Creating a CG Hugh Jackman realistic enough to convince an audience

Logan © 2017 Marvel, TM and © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved. Not for sale or duplication.

How Image Engine created an ultra-realistic CG Hugh Jackman for Logan

Creating a CG human realistic enough to trick viewers into believing they’re watching the genuine article is something of a holy grail for CG artists.

It’s well documented that people are very good at spotting a fake, and if something is even slightly off, you risk losing the audience in an instant.

So there’s a lot at stake, and it’s a treacherous tightrope to walk - as the team at VFX studio Image Engine is all too aware.

Hugh Jackman as Logan in a car before rendering
Hugh Jackman as Logan in a car after rendering

In the video below, they explain how they used Nuke and Mari to create a full, digital double of Hugh Jackman for Marvel’s Logan, photorealistic to pore-level detail.

Shawn Walsh, VFX Executive Producer, Image Engine

Tools like Mari are absolutely crucial to the challenge of recreating something that is going to be seen by an audience, frame after frame, as a central character in a film.