The Making of Pixar's 'Elemental': Challenges and Innovations.

Pixar used machine learning and neural style transfer to solve the problem of animating the character Ember, made of fire, in their upcoming movie Elemental. The studio's animators were having trouble balancing the dynamism of the fire with the character's shape and sensibilities. By combining a set of swirly, pointy, and almost cartoonish flames with the blobbier fire from the original simulation, the team was able to get the movement and intensity of fire tempered with just a bit of Pixar's control and style.