The Umbrella Academy is based on the comic book series created and written by Gerard Way, illustrated by Gabriel Bá, and published by Dark Horse Comics. The show is produced by UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, for Netflix, and recently streamed its fourth season. In the final season, the Academy must come together one last time and risk upsetting the peace they’ve all endured to secure. The show stars Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Justin H. Min,Ritu Arya, Colm Feore, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally and David Cross.
Folks VFX has been involved in the series since Season 1, helping to establish the creatures' identities in pre-production. The studio also provided postvis services, as well as the creation of character and environment assets, animation, simulation and compositing. Here, Folks VFX supervisor Laurent Spillemaecker and head of creatures supervisor Gabriel Beauvais share insight into their work on the series.
How did the team approach the creation of character and environment assets for the show?
Gabriel Beauvais: "The environment was relatively straightforward, as we've been working with the same building model since Season 2. Our art department conceptualized the abandoned look, and our asset team added elements like planks to block the windows. Regarding the character, we were lucky to be involved early in the process. We've had a strong relationship with Everet Burrel since Season 1, and he consistently involves us early when there's something to concept.
“Once we received the brief, we were able to put our passion into play and present lots of variation; it was truly an enjoyable moment. Around that time, Samuel Poirier, one of our concept artists and asset supervisor, brought in some AI tools to accelerate surfacing renders and iteration on top of our 3D sculpting process. This allowed us to iterate very quickly during the conceptual phase and to maintain a very ‘reactive’ art direction conversation with our client. Because we conceptualize our creatures in 3D, we can quickly test them in animation and design their body mechanics. For this character in particular, the FX department was involved early on to bring the repulsive effect to life.
“Once the character’s foundation was established, the main challenge was making sure we could translate the actor's performance into our CG character. Ziva's facial solution was crucial in this regard, allowing us to retarget the actor's performance and providing animators with the necessary control for further refinement.”
Can you describe some of the complex shots that the team worked on?
Laurent Spillemaecker: “One of the most challenging sequences was the merge of Ben and Jennifer. This scene, inspired by the classic antique sculpture ‘La Pietà,’ involved merging two fully-CG creatures into a single entity we called ‘Benifer.’ It required a great deal of technical and creative effort, especially with the FX needed to dissolve and merge them seamlessly.
“Another set of complex shots involved the destruction caused by Benifer as it grows. One particularly intense sequence shows the creature bursting out of a department store, demolishing the building, and killing dozens of CG crowd characters. The monster then continues its rampage, crawling through the streets and smashing full CG environments as it advances toward the Umbrella Academy.”
Can you elaborate on the process of creating digital doubles of Ben and Jen in their sickly, pustulous versions?
Gabriel Beauvais: “The first conceptual phase was to capture the feel of the pustule itself. We drew a lot of inspiration from ‘Akira’ and ‘The Blob.’ Since Ben was 3D scanned in earlier seasons, we had quick access to that data and could begin conceptualizing directly on the right proportions.
Then, it is all about trusting each department. We're a relatively small team at Folks, but we have incredibly talented people in every department who love their craft. The result reflects the way our artists have pushed the boundaries and put their hearts into their work.”
What was the most significant mandate that the Folks team received for this particular show?
Laurent Spillemaecker: “I would say the creation of the three main CG creatures: Ben, Jennifer, and their merged monster, Benifer.”
Gabriel Beauvais: “We had to create fully-CG versions of Ben and Jennifer, both suffering from a strange disease that would be shown in close-up, with emotional acting. Then, they would fuse together into an epic, blobby monster that destroys a building on its way to turning into a blob. It was quite a jaw-dropping mandate — full of creativity, complexity and a lot of fun!”
How did the team manage to create a visual effect where the complex creature morphs into a viscous blob to destroy the world?
Laurent Spillemaecker: “As you would expect, these shots involved heavy FX simulations. The monster creature had a complex rig and custom attributes to deform any part of its surface. Sections had local dynamic sculpting and drove local particle simulations. These simulations were then merged into several steps of surface/liquid blending, which was also simulated, but with animation control guides for art direction. Other aspects involved a clever way to mix procedural material surfaces with the creature surface parameters, so the liquid elements could blend with the main monster.”
What impact did the Folks team's work have on the show's overall narrative and visual appeal?
Laurent Spillemaecker: “We were involved in the creature design from the very beginning, working through hundreds of sketches, texture research, mood boards and conversations about the scale of each growing step, motion and evolution of the creature, from a nearly bipedal form to a slimy, tentacled dinosaur. We maintained close creative collaboration with the studio, working almost daily with visual supervisor Everett Burrell. We also handled previs and postvis for critical sequences, and helped design key shots, compositions, and angles.
“We’re grateful for the strong relationship we've built with the Umbrella team since Season 1. It's been a truly creative partnership, and honestly, the best thing you could ask for in our industry is collaboration, trust, creative freedom and open-minded conversations, where any good idea from anyone is considered. The creatures are a result of this partnership, and our in-house artists are proud to have crafted every aspect, not just executed pre-designed concepts.”
How did you divide the work?
Gabriel Beauvais: “Laurent and I have been working on this show together since Season 1, so it’s not our first collaboration. We know each other well and have a lot of mutual respect. We each bring different skills to the table: Laurent is an amazing comp’er, and has always been involved in the creation of complex Nuke recipes, while my background is in asset creation. I handled a lot of the creature concept and was involved in the asset-build process. I find it helpful to be able to dive further into the process to better understand its nature. But the key to a show like this is the team. Communication is crucial — everyone, from the coordinator to the department supervisors brought great ideas to the table. We maintained open discussions and let everyone’s passion play a role.”
Laurent Spillemaecker: “I agree. Gabriel and I work together in a very complementary way. I also believe that good ideas can come from anyone on the team — sometimes, a coordinator might offer a valuable creative suggestion. And we all make mistakes, but they help us grow and tackle the next challenge. I rely a lot on our specialty leads (FX, lighting, compositing, etc.). They provide the best of their field to help us achieve the showrunner’s vision. Finally, I firmly believe in respect, kindness and having fun — these values guide my day, from morning dailies to end-of-day client calls, and I hope they positively impact our team.”