Bringing Lou to life: a study in creating Lou

Abstract

In Pixar's Lou, a combination of lost and found items comes to life, multiple pieces assembling to create the eponymous character. There were many visual and technical challenges to creating a character that can take on almost any form, using many of the random objects around him to convey emotion and feeling. We've highlighted several of the ways animation, modeling, rigging, simulation, and shading worked in conjunction to develop artistic and technical solutions to make Lou feel as real as the world around him.