Modern Tarzan has CG hippos and crocodiles
Never before has the jungle where Tarzan lives had so many computer generated animals. Rodeo FX completed nearly 200 visual effects shots for The Legend of Tarzan, including action sequences with CG hippos and crocodiles.
The new Tarzan movie from Warner Bros. is a film about the return of the hero to the jungle, but many of the scenes that look as part of a nature documentary… were created with computers.
The level of action you see in The Legend of Tarzan would not be possible to achieve in Warner Bros. previous film, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, from 1984. Now, 32 years later, the studios have decided to embark in another version of the film, but used Rodeo FX to create many of he visual effects that …show more content…
Visually, the animals were based on references of specific species of hippos and crocodiles and the team at Rodeo FX had complete freedom to develop the narrative aspects of these creature scenes.
Rodeo FX built skeletons and muscle rigging, skin, fur, and scales for the animals. Each individual animal was altered to provide contrast in such details as the crocodile scales, skin textures, and unique marks. The rigs were tested through animation cycles based on reference footage of movements the animals would make in the wild. These included resting on land and in water, walking, running, swimming, and fighting, during which textures and shapes would be pushed to the extreme and needed to maintain their realistic look.
"The main hippo, which is shown in close-ups, required a separate facial rig that allowed us to control all the separate parts of its face," said François Dumoulin, VFX Supervisor at Rodeo FX. "We had controllers for its eyes, which really brought it to
Never before has the jungle where Tarzan lives had so many computer generated animals. Rodeo FX completed nearly 200 visual effects shots for The Legend of Tarzan, including action sequences with CG hippos and crocodiles.
The new Tarzan movie from Warner Bros. is a film about the return of the hero to the jungle, but many of the scenes that look as part of a nature documentary… were created with computers.
The level of action you see in The Legend of Tarzan would not be possible to achieve in Warner Bros. previous film, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, from 1984. Now, 32 years later, the studios have decided to embark in another version of the film, but used Rodeo FX to create many of he visual effects that …show more content…
Visually, the animals were based on references of specific species of hippos and crocodiles and the team at Rodeo FX had complete freedom to develop the narrative aspects of these creature scenes.
Rodeo FX built skeletons and muscle rigging, skin, fur, and scales for the animals. Each individual animal was altered to provide contrast in such details as the crocodile scales, skin textures, and unique marks. The rigs were tested through animation cycles based on reference footage of movements the animals would make in the wild. These included resting on land and in water, walking, running, swimming, and fighting, during which textures and shapes would be pushed to the extreme and needed to maintain their realistic look.
"The main hippo, which is shown in close-ups, required a separate facial rig that allowed us to control all the separate parts of its face," said François Dumoulin, VFX Supervisor at Rodeo FX. "We had controllers for its eyes, which really brought it to