Best VFX Studios in Barcelona (2026)

Introduction

Barcelona has a compact but well-connected visual effects scene, and the seven studios below cover most of what a producer or agency is likely to need, from creature work for streaming series to compositing on a car commercial. They were chosen for recent credits, awards and evidence of an active Barcelona studio in 2026.

Much of the city’s VFX work sits in and around Poblenou, the former industrial district now branded 22@, where international groups have opened or kept studios alongside local houses. El Ranchito has been part of the Pitch Black Company group since 2022, and Milk, which opened in Poblenou in 2023, became part of the newly formed Phantom Media Group in 2025. The Catalan government’s 2025 VFX and animation catalogue lists more than 20 companies offering visual effects across the region, many of them small teams working on Spanish features, international series and the steady flow of commercials shot in Catalonia.

Every studio here has a working Barcelona base in 2026. Full-service post houses that offer VFX as one service among many appear on our post-production list instead, with a small overlap. The list is unranked, since the right studio depends on the format, the budget and how much of the pipeline you need covered.

The best VFX studios in Barcelona

1. El Ranchito

Pitch Black Company (EagleTree Capital) · Poblenou · elranchito.es

El Ranchito is the best-known Spanish VFX studio internationally, with facilities in Madrid and on Carrer del Doctor Trueta in Poblenou and a team of more than 200. It joined Pitch Black Company, which also owns Rising Sun Pictures, Square One and FOLKS, in 2022. The studio’s work has collected two Emmys, six VES Awards and nine Goyas, the most recent for J. A. Bayona’s “Society of the Snow”.

Its credits run from “Game of Thrones” (the Hardhome battle and the frozen lake sequence) to “Stranger Things”, “The Mandalorian”, “Shadow and Bone” and “Leave the World Behind”. Spanish features remain a core part of the slate, and “A House on Fire” was nominated for the Gaudí award for best visual effects.

2. Antaviana

Independent · Eixample · antavianafilms.com

Antaviana has more than 30 years in Barcelona post and visual effects, working from Carrer del Rosselló with a second base in Navarra that opened in 2024. Its VFX team has won the Gaudí award for best visual effects five times, most recently in 2024 for Lone Scherfig’s “La contadora de películas”, following “La vampira de Barcelona” and “Incerta glòria”.

Recent work includes VFX and CGI on Irene Iborra’s animated feature “Olivia and the Invisible Earthquake” (2025) and full post on “Balandrau, viento salvaje” (2026). The studio is Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos Home certified and offers editing, grading, sound and a digital lab alongside VFX, so it suits features that want effects and finishing under one roof.

3. Milk Barcelona

Phantom Media Group · Poblenou · milk-vfx.com

Milk opened its Barcelona studio in Poblenou in 2023 as part of a European expansion that also took in Bordeaux and Dublin, with London remaining the founding studio. India’s Phantom Digital Effects acquired Milk in 2025, and in November 2025 placed it in Phantom Media Group alongside Tippett Studio, Lola Post, PhantomFX and Spectre Post. The studios continue to trade under their own names.

Milk’s credits include “Good Omens”, “Doctor Who”, “Fantastic Beasts”, “The Martian” and “The Witcher”, and the company has won three BAFTA Television Craft awards and an Emmy for “Sherlock”. The Barcelona team works on high-end series and features alongside the other Milk studios, so check which parts of a job will be handled locally.

4. Metropolitana

Independent · Sant Gervasi · metropolitana.tv

Metropolitana is a Barcelona post and VFX studio focused on advertising, offering effects design, previsualisation, on-set supervision, 2D compositing, 3D CGI and colour. It is one of the Barcelona studios openly using AI tools within its post and VFX work.

LBB Online lists it among the companies credited on Wieden+Kennedy New York’s “157 Years of Being Food’s Best Friend” campaign for Heinz (2026), LOLA’s “D.O.S.E.” films for Persil and Comfort (2026), Ogilvy Spain’s Suchard Christmas work (2025) and Rosalía’s “Berghain” video (2025). A good share of those credits come through agencies and production companies outside Spain, alongside Spanish agencies and Barcelona production houses such as BOL.

5. Cúbica VFX

Independent · Gràcia · cubicavfx.com

Cúbica was founded in 2004 by Rubén Algarra, Cesc Biénzobas and Joan Amer and works on digital cinema post and visual effects from its studio on Carrer de Montmany. Its portfolio leans towards genre film and episodic work for international producers.

Credits include “It” and “It Chapter Two”, “Escape Room” and its sequel, “Halo”, “Locke & Key”, “Goosebumps 2” and “El Cid”, as well as Spanish titles such as “REC 2”, “Mientras duermes” and “Mamá”. For horror and fantasy projects with a long tail of compositing and clean-up shots, it has a deep track record.

6. Fake Studio

Independent · Poblenou · fakestudio.tv

Fake Studio describes itself as a digital production hub covering VFX, CG, animation and AI content, with facilities in Barcelona, Madrid and Mexico City. It also directs and produces commercials, music videos and long-form work, so it can take a job from concept to finish.

Its portfolio includes CUPRA films (among them “Dragons” and the León), Audi and Festina commercials, the series “RPM” and “Maradona”, and features including “Remains of Nothing”. It suits agencies that want one team handling CG-heavy commercial work rather than splitting it between a production company and a post house.

7. MinimoVFX

Independent · Eixample · minimovfx.com

MinimoVFX is a small specialist team based in Barcelona and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, whose artists previously worked at Weta, ILM, Framestore, MPC and DNEG. It builds character rigs, creatures, animation, CG assets and pipelines for film, TV and commercials.

Much of its work is for other VFX and animation studios that need production-ready assets, as well as for film producers and advertising agencies. Its site cites work on productions ranging from “Harry Potter” to “Dogman”. It is a useful partner when a project needs creature or rigging depth that a generalist house does not keep in-house.

What to look for in a Barcelona VFX studio

Start with the format. Feature and episodic studios such as El Ranchito, Milk and Cúbica are built around long shot lists, delivery specs from streamers and tight review schedules with supervisors in several countries. Commercial specialists such as Metropolitana and Fake Studio work to shorter turnarounds and are more used to agency approval rounds and on-set supervision for a two or three-day shoot.

Ask where the work will be done. Several Barcelona studios belong to international groups or share work with sister studios in Madrid, London or elsewhere. That can add capacity, but if you are relying on Catalan or Spanish incentives, or want your supervisor in the room, confirm which shots stay in Barcelona and who leads them.

Check the supervisor before the showreel. A studio’s reel shows its best work across many years and teams. The person who will supervise your shots, and the artists they can call on during your schedule, matter more than the logo on the credits. It is reasonable to ask for recent shot breakdowns from that person.

Finally, ask how shot review works. VFX jobs generate a large number of versions, render passes and notes, and confusion about which version a note refers to costs days. Studios that keep a single place for the latest renders, collect timestamped notes against each version and track which notes are done tend to deliver with fewer late surprises.

How Fabric helps VFX teams

Fabric gives a VFX team one workspace for plates, renders, references and client feedback, with AI search across all of it. Large files sit in Fabric’s cloud drive, which streams them on demand so they take no local disk space, and heavy video files open without a full download. There is more on keeping heavy outputs organised in your rendering files need a home.

Search works by meaning across documents, images, PDFs and transcribed audio and video, so a supervisor’s spoken note in a recorded call can be found later and opened at the right timestamp. When an artist needs references for a look, similar search finds images with matching composition, colour and subject.

For shot review, the team shares a version with the client or supervisor as a commenter. Through that shared link, without creating an account, reviewers can leave timestamped comments on video and draw on the frame to mark exactly what needs to change, or draw on stills and concept frames. The team marks each comment completed as the fix goes in, so the notes work as a checklist for the next version. A folder can also become a Kanban board whose cards are the shots themselves, which suits a simple shot-status pipeline. Final deliveries or a studio reel can be published as a web page, which is view-only.

On Team plans, Fabric can maintain a page for each client from meetings, Slack and the workspace, covering decisions, deliverables and open items, which helps when a show runs across several seasons and producers change.

Client pages are included on Team plans. See plans for teams.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best VFX studio in Barcelona?

It depends on the project. For large international series and features, El Ranchito and Milk have the deepest credits. For Catalan and Spanish features, Antaviana has won the Gaudí for best visual effects five times. For commercials, Metropolitana and Fake Studio are regular choices.

Does El Ranchito have a studio in Barcelona?

Yes. El Ranchito was founded in Madrid and also runs a studio in Poblenou, Barcelona. Both are part of Pitch Black Company, which also owns Rising Sun Pictures and Square One.

Who owns Milk Barcelona?

Milk, including its Barcelona studio, was acquired by India’s Phantom Digital Effects in 2025 and is now part of Phantom Media Group, alongside Tippett Studio and Lola Post. Milk continues to operate under its own name.

Are there VFX studios in Madrid as well?

Yes. Several Barcelona studios also have Madrid offices, and Madrid has its own strong VFX scene. See our list of the best VFX studios in Madrid.

Should I hire a VFX studio or a full-service post house?

A VFX specialist is the better fit when effects drive the project, for example creature work, set extensions or heavy CG. If the job is mostly editing, grading and sound with a modest number of effects shots, a full-service house may be simpler. Our list of post-production companies in Barcelona covers those.

Related lists

VFX in other cities: Madrid · New York · London · Los Angeles · Paris

More in Barcelona: Creative agencies · Post-production · Animation · Video production

Run your studio on Fabric: Fabric for creative teams · Fabric for video editors · Fabric for commercials