Westworld: VFX artists talk about creating special effects

Ever wondered how the Westworld visual effects artists make things so darn realistic?

Westworld is full of a great many visual effects that help make things appear more realistic. Of course, some of the most gruesome scenes are not actually happening. And even though many of the brutal scenes involve robots being hacked to pieces, it stills feel so real and frightening.

In an article in io9, they talk a lot about the visual effects studio, Pixomondo, behind season 2’s most memorable scenes, including the scene where Maeve’s flesh is being burnt. The studio has a lot of tricks up their sleeves to make Westworld come to life.

Are you interested in knowing how the Maeve scene was actually created? While there were some impressive techy aspects involved, the studio took it a step further. They took a piece of animal flesh being torn into and then superimposed it onto the scene where Maeve is lying on the table. They wanted to make everything look as genuine as possible, and well they sure did.

Not only does this technique make the scene appear more realistic, but it eliminates the long hours they would have put into it. How cool is that! It comes as no surprise that the visual effects team got an Emmy nod this year–they so truly deserve it!

If you watch the video above, you’ll see just how extensive the work Pixomondo is. It’s absolutely mindblowing, and such a tedious job. As fans, we couldn’t be more thankful for how much work they put into it! If you don’t believe us, just watch the video above–it’s incredible.

The second season of Westworld was very intricate and detailed because it bounced around a lot in locations–Raj World, Shogun World, Westworld, outside of Westworld. It’s safe to assume that Pixomondo had their work cut out for them–and they excelled gloriously.

What are some of your favorite visual effects moments from season 2? Share your comments below or on our Twitter, @BeyondWestworld.