Feature Film VFX
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Fin Design + Effects
Fin Design + Effects delivered 310 visual effects shots for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, engaging a team of 110 artists across animation, FX, lighting, compositing, asset build, and environments. Initially onboarded to complete water simulations and a small character package, Fin’s scope tripled over the course of production. This expansion made them the only vendor to undergo such a significant increase in volume.
Building on prior experience from Knuckles, Fin was able to implement efficient asset transfer protocols and collaborative workflows across studios. To support the scale of work required, Fin expanded its GPU rendering infrastructure and optimized its render pipeline using RenderMan denoising and in-house performance tools. By peak production, 70% of the studio’s resources were involved in the show.
A majority of sequences involved fully CG environments due to limited practical photography. Matchmoving played a key role in establishing continuity and scale, particularly in sequences involving dynamic ocean environments. One such sequence required the development and simulation of a spacecraft emerging from ocean waters—executed using Houdini and rendered with detailed layering to ensure realism and integration.
One of the most technically challenging sequences involved the interior of the Chaos Storm—an unstable, energy-driven effect critical to the film’s narrative. Fin developed volumetric simulations and particle dynamics to visualize the interior storm, while working closely with other vendors to align look and behavior with the film’s broader visual goals.
Fin was also tasked with the development of new CG assets. These included nanotech-inspired appendages (scorpion and praying mantis claws) for combat scenes, as well as enhancements to existing mechanical creatures like the crab bot. These builds incorporated advanced rigging setups, detailed textures, and real-time simulation elements.
Character animation required complex performance work, especially for sequences involving Shadow. The introductory fight scene was animated with hand-keyed movement, supported by custom rigs for secondary motion and interaction with environment-driven forces such as wind and water.
Fur simulation was central to Fin’s animation and lighting workflow. Characters featured multiple fur states—including dry, wet, and wind-driven—created using XGen and in-house grooming systems. These were designed for dynamic response to environmental effects and integrated seamlessly into fully digital environments.
To address lighting and compositing integration, Fin developed all-CG environments for character-centric scenes. This allowed consistent light direction, shadow casting, and spatial realism, while maintaining the heightened visual language of the Sonic universe. The compositing pipeline was built in Nuke, with automated ingest, versioning, and QC tools to ensure output consistency and streamline reviews.
Internally, Fin leveraged Shotgun for asset tracking, with daily review tools standardised across all departments. Automation allowed for parallel processing across sequences, facilitating consistent quality and reduced time per iteration
Crew
Visual Effects SupervisorROY MALHI
Visual Effects Producer DANIELA GIANGRANDE
CG Supervisor JURI MEJAN-FRIPP
Associate CG Supervisor JONATHAN RAVAGNANI
Comp Supervisor AARON BARCLAY
Animation Supervisor DARREN REA
Visual Effects Executive Producer ALASTAIR STEPHEN
Visual Effects Editors MATHIEU BOURGUIGNON
Visual Effects Editors BETTY NG
Visual Effects Production Manager SAPPHIRE SHEEDY
Visual Effects Production BETH HAYWARD
DAINA ANDERSON
DARIENNE ALPHONSO
KERIM COL
PIERCE WASHBURN O'TOOLE
SARAH MACPHERSON
Asset Supervisor MATHIAS LAUTOUR
Lead Lighting TD PETER KOBER
CG Leads JAMES BLEAKLEY
JONATHAN RAVAGNANI
JOSHUA TILBROOK
NATHAN LANE
OSCAR MEDINA
PETER SPINAZE
CG Artists AARON BRIEN
AASHKA KAPASI
ADRIAN LIM
AMANDINE COMES
ANISH KRISHAN
CALEB JONES
CAMERON TYLER
CHAYSE McKAY
CHIHARU YAMASHITA
CHRISTINE KRUMPHOLZ
CLAUDIO MOREIRA
DAMIEN PAON
DAN BRYCE
DAVID VOIGT
DOMINIC FRANCIS
ELEANOR WINCH
ELIZA ATKINS
ELLIE ANSELL
FOX WYSOCKI
HSIN-YI FAN-CHIANG
HUGO LAGRANGE
JACOB STREET
JAMES CLIFT
JARED BRUCE
JEFF DRIVER
JEREMY TAYLOR
JORDEN MARTIN
JOSEPH SWEENY
JURI BRYAN
KIEREN SHINJO
KK LIU
LUIGI DURANTI
MAHDI MANAR
MAHESH BALAKRISHNAN
MARC PURNELL
MATTHEW DOREY
MIKE THOMSON
MITCHELL COOTE
PETER LEE
PHIL SLOGGETT
ROD MARCH
SAMY BRUTOUT
SHANE BROUWER
SON PHAM
STEPHANIE TOMOANA
TIM STREETS
TOM ALLISEY
YOGA RAVI
YUKARI KAWASOE
Roto Paint Lead MOUNIKA KYATAM
Roto Paint Artists ANDREW KYUSANG CHO
JONNY WILLIAMS
RACHEL FOO
TINA HA
RUBEENA KING
Compositing Leads ARCHIE DOWELL
CHRIS DAVIES
HEATHER ECK
MATTHEW WYNNE
Compositors ADAM PRIEST
BERTRAND POLIVKA
BILLY WONG
CHRIS VAN NOY-MARCH
DANIEL WARD
HENRIQUE PACCI
JOHN N. MAYER
KIM NGUYEN
MICHAELA DANBY
NAIDU AKULA
PAUL WICKE
PHOENIX BATCHELOR
RICHARD HALL
RYAN BASA
SAURABH TRIPATHI
SCOTT BRICE
TAKAHN HUNTER
TOM CHANNELL
WILL HACKETT
YOAV DOLEV
Roto Paint Lead MOUNIKA KYATAM
Roto Paint Artists ANDREW KYUSANG CHO
JONNY WILLIAMS
RACHEL FOO
TINA HA
RUBEENA KING
STEWART KIRWAN
SOFTWARE
Autodesk Maya
SideFX Houdini
Pixar RenderMan
Foundry Nuke
Autodesk ShotGrid
Adobe Photoshop Substance Painter / Substance Designer
Pixologic ZBrush
Python / In-house Tools