Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1500204
D E PA R T M E N T 39 KEYFRAME SUMMER 2023 39 GO WITH THE FLOW Ruby believes that the trident is the key to restoring peace in the kingdom (and her family) and vows to find it. But where do you hide an all-powerful weapon that can grant almost invincible power? "It couldn't be behind a wall with a lock on it," says Director Kirk DeMicco. "We had to work with FX in creating obstacles and environments that lived up to a giant kraken." Production Designer Pierre-Olivier Vincent was intrigued by dramatic underwater volcanos and used the idea as a starting point. "Sea creatures perceive their environment slightly differently," he says. "They can find their way according to magnetism." So he coupled the idea of forceful magnetic currents with an underwater volcano to provide a training ground for Ruby to test her powers and learn how to use them, all while trying to retrieve the trident. "It could be really cool to visualize those incredible flows," Vincent says, like flares on the surface of the sun, while also embracing the poetry and scale of the cosmos. "There was that foreboding feeling of immensity, danger, and also beauty combined together." "Ruby dives into the currents and interacts with them," says Lee, so FX Supervisor Derek Cheung had to build curves that essentially bent around the character as she battles through them to reach the center of the volcano, almost like a heat shield. Lee and the FX team turned to real-life inspiration watching the way smoke filters around airplanes in wind tunnels. Cheung attached volumetric elements to the character's animation paths to generate the currents around Ruby and make it appear as if she is meeting resistance. The currents get more chaotic as Ruby gets closer to the center of volcano, and the ripples mimic the shape language of the entire film. Inspired by the psychedelic era and graphic designer Milton Glaser, Vincent incorporated curvy design concepts from that era that were playful and colorful throughout the film, and FX used the shape language to stylize the currents. Vincent had a color palette in mind, so the FX team followed his suggestions and created a randomized pattern that cycled through the colors and could be adjusted in terms of brightness by the lighting department. "Ruby's activated form radiates light on objects and characters around her. The pink light casts a flattering glow on other characters and creates an intentional connection between them."