IRON AND THE MAIDEN - CHASE MASSACRE
BEHIND-THE-SCENES

Jason Rubin [ known in the past for the Crash Bandicoot and Jak & Daxter games ] contacted The Dreamhive Animation Studio to help create a two and a half minute sequence from the pages of his new Iron and The Maiden comicbook mini-series published by Aspen. For this project, the studio produced a cast of six highly detailed 3D characters from the Iron and The Maiden universe, a large exterior snowy city street set, vehicles, props, and a multi-room interior set with full furnishings.

To handle the production, the studio developed a proprietary Maya-based hybrid software / hardware rendering pipeline, sophisticated shot asset management tools and a render pass setup system that greatly improved the iteration times. In addition, the studio created a suite of tools and techniques to handle such things as hair styling, cloth, secondary deformation, lighting and effects.

A team of ten animators completed the animation for the two and a half minute short over the span of three months, with shot finaling taking an additional month. Final frames were rendered at 2K resolution.

The short has not been publically released yet, but we are pleased to be able to share a few frames from the animation as well as stills of many of the characters and props!

Here's what Jason had to say about working with The Dreamhive:

"The Dreamhive was a perfect fit for the Iron and the Maiden project. I was continually impressed with the studio's work ethic and their willingness to do whatever it took to make the Iron and the Maiden universe come to life. They not only knew how to successfully interpret my creation, but they pioneered new ground in the process which exponentially improved iteration time. I've seen it first hand, when these guys say they've found a way to bridge that gap between next gen gaming and other facets of the entertainment industry...they can back it up."

- Jason Rubin, MorganRose LLC