“Crafting Malgosha, The Mean Queen ”Gosh'” by Estey and Stopsack
Conference:
Type(s):
Title:
- Crafting Malgosha, The Mean Queen ''Gosh'
Session/Category Title:
- Rigging and Character Animation
Presenter(s)/Author(s):
Moderator(s):
Abstract:
The creation of Malgosha for “A Minecraft Movie” began with a simple character concept based on a charmingly low-resolution game world. This project required close collaboration across multiple departments to bring this distinctively unconventional character to life and make her believably exist alongside human actors. VFX Supervisor Sheldon Stopsack and Animation Supervisor Kevin Estey were instrumental in developing Malgosha’s look and feel. Starting in April 2023 and continuing through post-production, Wētā artists worked closely to ensure the character maintained the unique Minecraft aesthetic while standing on her own as a new, engaging villain. To support her rigid silhouette, Malgosha’s body was carefully constructed to allow for a cubic appearance that could move as fluidly as any flesh-and-bone character. A Hybrid Koru biped puppet enabled cartoon-like stretching while preserving a solid internal structure. The Creatures Department utilized Wētā’s Loki framework for body, skin, and facial simulations, ensuring Malgosha’s movements felt dynamic and grounded. Combining the body performance by Allan Henry and the vocal performance by Rachel House required careful artistic interpretation from the animation team. The Facial Animation Department further refined Malgosha’s lively, fleshy countenance using Wētā FX’s FACS system. The final touch was her costume, which enhanced her distinctive shape and added a heightened sense of reality to the character. Intricate modeling and shaders were meticulously crafted for every thread, strand, and bead before the Creatures and Animation departments brought the character and costume to life through simulation and performance.
References:
[1] Steve Lesser, Alexey Stomakhin, Gilles Daviet, Joel Wretborn, John Elhold, Noh-Hoon Lee, Eston Schweickart, Xiao Zhai, Sean Flynn, Andrew Mofatt. In ACM Trans. Graph.: 2022. Loki: A Unified Multiphysics Simulation Framework for Production
