The Animation Process of Klaus!

While discussing different animation softwares today in class, I was reminded of a YouTube video that I had watched on the Netflix movie “Klaus” and how the animators used different techniques to create the beautiful end product. Instead of using CGI to create 3-dimensional characters, the characters were hand drawn and then lighting elements were added to give the whole film a 3D look and feel. Because efficient software did not yet exist to add lighting to 2D drawings, the animators of “Klaus” partnered with a French film company called Les Films de Poisson Rouge to create a new software called KLaS (Klaus Light and Shadow) which made working with light and shadow much easier. Artificial intelligence is used to apply the initial lighting and then animators watch and fine-tune the lighting details. Along with explaining how the software is used, the video also dives into the storyboarding process and different steps that the animation team took throughout the creation. It is a super interesting video that I highly recommend watching!