DigiPro 2023

Artists at Walt Disney Animation Studios have been constantly seeking to improve the physical depiction of an increasingly wider range of skin tones with each subsequent film. Strange World presented a great opportunity to improve on how we portray a wide range of skin types. The changes we implemented included: creating a new skin material from the ground up, changing the testing light rig to better evaluate materials, and implementing lighting strategies to better represent the skin properties of each character. What resulted was character skin that improved on our depiction of a wider range of skin types while maintaining a level of stylization in line with the art direction of the film.

For nearly 100 years, Walt Disney Animation Studios has been a place of creativity and innovation. From the first cartoon with synchronized sound to the multiplane camera, Fantasound, Xerography, the Computer Animation Production System (CAPS), and implementing the evolving artistry and sensibility of both hand-drawn and computer-generated imagery, Disney Animation has been a combination of technology and art. Marlon West, a thirty-year veteran of the studio and VFX supervisor of the upcoming Disney+ series, Iwájú, will discuss his own journey, the studio’s journey through many technical advances, and look at how the past inspires and drives the future.