New system from studio behind ‘BLAME!’ and ‘GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters’ supports diverse visual styles, including cel shading, which replicates the look of hand-drawn cel animation in 3D.
Polygon Pictures, the Japanese studio known for its digital animation work on projects like GODZILLA: Planet of the Monsters, Ajin: Demi-Human, BLAME! and Star Wars Resistance, has just announced their development of a new inhouse rendering program, PPixel. Under the leadership of president and CEO Shuzo Shiota, Polygon has been developing the software, which specializes in non-photorealistic rendering (NPR), based on the diversity of visual styles the studio’s projects have required in recent years. By incorporating the ideas and know-how Polygon has cultivated over many years, including cel-shading, a method of replicating the look of hand-drawn cel animation in 3D, the renderer is expected to become an indispensable tool for creating new looks.
“In addition to the creation of highly unique visual styles, by fusing PPixel and our existing production pipeline, we can focus on this NPR look to realize further efficiencies such as improved processing speeds and reduced render times,” Shiota notes. “This allows us to achieve higher quality visuals with even higher productivity than at any time before.”
In addition to their in-house CG technology development, the studio has begun incorporating recent IT advances into their production pipeline to increase speed and efficiency. “By insourcing development of certain types of software required for high-end video production, we can maintain our position on the cutting edge of both the CG and IT fields,” he adds.
Founded in July 1983, Polygon Pictures is one of the largest digital animation studios in Japan. They currently have more than 400 artists working at their Tokyo studio as well as their Malaysian subsidiary, Silver Ant PPI Sdn.
Source: Polygon Pictures
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
