Style choices affect the looks of Competition Beach and Z's Beach. © 2007 Sony Pictures Animation. (Artist: Joty Lam and Armand Serrano.)

It's important to understand that, as with most animated films, nothing you see in Surf's Up actually exists. Everything, from vast landscapes to the most minute detail, had to be conceived, designed, and created from scratch: characters, locations, sets, props, weather, lighting and, of course, the waves.

Read the rest of this article at Surf's Up: Behind-the-Scenes with Sony Pictures Animation.