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3D Artist talks to Pixar's John Halstead to find out what it took to find Dory and chart a course through territory both familiar and new

When Pixar released Finding Nemo in 2003 it found itself with an instant classic on its hands and the movie has proved to be one of the most popular of the studio's feature films to date. Finding Dory, directed by Andrew Stanton and co-directed by Angus MacLane, has already proved hugely successful, having enjoyed a terrific opening weekend in North America. The new movie tells the story of Nemo's sidekick, the memorychallenged Dory, as she sets out ona journey to seek a way home.

The film marks yet another instalment in Pixar's evolution of its application of digital toolkits, 3D Artist recently spoke with Pixar about what it took to dive back into a sea of creative possibilities, revisiting characters, creating a gang of new ones and building environments that seem so very real. "I was really excited. My first duties were to sit down and anticipate some of the technical issues," explains John Halstead, supervising technical director on the film, adding that part of his excitement was on account of coming full circle: "My first film at Pixar was Finding Nemo and, so, I was hired onto Finding Dory."

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