One of the biggest additions to the vampire physique from the Twilight series is the “sparkle”, which is the reason why Vampires in the Twilight world avoid the sunlight (not for the instant barbeque complexion, but rather the immediate recognition from the sparkle). Creating the sparkle proved difficult due to lighting and complexion issues, and Prime Focus’s newly expanded Vancouver Studio talks about how they did it.
“Creating the diamond skin effect turned out to be a very rewarding experience.” said Pascarelli. “The effect appears many times throughout the film in several very different scenarios. It was challenging because the diamond effect appears in sunlight, whenever Edward’s already very pale skin is lit by sun, and on top of all of that brightness, there needs to be a convincing diamond-like sparkle. Film doesn’t really have enough brightness range to do this,
via Prime Focus VFX Adds Sparkle to The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
