BLENDER AT UBISOFT

One of the biggest names to back

Blender this year was Ubisoft. The international videogame developer announced that it would be adopting the software in production at Ubisoft Animation Studio, responsible for creating spin-off animated TV series like Rabbids Invasion, which screens on Nickelodeon. UAS CTO Damien Coureau and head of production Pierrot Jacquet tell us why.

Linux Format: Blender has been around for decades. Why switch to it now? Pierrot Jacquet: Blender 2.8 made us want to move over, with game-changing tools such as [2D animation toolset] Grease Pencil and Eevee, its real-time renderer, and the revamped user interface. With all of those improvements, it’s easier to onboard teams.

Instead of focusing on keeping our proprietary [software] up to the market level, our development team can focus on features that will bring creative added value and allow our artists to innovate. We’re also fans of Blender’s open source philosophy. Since you have access to the code, [you aren’t] limited by what [the Blender Foundation] decides to do.

LXF: Which software were you using before Blender?

PJ: Our previous pipeline used a number of tools, including Adobe’s

Photoshop for design, Autodesk’s Maya for modelling, rigging and animation, proprietary tools for rendering, editing and shot layout, and Foundry’s Nuke for compositing. We also used Toon Boom Animation’s Storyboard Pro for creating storyboards and animatics and Harmony for 2D effects.

LXF: Which of those applications will Blender replace?

PJ: As our decision to implement Blender is fairly recent, not everything will be moved [over] at once. While we’re aiming to do almost everything in Blender, there will be some tools that will we continue using, such as Photoshop for design, and [some tasks will use] a mix of our current tools and Blender, like texturing and compositing.

LXF: What technical obstacles did adopting Blender

present?

Damien Coureau:

From a pipeline perspective, there are challenges around mixing GPL and commercial software. From a resources perspective, [the] challenges [are] similar to developing your own proprietary software, such as having to retrain people who are already used to using a specific pipeline.

LXF: How many developers will you have working full-time on Blender?

DC: As it’s now our main [creative software], most of our developers will work on enhancing Blender.

LXF: How will it to affect costs?

PJ: Any shift to a new [software application] would have required a similar resource commitment. This move was about added creative value.

LXF: What would you say to anyone who still thinks that Blender is just a ‘tool for hobbyists’?

DC: This industry was built by hobbyists!