Jiayuan Liu brought this beautiful story to us at Pixvalue, and just like the delicacy of the project itself, we chose to approach it with great care. Kintsugi is a live-action animated fantasy about a young girl who discovers an unexpected way to connect with the memory of her grandmother. This idea of love, loss, and memory resonated deeply with everyone on our team, reminding us why we create stories in the first place.

​

The Visual Effects Supervisor, Jyothi Kalyan Sura, envisioned the creature’s animation style as a blend of realistic movement layered with just the right amount of personality. The director’s wish was simple but challenging: the creature had to feel authentic, like something that truly existed in the world, yet remain gentle and endearing rather than frightening. That balance was not easy to strike. As artists, our natural instinct was often to lean into the wilder, more intimidating aspects of creature design. But through experimentation, countless discussions, and a spirit of collaboration, we found the sweet spot where realism and charm could live side by side.

​

In the end, what emerged was not just a creature, but a character; one that carried the warmth, fragility, and wonder the story demanded. For us at Pixvalue, working on Kintsugi was more than just a technical exercise in visual effects. It was an act of storytelling, of helping a director’s vision take shape in a way that honored the emotional truth at its heart.