CG Production Memo - July 2026

Our CG Production Program is officially halfway through!

3D Asset by Betty Liu

Art (3D and 2D)
Under the leadership of our Asset Supervisors, Angela Sae-Lam and Ali Daneshgar, our modeling team has started turning our 2D designs into 3D models using Autodesk Maya and Blender.  We launched our artists a few weeks ago, using a detailed Modeling Style Guide provided by our Art Leads, and are working closely with the Design team to fine tune details and ensure that the 2D design translates properly into 3D.  In addition, our 2D artists have been providing adhoc support whenever more clarity is needed and are working on solidifying our style frames which will be passed off to Lighting.  One of the interesting challenges was designing a character made out of glass.  We had to consider movement, design and composition, and interactions with various objects in the scene.

3D Art by Yoona Hwang

Pre-Vis
In order to make sure that our story is properly reflected through the environment, the Asset, Animation, and Edit teams have been collaborating closely.  We have been working to solidify processes for file sharing and clear communication pathways so that everyone is in sync and has visibility into progress.  While our Asset teams are providing the proxies, low poly, and high poly models, our Animation team has been working on camera placement and Edit has been working on keeping the animatic updated whenever a new render comes in.  We’ve also been working closely with one of our Directors, Madison Lin, to understand camera placement and movement throughout our story.

3D Art by Kaylee Tan

Production
This month has been a great learning experience as we have concluded the Pre-Production phase of our journey and have turned our attention to supporting our Asset, Animation & Lighting, Tech, Music, and Edit teams.  Our biggest challenge so far has been creating and solidifying the collaboration process between Asset, Animation & Lighting, and Edit in regards to Layout as this is the first time interdepartmental communication and handoffs have been instrumental.  We have built a robust documentation and communication pipeline and will continue to iterate and fine-tune as challenges arise.  In addition, we celebrated the addition of 3 more members who have shown interest in supporting our various Production departments.

R&D Exploration
During this month, our Animation Team, under the guidance of our Animation Supervisor, Ashley Chung, has been exploring different run and walk cycles and soccer tricks.  Our two main characters are unique in their composition which makes it more challenging to animate properly.  Our Lighting team is just getting started, familiarizing themselves with Unreal Engine and our File Management tool under the leadership of one of our Directors, Adnan Hussain.  They have also started experimenting with some stylized lighting scenarios to help push the painterly style we’re aiming for.

Music
Lastly, we launched our Music team this month!  Our two composers, Neel Agrawal and Michael Singh, are working together to create the soundtrack that supports the emotion you’ll encounter throughout the story.  We were lucky to bring on team members with strong musical backgrounds and experience with traditional Middle Eastern instruments, such as the Oud.  Their process begins by iterating on various designs, motifs, and rhythms to truly develop the proper sound and accurately portray Middle Eastern music.

What’s Next
Soon, we’ll be officially launching our Animation team which will carry through the rest of the Program.  We can’t believe we’re already half way through the program and are excited to head toward the later half of the production.  Stay tuned for next month for more progress updates!

Art by Debra Rengga