Pixar's Brave, from Sketch to Screen
Storyboard
Pixar artists sketch out an entire movie in their proprietary
storyboard program -- then watch it, then sketch it all again -- before
anything goes any further. There's one storyboard sketch for every few
seconds on Brave.
Layout
The
next step is to bring in and place the characters in roughly the
position they're going to be on screen. Gestures and emotions are not
important at this stage, hence the eerie look of Merida and her
audience.
Animation
Next step: put the characters into the poses they'll be using in the
final shot. Notice the absence of clothing and hair, which is way too
complicated to put in just yet.
Clothing Simulation, Shading
Clothing, hair and shading the scene is some of the most complex,
time-consuming and processor-consuming stuff Pixar does. Merida and her
clan wear eight fully rendered layers of clothing, for example; her hair
has nine layers.
designing & developing a character
hair Simulation & clothing
facial expressions
