Yes! You're catching on. This movie is jammed packed with amazing special effects.
Creating a CG island is a little like painting over a painting. You start with an image on the computer screen. In this case something close to an island. Your real work begins by taking away land to the left of the peninsula to create the actual island effect. You then add high peaks to the skyline, add clouds and ominous light to the sky and you've created the perfect island for your needs. As an added bonus, you already have your 3-D Dragon's wing vessel in the computer, which can easily be incorporated into these shots. By the way, you also need a sunset shot of the island. No problem, just change the lighting a bit and you've got your picture.
