Mkali’s Mission: Creating a 3D animated sequence remotely during a pandemic

Over the past year, we’ve seen the pandemic change the way studios work and affect how artists collaborate with one another. With remote work becoming the “new normal”, it’s become apparent that sharing a common physical space isn’t always necessary. We decided to put ourselves in the shoes of our customers by setting up a small remote studio to create a 3D sequence called Mkali's Mission, from concept through final render. We set out to create our animated short using each of the tools in the Media & Entertainment Collection – including Maya, 3ds Max, Arnold, and Mudbox – to showcase the breadth and power of the toolset. We also set up a ShoGrid site to track our progress and manage reviews. To bring this project to life, we hired freelance artists from across the globe for modeling, rigging, animation, FX, look development, and rendering. During this session, I’ll take you through each step of our journey, sharing all of the challenges, successes, and learnings along the way.