MAXON's CINEMA 4D and BodyPaint 3D software played an important role in the making of SPIDER-MAN. Sony Pictures Imageworks utilized the MAXON products for 3D texturing and digital matte environments.
Texture artists at Imageworks used BodyPaint to create detailed textures on objects as minute as a grain of sand and as extensive as cityscapes. The matte department used CINEMA 4D to create realistic digital environments and recreate sky elements in numerous scenes as diverse as the storm in the bell-tower sequence to the richly colored sunrise sky in the climactic battle sequence.
"BodyPaint integrates extremely well. This gave us the complete toolset we needed for all our texture mapping needs on SPIDER-MAN 3," remarked Elbert Yen, Texture Paint lead at Imageworks. "I especially like BodyPaint's feature of keeping discrete layers for each texture and allowing the artist to paint and map individual layers. By keeping the texture maps in multi-layered Photoshop files, BodyPaint is more flexible and robust than other 3D texturing programs."
MAXON's products also lived up to their reputation for being stable and robust.
"Many of our skyscraper models as well as the subway cavern on SPIDER-MAN 3 utilized multi-layered texture maps as large as 8K square (8192 x 8192 pixels), really pushing the software to its limits," added Yen, "but BodyPaint performed like a champ and we were able to paint and publish all the maps without a hitch."
Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc. is an Academy Award-winning, state-of-the-art visual effects and character animation company dedicated to the art and artistry of digital production and character creation. The company has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with Oscars for its work on SPIDER-MAN 2 and the CG animated short film THE CHUBBCHUBBS!, as well as nominations for SUPERMAN RETURNS, MONSTER HOUSE, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, SPIDER-MAN, HOLLOW MAN, STUART LITTLE and STARSHIP TROOPERS. Imageworks is a division of Sony Pictures Digital Ent., which oversees the digital production and online entertainment assets of Sony Pictures Ent.
MAXON Computer is the developer of professional 3D solutions. Its award-winning products have been used in the film, television, science, architecture and other industries. Credits: SPIDER-MAN (all), SURF'S UP, GHOST RIDER, OPEN SEASON, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN (all), MONSTER HOUSE, ERAGON, SUPERMAN RETURNS, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, WAR OF THE WORLDS, POLAR EXPRESS, VAN HELSING, KING ARTHUR, STAR WARS: EPISODE II, Comedy Central, Monday Night Football, JEOPARDY, WHEEL OF FORTUNE, ESPN, NFL Network, NBC, DirecTV, CBS, Fox and more. MAXON has offices in Germany, the U.S., the U.K. and Japan.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
