Blue Sky Studios Exhibits at the Society of Illustrators
Psssssssssssssst! I got a secret to share. Computers… they’re gonna be big one day (wink wink). Trust me me on this one.
Seriously, the evolution of “tech” before my peepers is staggering. Dizzying. Just as I primally beat my chest in Kong-esque fashion for conquering the software purchase I made 4 months ago, BAMM! The upgrade has arrived!
Chest, effectively deflated.
Every time I blink, there’s a new must-have upgrade/device/processor/workstation/whatchamadoodaddy–you get the idea. Dizzying. But I’m not complaining and I’ll never complain.
Let me tell you why.
I am a 3D artist and the next installment of Blue Sky Studios’ Ice Age franchise, “Ice Age: Continental Drift”, will grace the silver screens in July. This past Friday, I had the privilege of viewing Blue Sky Studios’ work first hand–correction, AMAZING work first hand at the Society of Illustrators in New York City. Work that is greatly due in part to the fantastic technology poured into each film.
This exhibit provides a deep insight into the process of creating a 3D animated feature. The entire pipeline was presented: conceptual, character dev, previz, rigging, lighting, animation, and rendering. I even had the opportunity of looking at some of Blue Sky’s proprietary software. Amazing. Dizzying. Love it.
But technology is only half of the equation to each 3D production. The other half is artistry. And passion is the glue that binds them together. When combined, you get the greatest playground any artist could ask for. And there was plenty of artistry on hand this past Friday evening. Blue Sky’s entire preproduction process featured some amazing talent from traditional artists at Blue Sky. Initial concept art and character designs (including traditional, digital, 2D and 3D) that gave birth to Blue Sky’s iconic work were kindly put on display for the public. Gorgeous. Mind-blowing. Dizzying.
3D and “tech” are awesome, and as long as studios like Blue Sky can churn out tasty gum drops like “Ice Age”, “Robots”, “Rio” and “Bunny”, I’ll never whine (at least too much hehehe) about my hard drive blowing up, rebooting, or upgrades. Don’t get it confused either, folks. Technology is great, but like the paintbrush, it is only a tool and can never make up for artistry. It is artistry that drives the great monolith of any 3D film production. The Blue Sky event at the Society of Illustrators is proof of this and I am happy I was able to make the trip into the city to check out their great work. Wow! My head is still spinning!
