Stags & Stripes, Creating Photoreal Characters | Framestore | FMX 2021 HIVE

An in-depth look at the process we went through to create two very different creatures for two very different Television shows.

Ahmed Gharraph is Framestore’s Joint Head of CG and holds an impressive CV which includes havingworked on some of the biggest film, television and advertising projects. From his roles on thelikes of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Ready Player One, His Dark Materials and to his EmmyAward nomination for his role as VFX Supervisor on HBO’s Watchmen. Ahmed’s approachto any project is to create the most engaging and exciting visuals possible.Having started his career in the CG department at MPC in 2007 after gaining his BSc in 3DComputer Animation, Ahmed’s continued success both as an artist and as a Head ofDepartment can be seen in his numerous industry accolades. Most recently he received an Emmy nomination for his role in bringing Dr Manhattan to life in HBO’s Watchmen and aVES nomination for a photoreal stag in Netflix’s The Crown which many couldn’t tell was infact fully-digital.

Gabriela Salmeron is Framestore’s Head of Grooming and Character FX and has ten years’ experience delivering the highest-quality visuals for high-profile advertising projects, TV series, immersive experiences and blockbuster films. Gabriela’s work brings together a strong technical background gained from her double bachelor degree in Computer Science at the University of Sydney and University of Sao Paulo and her love for art and nature. She specialises in creating digital animals, for which she develops many of her own grooming and character FX tools inside Houdini and she has her own tutorial series called Grooming Barry Bacon where she details her approach and techniques in grooming. Her work with creatures has been recognised with three VES award nominations for Outstanding Animated Character over the past four years, with recent credits including The Crown season four, His Dark Materials, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, The Witcher, Black Mirror and The Boys.