Season 2 of The Witcher contained plenty of monsters to keep fans happy. Geralt fought a great many of them, too, giving fans multiple epic fight scenes to enjoy.
But how were the creatures created for TV?
A new clip released by Netflix gives viewers a look inside the amazing world of monster creation and how CGI works.
Creating monsters means visual effects
In the world of The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) is tasked with killing monsters. Some he kills, others he fights and allows to live.
Some of these creatures featured in Season 2 have included a bruxa, basilisk, myriapod, and a leshen (affectionately known as a leshy, heaven only knows why after what it did to Eskel).
In addition to this, Nivellen (Kristofer Hivju) was a creature who he decided to let live, albeit because he wanted the man to suffer some more after a curse was lifted from him.
All of these creatures had to be created for the show using a variety of visual effects that included making molds of the creatures as well as CGI after the effect to really bring them to life. Various green screens and hidden actors pretending to be monsters were also used.
A new clip breaks down how the monsters were created
Netflix recently shared a clip to their official Netflix Geeked Twitter account that gave viewers a behind-the-scenes look at all of the work that goes into creating realistic monsters for The Witcher.
“It wouldn’t be THE WITCHER without incredible monsters from the leshy to the basilisks, here’s how THE WITCHER visual effects team brought the monsters of Season 2 to life,” the caption read.
The clip opened with a shot of Kristofer Hivju in costume as Nivellen and reciting his lines. He has Nivellen’s hair, but his face is normal. A wire brace is the only thing that is really out of order.
Then, using CGI, viewers get a look at how Nivellen’s boarish face is transposed over Kristofer’s, using the metal brace as a guide.
The clip then shows a side-by-side comparison of some other monsters, and Geralt is seen fighting a big green monster head on a stick.
Surrounding him is a green screen. However, the comparison shows a realistic battle between the two before Geralt stabs the monster under the chin and kills it.
Other clips show actors in green and blue outfits as they provide a place to look for the actors fighting the “monsters.” These people are later covered over with CGI.
Season 2 of The Witcher is currently available to stream on Netflix.