3D Basics
A look at Weta Digital’s facial animation for the canine stars of Lady And The Tramp
Weta Digital’s Facial Motion department talk doggy doubles
The digital doggy leads in Lady And The Tramp were created as doubles for their real-life counterparts to act as stand-ins when they had to perform anything a real dog can’t do. Our main characters had to not just look like their real-life canine counterparts, but emote and speak with enough feeling to completely engage with the audience.
At Weta Digital we have a dedicated facial motion department that works across all creatures and characters, pushing the boundaries of photorealistic facial performances and the specification for facial puppet rigging, then moulding it into a visually entertaining experience.
In any film, an actor’s delivery of dialogue can make or break the story. It’s never just talking, but rather a vessel for revealing character and plot. In the case of Lady And The Tramp, the plot is largely revealed through the voices of the dogs, and talking dogs are not something our audiences are accustomed to seeing in the real world! Our fundamental goal on this project was to create facial performances that suspend belief and let the audience connect to the characters with conviction.
We always begin with reference and use the real world as our ground truth. For Lady And The
Tramp we were lucky to have the live-action stars of the show,
Rose and Monty, to refer to. We meticulously studied their facial poses and mannerisms and codified them onto their digital doubles, allowing the story to cut from talking Cg-created characters to live-action dogs.
Facial animation isn’t just about getting your character to look like it’s correctly saying lines, it’s selling the illusion of life. The right facial expressions and animation can reveal the thought process and feelings of the character without any words being spoken. For
Lady And The Tramp, taking the creation of lovable, memorable characters to the next level by imbuing them very subtly with human characteristics was an exciting challenge.
01 PUPPY-DOG EYES
Eyes can be the trickiest part of the face to animate but when done correctly they instantly bring life to characters. The eyes are often what we’re drawn to the most when we look at someone. They can reveal inner monologues and in most cases are the first thing to move before the rest of the body. Dogs often raise their inner eyebrow muscles, making the eyes look larger and more appealing and helping exaggerate or sell an expression.
02 TIME TO TALK
Blocking the character’s jaw movements is the most important part of creating correct dialogue, especially where the jaw opens and closes. By animating just the jaw, you can at least get the correct timing on your dialogue before adding anything else in. Using the voice actors reference or filming yourself saying the line can help give you the best possible starting point.
03 ENHANCING WITH EARS
Dogs have about 100 different facial expressions and most of them can be made with their ears. Dogs’ ears can twitch when reacting to stimuli, for example a sound. They will usually have their ears up when alert or happy, and down and close to their head when sad or angry. Ear animation complements the intention of the character’s facial performance in the same way humans can add further expression to dialogue with their hands.
04 BEING NOSEY
An important thing to remember when considering the details of your facial animation is to incorporate realistic movement across the whole of the character’s face. Adding blinks on turns or reactions, nose movement when sniffing, or even just making sure your character looks like they’re breathing, can be the details that ensure your CG character lives up to the real deal. •