Pennywise returns for more mayhem

Behind the creatures and environments of IT: Welcome to Derry.

Issue #57 of befores & afters magazine covers the visual effects of IT: Welcome to Derry.

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The show serves as a prequel to the events of the film It (2017), shifting the timeline back to an earlier 1960s cycle of terror in the town of Derry, Maine. The series, developed by Andy Muschietti, Barbara Muschietti and Jason Fuchs, explores how the community has been repeatedly shaped by unexplained disappearances and traumatic events, tracing the origins of the entity that manifests as Pennywise (Bill Skarsgård).

The series relied on practical effects, make-up effects and digital visual effects to articulate both the psychological and physical presence of this entity. Creature work extended beyond Pennywise to include distorted forms and manifestations tied to individual fears, requiring a blend of practical on-set references and digital augmentation. Environment work played a key role in recreating period-specific Derry while subtly altering spaces to reflect the influence of the entity. Pennywise himself was realized through a hybrid approach, combining performance, prosthetics and CG enhancements

In this special issue of befores & afters magazine, we talk to production visual effects supervisor Daryl Sawchuk and to production visual effects producer Steve Dellerson about all the key effects sequences and characters in IT: Welcome to Derry. Plus, we hear from several of the key visual effects vendors: Rodeo FX, Crafty Apes, Digital Domain, DNEG, Folks VFX, MR. X, Outpost VFX, Rocket Science VFX and Alchemy24.