First it was Shrek’s ear wax. Then it was the vertebrae in a giraffe’s neck in “Madagascar.” Then it was the headache of making B.O.B. the Blob in “Monsters vs. Aliens” pop out in 3D.
There’s always a new challenge awaiting DreamWorks computer animator Terran Boylan, 46, an Omaha native who has been working at the Glenwood, Calif., studio since 2000.
Boylan’s latest project was “Kung Fu Panda 2,” which opens nationwide today. He was assigned to be lead character technical director for the main character, Po, a panda voiced by Jack Black.
The character technical director’s job is to program computer controls for that character’s movable parts, finding ways to make a cartoon come alive with fluid, natural movement.
Po had already appeared in the original “Kung Fu Panda,” a 2008 movie Boylan considers one of DreamWorks’ best animated efforts. But the technology had changed so much since then (more memory, more speed, new processes) that Boylan had to re-rig Po’s movement.
“We’re always trying to push what we do to the next level,” Boylan said Monday from his studio office. “But the characters were so wonderfully rigged for the first movie, we had to match the appearance and feel of them from that film.”
Not only did Boylan work with Po’s motion systems, he was also in charge of what’s called deformation systems — that is, what the layers of muscles and fat do when the skeleton moves.
Po is, to put it kindly, heavyset. He’s also in lots of kung-fu scenes in which he really slings that big belly around.
“I’d work on the character, then the head of animation would do a test, putting Po through the most extreme kung-fu he could think of. Then we’d look, frame by frame, and say things like, ‘Well, the fat under his arm doesn’t look quite right here.’ Then I’d go back to my desk for a couple weeks. It was a fun process.”
He’s not being ironic. Boylan loves his job.
Another character he worked on was Viper, a snake sidekick to Po. The motion system for a snake is very different from that for a bear. The animators had difficulty with it during the original movie because the controls were so complex.
“Powerful and simple don’t always go together on the controls,” Boylan said.
So he completely rewrote the Viper motion system from scratch. It involved lots of graphics, hard-core computer programming and the math of curves. But when Boylan was done, the animators were delighted with the result.
Asked what the most fun part of his job was, Boylan said teaming with those animators, developing a system that works well for them. Asked his hardest task, he laughed and said again: working with the animators.
“They’re artists,” he said. “So you have all the satisfying elements and frustrations you might imagine in working with creative people.”
Animation is very much a team effort, and as many as five character technical directors might deal with separate aspects of the same character: body, face, hair, clothing, special effects and so on.
More than 20 character TDs in all worked on “Kung Fu Panda 2.” Boylan began in August 2009 and finished in January 2010, for a total of 75 weeks. His work has to be done before the animators can really get going, so he has strict deadlines.
“I ended up working a few Saturdays, but that’s rare,” he said.
Just as when animators work in film, digital animators work at 24 still frames per second to create the illusion of movement. Boylan said there’s been talk of using a process that increases that from 24 to 48 frames per second.
Motion blur — the fuzziness that happens when a character is moving so fast that a 24th of a second would leave a blurred image in photography — requires special new techniques as well for a fast-action movie like “Kung Fu Panda 2.”
“It’s a subtle difference, but the action looks so much stronger,” said Boylan, who had just seen the completed movie for the first time Friday.
The film crew got a special surprise when Black showed up to attend the screening. Boylan rarely sees the big stars who voice the characters he helps create.
Though he didn’t work on the original “Kung Fu Panda,” he said, he’s proud he did contribute in one way. His wife, Belinda, works for DreamWorks’ marketing and consumer products division. Boylan accompanied her to New York for movie promotions, appearing in a panda suit as Po.
“That costume is heavy and hot, even with a little fan built in,” he said.
His next project is “The Crudes,” a movie with a caveman theme opening in March 2013.
“I’m almost done with it,” he said. “And I’m looking forward to finding out what comes next.”
There’s always a new challenge awaiting DreamWorks computer animator Terran Boylan, 46, an Omaha native who has been working at the Glenwood, Calif., studio since 2000.
Boylan’s latest project was “Kung Fu Panda 2,” which opens nationwide today. He was assigned to be lead character technical director for the main character, Po, a panda voiced by Jack Black.
The character technical director’s job is to program computer controls for that character’s movable parts, finding ways to make a cartoon come alive with fluid, natural movement.
Po had already appeared in the original “Kung Fu Panda,” a 2008 movie Boylan considers one of DreamWorks’ best animated efforts. But the technology had changed so much since then (more memory, more speed, new processes) that Boylan had to re-rig Po’s movement.
“We’re always trying to push what we do to the next level,” Boylan said Monday from his studio office. “But the characters were so wonderfully rigged for the first movie, we had to match the appearance and feel of them from that film.”
Not only did Boylan work with Po’s motion systems, he was also in charge of what’s called deformation systems — that is, what the layers of muscles and fat do when the skeleton moves.
Po is, to put it kindly, heavyset. He’s also in lots of kung-fu scenes in which he really slings that big belly around.
“I’d work on the character, then the head of animation would do a test, putting Po through the most extreme kung-fu he could think of. Then we’d look, frame by frame, and say things like, ‘Well, the fat under his arm doesn’t look quite right here.’ Then I’d go back to my desk for a couple weeks. It was a fun process.”
He’s not being ironic. Boylan loves his job.
Another character he worked on was Viper, a snake sidekick to Po. The motion system for a snake is very different from that for a bear. The animators had difficulty with it during the original movie because the controls were so complex.
“Powerful and simple don’t always go together on the controls,” Boylan said.
So he completely rewrote the Viper motion system from scratch. It involved lots of graphics, hard-core computer programming and the math of curves. But when Boylan was done, the animators were delighted with the result.
Asked what the most fun part of his job was, Boylan said teaming with those animators, developing a system that works well for them. Asked his hardest task, he laughed and said again: working with the animators.
“They’re artists,” he said. “So you have all the satisfying elements and frustrations you might imagine in working with creative people.”
Animation is very much a team effort, and as many as five character technical directors might deal with separate aspects of the same character: body, face, hair, clothing, special effects and so on.
More than 20 character TDs in all worked on “Kung Fu Panda 2.” Boylan began in August 2009 and finished in January 2010, for a total of 75 weeks. His work has to be done before the animators can really get going, so he has strict deadlines.
“I ended up working a few Saturdays, but that’s rare,” he said.
Just as when animators work in film, digital animators work at 24 still frames per second to create the illusion of movement. Boylan said there’s been talk of using a process that increases that from 24 to 48 frames per second.
“It’s a subtle difference, but the action looks so much stronger,” said Boylan, who had just seen the completed movie for the first time Friday.
The film crew got a special surprise when Black showed up to attend the screening. Boylan rarely sees the big stars who voice the characters he helps create.
Though he didn’t work on the original “Kung Fu Panda,” he said, he’s proud he did contribute in one way. His wife, Belinda, works for DreamWorks’ marketing and consumer products division. Boylan accompanied her to New York for movie promotions, appearing in a panda suit as Po.
“That costume is heavy and hot, even with a little fan built in,” he said.
His next project is “The Crudes,” a movie with a caveman theme opening in March 2013.
“I’m almost done with it,” he said. “And I’m looking forward to finding out what comes next.”
