During the Annecy Animation Festival, Pixar unveiled two projects that will mark their upcoming year. Gatto, a feature film set in Venice, follows a stray cat with an aesthetic inspired by Van Gogh's brushstrokes. On the other hand, the short film Loving Dory shows the famous fish falling in love with a plastic bag, a direct critique of human pollution. Both proposals promise family entertainment with environmental messages.
The Technical Engine Behind Gatto's Digital Brushstroke 🎨
To achieve the pictorial effect of Gatto, Pixar has developed a new rendering system that simulates the texture of oil on canvas. The R&D team has created an algorithm that replicates the thick brushstrokes and characteristic light patterns of Van Gogh, applying them to 3D models without losing the fluidity of movement. This represents an advancement in the representation of historical artistic styles within computer animation, combining machine learning techniques with the physical simulation of materials.
Dory Discovers That Love for Plastic Is Not Recyclable 🐟
In Loving Dory, the endearing fish becomes obsessed with a supermarket bag, mistaking it for a being of its own species. The plot is as sad as it is hilarious: while Dory tries to court the inert object, the humans in the background throw more trash into the ocean. Pixar reminds us that, although love is blind, pollution is not. That said, at least the bag won't ghost her.