Project Review:Out Takes PART V Universal City Walk 1992

 One main feature we had was an adjustable table height for the main blue-screen operator and this was a CNC milled girder look as seen in this concept here.

 A dimensional tapered armrest with hidden panels as seen in this design.

 A backdrop with design styling similar to this and this.

 The blue-screen backdrop enclosure with a bit more open space so visitors could see a bit better to go with these.

Project Review
Out Takes PART V Universal City Walk 1992

Client: Out Takes Via Eric Allard at All Effects.
Art Director: Eric Allard.
Project Date Summer 1992

Out-Takes was a blue screen photography studio at Universal's City Walk Outdoor Mall in California, and in my fourth posting today, I have some of the detailed parts drawings as well as some alternate blue screen enclosure designs.

I originally designed about 20 looks, with two l picked. The one that went to manufacture was to match the frame and girder look that the motion controlled camera jig was on, ans the second was a enclosed sleeker look with metal wood and composite materials.

I was on-site in Woodland Hills for about a month for this gig way back in the 90's when I was doing freelance before I went over to Walt Disney Imagineering. I had a great time designing these items and I got to sit in the FX house with all the props from the various films them made every day too...[ Demolition Man, Short Circuit].

PART I is here.
PART II is here.
PART III is here. 
PART IV is here.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow PART VIII-Arachnid Robot

 

 A 3/4 view of the Arachnid Robot I built out from World of Tomorrow from back in 03'.

 A Low Angle on the Arachnid Robot from the advertising I helped with on Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

 A Birds Eye view down on the spider robot I built back in 2003.

 Here is the polygon model I built out for this fun little crawler.

 This is a underside view that really shows the 'spider' design nicely for Sky Captain.

Project Review

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

PART VIII-Arachnid Robot

Client: Paramount Pictures via BLT and Associates.

Art Director(s): Rick Lynch, Dustin Stanton, Jeff Barnett, Alon Amir, Zack Ris. 
Project Date: Summer 2002

This is my eighth posting on Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow, and today I have posted the Arachnid Robot from the film that I made a 3D copy for the print advertising campaign.

About half my work is reverse engineering a prop from a feature film that is not finished, or we simply do not have access to enough photography, and so I end up building it for the posters, and for WOT[ World of Tomorrow], I did half a dozen various robots from the film for the large Art Direction team for over at BLT.

This one was just over a half day to complete[ about 5 Hrs] and I was able to deliver a few renders for the final presentation of comps to Paramount.

Look for more robots from the film in the weeks to come.

Cheers, THOM

You can see the other posts quickly below in these links:

PART I
PART II 
PART III 
PART IV 
PART V. 
PART VI. 
PART VII.

 http://www.skycaptain.com/

Personal Project Napkin Sketching and Doodles Part XXII[22nd]

 A Robotic Rhino with roller balls for feet.

 A Mini-Vacuum Robot with a extension cord for a ratty tail.

 A knife edged arm character with no hands...

 A little Frankenstein with the full top of the head inside the lower lip of the skull, and stapled in.

[ you can see the lite ghosted neck and bolts (unfinished) in there too].

 An odd little design, not sure what it is.....It is graphically a character in a box shape.

Personal Project

Napkin Sketching and Doodles Part XXII[22nd]

 

 In this twenty-second installment of the Napkin Sketches, Drawings, and Doodles I have posted, today I put up a set of mostly characters that I have sketched out over the last week during my free time.

I love to draw, and that is the first step in being a proficient 3D designer. If you are just going to build in 3D[ a 3D Carpenter], you need not draw much, though it would help a whole bunch, but if you consider yourself a 3D Designer, then the language we speak is the sketch, and the Sculpture.

You can view the other parts as follows:
PART I
PART II
PART III
PART IV
PART V
PART VI
PART VII
PART VIII
PART IX 

PART X
PART XI 

PART XII
PART XIII
PART XIV
PART XV 

PART XVI
PART XVII 
PART XVIII 
PART XIX
PART XX
PART XXI


Cheers, THOM

Project Review: Dark Shadows 2012- 3D Gate[ Title] Illustration

 The final Image of the top of the gate for the Poster Comps for Dark Shadows.

 Here you see that same view as a low-rez polygon quad model[ no mesh-smooth]

  Here you see that same low-rez polygon quad model at a slight up angle[ no mesh-smooth]

  Here you see the above shot with a mesh-smooth applied[ Turbosmooth @ 2 iterations]

Project Review

Dark Shadows 2012

3D Gate Illustration

Client: Warner Brothers Pictures via Ignition Print.
Art Director: Ken Choi.
Project Date: October 2011

I did this quick little 2 Hr gig for Ken over at Ignition to build out the top initials for the film Dark Shadows based on a prop gate from the feature, in Tim Burtons newest film out in theaters now.

I built it all as a Subdivision Model [ fully quads],as a low rez file with a polygon mesh-smooth applied to the mesh to add complexity to the file for any close up and detailed work. I also used procedural dirt to add a slight aging to the cracks.

I tend to get a lot of these little 2 Hr gigs each week to fill in where the unit photography leaves off. A virtual asset is pre-masked and we have full control over lighting ans pose to fit any comp idea imagined, and in a few Hrs the problem is solved for the Art Director I work with.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow PART VII-Whip-Arm Robot

Here is the final Image produced for this Whip Robot from Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow that I built out while at BLT in 2002 for the posters.

An overhead close to torso view of this robot from Sky Captain.

The details I built were based on a screen grab from the film model.

Here is a ground eye view looking up after it just stepped on you!

A Mesh-Poly view showing the NURBS conversion on the main body parts.

This is a torso view showing the details inside the glass dome for the head.

Project Review

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

PART VII-Whip-Arm Robot

Client: Paramount Pictures via BLT and Associates.

Art Director(s): Rick Lynch, Dustin Stanton, Jeff Barnett, Alon Amir, Zack Ris. 
Project Date: Summer 2002

This is my seventh posting on Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow, and today we look an another robot I had to build out for the posters for the film, the Whip-arm Robot.

This robot has a very small part in the film ,when the main base of the hero is attacked by a group of these rascals. I had just under a day to build, texture, and render out these views for the in-house Art Directors to use in their comp ideas for the presentation to Paramount and the Director.

This robot was a fun one, with the body being built using nPowers Power NURBS plug-in, and I then converted to them to Polygons for render. Lots of compound molded parts on this one, and I had just got that great plug-in tool for 3DS max over at BLT so I used it on this design.

Look for more robots from the film in the weeks to come.

Cheers, THOM

You can see the other posts quickly below in these links:

PART I
PART II 
PART III 
PART IV 
PART V. 
PART VI.

 http://www.skycaptain.com/

Project Review Out Takes PART IV Universal City Walk 1992

 I had seen a custom all Mahogany PC back then and with the fine wood inlays I developed this look for Out-Takes for City Walk.

 In this design I added in polished metal bands thru the desk sides and the main components would be powder coated.

 Every design I tried something different. Above this you see the keyboard tray as convex, here concave. I tried as many options as possible and combined them for the finals.

 The Custom Cabinet with another band of brass this time with some softer edges in this design for City Walk Mall.

Project Review
Out Takes PART IVUniversal City Walk 1992

Client: Out Takes Via Eric Allard at All Effects.
Art Director: Eric Allard.
Project Date Summer 1992

Out-Takes was a blue screen photography studio at Universal's City Walk Outdoor Mall in California, and in my fourth posting today, I have put up a design direction path that we eventually abandoned for the 'girder look". They closed up in the late 90's , and if interested, you can read about that here.

In the early 90's when I did this work, and they wanted to add in some of the look and feel of a luxury car, so I added in wood and metal inlay trim as was the fashion in the Lexus models just coming out back then, and they loved it as a direction to refine.

Also I was on my first Mac, a IISi, and they wanted the case to resemble a bit of the look of the early Mac design language with some rounding.

Look for PART V , as I found a big folder of xeroxes of the rest of this project recently[wish I had the originals sitting in a drawer somewhere...].

PART I can be seen here.

PART II is here.

Part III is here.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review Indian Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull PART IV Home Entertainment Motion Graphics Cards

I did these HD Motion Graphics cards for Indiana Jones, that were slammed via After Effects for the Home Entertainment Department at The Cimarron Group.

 All Type was hand built as there is no exact font. Here is my smallest card.

You will see that I bent the extrusion down in back to exaggerate the perspective done in 2D for the Indiana Jones DVD release.

I did about 10 cards in all, every one hand laid out and built in a day for Motion Graphics.

 The Main Indiana Jones Title in 3D I built for the DVD Release.

Here is the model as I built it in polygons for Indy Jones IV.

A Quad view of the Indian Jones Final MGFX Card, exploded out to show the three main objects with three various textures used.

Project Review

 Indian Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
PART IV Home Entertainment Motion Graphics Cards

Client: Paramount Pictures
Art Director: n/a
Date: Spring 2007

This is fourth posting for the work I did for Indiana Jones four, The Kingdom of the Lost Skull, and today I look closer at the Motion Graphics work I did for the Home Entertainment Department at Cimarron for the DVD release after the film was in theaters.

This work was done to match a 2D effect provided to us, so if you look close, you will notice I did not cap the face of the bevel, but the bevel is hollow, thus creating an internal shadow. The final design we followed from the client was done in Photoshop, and I had to match this 2D faked 3D look in actual 3D, which is always time consuming, as the perspective and bevels in Photoshop are "FAKE" [ and wrong] so you end up bending and twisting the object to match the fake look that was bought off.

Someday a 3D logo will be presented all in 3D, right from concept down to completion, then these types of expensive back-fits making 3D look 2D/3D, would be a thing of the past.

You can view PART I here.

You can view PART II here with a detailed look at the DC-3 plane I built.

PART III can be viewed here.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: SEGA's Molecule Man Part II- 1995

 Here is the final Color-erase line art for Molecule Man in Metal. You can see the Marker Comp Color Key here.

 Here is the rough sketch that preceded the above drawing, a bit quicker of a comp.

 Molecule Man as Vapor. I had his extremities 'leak' a bit of smoke constantly in the design.

 Molecule Man as water. The Color is here.

Project Review:
SEGA Interactive- Molecule Man 1995
Part II

Client: SEGA Interactive Group.
Art Director n/a.
Project Date: Summer 1995.

This is my second posting for the brief work I did for Sega out in Diamond Bar CA. back in 1995 for the video game called Molecule Man.

They hired me as a conceptual designer to develop the looks of the character as he would transform from one element to another. I did the various versions in Water, Vapor, Metal, Glass etc.

For todays posting, I have the final line are for a few designs as well as the rough sketch for the metal version we used to move ahead with the poses. I happened to have just finished my Phantom 2040 work so was versed in tight fitting superhero drawing as I had been doing it for a few years by then.

You can review my first post here.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow PART VI-Underwater Crab Robot

 Here is the main shot requested fro Sky Captain of the underwater Crab Walker Robots.

 A 3/4 overhead view of the "Bot" from World of Tomorrow from 2003.

 A shot from the surface looking down to a 3D walker from Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow.

 A closer shot sowing some details and the main logo on the machine.

 A Ploy Mesh view showing the complexity of what I built for the Posters.

This is similar to the main view showing the massing and modeled details I put on the character piece.

Project Review

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

PART VI-Underwater Crab Robot

Client: Paramount Pictures via BLT and Associates.

Art Director(s): Rick Lynch, Dustin Stanton, Jeff Barnett, Alon Amir, Zack Ris. 
Project Date: Summer 2002

This is my sixth posting on Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow, and today we look an another robot I had to build out for the posters for the film, the Underwater CRAB Walker-Robot..

I worked from two screen views sent over of the work-In-Progrss in Maya, on the walker robot, and I built a copy in 3DSmax. It is very typical that you do not have access to the digital files for films so you do a lot of re-building, and Sky Captain was no different.

What you see above, are some views I provided to the "Pod" working on World of Tomorrow at BLT on the posters, as well as some polygon views showing the construction details I put into the assets to create it.

I had about 6 Hrs to complete, and I hit that deadline with room to spare.

Cheers, THOM

You can see the other posts quickly below in these links:

PART I
PART II 
PART III 
PART IV 
PART V.

 http://www.skycaptain.com/

Project Review: The Majestic 2001: 3D Illustration PART I

 Here is the first tall format 3D render I did for The Majestic Hollywood Reporter Reviews a decade ago, pre-GI.

 

 

 Here was the two page spread I was directed to create as well, a 4K final render.

 I made a reflection sphere from the screen position to have a map of the theater for reflections for the back of the room.

 

 Here is a 3/4 view showing the fast high-rez modeling that I did that day.

 

 Here is the two page spread view showing the level of complexity I added in.

Project Review

The Majestic 2001

3D Illustration PART I

Client: Warner Brothers Pictures via BLT and Associates.
Art Director: Tracy Weston.
Project Date: December 2001-January 2002.

Back in 2001 I was still the in-house 3D Department of one at BLT, and I was asked to create a quick one day build of the theater from the Jim Carrey film, The Majestic.

The ads ended up being Black and White, but I did this work in color none the less as that was the deal.

I built out a quick interior first, used for reviews in The Hollywood Reporter, so the majority was filled with quotes. I built out the neon sign from the facade horizontally and put in above the screen as well.

A fun project and a fast turn around. I builtthis theater based on a few screen shots only from the film in a day with two 4K renders.

For the lighting I used a technique based on HDRI which was new at the time and I created a reflection sphere to use an my reflection space for the non-GI renders.

Cheers, THOM