Elemental Characters: The Living Vegetation of Element City

Greg Mourino, Kris Campbell, Brennan Mitchell, Grace Gilbert

Abstract:

The Earth characters of Pixar's Elemental feature a wide range of foliage adornments, ranging from bushes and small plants to trees that tower over their bodies. Creating appealing motion for each of the variations of these characters presented a unique challenge to the Simulation Team, and led to a significant expansion of the existing simulation pipeline. These characters needed to believably co-exist in a world with set-dressed foliage, while also interacting with the diverse and mechanically challenging environment of Element City. In order to meet the demands of a film featuring crowded mass transit, high levels of action, and trees that prune each other, a new series of tools were created to allow Pixar's Simulation artists to apply the most powerful tools at our disposal to the most appropriate tasks.

Paper (PDF)

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