Crafted for the Digital World

The growth of computer-generated (CG) effects in live-action films has gradually expanded to the creation of digital characters and costume design. In many contemporary films, all aspects of characters and costumes are built digitally. Yet very little is known about the process of designing digital costumes, nor is there a critical theoretical examination of the areas emerging from the practice. This article explores digital costume design development using the CG feature films Avatar (Cameron 2009) and Avatar: The Way of Water (Cameron 2022) as case studies. The data consists of interviews with the films’ costume designer, Deborah L. Scott, and comparative analysis of the costume renderings, physical materials from the design development process and their digital reproductions. The data reveals how the physical costume fabrication process and motion testing are integrated into the process of designing digital costumes. In addition, costume designs still evolve during their digital creation. The article sheds light on the creative opportunities digital costume design poses and offers important grounding for further research on the wider range of theoretical areas related to digital costume design.