It's Nimona Release Week!!!
My favorite part of working on animated films
This is a special week for me as a 3D Artist. This week, the final film I worked on at Blue Sky Studios, Nimona, is about to be released to the world!! 4 years after I started working on it…And it’s finally done!! My 10th animated film credit. Woohooo!!
Typically, we would have celebrated this achievement with my wonderful co-workers, throwing premier parties, singing our hearts out at karaoke in K-town, and basking in the collective relief after a long and arduous production. However, this time it's different—very different.
During the production of Nimona, the studio I worked at, Blue Sky Studios, unexpectedly shut down. It was a devastating blow. After years of pouring our hearts and souls into Nimona, the project was taken away from us. The film rights were transferred from Disney to Annapurna Animation. All the footage and assets we had painstakingly created were discarded, and another studio, DNeg, was tasked with recreating the film.
Therefore, nothing I created or worked on will appear on the screen and I won’t get my usual celebrations. So why am I so excited?
The Film Itself
This film felt different from the beginning. The look was different. It was darker, grittier, and more stylized than anything we had created before. On almost every other project we were asked to “raise the darks” “don’t let those shadows get too contrasty” and “we don’t want to scare the kids!” This one felt punk rock and daring. The film was comic book-like with flourishes of raytraced reflections with some Charley Harper-esque patterns and style thrown in as well. I mean…it was just kinda cool.
The story of Nimona was equally unique. We took bold risks with our characters. Nimona, the title character, was an audacious force of nature. She possessed a quirky sense of humor, mood swings, and a captivating presence on screen. Her emotional journey, grappling with her identity as a shapeshifter, could resonate with any young person struggling with their gender, sexuality, or sense of self.
And she wasn’t a side character. She was THE main character. She wasn’t someone’s queer friend or a comedic relief to the real storyline. She was the one who set the emotional tone of the movie and the one audiences were meant to connect with.
We also took a stand with the second lead. A knight named Ballister who played the straight man to the frenetic Nimona except for one thing. He wasn’t straight. But not in a way that was like a big “he was gay the whole time!” reveal or end of the movie “whaaaaaaaaaa!?!?!” moment.
For a studio primarily known for its Ice Age sequels and playing it safe, Nimona felt like a departure. It represented a new aesthetic direction while fearlessly incorporating representation that most studios were hesitant to explore.
(And by most studios I mean especially the one that was funding this project. Listen…I would never, ever speculate that Disney would shut down a whole studio of over 600 workers for the subject matter of this, one film. I definitely would never do that. I’m sure it was just a business decision. Strictly business. None of the queer stuff or punk rock stuff or same-sex kiss being attached to their brand had any impact on this very business decision. No way. Not at all. I would never speculate on that.)
Ultimately, my passion has always been to work on projects that truly matter. Characters that children want to dress up as and stories that hit them deep in their souls. Not fart jokes that are meant to be a mindless distraction for 90 minutes, but stories and characters that make an honest to god difference for someone out there. And this was the first time in a number of years that I felt like that was a possibility. It was something I was really proud to have my name attached.
We Never Thought This Day Would Come
When you are working on a film and the company closes you expect the film to die too. And it was dead…for a while.
But this film had a guardian angel: Annapurna Pictures. With the help of some incredibly determined and stubborn individuals, they resurrected Nimona from the ruins of the fallen studio and brought it back to life. And now, they have successfully released it. I have no idea how they managed it, and nobody at Blue Sky Studios ever thought it would be possible.
I must admit, though, that mixed feelings arose. When you embark on a project, you want to be the one to see it through to the end. There was a part of me that wasn't entirely thrilled about other artists completing the work we had started. However, in the end, I let go of my mopey and selfish thoughts and realized that what truly matters is the film itself entering the world and potentially becoming something remarkable.
Longevity
Films can exist in two states—either gone forever or immortal. Once released, they are preserved and stored, ensuring their endurance throughout human history. Even regrettable movies like Tiptoes will remain out there forever, unable to be erased.
(What’s Tiptoes you ask? Never heard of it? I’ll drop the trailer right here so you can see why you’ve never heard of it. Because the studio tried to kill and yet it lives on!! Reminder…this is a real movie that really exists with apparently “command performances.” There were grown people that thought this movie was a good idea and not incredibly wrong in every way imaginable. Trigger warning for too many things to list.)
So getting this film released felt like another chance for me to be a part of a project that will far outlive me. Something my kids and grandkids can hopefully look at with pride someday. I could pretend that doesn’t matter to me but I’d be lying.
You Still See Your Influence
Something has happened on every film that I have worked on. At some point during the process, I got to include something that is truly, uniquely my own into the project. An idea or aesthetic choice you make that the director likes and implements into the rest of the film. So I can confidently say every film was different because me, and only me, worked on it.
Sometimes those personal tweaks aren’t always positive. Sometimes I would make mistakes. One of the very first shots I worked on for Ice Age 3 has a lighting error I made that drives me crazy to this day. If my kids are watching it, I always make a point to turn away because it eats me alive and my mistake lives on forever. Do you know what I did? I left a rogue shadow on the ground, like some alien planet with two suns shining from different directions.
Ok. Ok. That isn’t Tiptoes bad but I’m embarrassed by it. But mostly, your influence is positive.
Even though none of my artwork appears on screen in Nimona, my influence can still be seen. My team at Blue Sky Studios had a special project, and to keep track of everything and brainstorm ideas, we created a "murder wall." You know, one of those corkboards covered in pictures and connected with yarn, like you see in movies when someone is trying to solve a crime.
We displayed it in one of our conference rooms, and soon enough, other teams, as well as the directors and producers of Nimona, noticed it. They started teasing us about it, so we playfully included them on the murder wall and engaged in a fun back-and-forth exchange of little notes. Then, one day during a screening of Nimona, to our surprise, there it was—the murder wall, immortalized in the film. So, even though our images didn't make it onto the screen, our beloved murder wall lives on.
This Provides Closure
This release provides a sense of closure that we all desperately needed. Normally, in times of loss, we find solace in grieving together. When a loved one passes away, we mourn with family and friends. When a mass layoff occurs, we find comfort in sharing the experience with our colleagues. However, due to the circumstances of the pandemic, Covid stole that opportunity from us.
When Blue Sky Studios closed its doors, it happened through a Zoom meeting—a mere eight minutes that left us all jobless, staring at a dark screen. That was it. With Covid rates soaring, gathering together was not feasible. We were left alone in our home offices, kitchen tables, bedrooms, or wherever we were working, to process the immense loss we had collectively endured.
The release of Nimona has now provided us with pockets of opportunity to come together, not to mourn, but to celebrate. Those still in New York were able to attend a premier party, while the Bay Area crew enjoyed a screening at Pixar. Los Angeles hosted a screening at Disney, and the rest of us scattered across the country gathered with family and friends to commemorate this special occasion.
For me, this film feels like the final piece of the puzzle, tying up loose ends and granting us the closure we have been seeking. It signifies an opportunity to move on to what lies ahead.
Therefore, I want to extend a massive congratulations to all the incredible people at Blue Sky Studios, the Annapurna crew, and all the talented individuals at DNeg and other studios involved in this project. This is a monumental achievement, and I hope it is a film that we can all be proud of for many years to come.
3D News of the Week
A roundup of interesting 3D related news you may have missed this week.
The Making of Luca - YouTube.com
Great Mushroom Tool Made with Blender's Geometry Nodes - 80.lv
Indiana Jones in Black & White to Study Composition - YouTube.com
Meta’s new Quest Plus subscription gets you two free VR games per month - theverge.com
Blender 3.6 LTS Released - 80.lv
Artist of the Week
3D Tutorials
3D Job Spreadsheet
Link to Google Doc With A TON of Jobs in Animation (not operated by me)
Michael Tanzillo is the Head of Technical Artists with the Substance 3D Growth team at Adobe. Previously, I was a Senior Artist on animated films at Blue Sky Studios/Disney with credits including three Ice Age movies, two Rios, Peanuts, Ferdinand, Spies in Disguise, and Epic.
In addition to his work as an artist, Michael is the Co-Author of the book Lighting for Animation: The Visual Art of Storytelling and the Co-Founder of The Academy of Animated Art, an online school that has helped hundreds of artists around the world begin careers in Animation, Visual Effects, and Digital Imaging.
www.michaeltanzillo.com
Free 3D Tutorials on the Michael Tanzillo YouTube Channel
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Thanks for the post. I've been thinking a lot about how to teach my kids to experience setbacks and obstacles to their expectations as part of the process of getting better at their craft. I have huge admiration for 3d artists and I enjoyed this post. Thanks for writing.
https://dweversole.substack.com/p/square-pegs-and-round-holes
https://dweversole.substack.com/p/when-risk-is-an-imaginary-stop-sign