Archive notice: This article was originally published on February 3, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
MAXON Computer, a leading provider of professional 3D modeling, painting and rendering solutions, congratulates British special-effects specialist Framestore on its Academy Award nomination for its work on Warner Bros.’ blockbuster “Batman—The Dark Knight.” A key element is the shocking transformation of upright district attorney Harvey Dent into the hateful villain “Two-Face,” whose face is grotesquely burned on one side by an explosion. The convincing computer-generated injured head was made possible in part by BodyPaint 3D, which allowed numerous high-resolution textures to be applied seamlessly to exposed skull bones, teeth and muscle fibers.
“We congratulate Framestore on the recognition of its exceptional effects work through this year’s Visual Effects Academy Award nomination,” said Paul Babb, Managing Director of MAXON USA. “We are delighted that BodyPaint 3D remains one of Framestore’s standard tools.”
Daren Horley, head of Framestore’s texture-painting team, described BodyPaint 3D as indispensable because its seamless workflow, straightforward handover among the four-person team, simultaneous painting across multiple objects and direct 3D work made it possible to judge lighting and highlights immediately.
Other intensively used features included the flexible Clone tool, Adobe Photoshop compatibility, stability and high speed when working with textures up to 10K with multiple layers.
Framestore won the Visual Effects Oscar in 2008 for The Golden Compass, another production that used BodyPaint 3D. Liam Stacy of MAXON’s UK subsidiary praised Framestore as one of Europe’s leading special-effects studios.
