The animation team behindInvincibleis still perfecting how to bring the superhero show to life — and I’m getting more and more impressed with each new season. Debuting in 2021,Invinciblebecame one of the boldest takes on the genre to come to TV. The show is based on the comic of the same name that Robert Kirkman created alongside Cory Walker and Ryan Ottley. As it’s only grown more ambitious andvisually inventive on the creative side, the animation process has likewise become more refined.
This is largely due to the work going on behind the scenes at Skybound Entertainment, which has made the most of the show’s large bench of global animators and cutting-edge tech. During an interview with Screen Rant, Head Of Skybound Animation Marge Dean, VP of Production Alex Teslik, and Animatic Editor Lindsay Myers discussed the unique learning curve that comes withInvincible, the decision to shift away from the CGI of the first season, and how the show continues to streamline the animation process heading intoInvincibleseason 4.
Skybound Teases The Epic Scope Of Invincible Season 4
“We’ve Amped Up The Quality Of The Animation To Another Level”
Invincibleisn’t quite like anything else on television. The format allows the show to take on impossible visuals, even as it remains a painfully human show. The extended run-time is a big reason for that unique vibe, as it allows the show the room for both the character-driven drama and the high-octane action. For the entire team,the unique run-time of the animated show is one of the most challenging aspects of makingInvincible, with Teslik calling it one of the most “unique” aspects of the show.
Both Dean and Myers concurred, with Dean noting, “This was really the first hour-long series I’ve ever worked on. The biggest surprise was the realization that doing an hour-long is way bigger than doing two half hours.It’s not as simple as two half hours stuck together. I’ll admit, in my planning for the show, I made that assumption. ‘It’ll just be twice as long as a half-hour show.’ It’s not. It’s more like three times more, maybe even four times.”
“We know what’s coming in season 4, it’s going to blow people’s minds.”
“Even just in the storytelling, the scope of it… If you’re going to carry people for an hour, the scope has got to be huge.“Myers, who similarly had a background in half-hour television likeGuardians of the GalaxyandPacific Rim: The Black, noted that “it’s a surprise!It’s definitely a different beast. I’m kind of surprised how quickly I got used to it, actually.” With the tools at their disposal, the three are all looking ahead tothe upcoming fourth season ofInvincibleand how it’s going to wow fans.
Dean explained that “as we continue to perfect our pipeline — not just the technical one but the creative pipeline as well —we keep amping up the skills of our team. I’m just so excited. There’s so much to be excited for with the characters and the story, but I’m personally just excited for how much we’ve amped up the quality of the animation to another level. It’s my intention, and I share it with everybody, that we improve with each season…We know what’s coming in Invincible season 4, it’s going to blow people’s minds.”
The Visual Wealth (And Sheer Amount Of Talent) Behind Invincible
“The Sun Never Sets On Invincible”
There’s a wealth of talent behind the scenes atInvincible, something Skybound never takes for granted. The team that bringsInvincibleto life hails from all over the world, with “a team of over a hundred people in the US and probably an equivalent number in Korea working on the show,” according to Dean. “It’s a lot of people putting a lot of energy into this. The way [Invincible] happens is that Robert Kirkman has a vision. He knows the story better than anyone, and he has a group of people around him who know this story.
“They make the strategic decisions in the writer’s room… then visually, under the direction of Cory Walker and Dou Hong, they find a unified vision for how it looks.There are many cooks in the kitchen. Luckily, thanks to the technology that we’re using, they’re all able to communicate and collaborate very clearly and efficiently… there’s a lot of human resources and creativity that goes into this.Our show is a hand-drawn show that uses all the best technology available.”
Invinciblehas a very modern approach to the stylish choices of the comics, updating some of the design but remaining true to the source material while bringing it to vivid life. Teslik noted that fans would be surprised to learn that “most of the show is created with the Adobe Creative Suite. It’s accessible to nearly everyone. Storyboarding doesn’t happen there, but a lot of the other parts of the show — the editing is in Premiere, the entire show is compositied in After Effects.”
The show also utilizes Clip Studio Paint, a fairly accessible animation software. While the animation and editing software might be readily available, it is the extremely talented artists across the United States and South Korea who bring the show to life. “The sun never sets on Invincible,” Teslik explained. “As soon as we’re going to sleep, the Korean team is waking up and getting to work.“The deceptive depth of the animation is something that still catches Teslik by surprise.“It’s surprising how difficult it is to draw this show,“Teslik noted with a laugh.
“The characters are deceivingly simple looking, but they’re difficult to keep on model. Hats off to the creative team; they spend a lot of time making sure the show always looks right, and that’s much harder than it seems. It takes a high level of draftsmanship.“The creativity, communication, and collaboration have been serious boons for Teslik, who has been a veteran of the animation industry for over twenty years. “It’s been an absolute breath of fresh air to move as quickly and with the support of the entire management team as I have.I’m super grateful for that.”
“That’s Where I Think The Biggest Learning Curve Was”
Image via Prime Video
After the success ofInvincibleseason 1, fans were waiting for three years before the show returned for season 2. Dean explained that her team came on boardInvinciblein season 2, explaining that “I had a pretty good conversation with Robert about what he did and didn’t like about season 1.The conclusion was that we would do less CGI and do more hand-drawn traditional 2D animation. We got hit the ground running. We were laying down the track as the train was running behind us, because we had a delivery date that we had to hit.”
The success of season 2 led directly to the more streamlined approach in season 3, which is when Teslik joined the production. “Alex brought this amazing experience from his time at Disney Television Animation that made him exactly the kind of person that we needed.We needed him to look at our pipeline, figure out what’s working, what’s not working, and what we can do to make things more efficient. That’s where I think the big learning curve was.”
“I think it became apparent to lean into efficiencies, which can yield huge rewards,” Teslik explained. “We really worked towards optimizing our process. We’re bringing new shots into the environment, getting them prepared for Lindsay and the editorial team, making sure everything is organized and consistent. We stood the entire production through Shotgrid, not just for publishers from artists, but also for tracking and linking things together…We have proprietary tools in Premiere and After Effects that talk to Shotgridand tie it all together as one cohesive environment.”
“Those tools are amazing,“Myers agreed. “They really streamline the editorial process and the communication between departments. It’s so much easier to have everything going through the same pipeline. You don’t have to attempt to remember to tell the VFX artist that a certain shot is ready. It’s all automatic there.“Reflecting on the different visual elements that make up the vivid world ofInvincible, Myers explained that “the challenge is making sure we balance everything just right.”
“Those emotional moments have to be exactly as important as the big space fights and the dragons. We have to give all of those elements equal importance. The challenge is making sure everything feels cohesive. We have a really good team, we have a great VFX department and editorial department, and everybody is working together through this new pipeline, which is so helpful. All of this comes together to help us really work on the creative aspect of keeping everything good.”
The first 3 seasons ofInvincibleare available to stream on Prime Video.
