Films like “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Tron: Legacy,” “Star Wars: Rogue One” and “Blade Runner 2049” have moved the industry toward that goal in recent years, with varying degrees of success. In the visual effects community, creating a completely believable, photorealistic digital human being, capable of holding its own alongside flesh-and-blood actors for an entire film, has long been considered the holy grail. For decades, though, one particular creature has remained stubbornly just out of their reach - and, in a cruel twist, it happens to be the one they see in the mirror every day. Painting in the digital medium of ones and zeroes, today’s visual effects artists can conjure almost any creature imaginable.
