Animation studio with proprietary Unreal Engine virtual production pipeline
Reel FX Animation operates a 30-year-old studio with dual production tracks: traditional CG animation (Maya, Houdini, ZBrush, C++) and a proprietary virtual-production layer built on Unreal Engine called Reflex. The tech stack is heavily weighted toward 3D asset creation and rendering (Maya, Houdini, Substance Painter, ShotGrid) with Perforce managing large binary files — typical for animation-scale productions. Current hiring is design-heavy (4 open roles) with senior positions dominant, suggesting they're scaling pipeline infrastructure and expanding their virtual-production capacity after the Netflix series launch.
Notable leadership hires: Art Director
Reel FX Animation is a Dallas-based studio founded in 1993, specializing in CG-animated feature films and virtual-production content. The company has produced theatrical releases including The Book of Life, Rumble, and Back to the Outback, alongside digital content distributed through streaming platforms. A dedicated virtual-production division operates Reflex, a proprietary Unreal Engine-based pipeline that enabled the 2022 Netflix animated series Super Giant Robot Brothers—the studio's first project fully executed through the virtual-production workflow. The studio employs 201–500 people across North American offices and maintains integrated teams across animation, design, editorial, and audio disciplines.
Reflex, a proprietary Unreal Engine-based pipeline developed in-house. The studio used it to produce Super Giant Robot Brothers for Netflix in 2022, the first animated series created entirely through their virtual-production process.
Primary tools include Maya, Houdini, ZBrush, Substance Painter, and Unreal Engine, plus ShotGrid for production tracking and Perforce for version control of large assets. C++ and Python support pipeline development.
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