Computer Graphics World

What about the characters? e CG? e characters still follow the same ba- sic design philosophy, but they are much more robust and refi ned. ey are each unique, made from diff erent bits of scraps and mechanical bits. Each one has a diff er- ent detailing or physiology, as if designed to be suited to their natural abilities. ey all represent diff erent evolutions of a simi- lar theme, like natural selection. ey are like versions, and they get more advanced and refi ned as their numbers increase. We defi nitely became more sophisticat- ed in the amount of control we had over the characters' ability to emote. We created soft brows that would push on the charac- ters' rigid "eye cans" to push emotion and make them more expressive. We had more control over the mouth shapes to create more fi nely tuned expressions and pho- nemes. We always tried to push asymmetry to make the expressions feel more natural and organic, so we had a full set of tweak- ers on top of the facial controls to achieve this look. e creatures all have a diff erent body typology and move in vastly diff erent ways, so specialty rigging was key for creating the performances. One of our creatures, the Seamstress, has two diff erent heads on opposite sides of her body, in addition to being a serpentine creature with crab-like arms. It was quite an ordeal to get her rigged and working, so we ended up strategizing shot by shot what needed to be achieved and if there was any cheat we could do to still get the story point across without hav- ing to go too crazy on the rig. It was a real nightmare, but the animators and Jeff Bell ended up coming in and saving the day. It turned out great, and for me it's one of the most exciting sequences in the movie. How did your CG processes diff er from the short fi lm? e short was done all in Maya with the Maya software render. For the feature, we used Maya with [Mental Images'] Mental Ray. So, we didn't re-invent the wheel. I guess the main diff erence is that this time around, I had amazing professionals pro- ducing the work instead of me hacking my way through it! Did you do any hands-on work for the feature? Coming from the world of independent fi lm production and being a CG general- ist, I love to get my hands dirty. Whenever my directorial duties were over for the day, I'd try to jump in and help out, not be- cause the work that was being produced wasn't up to snuff , it's just that I love mak- ing movies and being a part of the process. Plus, there was more than enough to do. Everyone ended up wearing many hats on the project. It was an 'all hands on deck' type of production. But I think that's why you do these fi lms, and in the end, I think everyone took something away from the experience and grew as artists. Plus, it helps morale to know that we were all in this to- gether, doing whatever we could to make the best fi lm possible. How did it feel to have others work- ing on this project, which was your own baby for so long? It was a little diffi cult at the beginning, but you really have to put the faith in the team you are working with. ere is no way you can do all the work yourself or possi- bly review every little detail or asset, so you end up trying to educate and get everyone on the same page with the tone and style of the fi lm. Basically teach them how to think like you think and then frame the problems that need to be solved, and let them attack Soft brows push on the characters' "eye cans," thereby making them more expressive. September 2009 43 Computer Animation ■ ■ ■ ■

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