When an animated 3D board game character starts talking to you through the TV screen this month, you can thank Grasshorse for making it happen.
The new commercial promoting the Iowa Lottery’s Hasbro-inspired scratch game was produced through the collaboration of Integer Group and Grasshorse Studios.
Skilled artists and animators worked day in and day out bringing the prominent, fictitious figure to life. Starting with a 3D model of the character and environment, deep textures and shading were incorporated to craft the rich look and feel of the spot. The goal was to make the 3D space appear as comfortable and inviting as possible.
“It’s really rewarding getting to see your work on broadcast television”, remarked Lisa Horak, the Production Coordinator for the project.
Several days after the project’s completion, Iowa Lotto buzz can still be felt throughout the office. Well, that, or Mr. Monopoly’s vivacious voice is still echoing from the looping audio sample that played all week. It has a surprising way of sticking to you. And persuading you to buy scratch-off Lotto tickets.
[Mr. Monopoly could not be reached for comment]
Special thanks to some of the talented individuals involved with the project:
Graphics – Eric Brandt
Background – Brandon Humfleet
Modeling – Brandon Humfleet, Stephen Jennings
Rigging – Stephen Jennings
Animation – Joe Carney, Tom Heineke
Texturing and Shading – Brandon Humfleet, Tyler Horn, Stephen Jennings
Lighting – Tyler Horn, Stephen Jennings
Render Setup – Brandon Humfleet
Rendering – Brandon Humfleet, Tyler Horn, Stephen Jennings
Compositing – Stephen Jennings
Editing – Stephen Jennings, Joe Carney
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Oh and one more thing. Back here we gave a little preview of another Visual Effects project we had our hands on.
That work was for Kickin’ it, an action-packed Disney comedy starring a group of Karate-trained teen misfits. Over the past two months we have completed four separate post-production jobs for the new live-action series.
Grasshorse animators helped the actors defy gravity by applying 2D rotoscoping techniques and painting out suspended wires with ninja precision.
The end result were some extreme shots that leave the show’s tween audience wondering, “How did they just do that?”. Tune into the Disney XD channel to catch Grasshorse’s acrobatic ass-kicking edits.
