11 Greatest Matte Paintings Of All Time

Matte paintings (or ‘glass shots’) originated during the early period of the silent era. They gave production units the freedom of never having to leave the studio grounds and still creating films that left the audience in awe.

For a long time now, many movies have relied on the magic of this art. Matte painting and VFX studios across the world have worked tirelessly towards creating the magic. To pick and choose among them is a tough choice to make but a few of them stand out.

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Here’s a comprehensive list of the best we’ve seen till date. Top 11 matte painting examples we’ve seen on screen.

Top 11 Matte Paintings WE’VE Seen On Screen

Mary Poppins 1964

An academy award winner for the best visual effects, this movie made extensive use of matte paintings. In many shots, the entire background was a full frame of art and the actors were matted into it. Chief artist Peter Ellenshaw was a part of the creative think tank with Walt Disney in many movies but he definitely outdid himself with this one!

Ghostbuster 2 1989

Mark Sullivan was one of the greatest matte painters that his generation ever saw. Before the art of glass shots gravitated to the computers, he painted this full screen shot of Sigourney Weaver’s apartment and cityscape around it. Only the roadway was left unpainted.

Earthquake 1974

What makes this movie so special? Well, Albert Whitlock created 22 matte paintings in 12 weeks! What was even more impressive is the fact that this medium budget movie that was made in great haste minted good money at the box office. The effects work did have a few loopholes (which was most likely due to the rushed schedule), but the paintings are definitely noteworthy.

The distinguishing point in the shot in focus here is the loose and impressionistic brush that was a tried and tested signature of Albert’s style.

The NeverEnding Story 1984

Whether you took a liking to the movie or not, you just can’t miss this stunning Jim Danforth matte in the middle of all the visual effects. He did a brilliant job with capturing the refractive index of the crystalline substances which is all one large frame. This definitely is one of his best mattes ever.

Ben Hur 1959

The mattes in this movie faced a unique challenge. They all had to be painted horizontally (squeezed sideways) which would then be played for the audience in the right ratio after the making. And the beauty of it is that despite all the difficulties, it is still so hard to spot an error.

Harley Davidson And The Marlboro Man 1991

This action flick went unnoticed but what we could not ignore was this breathtaking matte painting by Rocco Gioffre. While the element of the men against the billboard and the traffic was streamed individually, the rest of the scene entirely depended on this stunning matte!

Raiders Of The Lost Ark 1981

Micheal Pangrazio painted this stunning visual from the Raiders of the Lost Ark that become symbolic of the movie. This painting is tremendous for the fact that it is held in the shot for a fairly long time (compared to any other matte). And it is still not an easy feat to tell where the trick lies! Another ‘wow’ fact about it is that it took three months to paint all the boxes and crates. Simply flawless!

Treasure Island 1950

Another exhibition of Peter Ellenshaw’s unbelievable talent, this matte painting of the harbor in this delightful Disney feature is one of the few that will forever remain on the lists of the greatest matte paintings ever made.

The Red Shoes 1948

A lengthy old movie on ballet dancers is nobody’s first choice. But the visuals in the movie make it worth a watch. The many groundbreaking travelling mattes and optical composites are not short of awe inspiring, sometimes supplemented by equally beautifully matte paintings contributed by Joseph Natanson, Ivor Beddoes and Les Bowie.

Superman 1978

Superman was one of those ‘perfect’ superhero movies that had a great mix of live action and visual effects. Les Bowie along with Ray Caple painted this stunning matte of the crystal fortress which is without a doubt one of Caple’s best works ever.

King Kong 1933

The Kong movie is packed with a number of matte paintings which have successfully created a mood of mystery, gloom and fear. The chief matte artists Byron Crabbe and Mario Larrinaga gave life to a dark and terrifying jungle in the 1930s and till date there isn’t one that is said to be more terrifying.

TITANIC (1997)

The iconic Titanic is amongst the last major examples of oil matte paintings. This shot of the Carpathia was crafted by Chris Evans (the architect behind blockbusters like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Empire Strikes Back and The Green Mile).

These genius artists and matte painting studios have given us great visuals and virtual worlds to live in. A salute is what they deserve!

For years, matte painting vfx has been a well-known VFX technique. It simply means that a landscape is used as the background in paintings. You can remove your movie from the confines of the stage by placing a blue or green screen behind your performers. Matte paintings in movies has come a long way today!

Audiences may believe that the location depicted in the movie is genuine, even though it is really a product of the director’s wild imagination.

When building a physical set or traveling to a specific location to film is either prohibitively expensive or impossible, it is frequently used to create landscapes, sets, and scenes for movies, television, and print. A thorough understanding of light, exposure, colour theory, and composition are necessary for this technique.

One of the most common uses of matte painting in VFX is creating a background completely different from the live-action footage. This could be a landscape, cityscape, or even an entire planet. For example, in the movie “Avatar” (2009), the entire planet Pandora was created using matte painting.

The use of matte paintings also allows filmmakers to create historical or fantasy environments that would be difficult or impossible to film in live-action.

A glass matte painting is a variation of matte painting. It is a technique where a painting on glass is used to create a background element. The painting is photographed and composited into live-action footage.

Glass matte paintings were widely used in the past, but with the advent of digital matte painting, the use of matte glass paintings has decreased.

The Process of Matte Painting in Movies

The process of creating a matte painting can be divided into several steps. The first step is concept art and pre-visualization, where the artists create rough sketches of the background elements that will be needed for the shot. The second step is camera tracking and layout, where the live-action footage is matched to the background elements that were created in the first step. The third step is painting and compositing, where the final matte painting is created and composited into the live-action footage. The final step is color correction and final adjustments, where the final image is color-corrected and any final adjustments are made.

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And while the modern film production techniques have switched to blue/green screens, matte painting in films is by no means obsolete. In fact, mattes have become the go-to reference for film-related digital creations.

With the digital evolution, matte paintings are increasingly moving out of the 2D space, with 3D sets and background setups being created using various digital techniques. Take Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as an example – multiple 100-foot canvases were seamed together and positioned behind the movie sets to create that feeling of grandeur and a larger-than-life look.

If you are looking around for matte paintings and need an expert, Toolbox Studio should be your go-to option. Our skilled matte artists will ensure they deliver top-notch matte art to leave your audience mesmerized!

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Images are sourced from here.

Tanmay Datta

Last updated: October 4, 2024

Tanmay Datta has over 5 years of experience in the 3D Animation & VFX industry. He graduated from George Brown College, Toronto, in Game development, specializing in Character Animation. Tanmay is passionate about Animation and Teaching.