Director Hisko Hulsing utilized a hybrid production workflow for the animated film Danse Macabre, integrating live-action reference footage with generative AI tools including Stable Diffusion, ComfyUI, and AnimateDiff. The project leveraged DaVinci Resolve and Fusion Studio for compositing and color grading to maintain artistic consistency across a distributed team of 30 artists.
This hybrid approach demonstrates a shift in high-end animation where generative AI serves as a sophisticated rendering engine rather than a replacement for human artistry. By grounding the AI output in live-action reference and original oil paintings, Hulsing maintains creative control over complex physics like musician finger movements that traditional 3D often struggles to replicate authentically. For the broader streaming ecosystem, this proves that distributed teams can execute high-fidelity, stylized content using off-the-shelf tools like DaVinci Resolve and open-source AI models. Watch for whether other independent studios adopt similar ComfyUI-based pipelines to reduce the high costs of traditional texture rendering.
Director Hisko Hulsing integrated a Danse Macabre AI workflow to bridge live-action footage with generative tools for his latest animated film. By using Stable Diffusion and ComfyUI to process 79 original oil paintings, the production achieved a cohesive aesthetic, proving that generative AI can serve as a sophisticated rendering engine for high-fidelity animation.
Hulsing used a hybrid pipeline incorporating Stable Diffusion, ComfyUI, and AnimateDiff to translate 79 original oil paintings into a digital aesthetic, ensuring the animation avoided sterile 3D looks.
The production utilized DaVinci Resolve for live-action edits, Blender and Houdini for 3D animation, Kitsu for team coordination, and Fusion Studio for final compositing.
Generative AI served as a rendering engine to apply painterly textures to 3D animation, helping maintain creative control over complex movements while reducing the costs of traditional texture rendering.
The project involved a distributed team of 30 artists working across four European countries, coordinated through the Kitsu platform.
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