NATALIJA ILIC

About

I’m Natalija Natasa Ilić (formerly known as Natasha Petrovic), a Cinematic Camera Lead working across film and AAA games.My work is focused on real-time storytelling through camera — building emotion, rhythm, and player experience inside interactive sequences.With a background in VFX, animation, and full production pipelines, I combine technical precision with cinematic direction, using lighting as a core narrative tool.My work spans more than 20 years across film, VFX, animation, commercials, and AAA game production.I started in full CG and postproduction pipelines, working across camera tracking, compositing, animation, lighting, and technical execution for film, TV, and commercial projects. Over time, that foundation grew into broader creative and production responsibility — from full pipeline ownership and independent production work to creative direction and cross-disciplinary leadership.Today, my focus is cinematic camera, lighting, and level design in AAA games, where I lead camera direction, visual language, shot composition, lighting, pacing, spatial composition, and real-time storytelling in Unreal Engine. My background across VFX, animation, live-action integration, environment art, and production pipelines allows me to approach sequences and spaces not as isolated shots or levels, but as complete narrative systems built for emotion, clarity, gameplay readability, and player experience.

Experience

Virtuos

Industry / Games

Room 8 Studio

Industry / Games

Harmonity Group

Industry / Games

Open Studio, Belgrade Serbia

Industry / Movie / Animation and VFX

MARVINTECH

Industry / Games

Independent Production - Beaming Onion SP

Industry - Movie/Games

Serbian National Lottery-DLS

Industry / Games

Open Studio, Belgrade Serbia

Industry / Movie / Animation and VFX

Helium, Belgrade Serbia

Industry / Movie / Animation and VFX

Tools

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Work

Deleted (2023)

Director : Zoran Krstic

Unreal Engine 5.1 using Lumen

Lead Lighting ,Camera and Environment Artist /UnrealEngine
Owned Camera, Environment & Lighting Direction (Unreal Engine, real-time)

Hybrid dystopian feature
In partnership with Mir Media, supported by Film Center Serbia and Epic Games/3Lateral, Open Studio were working on a new feature DELETED.

Monsters in My Head – Protector of the Realm (2024)
3D Platformer / Narrative Adventure

Selected for 80 Level’s The Museum in Space

Unreal Engine 5.4 using Lumen

Author: Natasa Natalija Ilic / Soto
The Museum in Space experience: Created by KozLabs for 80 Level
Fortnite island code: 3269-4521-3309
Visit The Museum in Space on Fortnite

• Read the 80 Level article

In 2024, Monsters in My Head – Protector of the Realm was selected from an international open call for The Museum in Space, 80 Level’s curated Fortnite exhibition featuring digital artists from around the world.
The story follows Riza and Ilija, who are sent to save their homeland but arrive after it has already been devastated.The privileged and politically connected live in protected habitats with access to clean drinking water and uncontaminated food, while the rest of the population is left to suffer. Toxic exposure and deprivation have transformed their bodies, leaving them with green skin, scars, and severe physical deformities.Riza and Ilija operate as smugglers under the cover of a mobile fast-food service. Secretly delivering clean water and food to the population, they help people recover while supporting their struggle to overthrow the corrupt government responsible for the destruction of their land.

IMMERSIVE VR EXPERIENCE — UAE ROYAL PROJECT (2017)

Unreal Engine 4 — VR

Project Lead for a large-scale immersive VR experience developed for a UAE royal client. Led the overall project development, with primary responsibility for environment art, lighting, visual direction, and final real-time presentation.

Eventide (2015)

Film / Director
Felix van Cleeff

VFX and Animation (Independent Production)
Two young lovers on the road to nowhere... A meditation on despair and the impossibility of love.

• Evident

Chess (2013)

Animation Short

Technical Director (Full Pipeline)
Chess-War in the Middle East | Schach-Krieg im Nahen Osten
It's the conflict between Shiite and Sunni.

The Storks will return (2008-2009)

TV Show / Director Goran Gajic

Open Studio:Technical Director (Full Pipeline)Delivered VFX shot work for live-action TV productions, including camera tracking (matchmoving), CG animation, and compositingA story of two friends and petty thieves trying to make a living

• The Storks Will Return

SELECTED COMMERCIAL WORK

Blic Newspaper Campaign (2015)

VFX and Animation (Independent Production - Beaming Onion)

Children’s Audiobook Campaign for Blic – Narrated by Miloš Biković

ZAIN KSA — COMMERCIAL CAMPAIGN (2014)

VFX / Camera Tracking / CG Character Integration - Open Studio,Belgrade Serbia

Commercial campaign for Zain KSA featuring stylized singing ball characters with human facial performances.
Responsible for extensive camera tracking, VFX work, and integration of live-action facial elements with CG characters and environments.

TVC/ naked fruit campaign (2012)

VFX and Animation (Independent Production - Beaming Onion)

Pepsi (2010)

Open Studio: Lead 3D Generalist / Technical Director (Full Pipeline)

Delta Generali (2010)

Open Studio: TVC Lead 3D Generalist / Technical Director (Full Pipeline)

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Realtime Look Development Study

Unreal Engine 5.6 using Lumen

Realtime Look Development Study created in Unreal Engine 5.6 using a custom MetaHuman character setup.
Focused on cinematic lighting, skin shader development, and real-time stylization workflows.
The study explores the transformation from physically-based rendering to a noir comic visual language through layered Post Process Volume setups, combining hatching, outline blending, tonal compression, and paper-like texture response while preserving underlying form readability and cinematic composition.

Sequencer EXR Output | UE5.6

Real-Time Editor Playback | OBS Capture

Realtime gameplay lighting study

Unreal Engine 5.4 using Lumen

Realtime gameplay lighting study in Unreal Engine 5.4 using Lumen.Same environment, same lighting setup — emotional tone transformed entirely through Post Process Volume grading and real-time exposure control.Created to explore cinematic mood variation, gameplay readability, and environmental storytelling under real-time rendering conditions.
For this realtime gameplay setup, a Cine Camera was integrated directly into the playable character Blueprint through a spring arm system, allowing full use of cinematic camera behavior and film-based camera controls during live gameplay rendering.

Realtime character lighting study

Unreal Engine 5.2 using Lumen

Realtime character lighting and skin material study created in Unreal Engine 5.2 using Lumen.This exploration focused on developing cinematic realtime skin response, subsurface behavior, facial light interaction, and emotional readability under dynamic lighting conditions.Special attention was given to skin shading, volumetric light falloff, eye reflections, and composition in order to achieve a filmic realtime presentation while maintaining natural character depth and atmosphere.Created using a custom MetaHuman inspired by Jenna Ortega as Wednesday from Wednesday by Tim Burton.

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Recommendations

Michael Moreton
Game Director at Firesprite

“Nat is an extremely detail focused and diligent artist, who consistently goes above and beyond to not only ensure the work she's a part of looks fantastic, but the processes and principles behind achieving it is repeatable and able to be worked on by others easily.Nat works hard to ensure that other team members understand the importance of the artistic work she does and works with other disciplines to get great results. She constantly pushes quality and has an eye for detail in the work she was involved with and was adept at problem solving and pushing others to deliver to her high standards.”

Michael Rainsford Ryan
Senior Game Designer at Black Shamrock - A Virtuos Studio

“Natasha is an extremely hard working, solution minded person, always quick to raise issues before they become a problem and guaranteed to have solutions ready.
On top of our regular work, we've worked alongside each other to improve processes, and design & implement tech to improve the tooling and workflow of the project.
Natasha is proactive in her work and quick to understand new requirements. I'd highly recommend her skills to any team looking for new talent.”

Stu Whitten, Cinematics Lead at Firesprite (PlayStation)

“Nat's an excellent addition to any team – an incredibly diligent and focused team member – excelling at both creative and technical problem solving on very large cinematic projects – bringing a wealth of knowledge and references to strengthen a project visually and thematically.”

Gergely 'Cz' Cziraki - Principal Cinematic Artist at Firesprite

“I have had the pleasure to work with Nat on a yet unannounced project where she was leading a team of five camera artists. Her responsibilities included artistic and technical guidance, training, and feature development in collaboration with the in-game interactions team.
Nat has a very strong focus on the cinematic arts and visual storytelling, and at the same time she has a great understanding of Unreal tech, cinematic pipelines, and production dependencies. She was proactive and diligent to an almost fanatical level and a great credit to the cinematic team.
She is great for tasks and projects with complex technical and artistic challenges and I can recommend her wholeheartedly.”

Benjamin Hodder
Senior Camera Artist —
Firesprite (Sony PlayStation)

" Natalija was extremely effective at managing a team of cinematic artists for seventeen months, on large scale, AAA game...
She was responsible for five team members solely, but went over and above, helping other members of department with technical solutions, speedy communication and advise ahead of time, whilst being crucial in supporting the production. Her input was vast and her willingness to support anyone outside her remit was evident always.Natalija developed and managed new gameplay interactions, but wielding her main skill in her own cinematics. She can access her craft emotionally, which is likely her best asset in producing those meaningful moments later on. She has helped build the pipeline along the way.
Both creative and practical aspects were met at high calibre, something more unique in that role. Therefore she was inspiring for other members of the team as well.Natalija will likely raise standards in any team she runs. Fighting behind the scenes to keep the flow unhindered in our day to day, which is always appreciated!There was not a time when I felt I couldn't reach her for anything that I might of needed. Her passion was evident too, as you might expect from someone who offers over and beyond in a role! "

Darshita Bajpai Principal Animator —
Firesprite (Sony PlayStation)

"It was a pleasure working with Nat. She is a
highly capable and experienced professional
with a strong background in cinematic work and
a real passion for solving technical challenges.
One of her key strengths is her ability to find
practical solutions quickly, especially when
dealing with complex engine blending or
transition issues. She brings strong technical
knowledge, a practical mindset and clear
dedication to her craft. I would recommend her
for roles where problem solving, technical skill
and cinematic experience are highly value."

Justas Viškelis Senior Cinematic Artist
Heroic - Room 8 Group

"I've worked with many leads, but I can say this without hesitation: Natalija has had the
biggest positive impact on my career so far.
She wasn't just a team lead to me, she was also a mentor.I joined the project later than the team, and despite that,
she invested a huge amount of time into my growth.I learned a lot from her, not only about cinematography and camera work, but also
about decision-making, quality standards, and how to approach complex situations
with clarity and confidence.What still stands out to me is her ability to react instantly and accurately in anysituation.There is no hesitation, no uncertainty, just clear direction.
Her level of professionalism is something I rarely see.Her feedback is on another level.
Its fast, precise, and always supported by
strong visual references.Sometimes it honestly feels impossible how much visual knowledge she carries -
from films to framing to subtle details - and how quickly she can apply it to improve a shot.She sets a very high bar, but in a way that pushes you to grow rather than overwhelm you.
She plans ahead, protects the team from unnecessary stress, and consistently ensures
that we deliver before deadlines.Beyond all of that, she genuinely cares about the team.She supports people, recognizes their work, and creates an environment where you
want to improve.Working with her has had a lasting impact on me.Any team would be extremely lucky to have her."

Danylo Husak Cinematic Artist
Heroic - Room 8 Group

"It is my pleasure to write this recommendation for Nataljia Ilich.
In my opinion, she is one of the best team leaders and artists that I have ever
met.
During our time together, she consistently demonstrated a remarkable abilities
to work on complex tasks, apply new technologies, and solve complex
problems.
Her passion and value to the work can't be overestimated.
Firstly, I would like to highlight her approach of working on projects.
Thanks to her hard skills and experience she was able to solve any task with
great performance and high quality.
She has a great knowledge of cinematography techniques, camera work and
light placement.
Secondly, I want to emphasize her team working skills.
During our work together there was never a time that I couldn't reach her out.
She was always in touch, always ready to help with any kinds of problems and
solve them as soon as possible.
In conclusion, I would like to say that it was a honor for me to work with such
an amazing specialist. I have no doubt that she will bring value and creative
vision to any team or project she joins. I highly recommend her and look
forward to her new achievements."

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“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” — Pablo Picasso

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