Workshop grooming

The grooming

In 3D animation, every detail is important, and it’s precisely the attention paid to these details that demonstrates the quality of the animation. Grooming falls into this category. This is the work done on the hair and fur of the characters, animals and objects in a 3D animation film. These must move coherently with the movements of the characters or the wind and reflect the light according to the shots.

Corentin Philippe, who graduated in 2017, worked on grooming for his graduation film “Seconde chance”, in Nantes. He worked in Vancouver at Mainframe Studios and is now Leadgroom at O2O, a studio based in Saint-Malo.

more in-depth grooming for students

Grooming is both a technical and artistic craft. As Corentin explains, “there are different methodologies for similar results. The one I’m presenting today is my favourite, which I’ve developed over the course of my assignments. It allows them to realise that there are different ways of working, and the approach is versatile in grooming”.

Corentin worked with the third-year students on self-portraits as part of the digidouble exercise. This technique, which is now widely used in 3D animation, is increasingly used in films with action scenes. Perfecting this technique is a real plus ofr students.

For the second-year students, Corentin’s advice came in the form of a grooming exercise. After giving a theory lesson on the different grooming techniques, Corentin followed up all the students’ bugs on a case-by-case basis. As grooming is a meticulous job, he worked with the students on their various problems to ensure a high-quallity result in January and to develop their skills in the field.