DNEG Animation’s Shelley Smith (Producer), Freddy Chaleur (VFX Supervisor), and Jay Boose (Animation Director) were thrilled to host their very own INSPIRE session about The Garfield Movie!
They began by sharing Director Mark Dindall’s one guiding principle for the film’s style: “honouring the world of Jim Davis”. During the rest of their presentation, From Comic Strip to Feature Animation: The Garfield Movie, our crew revealed more about how they did just that, delving into the creative process behind transitioning the beloved characters from 2D to 3D animation!
Bringing the comics to life in the CG world posed several challenges for DNEG Animation to overcome. From designing the characters – including animating the ‘mono eyes’ and the lines on Garfield’s fur – to finding a way to translate the graphic, cartoony nature of the character’s movements, the team shared the process of developing a design language that balanced respect for the comic strip while still working for a modern, animated feature film.
At the end of the presentation, they even divulged information about some of the easter eggs hidden throughout the film to our global teams! Garfield fans – it’s time for a rewatch.