Services Spotlight: Plastic Wax

Plastic Wax is a digital effects production house. Since 1998, it has been creating visual effects, computer-generated cutscenes and in-game animations for video games and film.

“We like to use the buzzword that we’re a ‘turnkey solution’, which means we can effectively take care of a client’s entire in-game or pre-rendered animation pipeline,” Plastic Wax executive vice president Dane Maddams tells Develop.

“We do this cost-effectively, and of an extremely high quality for a price point which generally is not feasible with an in-house solution.

“This doesn’t mean we replace a pre-existing in-game animation team; rather we work with your pre-existing solution and accommodate whatever is needed.”

For in-engine animation cutscenes, Plastic Wax has created an exhaustive list of work for titles such as: BioShock Infinite, Saints Row: The Third, Darksiders 2, Epic Mickey 2 and Tomb Raider to name a few. Generally these projects involve 50-plus minutes of in-game, in-engine cutscenes, Maddams tells Develop.

In addition to that, Plastic Wax also specialises in cutting-edge pre-rendered computer-generated imagery, of which it recently created high fidelity CG cutscenes for Civilization V, the new Neverwinter Nights MMO, Darksiders 2, Fallout: New Vegas and Transformers. The digital production outfit uses Maya and 3ds Max for its general workflow.

Modelling is primarily performed in ZBrush, Photoshop is its package of choice for texturing, while NUKE is used for compositing. It also has an in-house motion capture facility, which allows it to capture any materials needed for client’s project.

What’s more, it’s also ready to take care of our client’s marketing campaign, whether it be television trailers, pre-rendered stills, posters and billboard art or packaging artwork. Some of the marketing work it has undertaken includes cover art and high resolution stills for Mafia II; cover art for Eidos’ Tomb Raider: Legend. And its TV spot services have been used by 2K Games and Sanyo.

Presently, Plastic Wax has been enjoying repeat business and hopes to continue working on games titles with “awesome people”.

“Our clients, quality and communication are paramount elements to our production pipeline,” says Maddams in closing.

“We are also a highly creative and highly skilled team of artists who have been privileged enough to work on some of the most prolific titles in gaming, and we offer solutions which are competitive, of high quality and are easily integrated into clients’ pre-existing pipelines.”

www.plasticwax.com