Paramount's forthcoming film, Iron Man, which is scheduled to be released on Friday, uses a mixture of computer-generated imagery (CGI) and real costume design to craft the suit worn by Robert Downey Jr in the film. The visual effects work and animation was done by Industrial Light & Magic.
Credit: Paramount Pictures/Marvel
One of the iconic images from Iron Man shows the title character flying through a cloudy sky. The image was made with a composite of footage of real clouds and CGI work on the Iron Man character.
Credit: Paramount Pictures/Marvel
Iron Man's archenemy, Iron Monger, hoists a car to throw at him.
Credit: Paramount Pictures/Marvel
Iron Man, played by Downey Jr, holds a car up in the air. The challenge for ILM's visual effects team and its animators was making Iron Man's suit seem like it had the right weight, even when it was done with CGI.
Credit: Paramount Pictures/Marvel
Iron Monger faces down Gwyneth Paltrow in a scene from Iron Man.
Credit: Paramount Pictures/Marvel
Ben Snow, ILM's visual effects supervisor who led the Iron Man team, poses at a computer at ILM in front of posters from the film.
Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com
Snow demonstrates some of the visual effects work he and his team created for Iron Man.
Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com
Hal Hickel -- who won an Oscar for visual effects for his work on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest -- dealt with things like figuring out how to make Iron Man's flying motions feel right to the audience.
"It ended up being really challenging, the flying," Hickel said, "figuring out how he should fly. Iron Man takes off slowly like a heavy object, and then lands very fast because he weighs a lot."
Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET News.com
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