The track design was a synthesis of traditional 3D environments to photography projected on cards in 3D environments to complete 2D creations.

The track design, he says, was a synthesis of traditional 3D environments to photography projected on cards in 3D environments to complete 2D creations. The cars themselves are traditional 3D throughout the film, while the environments were much more stylized. Inspiration came from everywhere. "We used some anime style tricks to create the race environments. Using images shot in perspective, then scaling and translating, we created environments where the camera could easily change direction, go from an interior to an exterior, move in depth and change altitude among other movements. It really harkened back to how anime artists tried to describe 3D using 2D tools. It was quite an eye opener on how ingenious anime artists were and are. Another example of this is a 'cheese wheel' road [or a 'conveyor belt']. A 'cheese wheel' road is created by projecting a road texture on a cylinder and rotating it on edge. The vehicle on the 'road' appears to be driving forward. Add slight scaling and translation of background and the illusion of movement is captured.

"The vehicles were also quite unique to the speed racer world with 360-degree turning wheels and secret weapons. In [previs world], we helped develop how these cars would move, react to each other and the world. Keeping the cars feeling properly weighted while also having them [perform] the extreme movements required of them was an interesting challenge. Using auto racing, extreme sports and even rollercoaster footage helped us develop the cars' language. Each race had its own feel or flavor. The tracks and the cars had to represent this with not just the look but also the attitude. The [Casa Cristo] Rally Race had cars with special offensive and defensive weapons. The cars in the Grand Prix were much more about the 360-degree wheel and jump jacks. Once the feel of the cars and environments were developed, we began production of the sequences. The previs animators worked hand in hand with top-notch compositors creating elements for the compositors to add 2D movement to which transformed the 3D to something quite unique and stylized."

While the look was being developed, the communications systems were also being developed. The previs team had artists who never worked together before. In order to make this feasible, Vegh says a workflow was developed that standardized how the artist worked while still allowing enough freedom for them to work efficiently. "Throughout the show, we had artists from France, Germany, San Francisco and L.A., among other places. The show itself traveled from L.A. to Germany to Chicago and back to L.A. This brought challenges of communication. We used shared screen technology amongst other resources so the artist and the directors or supervisors could communicate easily and efficiently.

The vehicles were unique to the Speed Racer world with 360-degree turning wheels and secret weapons. The vfx team developed how the cars moved and reacted to each other and their world. 

"The sequences and resources were initially designed to be used as the basis for final animation. The shot design would be approved by the Wachowski brothers and from there the final vfx vendors would be delivered our 3D scenes and 2D composites. The vendors would then take our basic approved layout and bring it to completion. The idea was that the previs would not simply be a template for a final shot but the basis for the shot itself. In order to do this, we developed a scene standard so that the vendor would be able to build off of the 3D and 2D scenes that we would deliver to them. Speed Racer truly raised the creative bar on how previs and vfx are used and I am thankful that I had the opportunity to work on it and add to its creative vision."

Euisung Lee, previs concept lead for Halon, worked on a variety of critical ideas in San Francisco, which became the basis of later shot design, including Car Fu choreography concepts, simulating anime format looks in 3D and camera composition within the spherical bubbles. According to Visual Effects Supervisor John Gaeta, Lee also created some of the wildest racing shots that were extensions of action from The Matrix trilogy.

"My first involvement came during a two-minute teaser for Warner Bros. to give them an idea of the racing action," Lee recalls. "The goal was to make a somewhat videogame level animation piece of this car action. The Wachowski brothers were still working on the script, so I was brought in at ILM when Kim Libreri and Mohen Leo were still there. I worked with Colin Benoit, a previs artist also from ILM at the time. We designed a surreal version of a Hot Wheels track in a couple of months. There was no track design tool, so what I did was make a Lego-like designing tool comprised of straight and curved lines with a bend deformer. I received feedback from the brothers about adding coiling and spiraling. A lot of the ideas wound up in the film."