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For me, standout moments of the Force Awakens were Maz Kanata's screen time. The character was wonderfully textured and the performance subtle, nuanced and awe inspiring.

I can find information regarding concept art, origins, actor and motion capture but I'm keen to find the FX team responsible for the final designs, sculpture, painting, texturing, animation and lighting as well as compositing into the final shots.

Once I get the names of individuals responsible for things like Maz's final sculpt and texturing, for example, I can find other work and infor on the artists that will be invaluable.

Can anyone point me in the right direction, please?

I've since found this which indicates the character may be completely ILM:

the studio (ILM) created a new version of the facial capture translation software for the mo-cap performances of Lupita Nyong'o (Maz Kanata) and Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke). ILM also made significant use of its four studios in San Francisco (the hub), Vancouver, London and Singapore in the creation of 1,300 out of a total 2,100 VFX shots.

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    See also the full credit listing at imdb.com/title/tt2488496/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm which might or might not give an answer.
    – b_jonas
    Dec 29, 2015 at 17:24
  • Thanks @b_jonas - yeah, I had a look at that and most company references seem to be ILM and I have found evidence in pure ILM which I'll add to the question.
    – Kerr Avon
    Dec 29, 2015 at 17:29

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According to Vanity Fair, Industrial Light & Magic was responsible for Maz Kanata's modeling, rigging, texturing, and animation (that wasn't provided by motion capture).

A small galaxy’s worth of tracking dots affixed to Lupita Nyong’o’s face allowed artists at Industrial Light & Magic to transform her into the C.G.I. character Maz Kanata.http://media.vanityfair.com/photos/5543ca99801ffcbc36b3419c/master/h_606,c_limit/vanity-fair-star-wars-04.jpg

Indiewire explains that ILM created new facial tracking software used by its four studios, and mentions its use on Maz Kanata specificially.

Obviously the tech has advanced considerably in the way that you can light surfaces or create organic elements such as water, fire and smoke, and ILM improved its simulation pipeline for greater efficiency and photorealism, as witnessed by the massive solar-powered destruction of a planet that eclipses the old Death Star. At the same time, the studio created a new version of the facial capture translation software for the mo-cap performances of Lupita Nyong'o (Maz Kanata) and Andy Serkis (Supreme Leader Snoke). ILM also made significant use of its four studios in San Francisco (the hub), Vancouver, London and Singapore in the creation of 1,300 out of a total 2,100 VFX shots

All motion capture was done by Andy Serkis' studio, The Imaginarium.

“JJ Abrams and I met, and we just had this incredible kind of vibe between us. He said, ‘You’d fit really well in this universe,’ and I said, ‘I think I probably could.’ We’re working very closely, as I say, in two ways: the Imaginarium is providing all of the performance characters, and I myself am playing a character in it.

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