Alex (Magic Light Pictures' The Snail & The Whale)

In 2019, I worked on a Christmas special for Magic Light Pictures at Triggerfish Animation Studios. It was a short film adaptation of the children's book The Snail & The Whale, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by Axel Scheffler. The film features a small but adventurous sea snail, living on a rock of lazy snails. She wants to see the world but can't do it alone. In her silvery trail, she writes upon the rock - "Lift wanted around the world". She waits and waits and when all hope seems lost, an unexpected visitor offers the lift she seeks. A humpack whale! The two set off together and encounter all the beauty and danger the world has to offer. One day, the whale loses his way and is beached. The small snail tries and tries but she cannot free the Whale and so she sets off to seek help at the pre-school just beyond the dunes. In her silvery trail, she writes upon the chalkboard - "Save the Whale" and gets the attention of the children. Once the chilldren discover the Whale, their teacher gets a hold of the fire department and the community gathers to free the Whale. With much effort and an incoming tide, the whale is freed and the two set off once more, this time heading for home.

In between leading the layout department and the finaling department, I was able to join the surfacing department for a brief amount of time and got to texture and shade two of the school children that help save the whale. While the name is not mentioned in the film, the asset name of this character was named Alex, after my own name =)

Featured here are the beauty, diffuse albedo and specular passes as well as contextual renders from the film.

Role: Character Texturing & Shading
Software used: Maya, 3DCoat
Renderer: Arnold