# A Monster Calls: Tale 1 > A watercolor-style animated tale for A Monster Calls, J. A. Bayona's fantasy drama about a boy coping with his mother's illness. Canonical page: [A Monster Calls: Tale 1]() Project ID: gla\_mon Year: 2016 Role: 3D Artist I laid out, dressed, lit, rendered and composited self-contained shots as a 3D generalist, animator and compositor. Work: A Monster Calls (2016) Production: [Glassworks Barcelona]() Distributor: [Focus Features]() *Tale 1* is an animated story sequence made at [Glassworks Barcelona]() for J. A. Bayona's 2016 fantasy drama *A Monster Calls*. Based on [Patrick Ness]()'s book, the film follows a boy coping with his mother's illness with the help of a monster who tells him stories. Glassworks animated two of those tales; [Adrian Garcia]() designed and directed *Tale 1*. ## Tale 1: The Tale of the Prince The sequence tells a fairy tale about a prince and a princess. [A Monster Calls: The Tale of the Prince]() (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) ## Montage The montage collects shots I worked on, covering layout, set dressing, lighting, rendering and compositing. The designs and character animation were handled by other artists. [A Monster Calls: Tale 1 shot montage]() (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [Prince and princess embrace in a glowing forest of tall trees and wildflowers.]() (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [Shattered glass in blue and teal, with a small orange figure and a tower behind it.]() (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [A crowned dark figure stands among black ink splashes between two stone columns.]() (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [Monochrome ballroom where the prince and princess dance beneath tall arched windows.]() (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [Monochrome throne hall lined with candles and courtiers, with a small figure before a white dais.]() (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [A castle on a hill under a red-orange watercolor sky, a hawk flying past.]() (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [Skeleton warriors with swords and shields against a fiery red-orange sky.]() (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [A girl in a fur collar faces a black throne and a crowd in a hall.]() (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [The castle and village on green hills under a pastel watercolor sky, framed by leaves.]() (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) ## Making Of I joined [Javier Verdugo]()'s Glassworks team in Catalunya in 2015 as a 3D generalist, animator and compositor, and worked on Tale 1 through 2016. The shots were self-contained, often with a single artist covering layout, set dressing, lighting, rendering and compositing. I laid out my shots, worked out their color, then rendered and composited them for final delivery. [A Monster Calls: Tale 1 making of]() [Castle towers in purple tint, repeated and torn by horizontal glitch lines.]() — Glitch test on the castle. (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [Skeleton warriors with glowing eyes isolated against black inside a frame.]() — Warriors isolated on black. (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [Gray creased paper texture with red-orange watercolor marks forming a castle.]() — Paper texture with castle wash. (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [Black-and-white matte of a small falling figure and a white panel over a starry sky.]() — Matte for the night sky. (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [Animation software viewport showing a dark face with glowing eyes above scene explorer panels.]() — Character face in the scene viewport. (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [Dense blue fur strands with green flecks filling the frame.]() — Fur strand pass. (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [White hair strands streaming around a masked head in a viewport.]() — Hair guides around a head. (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [Gray cut-out of a forest and an embracing couple over a transparency checkerboard.]() — Forest matte layers. (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [Color-coded shards on a blue background, fanning out from a central point.]() — Shard color pass. (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [Rainbow-gradient rectangles scattered at angles on a gray viewport.]() — Gradient card test. (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) [Thin curved guide lines drawn across a plain gray viewport.]() — Hair guide curves. (Glassworks Barcelona for Focus Features) ## Links More on the Glassworks project page, the film's official site, and Tale 2 on Vimeo. - [Project on glassworksvfx.com]() - [Watch Tale 2 on Vimeo]() - [A Monster Calls on focusfeatures.com]() ## Credits - Executive Producers: Xavi Tribó, David Gómez, Ignacio Muñoz - Creative Technical Director: [Javier Verdugo]() - VFX Supervisor: David Gómez - Talent Recruiter: Joan Amat - Producer: Sonia Figuera - VFX Lead: Marco Rossi - 3D Animation Lead: [Hugo García]() - 3D Artists: Álvaro Gascó, Andrea Giordano, Anthony Vincent, [Carlos Cortés](), Cat Harris, Daniel Buhigas, David Llopis, Eric Moliner, Ferran Llàcer, Frankie de Leonardis, Gerard Casas, Gerardo del Hierro, [Gergely Wootsch](), Iván Costarrossa, Jean Vincent Sales, Joan Buhigas, José Luis Estefanía, José Manuel Linares, Kiko Navarro, Kornel Makarowicz, Leire Martín, Llorenç Borràs, Miquel Campos, Salva Borrego, Simon Glas - Digital Compositors: Àlex Blasco, Aurelio Pozas, Carlos de la Sotilla, Daniel López Izquierdo, Edu León, Edu Puertas, Ian Sargent, Pau Minguell, Rubén Llusià - Production: Maria Shovkoplyas, Dani Granado, Clàudia Barbal - IT Manager: Xavi Tribó - IT Support: Washington Neira