The making of: UHU glue

At this point we were brought into the process: to create CGI hands, chests, fingers, arms, and also bow and arrow on the Cupid…. but we also had to use our fantasy as real anatomy did not apply to the souvenir objects! The first version of our Ramses was way too human. It had too many muscles so we had to elongate it in order to match his Egyptian equivalent. Also the Buddha’s hands had to look more rounded like kid’s hands as if to enhance his generous and plump appearance.

Early CGI tests of the Buddha’s hands

Below some close ups of the making of the Cupid’s hands and bow in CGI.

We also had to open the mouth and eyes in all the souvenirs as we had to change their facial expression: from calm and gentle to a surprised look.

The Nutcracker already looked half surprised. So we only had to change his eyes. Have a look at the little animation below.

All the cracks and broken pieces were crafted by Arndt. He broke the Nutcracker’s leg, the Buddha’s stomach and foot and Ramses’ leg. He wasn’t allowed to break Cupid though! The budget was at its limit, so the art department team smashed some old porcelain cups and plates instead.

We also asked the photographer to shoot the figurines from all sides to have extra material to remove the Buddha and Ramses’s hands, which were originally folded in front of their chests. So in the final image the area covered by the Buddha’s hands has been replaced using material taken from its back.

Below the full workflow of the post production process from adding the CGI elements to the cracks, colour and contrast.

Enjoy!

http://vimeo.com/recomfarmhouse/uhu

Posted by Jonas

CREDITS:

Client: UHU
Agency: Kolle Rebbe
Photographer: Bernd Westphal
Art-Director: Joerg Dittmann
CGI-Director: Thorsten Jasper Weese
Post-Artist: Jonas Braukmann
CGI-Artist: Ina Bostelmann