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10 cgw a p r i l • m ay • j u n e 2 0 2 1 big shortcut to getting a lot more produc- tion value up on the screen." The atmospherics also had a large effect on the storytelling. For moments of distrust and discord, more dust and smoke were added, and for the sweet, trusting moments, the atmospherics were more water-inspired with mist and steam. Moreover, the filmmakers leaned into live-action cinematography to further affect the viewer experience, here using camera and render properties. "For the first time in a real significant way, we applied film grain just like a director might choose to shoot on different film stocks for different sequenc- es," says Odermatt, describing the post process added on top of the images. The grain was used as a storytelling de- vice: A heavier film grain was used in scenes with the distrust/discord story thematic, and soware grain with the trust themat- ic. One film stock stripped a significant amount of color out of the high end. "It was a bit scary while we were doing it because we haven't seen it heavily used in an ani- mated film before this, since it is such a bold thing to bake into the images," says Dressel. "But the directors really liked the grittiness it added, and we began working to get the R&D done and the plug-ins to do it." Full of Character Raya contains a large ensemble of hero characters, along with lands populated by various clans, each with their own ethos who have different physical features, cloth- ing, hairstyles, and so forth. The basic sculpts for the characters were created in ZBrush, and then the models were ported over to Maya, where they were rigged and animated using Maya and propri- etary tools, including a faster distributed rig evaluation system called Parade. The mod- els were textured using the studio's Paint 3D and Photoshop. For the clothing, the artists used Marvelous Designer, a 3D tool for de- signing clothing and fabrics, which actually tailors clothes to the body. The final renders came from Hyperion. The crowd animation department keyframed more than 72,000 individual ele- ments while filling the five lands of Kuman- dra. This includes 18,987 human characters in addition to 35,749 non-human charac- ters. In fact, nearly 70 percent of all the se- quences in the feature film include the work BOUN A precocious street kid from Tail always up for a business deal, Boun is the self-styled owner, manager, chef and captain of his boat. TONG Underneath his huge, gruff, and fierce exterior, Tong is really a lonely woodsman with a so spot for little ones, a true gentle giant. Characters SISU Sisu is the last dragon of Kumandra. Legends say she's a divine water being of un- speakable beauty and unstoppable magic, but she does not see herself as such. Now she must learn to become the dragon of legend if she is to save the world with Raya. ONGIS Part monkey, part catfish, the three Ongis are resourceful con artists from the trading port of Talon. They do everything together, including raising a 2-year-old toddler named Noi. NOI Aer her family is lost to the Druun, 2-year-old toddler Noi is raised by the Ongis. In the trading port of Talon, she leads the group's hustle, distracting passersby with her cute- ness while the Ongis rob them blind. NAMAARI Brilliant, calculating, and a formidable warrior, Namaari is Raya's unrelenting nemesis. She is the daughter of the chief of the Fang lands and is deter- mined to do whatever it takes to protect her people. TUK TUK Part pill bug, part pug, part high speed off-road vehicle, Tuk Tuk has been Raya's best friend since she could hold him in the palm of her hand. Now they are both grown, and Tuk Tuk is Raya's faith- ful, gigantic steed. RAYA Raya, a proud Guardian of the Dragon Gem, is on a mission to save the world. She has grown up to be a resilient warrior whose wit is as sharp as her blade.