Creating Coco

From October 31 to November 2, people across Mexico honor the spirits of their ancestors. During Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead, families make altars with the ancestors’ photos, belongings, and favorite foods. This holiday was the inspiration behind Coco, the newest Pixar film.

From October 31 to November 2, people across Mexico remember their lost loved ones. The celebration is called Día de Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Families display their ancestors’ photos, belongings, and favorite foods on altars. This holiday was the inspiration behind the newest Pixar film, Coco.

Coco follows Miguel, a boy living in a Mexican village. He wants to become a famous musician when he grows up. But his family prohibits it—especially his great-grandmother Coco, the movie’s namesake. Inspired by his favorite singer, Ernesto de la Cruz, Miguel practices guitar in secret.  

Coco follows Miguel, a boy living in a Mexican village. He wants to become a famous musician when he grows up. His favorite singer is Ernesto de la Cruz. Miguel wants to be like de la Cruz someday. But his family forbids music, especially his great-grandmother Coco. She's the movie's namesake. That's why Miguel practices guitar in secret.

During Día de Muertos, Miguel accidentally travels to the Land of the Dead. It’s filled with colorful skeleton versions of people who have died—including Miguel’s own ancestors! On his journey, Miguel searches out de la Cruz to get advice on how to get his family’s permission to pursue music. But he has to return home before the end of Día de Muertos, or else he might be trapped in the afterlife forever!

During Día de Muertos, Miguel accidentally travels to the Land of the Dead. It’s filled with skeleton versions of people who have died. Even Miguel’s own ancestors are there! In the Land of the Dead, Miguel tries to find de la Cruz. Miguel hopes his hero can give him advice on how to get his family’s permission to play music. But Miguel has to return home before the end of the holiday. If he doesn’t, he might be trapped in the afterlife forever!

A team of writers, voice actors, and animators spent more than five years making the movie. Everything from Miguel’s dog Dante to the marigold flower petals swirling around the Land of the Dead are made using 3-D animation. Scholastic MATH spoke with digital artist and modeler Alonso Martinez about how he and his team at Pixar Studios in Emeryville, California, used geometry to bring Miguel and his skeletal ancestors to life.

It took more than five years to make Coco. Everything from Miguel’s dog Dante to the marigold flower petals in the Land of the Dead were made using 3-D animation. Scholastic MATH spoke with Alonso Martinez. He's one of the digital artists who worked on Coco. Martinez and his team work at Pixar Studios in Emeryville, California. They used geometry to bring Miguel and his skeletal ancestors to life.

All characters start as sketches and drawings. Martinez’s job is to transform the sketches into digital 3-D “puppets” that animators will control with computer programs. “The drawings we get are just 2-D shapes,” he explains. “We have to find what they mean in 3-D.”

All characters start as sketches and drawings. Martinez’s job is to turn the sketches into digital 3-D “puppets.” Animators will control these puppets with computer programs. “The drawings we get are just 2-D shapes,” he explains. “We have to find what they mean in 3-D.”

For major characters like Miguel, Martinez gets dozens of drawings from every angle or even a clay sculpture to work off of. For minor characters, however, he might only receive a single drawing. From there, Martinez begins building the digital puppet out of geometric shapes. “Characters begin with something as simple as a cube,” Martinez says. “We will keep on adding edges and pulling out faces and slowly shaping it.” The shapes get layered together until each character has a realistic, complex silhouette. This process can take anywhere from two to six months per character! 

In addition to making a 3-D model of every character, Martinez and his team create a way for the animators to move each part of the models. “We build a control interface,” Martinez explains. “For the face, imagine you walk into a cockpit of an airplane and there’s knobs everywhere. When you turn one of these knobs, it makes a different part of the face move.” Every part of the character, from the shape of its smile to the wiggling of its toes, is controlled by this interface.

Major characters like Miguel have dozens of drawings for Martinez to use. These drawings are from every angle. Sometimes they even make a 3-D clay sculpture! But for minor characters Martinez might only receive a single drawing. Martinez builds the digital puppet for each 2-D character out of geometric shapes. “Characters begin with something as simple as a cube,” Martinez says. “We will keep on adding edges and pulling out faces and slowly shaping it.” The shapes get layered together. When Martinez is done, each character is a realistic, detailed figure. This process can take anywhere from two to six months per character!

Martinez and his team make a 3-D model of every character. They also need to create a way for the animators to move each part of the model. To do this, they make a computer program. Martinez compares the program to an airplane’s cockpit full of knobs. “When you turn one of these knobs, it makes a different part of the face move.” The program controls every part of the character, from making it smile to wiggling its toes.