Fans of the Pixar Animation Studios film, Onward, that debuted earlier this year, or even just fans of the animation process are sure to enjoy the latest “Side by Side” video released by the revered animation studio.
What’s Happening:
- Pixar Animation Studios has released another “Side-By-Side” video, wherein they showcase animatics (modern-day versions of traditional storyboards) above or next to the final film renderings we all know and love.
- Today’s video features a scene from their film, Onward, which was released earlier this year.
- In the scene, we see Ian and Barley trying to bring back their late father through magic, though successfully unsuccessful in their attempts.
- When compared to the animatic, you can see how the animatic/storyboarding process aides all the other artists on the film, including the character animators, with staging, gestures, emotions, and even effects (like the exploding Phoenix gem) in the final product albeit with more detail and subtle changes here and there.
- Onward debuted earlier this year just before the global COVID-19 pandemic, which caused shutdowns of cinemas worldwide. Shortly after, Onward was made available digitally, followed by a release on Disney+, and on Blu-Ray/DVD shortly after that.
- In Onward, teenage elf brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot get an unexpected opportunity to spend one more day with their late father. Like any good quest, their journey is filled with magic spells, cryptic maps, impossible obstacles, and unimaginable discoveries. But when the boys’ mother realizes that her sons are missing, she teams up with the former warrior-turned-restaurant-owner Manticore and heads off to find them. Curses aside, this one magical day could mean more than any of them ever dreamed.
- A previous video from Pixar had a story artist (whose work you might see above) teach us how to draw Barley Lightfoot in the same format.