There are certainly easier ways to make a movie, but the unique beauty of LAIKA's films is proof of how the hard work pays off. Related: LAIKA Animators Win The Fight Challenge With Incredible Stop-Motion Video
LAIKA CHARACTERS FULL
A full day of stop-motion animation produces just seconds of footage, so making a feature film is a process that takes years. The animation style involves building physical sets and character models and taking still photos of them, moving them incrementally to create the illusion of movement - one frame at a time. While major animation studios like Pixar and DreamWorks Animation work almost exclusively in computer animation, companies like LAIKA and Aardman Animations are keeping the painstaking technique of stop-motion animation alive. Founded in 2005, LAIKA has so far produced five animated feature films, all of which have been nominated for a Best Animated Feature award at the Oscars: Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings, and last year's Sasquatch adventure Missing Link. They’re doing things that even the creators of these printers had not thought of.The characters of LAIKA movies are gathering together for a family Thanksgiving video made by the acclaimed stop-motion animation studio. “The expressions on the faces, the quality of the skin, it looked more realistic than anything I’ve ever seen on stop-motion. And its impact continues to reinforce the potential that this partnership creates. It represented the first time that mass production in any industry was performed using 3D printing. According to Tom McLean (no relation to Brian), Laika’s 3D printer usage was important beyond the confines of the film industry. Laika isn’t just riding the wave of 3D technology it’s pushing the frontiers. Only three years later, Norman from ParaNorman had 1.4 million different expressions.
LAIKA CHARACTERS MOVIE
The heroine of the 2009 movie Coraline had 207,000 different facial expressions. However, with the introduction and integration of 3D printing into the stop motion workflow, the limits were, if not wholly removed, at least pushed far away. It seemed that within the constraints of a film project’s timeline, nothing could be created that would ever match the variety and subtlety present in CGI animation. It takes days for each head to be hand sculpted and there is only so much of that process which can be sped up without sacrificing quality. McLean did not arrive at the use of these technologies through a tech background in fact, he admits that he was somewhat intimidated by the machines when he first arrived.Ĭourtesy of Laika Inc/Focus Features – Faces printed for ParaNorman It is instead another medium in which to create – it is a tool with its own set of possibilities and limitations.
LAIKA CHARACTERS SOFTWARE
After all, the creation of the pieces in the 3D modeling software is not simply a matter of technical data input. Rather than eliminating the artist, the technology has changed the way they work, expanding it in some cases. As McLean noted, “It’s a tool and you still need artists and technicians to run that tool and get the most out of it.” For example, the tiny dots on character’s freckled faces have to be placed by hand and cheek blushes must match from frame to frame. There are some things that the 3D printers cannot do. Laika’s film ParaNorman required 25 artists and The Boxtrolls set employs 55. Laika currently houses nine 3D printers (the most expensive, a machine that can print both rubber and plastic, costs over $210,000) but they aren’t replacing the artists required for the creation of the films. Courtesy of Laika Inc/Focus Features – Adam Lathers works on computer graphics for ParaNorman
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