Hoppers is being hailed as a successful return to form for Pixar. The mix of high-concept original storytelling, adorable character design and a new animation style has captivated viewers.
If you’re one of them and you’re wondering how director Daniel Chong and his team brought the movie to the screen, you’re in luck. Pixar has just released a behind-the-scenes video revealing what Hoppers looked like at each stage in the animation process, from storyboarding to lighting (see our pick of the best animation software and the best laptops for animation if you’re inspired).
The Hoppers behind-the-scenes video above shows the animation progression of the scene in which Mabel escapes from the lab in the guise of a hyper-realistic robotic beaver (if you’re confused, you really have to see the movie). The video shows how the scene looked at the initial hand-drawn storyboarding stage and then during scene layout, when the camera angles and shot compositions are defined, and animation, when the individual character performances are created.
After animation comes simulation, where complex detail like fur and textiles are added (see how the team tackled Hoppers’ most difficult scene), and finally there’s the addition of lighting sources to create a more realistic and cohesive look.
If you’re wondering what software Pixar used to do all this, the company has its own in-house animation software called Presto, but it also uses Maya for specific modeling and rigging tasks as well as Houdini and Solaris for certain effects and complex environmental simulation. Renderman, Pixar’s proprietary photorealistic rendering software, is used for lighting and final frame generation (see our guide to the best rendering software).
If you liked Hoppers, I’d be interested to know what you think of Netflix’s Swapped, which has set a new viewing record for an animated movie on the streaming platform.
For more of the week’s animation news, don’t miss the magical Wildwood trailer.
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