London-based post house Smoke & Mirrors has created a 3D animated ad for the final episodes of the US hit show The West Wing.

The commercial, which was produced for Channel 4-offshoot More 4, places President Josiah Bartlett (played by Martin Sheen) amongst his real-life predecessors on Mount Rushmore. Smoke & Mirrors's 3D artists built the model from photo references of the actor, which were then sculpted in Autodesk Maya. Pixologic's ZBrush was used to paint on details giving it a rocky textured look, whilst carefully maintaining Sheen's facial features.

border=0 /><BR></div> </p> <p> The image was composited using Avid DS Nitris. The engraved effect on the titles was created by taking high-resolution stills of stone textures, and layering 2D type over the top to give the illusion of a chiselled edge. As a one off for the last series Smoke & Mirrors also created a special More 4 Star-&-Stripes end board for the promo. </p> <p> Running for seven series, <i>The West Wing</i> charted the progress of the White House administration through the two terms of President Bartlett, focussing on the professional and private lives of characters including Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (played by the late John Spencer), Press Secretary CJ Cregg (Alison Janney), and Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford). In recent seasons it expanded to focus on the election campaign of Barlett

The final two episodes of The West Wing are shown on More4 from 9.30pm on Friday July 28. Beforehand at 9pm, the channel is showing The Ultimate West Wing Challenge, where celebrity contestants will test their knowledge of the show.

The commercial can be watched here.