Feature Animation
2023
Wish - Asha
3D visual development and character modeling for Asha, the lead of Disney's 100th anniversary feature.
Studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Production: Wish (Disney's 100th anniversary feature
Directors: Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn
Release Date: November 22, 2023
Role: 3D Visual Development and Character Modeling Supervisor
Art Director: Bill Schwab
Software: zBrush & Maya
Years: 2021-2022
Project Site: IMDb Site
Bill Schwab and I continued our collaboration after our successful partnership on Encanto, this time on Asha, the lead of Disney's centennial feature. Bill's 2D designs were again in the sweet spot for a 3D visdev modeler. The 2D inspires the sculpt, the sculpt lets the Art Director push further, and lines can be pushed and expressed in volume and shapes even further. Sculpt, share, take Bill's draw-overs back into ZBrush, push back where the volume wanted something different, iterate until the silhouette settled and Asha materialized. On the technical side, I executed most of the work on the low-res cage plus creasing workflow I had been advocating for since Encanto, which allowed me to focus on the clean volumes and silhouettes, leaving sculpting detail only for the areas where needed, such as wrinkle detail on compression and extension areas, mostly on the clothing.
The visual target for Wish was a world inspired by watercolor illustration, deliberately flat and stylized, painterly and graphic, without compromising the shapes too much. This was the film celebrating Disney's 100th anniversary, so the design language had to carry the studio's signature style while still reading as something new. Asha had to feel grounded and warm, with elongated proportions and silhouettes that could work against painterly backgrounds and read clearly across a full range of expressions and distances, while remaining distinguishable among the other characters of the lineup. The challenge was holding the appeal of Bill's 2D in a sculpt that would survive rigging, deformation, and the painterly lighting setup the show was built on. Hair was its own conversation. Skin tone, freckles, and the small specifics that made the character feel like a unique Disney main character.
Asha shipped November 22, 2023 as the lead of Disney's centennial feature. Leading visdev on an iconic Disney character, supervising a fully remote team, and landing a workflow that became the department's default are the experiences I take into the next role.