In partnership with Gizmo, an Argentina-based animation studio, Axis Studios completed work on Netflix’s Maniac. Directed by Cary Fukunaga, and based on a Norwegian series with the same name, Maniac is a black comedy that follows an institutionalised man living in his dreamed fantasies – Axis Studios worked on the underwater VR sequence. The series stars Jonah Hill, Emma Stone, and Justin Theroux.

The team at Axis Studios were tasked to create a futuristic look with a retro feel, and after trialing multiple aesthetics, the final result arrived as an 8-bit pixelated art style with hyper-real-anime thrown in – it was a mashup that met client demands.