![]() ![]() It made more sense to start over from a design and technology standpoint. However, these were done quite a few years ago and our tools and processes had evolved since. ![]() We had looked to see if we could use pieces of the previous versions (as there was a Smurf village in the first two films). ![]() Given that the look changed so drastically from the previous Smurf films, was there much that you could re-use, or did you have to start from scratch? We wanted to do that too, make them feel small and charming. Peyo did this to make the Smurfs feel young and child-like. Door handles are always twice as big as a Smurf’s hands. If he walks up to a table, he has to reach up, or get up on a stool to reach the top of the table. For example, if a Smurf sits in a chair, the chair is much larger than him. Everything is always on a larger scale in relation to them. A tiny hill might feel like a mountain, it was so much better when you saw elements overlapping, etc.Įven the way that Peyo drew things in relation to the Smurfs was something we looked at. At this level you would see things differently. Because the Smurfs are so small (only a foot tall), we needed to make sure that you felt you were down low, on the ground, with them. For example, we did an initial test for the Smurf village, but it turned out that we build the ground too flat and that was really unappealing. We wanted to make sure we didn’t have flat or uninteresting surfaces. The production design team really focused on Peyo’s aesthetics in terms of creating a lot of depth. Our process started with the question: What makes a “Smurf” a “Smurf?” How about in terms of the environments? I also had the figurines that I used to play with. I was first exposed to Smurfs in the Hanna-Barbera era, via the television series. Noelle and Patrick Mate are both French, which gave us an advantage as they had grown up reading the comics: they were already familiar with the Smurfs characters and universe. They wanted to make sure the movie looked as much as possible like the original comics Peyo had drawn - not only in terms of the characters, but also for the environments and how shots were composed to make it look as much like the original material. The conversation started between Kelly and Noelle. ![]() Our interview with him, below: This newest installment of the Smurfs feels like a closer throwback to the original Peyo Smurf design. To help us navigate the process and gain insight into the CG magic for the film, we sat down with Mike Ford, VFX supervisor on the project. A throwback to the original Peyo designs, the film features richly detailed environments, beautifully animated characters and FX that remind us of how an update to a 2D classic should be done. If you grew up reading the comics or watching the tv series, this year’s reboot film will feel visually familiar in all the right ways. "Smurfs: The Lost Village" is a visual treat. Republished with permission from Spark CG Society. ![]()
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