Diving deep into the tools Superdraw and Kismet, and on brushing and patching.
Today on the befores & afters podcast, we’re chatting with several artists from Sony Pictures Imageworks who are being recognized by the Academy at the upcoming Scientific and Technical Awards. They are receiving a Technical Achievement award for the design and engineering of the suite of brushing and patching tools, and the design and engineering of the Superdraw and Kismet linework tools.
The citation from the Academy goes on to say that “these tools at Sony Pictures Imageworks enabled the large-scale application of a wide variety of custom artistic styles across animated features that inspired the industry.”
I’m sure many listeners will realize that this award relates to Imageworks’ innovations starting with the first Spider-Man: Spider-Verse film, Into the Spider-Verse, released in 2018, that have continued in through multiple projects. In this chat, we find out from the team the specifics of the tools and the artistry behind them.
Featured in the podcast are:
- Bret St. Clair – Look of Picture Supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks
- Marc-Andre Davignon – Software Architect for Look of Picture, Compositing and Color at Sony Pictures Imageworks
- Pav Grochola – Look of Picture Supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks
- Edmond Boulet-Gilly – FX Lead at Sony Pictures Imageworks
Listen in above, and below, check out a breakdown of work from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, plus a video and images from the ceremony.
