"Spider-Man: No Way Home" is the latest addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and fans are in for a treat as Peter Parker teams up with Doctor Strange to save New York City from dangerous foes from other worlds. The film has been a massive undertaking, with Luma Pictures playing a crucial role in bringing some of the most action-packed sequences to life.

After collaborating with Marvel Studios and Director Jon Watts on Homecoming and Far From Home, Luma Pictures was invited back to work on two key sequences in the film, leading the asset creation of the black and red suit and collaborating with Marvel to design and create the new black and gold suit for the film. The Luma Art Department conceptualized and designed the black and gold suit in collaboration with Marvel's team, featuring intricate circuitry that was hand-painted by Luma's artists. The black and gold suit was modeled, textured and look-developed from the ground up, and the Luma team used references including wetsuits and LED clothing to achieve the suit's unique inside-out look.

The opening scene picks up right from where Far From Home ends, with Spider-Man and MJ swinging through the streets of NYC after his identity is revealed. The Luma team built a hybrid CG/DMP environment of Madison Square and a full 360 degree CG Times Square, populated with hundreds of assets including animated cars and crowds.

The Powerline Corridor scene is a full CG sequence, showcasing the sleek black and gold suit for the first time, as well as the introduction of Electro and Sandman. Luma treated Sandman as an extension of the complex environment work, with extensive development going into the design and simulation of his character effects, including the sand shield, sand wave, and sand storm. The sand shield was made of simulated sand referencing real limestone pillars found in Western Australia, providing the basis to create transverse waves towards Electro and form a sand storm around him.

Sandman is a complex character and is completely made up of art-directable sand grains. The team treated him like an extension of the complex environment work— his character effects like the sand shield, sand wave and sand storm uproot vegetation and rock assets on the ground and blow wind through bushes and trees.

Extensive development went into the design and simulation of the character FX. The sand shield was made of underlying pinnacles of simulated sand referencing real limestone pillars found in Western Australia. These pinnacles were an extension of Sandman and provided the basis to create Transverse Waves towards Electro and form a sand storm around him.

For Electro's brand new look, Luma dove into a substantial design phase throughout the show in collaboration with Marvel. The team designed a set of curves on the model's exterior, largely driven by muscle fiber and skeletal directionality, and established a general lifespan to his energy so that he would require replenishing from discharges of energy from neighboring powerlines.