San Rafael, Calif. - Lucasfilm Ltd. and Lucasfilm Animation are using Autodesk Inc.'s Autodesk Maya software to create the upcoming television series "Star Wars: The Clone Wars," just as they did to create the feature-length animated film that is now in theaters.
These are the first animated Star Wars projects from Lucasfilm. The projects benefitted from a global production environment, with Maya as the hub for creating highly detailed worlds, characters, and creatures, including Anakin Skywalker, R2-D2, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Jabba the Hutt.
Digital artists in California, at Lucasfilm Animation Singapore and at partner studio CGCG in Taipei, have created more than 30 episodes of the TV series.
The California-based creative team at Lucasfilm Animation establishes the storyline and key scenes, while animators at the studios in Asia produce the animation. This around-the-clock production chain generates an average of eight finished minutes of animation each week -- an unprecedented productivity level for film and TV production, says a representative.