Stuart Little Effects Animation

The evolution of the first Stuart Little film was a very interesting process to participate in as we created the star of the film to fill the empty mostly photographic plates. This was one of the very first times a CG character held a major role in a film so it was a big step for everyone involved. During some of the early screenings of the movie there were a number of awkward moments as you tried to imagine the action on-screen and determine whether it was “working” or not. As the mouse was finished in more and more shots it became clear that the film worked in a fun and quirky way. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. The film was released in December 1999 to a great opening box office and favorable reviews.

This was my first project at Sony Imageworks and was a great experience for me. I ended up with the credit of Lead Effects Animator and was involved in most of the effects animation in the film. On the side, I helped out a little with some of the cloth simulation work and a few other small tasks here and there.

A few selections from my shots are detailed below.

Stuart Little in his bed. Bed sheet wrinkles and depressions for CG mouse (animation & shading)

Stuart Little brushing his teeth. Droplets of water and toothpaste (animation & shading)

Stuart Little in the washing machine. Enhanced practical water with cg ripples, drips, bubbles and other interaction. Animation, shading & lighting

Stuart Little in the washing machine. Created cg waterline, water dripping down glass and hand prints (animation, shading & lighting)

Stuart Little in the washing machine. Created cg waterline, water dripping down glass and hand prints (animation, shading & lighting)

Stuart Little burping up a soap bubble. CG soap bubble. (animation & shading)

Stuart in the sewer. CG water enhancements including interactive ripples (animation & shading)

Stuart falls out of a box of crackers. Cg fish crackers to interact with stuart’s fall. (animation & lighting)

Stuart sheds a CG tear that clumps his fur, sails on a CG water extension and slides down a synthetic sail / Animation & Lighting and some shading

I did a bunch more work on the show as well, but those are a few samples. Hope you enjoyed the film.