucas Rongeart, Jonathan Symmonds, Marcus Ottosson, Paris Hall, Alexander Ryazanov, Dan Katcher, Dominika Jandlová, Meleah Maynard, Simon Walker, Samuel Vona, David Martinez, Al Lemke, Elena Kashpersky, Olha Parchuk, Alexander Thompson and my Mom Olena.
MAXON team – To every and each of you - Thank you for continuous support!
AND TO ALL OUR INSTAGRAM SPONSORS - You guys are the best! You gave me motivation to move forward and keep pushing.
Vlada, Mami, Dawn Marie, Alisha, G.H.S, ang2889, Jakie Ceman, Lori Greiner, Brookie, Beardielover1001, Brittanie Alcala, Emma Willingham, Jakie Negron, Jade Moth, Sherri Lynne, Hernameisred, Wesley Knight Jensen, Spikey and Vinny, Being.Piye, Nanibel, Lia Pender, Britta Sorensen, Nicholasfw, Kristee Clarke, Ravensky23, Khostadina1, Mimi Annette Mayer, Roberta Shaffer, James and Aleece, Joan Schmidt Bunke, Bridgitte Thibodeau, Leslie Kadane, David Seltzer, Laura Ann Le Duc, Netyri23, Dawn Hubberstey, Lynne Amos, Benita Conway, Sharon Christensen, Marlon Godet, Misha & Milo, Linda Alexander, Violeta.sivestre, Cindy Coupigny, Zandra Hansson, Jenny Sell, Darcie Tucker, Mia Fiterman, Hugo Landheer, Lisa Fryslie
Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Over all these years working on the film, I’ve felt incredible support from our ZBrush and art community. I’d like to take this chance to say thank you and to share some film-related materials that will, I hope, help you—dear fellow artist—stay motivated and keep your creative spirit alive!
Sharing all of my 500+ high resolution iguana reptile photo references. Download link.
Dragon Skin Anatomy and 3D Scales Creation for Artists. Link to video.
Zbrush to Redshift - the POWER of Vector Displacement. Link to video.
- Draguana Proof of Concept still images.
- Animated draft version of the wings composited with live video. (20+ mil. views on social media)
- Flying test of the Draguan on top of the drone footage. (6 mil. views on social media)
- 10 months long journey on creating the 3D model.
- First flying animation and real life footage compositing test.
-- Make a sponsor subscription to @dragon.and.me on Instagram or Patreon.
-- Order merch from our online store.
-- If you would like to join our team please DM me on instagram or email at shinytamerlan@gmail.com
Software we use:
- ZBrush (3D Modeling)
- Mari, Substance (Texturing)
- Maya (Scene setup, rigging)
- Cinema 4D (Scene setup, rigging)
- Redshift (Render)
- Unreal Engine (Cinematics production, Environments)
- AfterEffects, Photoshop (Compositing)
Work in Progress Video Links:
- Dragon and Me Shortfilm Announcement
- Dragon Egg 3D printing and Chroma-key painting
- Draguan eye video update
- Reptile Eye 3D Making Of - Sculpting and Animating
- Shortfilm - Production update 01
- Shortfilm update // Just got back from Hollywood!
- Draguana first animation test | No textures
- Draguana render with textures. Maya/Redshift
- Draguan 3D model creation. 10mo in 10 minutes
- Fixing dragon wing membrane intersection. Maya / Proximity Warp
- Draguana CloudSurfing - WIP :: MAYA/Redshift
Stay tuned, follow @dragon.and.me on instagram for daily updates!