Welcome to the Blue Sky Modeling Department. While most of us have fine art-related backgrounds, our tasks are really those of digital sculptors. Our strong sense of design and spatial relationships, good eye for 3D form and technical savvy allow us to prepare sets and characters for further work as they progress through the production pipeline.

We are responsible for creating every 3D shape you see in the movie: Sets, characters, costumes, props, and the environment are all modeled by our crew. Early in the building process clay is a faster medium to work in, so all of our characters and most of our environments are constructed by hand before being scanned into the computer. Together with sketches from the Design Department these 3D scans will become the armature and templates for the 3D model.

The most critical part of our work comes in the early stages with the creation of the clay model. Working with characters and environments in clay allows for the most tactile interaction by the artists and the director. Later on we will draw on our technical know-how to insure that our final result is well-integrated with the rest of the studio. A well-built 3D model transitions smoothly on to other departments, allowing them to succeed and shine while maintaining — if not enhancing — the Director’s vision.