"Send in the Marines"

Framestore CFC unleashes BodyPaint 3D on 'Doom' monsters.

The scientist Pinky, with the marines. Pinky's torso is attached to a high-tech wheelchair due to a previous accident.

Pinky, once a scientist with a high-tech wheelchair, has now morphed into a terrifying creature textured with BodyPaint 3D. Pinky had to be caked in dirt, with blood oozing from the places where the machinery was poking through skin.

The marines encounter creatures from everyone's worst nightmare.

The videogame 'Doom' is famous for its first person shooter perspective, here replicated in the film as the desperate battle rages in a frenzy of fire.

Textured in BodyPaint 3D, nine different UV sets were used for the famous, trusty chainsaw, which can always be relied upon for close-quarters combat in 'Doom.'

Textured in BodyPaint 3D, the 'Doom' shotgun is another weapon to be called upon to eliminate nightmarish creatures.

When the scientific research centre on Mars has gone deadly silent. When all communication with the Red Planet has ceased. Then it's time to send in the marines.

So begins the plot of 'Doom', the film version by Universal Pictures of the classic videogame, chock-full of some of the most complex and gory special effects to be seen in a movie in recent years.

The UK's Framestore CFC produced over 130 visual effects shots for 'Doom', using MAXON's BodyPaint 3D for texture painting. Blood splats were mandatory.

The creature Pinky, and the devastating arsenal of weaponry unleashed upon him, were all textured using BodyPaint 3D, Framestore CFC's 3D paint app of choice.

Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak ('Romeo Must Die', 'Thirteen Days'), and with stunning fight sequences choreographed by martial arts expert Dion Lam ('The Matrix' trilogy, 'Spider-Man 2'), 'Doom' provides adrenalin-pumping thrill and suspense. In the ultimate do or die mission, the marines are led into a desperate battle by Sarge (played by The Rock). Pitting awesome firepower against creatures from the worst possible nightmare, the marines are up against it as never before.

As if the marines didn't already have enough to cope with, one of the key characters, Pinky, morphs from a scientist into a terrifying monster that has to be reckoned with.

Pinky begins the movie innocently as a scientist (played by Dexter Fletcher) in a high-tech wheelchair having previously lost his legs in an accident. Later in the film, Pinky transforms into a horrific monster, dripping blood as the wheelchair drags behind with machine parts poking through skin - all stunningly textured in BodyPaint 3D.

"Pinky had to be caked in dirt, with blood oozing from the places where the machinery was poking through his skin," said Danny Geurtsen, Lead Texture Artist at Framestore CFC for 'Doom'.

"The blood has to be splattered across both machine and skin parts," says Geurtsen. "Both were separated in different bits of geometry for rendering and shading convenience, with their own unique UV maps assigned. Getting it all to look continuous was no problem with BodyPaint 3D's Projection mode. Just paint it, project it and forget about it. That's how texture painting should be."

Naturally, it wouldn't be 'Doom' without the trusty chainsaw, also textured with the assistance of BodyPaint 3D.

"The chainsaw consisted of a huge number of individual parts, divided across nine different UV sets," said Geurtsen. "Being able to load them all up in BodyPaint 3D - even though most of the textures were weighing in at around 4K to 8K pixels - allowed me to see and evaluate them all together as a whole whilst continually refining the work."

While 3D paint tools such as BodyPaint 3D are often associated with texturing characters such as Pinky, Framestore CFC also uses BodyPaint 3D to help texture all manner of objects, from buildings to Trojan ships to chainsaws. The advantage is clear for Geurtsen:

"Painting directly on a 3D model with BodyPaint 3D's high quality tools takes away the guesswork so often associated with conventional 2D techniques. Over the past few years, BodyPaint 3D has secured a rock solid position in our texture painting toolbox."

About Framestore CFC
Framestore CFC was formed in December 2001 through the union of two of the most creative and dynamic companies in the industry: FrameStore and The Computer Film Company (CFC). The company is now the largest visual effects and computer animation company in Europe, with over 30 years of combined experience in digital film and video technology. The company has won numerous international awards including two Technical Academy Awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, three BAFTA Craft Awards and eleven Primetime Emmy Awards. For more information visit www.framestore-cfc.com.

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