Game of Thrones dragons come alive at Sharjah fest
sharjah — The first workshop at the Sharjah International Children’s Film Festival involved firebreathing dragons and the iron throne from one of the best fantasy drama television series, Game of Thrones.
Conducted by visual effects (VFX) artist, Thomas Kutschera from PIXOMONDO — the company tasked with creating the dragons for HBO’s massive hit TV series — the workshop took a group of aspiring animators on a journey through 3D technology.
The workshop, titled ‘Game of Thrones: Creating the Dragons’, showcased how these larger-thanlife characters are designed and made to come alive on screen.
“Since Season 2, Pixomondo has been creating the dragons for Game of Thrones. As the dragons have grown over the years from 1.8 metres to 38 metres in size over the successive seasons, we have had to pay the greatest attention to detail — from the scales and spikes on the dragons’ neck to their colour and crusty texture,” said Kotchera.
“We examined skeletons of reptiles with massive chest bones to create the rounded portions right above the dragon’s neck and manipulated them using 3D and VFX technologies.”
The workshop covered asset creation; modelling the dragons before converting them into 3D; using ZBrush technology to sculpt their minutest details; and bringing in Anim Rig technology to transform the low-resolution models.
According to the workshop, more than half million polygons and 483 digital control objects were responsible for bringing the dragons to life. In simpler terms, these technicalities cause the ripple on the webs between their fingers or make their skin contract and expand like real life creatures.
reporters@khaleejtimes.com