Disney+ wins streaming platform of the year in the Creative Bloq Awards 2022

Creative Bloq Awards 2022; a photo of two people on a sofa watching TV
(Image credit: Future)

Midway into the Creative Bloq Awards 2022 winners week and we move into the Entertainment category. This covers everything from the best animated movies to the most impressive VFX in film and TV. 

If you're interested in starting a career in CG art and animation then read our feature in The 10 best social networks for CG artists as well as catch up on the 10 top Houdini tutorials to begin learning how to create VFX shots for yourself.

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Disney Plus has gone from a curiosity filled with old cartoons and 70's movies to one of the biggest streaming platforms in the world, it's not simply the place to find Star Wars and Marvel but the channel to find new Star Wars and Marvel. The list of hits includes She Hulk, The Mandalorian and Loki – and all promote new ways to create high-end CG on a TV budget.  

Disney Plus: What's on and how to sign up.

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Turning Red is the first Pixar movie solely directed by a woman, Domee Shi, but it's more than a cursory footnote in the studio's diversity push. This animated movie is everything a Pixar movie needs to be: heartwarming, humorous and gracefully animated. It also takes Pixar into new culturally interesting areas and a female-focussed view of tumultuous adolescence.

Understand Disney's 12 principles of animation

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Another win for Disney Plus, this time for Ms Marvel. This series is based on the Marvel comic of the same name and introduces the first Muslim super hero to the MCU. But it's more than this, Ms Marvel is one of the most playful and charming shows Marvel has put out and explores the idea of being a fan as much as the pressures of superhero-ing. Our judges particularly loved the visual design of the show, its  graphic design approach plays on graffiti motifs to bring its world to life.

Disney Plus goes big with these Ms Marvel logos

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Arcane is the hit Netflix animated series based on the world and characters of Riot Games' League of Legends. Created with Riot Games by French animation studio Fortiche, Arcane mixes 2D and 3D techniques to deliver a unique and lively style. It resembles beautiful hand-painted art but in motion it has a weight and impact of the best anime. 

15 ways to improve your character animation

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The Netflix juggernaut Stranger Things 4 arrived and it delivered everything fans wanted, including some astonishing VFX, which included work from DNEG, Scanline and Rodeo FX. Proving how small screen VFX has improved since the days of Babylon 5's Amiga graphics, one scene in Stranger Things 4 took two years to create; the shots where the Demobats fly over Hawkins and then land on the Creel House was a labour of love.

Stranger Things 4's posters impress.

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Dune released to an avalanche of awards and plaudits, but a year on its production design that still captures our imagination. In an interview with our sister magazine ImagineFX, costume designer Jacqueline West talked about the mediaeval meets Star Wars designs that were influenced by Balenciaga and Goya. The result is one of the most striking world designs in recent years, and one that feels timeless and without place, ensuring Dune will remain relevant years from now.

Read about the Dune costume design.

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It's back for the second Creative Bloq Award, this time it was Dune's VFX that wowed our judges. The 'unfilmable' book came to life under the direction of Denis Villeneuve, but just as importantly with the guidance of two-time Oscar winner Paul Lambert (who oversaw multiple studios, including DNEG and Rodeo FX).

The pair had worked together on Blade Runner 2049 and Arrival, and that chemistry showed on screen. The VFX for Dune is grounded and photoreal, with physical props and real world physics used where possible – for example a helicopter kicked up dust and was then replaced with a CG ship for authenticity.

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Editor, Digital Arts & 3D

Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creative Bloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and video game titles Play and Official PlayStation Magazine. Ian launched Xbox magazine X360 and edited PlayStation World. For Creative Bloq, Ian combines his experiences to bring the latest news on digital art, VFX and video games and tech, and in his spare time he doodles in Procreate, ArtRage, and Rebelle while finding time to play Xbox and PS5.