Computer Graphics World

style was more constrained, but even in the rig, we limited the area of infl uence for movements in the mouth," says Chen. Similarly, to stiff en the cloth, the simulation artists hid the move- ment inside the folds. In one scene, Lincoln smashes through a window and attacks the Egyptian god Horus, a humanoid with the head of a falcon. Horus emerges from an eff ects-heavy netherworld fi lled with particle smoke and mist. "Transforming fl ocks of these bird-like creatures from the mist and chaos of the underworld was a healthy amount of work, even though it's a handful of shots," Chen says. "We did some things with procedures to warp and transform the geometry." e creatures' bodies were stunt ac- tors fi lmed on greenscreen, onto which the artists fi t the bird-like heads using a rig that helped lock down the feathers in the transition zone. To create the feathers—a number of which are metallic and inlaid with jade, sev- eral are dreadlocks with metal claws at the end, and many others are like more typi- cal hair and fur—the crew used multiple techniques. "Some were cards of geometry with opacity maps," Chen says. "Some were hair or fur groomed in layers to look like feathers. e dreadlocks and metallic feath- ers used simulations—cloth sims to swing the dreadlocks and rigid-body dynamics to swing the metallic feathers." e challenges for the squirrel and the bobbleheads centered more on animation artistry than on technology, for the most part. " e squirrel is a scale gag," Chen says. "We see him most of the time from Octavius's point of view, and he's one of the miniature diorama guys. So, part of the joke is that the squirrel rears up and ap- pears to be roaring, but he's still a small, cute squirrel." e studio used its well- developed fur tools to keep the critter look- ing fl uff y, even when it interacts with the White House lawn, which the crew created with CG hair. e animators had the most free- dom in animating the Einstein bobbleheads. Modelers worked from scanned practical mod- els to create the caricatured versions of the renowned scientist. " e bobble- the bird-like heads using a rig that helped lock down the feathers in the transition zone. To create the feathers—a number of which are metallic and inlaid with jade, sev- eral are dreadlocks with metal claws at the end, and many others are like more typi- cal hair and fur—the crew used multiple techniques. "Some were cards of geometry with opacity maps," Chen says. "Some were hair or fur groomed in layers to look like feathers. e dreadlocks and metallic feath- ers used simulations—cloth sims to swing the dreadlocks and rigid-body dynamics to swing the metallic feathers." e challenges for the squirrel and the bobbleheads centered more on animation artistry than on technology, for the most part. " e squirrel is a scale gag," Chen says. "We see him most of the time from Octavius's point of view, and he's one of the miniature diorama guys. So, part of the joke is that the squirrel rears up and ap- pears to be roaring, but he's still a small, cute squirrel." e studio used its well- developed fur tools to keep the critter look- ing fl uff y, even when it interacts with the White House lawn, which the crew e animators had the most free- dom in animating the Einstein bobbleheads. Modelers worked from scanned practical mod- els to create the caricatured versions of the renowned scientist. " e bobble- style was more constrained, but even in the rig, we limited the area of infl uence for movements in the mouth," says Chen. Similarly, to stiff en the cloth, the simulation artists hid the move- ment inside the folds. In one scene, Lincoln smashes through a window and attacks the Egyptian god Horus, a humanoid with the head of a falcon. Horus emerges from an eff ects-heavy netherworld fi lled with particle smoke and mist. "Transforming fl ocks of these bird-like creatures from the mist and chaos of the underworld was a healthy amount of work, even though it's a handful of shots," Chen says. "We did some things with procedures to warp and transform the geometry." e creatures' bodies were stunt ac- tors fi lmed on greenscreen, onto which the artists fi t the bird-like heads using a rig that helped lock down the feathers in the transition zone. To create the feathers—a number of which are metallic and inlaid with jade, sev- eral are dreadlocks with metal claws at the end, and many others are like more typi- cal hair and fur—the crew used multiple techniques. "Some were cards of geometry with opacity maps," Chen says. "Some were hair or fur groomed in layers to look like feathers. e dreadlocks and metallic feath- ers used simulations—cloth sims to swing the dreadlocks and rigid-body dynamics to swing the metallic feathers." e challenges for the squirrel and the bobbleheads centered more on animation artistry than on technology, for the most part. " e squirrel is a scale gag," Chen says. "We see him most of the time from Octavius's point of view, and he's one of the miniature diorama guys. So, part of the joke is that the squirrel rears up and ap- pears to be roaring, but he's still a small, cute squirrel." e studio used its well- developed fur tools to keep the critter look- ing fl uff y, even when it interacts with the White House lawn, which the crew created with CG hair. e animators had the most free- dom in animating the Einstein bobbleheads. Modelers worked from scanned practical mod- els to create the caricatured versions of the renowned scientist. " e bobble- At left, actor Ben Stiller tosses water from a Turner painting animated by CafeFX onto an octopus created and animated by Rhythm & Hues, while Amy Adams looks on. At right, a special rig helped the crew at Rhythm & Hues lock CG falcon heads onto stunt actors' shoulders to create the Horus. June 2009 23 A constrained animation style and limitations in the rig helped animators create a performance for the statue of Lincoln without losing its marble essence. Images ©2009 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.

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