Karen Raugust reports how extensive previs created a problem solving road map for British Telecom’s acclaimed Networking spot.

In the first of a two-part series from the Inspired 3D Short Film Production book, Jeremy Cantor and Pepe Valencia delve into why storyboarding is so important.

Alain Bielik chronicles how previsualization helped director Jean-Pierre Jeunet bring his epic WWI romance, A Very Long Engagement, to the silver screen.

Ellen Wolff explores how ILM’s Stefen Fangmeier mixed cutting edge technology with a bit of “old cinema magic” to help conjure the retro look of Lemony Snicket.

In the last of a four part series from the Inspired 3D Short Film Production book, Jeremy Cantor and Pepe Valencia finish up art direction with a look at progression and character and background connections.

In Part 1 of this series, Ellen Besen sits down with maverick CG director Chris Landreth, creator of Bingo and the new, breakthrough film Ryan, to discuss the current state of CG human characters and realism.

The Digital Eye tracks the future factors awaiting visual effects artists, animators and production companies as the epicenter of work moves outside of Hollywood.

Mary Ann Skweres looks at how invisible visual effects are becoming a crucial part of the industry, but are still being overshadowed by the flashy f/x.

Rick Baumgartner talks with some of the top visual effects supervisors about how they’ve had to adjust to changes in the industry.

Mary Ann Skweres goes behind the mask to discover the invisible visual effects secrets of The Phantom of the Opera.

Ellen Wolff explores how ILM’s Stefen Fangmeier mixed cutting edge technology with a bit of “old cinema magic” to help conjure the retro look of Lemony Snicket.

Karen Raugust investigates how business, creative and technological trends are transforming the vfx industry and the artists’ place in it.

In the third part of a four part series from the Inspired 3D Short Film Production book, Jeremy Cantor and Pepe Valencia continue their look at art direction with a look at props, weather and lighting.

In Part 3 about mold making with hard and soft molds, Susannah Shaw shares secrets on casting foam latex and silicone.

Alain Bielik interviews visual effects supervisor Joe Bauer about the CG modeling and digital transitions performed on Blade: Trinity.

Visual effects supervisor Kim Libreri explores the emerging trends in the industry and looks ahead with 12 predictions.

In the second of four installments on art direction for their book Inspired 3D Short Film Production, Jeremy Cantor and Pepe Valencia look at how color, texture and style help define characters and story.

Tara DiLullo explores how Animal Logic and Digital Pictures handled CG weaponry, complex color palettes, on-set choreographed fighting and wire removal in Zhang Yimou’s acclaimed House of Flying Daggers.

Continuing our monthly look at 3D environments, Stash magazine’s Stephen Price helped VFXWorld compile a gallery of some of the best 3D environments for Warhammer by Blur Studios and environmental pics by KDLAB.

We close our focus on 3D environments with Ellen Wolff’s exploration of how Rob Legato conducted the virtual aerial combat choreography in The Aviator.