Project Review: Toy Story 4 3D Logo Neon Illustrations for Key Art 2018

3D Neon Toy Story 4 Key Art Title Concept Designs. This first image was so close to being the final pick. A straight on shot with the aged and rusty finishes. This is still my desktop on my workstation. I loved this project for PIXAR!

3D Neon Toy Story 4- Key Art Title in a clean finish similar to the other films.

 

 

3D Neon Toy Story 4- Ambient/ Dirt Render to accentuate the intersections in the geometry as well as add in ambient pass lighting to get better realism.

3D Neon Toy Story 4- Key Z-Depth Pass for distance based edits in post for the Art Directors at the Leroy and Rose agency.

3D Neon Toy Story 4- A subdivided Clay Screen grab from the Camera View showing the mesh levels used in the build.

3D Neon Toy Story 4  Base mesh Low Poly Screen Grab in Clay material showing just the forms.

3D Neon Toy Story 4  A Screen grab with Materials to show inside the 3D Neon Tubes as well as the the clips and rivets in my build.

3D Neon Toy Story 4  Key Art Title Concept Design View #2 a Low Angle with a bit of fish-eye on the lens. This is the cleaner of the two finishes.

 

3D Neon Toy Story 4  Key Art Title Concept Design in the rusted and weathered look.

 

3D Neon Toy Story 4  The Ambient Render pass. This angles shows the deformations on the rough wall back plate better at an angle.

3D Neon Toy Story 4  The Z-Depth mask Render Pass here falls off for more distance based edits after the image is delivered.

 

3D Neon Toy Story 4  Screen Grab showing the side of the build. If you look closely there is a neon tube behind the sign tin backing to give a back glow on the wall.

 

3D Neon Toy Story 4  Super close up Screen Grab in Clay material shows that little toggle switch I built.

 

3D Neon Toy Story 4 Super close up Screen Grab in Clay material shows the tube clip details. 

 

 

3D Neon Toy Story 4 a high angle view in the Clay materials. This view shows the hangers on top.

 

3D Neon Toy Story in Clay material finish showcasing surface only in a low angle up view on the sign.

Project Review

Toy Story 4
3D Logo Neon Illustrations

for Key Art 2018
 

Client:  PIXAR/ Walt Disney Feature Animation via Leroy and Rose
Creative Direction:  Melchior Lamy 
Project Date:  February to June 2018.

     I can now post work that I did for Melchior at Leroy & Rose for PIXAR's Toy Story 4 from back in 2018. This design went all the way to the 11th hour and was close to finishing, but they went more simple in the end.

     As a 3D Artist, doing anything for PIXAR is an honor as they were trailblazers in the field of 3D Animation which helped mainstream the technology to where it is at today as now it's considered common place.

 

     I also posted Behind the Art images with some wire frames and Clay shader screen grabs showing way I build out 3D Neon. I have always loved neon signs, from the light they give off, the flickers, and the buzz they emanate. Being a Classic Car nut, these signs are found all over Vintage Car shops so it is a natural fit for me a gear head. Also, I am a fabricator and builder, and love the craft behind real the ones.

    I found over a few years of building out neon a few simple things I do. I create both the exterior glass tube, that's two sided with a 3DSmax Shell modifier added to the spline to give it a glass thickness. I also build out a second internal object spline that that represents the gas inside the tube that glows, and this is where I put the self illumination glow on so it refracts a bit through the tube glass. I also add color to the glass itself to simulate color bleed so red glass with red glow etc. I love the little clips that hold the tubes as well.

    For this 4th installment of Toy Story I was directed to go with neon for the main 3D Logo, as a good portion of the film takes place in a county fair environment as well as inside a antique store. I did both a clean versions of the sign, as well as aged and rusted version. So, my baseline was a delivery of 2 views in 2 finishes. 

 

    I did work on Key Art 3D Titles for Toy Story 4 for a few other vendors as well after this, but this version was a wall mounted hanging sign design with a lot more vintage bits added in. The toggle switch was placed on the bottom extrusion of tin sign. That 3D Model I built, and sell at TurboSquids Stock 3D model site here. I also built out the wall hangers on the back and the vintage square nails with cross hatched tips. A few wires completed the look and an aged wall was built as a 3D Displacement with modeled out surface cracks and irregularities.

 
    Again, just this one 3D model can be reused and rendered out at many different angles.The first comp is where the time is mostly billed at, yet once made, the re-shoots are so much quicker when the model is already ready to go, so it really deserves a few shots at least.

 

     I am back full time doing freelance as I hunt for a full-time place to work at, so if you need a bid for a 3D Illustration or 3D Logo, or a 3D Model feel free to contact me for a quote. I am open to Hourly gig's, Work Retainers, Part-time, and Full Time opportunities [ Open to relocation ] would be best. I have worked remote since 2009, so I am ready to help you.

                                 Cheers, THOM

Project Review: NOS4A2 -AMC Series 3D License Plate Logo Design for Key Art 2019

  This is a flat image of the final file PSD Layered 3D Logo[ originally sent at 5000 pixels ]

 In order to get the final Look I did a straight metal full color render as well as the painted render. This allowed the agency Leroy and Rose to adjust and shine it up as needed.

The Ambient Occlusion/ Dirt Render pass is to add grime and depth to the 3D render.

If required I can provide a Z-Depth[ Distance based grey-scale map] for post effect to the client. You can see the 3D dents in this render , and I use it in the final render as an overlay in Photoshop to enhance the image.

Back view of the AMC Cable Series NOS4A2 License Plate Key Art Model I built.

 A 3/4 front view of the AMC Cable Series NOS4A2 License Plate Key Art Model.

I rendered this in Cebas Final Render's GI renderer[ my choice!] and this shows my custom texture Maps I built , and the various ways I use them for both the texture and displacement in 3D for the geometry itself.

The base 3D Low Poly object has the base dents modeled into it as well as using N-powers Pro-Boolean in 3DSmax to output the file as a Mesh. I clean it up  a bit ,then used the shell modifier to give the model a slight thickness like a real metal plate would have.

For quick lighting I had Sub-D down to just 2 levels making the Pre-Lighting go quicker at the early dial in stage.

 The final renders were done with this Ultra High [ 10 million plus polygon] Resolution 3D Mesh since I used an organic displacement on it

 An image of the NOS4A2 3D License Plate Logo I created in the various ways it has been used. The One Sheet won a 2020 Muse Award, and that is linked here.

Project Review
NOS4A2 AMC Series

3D License Plate Logo for Key Art 2019
PART I

Client:  AMC via Leroy and Rose
Creative Direction:  Melchior Lamy 
Project Date:  February 2019.

     I was called in by Melchior at Leroy & Rose to design and build out a 3D Design of a car license plate used on the AMC Series NOS4A2 [ a.k.a. Nosferatu ] I love working with L&R , as I do hundreds of 3D Logos each year, but 3D illustration as a 3D Logo combines two things I love.

    I recently learned that the One Sheet Poster using my 3D License Plate Logo won the Muse 2020 Design Award, and that can be seen here.

      I deliver first with a low resolution render leaving off all post effects as well as turning off Anti-Aliasing[ a.k.a. AA ] so the render is quick for approvals, since this changes a few times each round. This saves time and budget for the client so it helps manage the project. Since I have been both a Creative Director , and Art Director, I am accustomed to managing costs from above, so below!.

     Once the low resolution render is approved I do a low resolution AA render to get a time estimate a for a final. As well as adding in the other render passes. This delivery is as a Adobe Photoshop Layered file, and a Smart 3D Image, so they automatically have an Alpha channel , saving the clients time and money as the object comes masked to the pixel perfectly. I also include a Z-Depth pass which is a depth based grey-scale mask for adding post effects [ based on distance from Camera. Great for Camera blurs , adding layers of fog or atmosphere], and an Ambient/Dirt pass which is a basic grey color with a dark dirt like material that 'finds the intersections' in the geometry and darkens them up adding either aging or just a nice shadow in the cracks.

    The final design is used for Posters, outdoor, online advertising as usual, but it is also used for the various books, Hard Back Sleeve, Paperback Cover, and Audio Book Key Art. It is also found on the Packaging Design for blue ray as well used by Home Entertainment Designers.

   As a Transportation designer I love all things automotive, so even the License Plate is fun the build realistically as a stamped aluminum plate. Denting and chipping it up having to create a custom set of texture maps for the material was also a part of 3D I really get to paint with too.

     If you need a bid for a 3D Illustration , or a 3D Model feel free to contact me for a quote. I am open to Hourly gig's , Work Retainers , Part-time , and Full Time opportunities [ Open to relocation ].

     I have worked for over a decade remotely, so I am ready to go in this Covid-19 situation with Back Ups and FTP and secure lines to transfer files to clients.

                                 Cheers, THOM

Project Review: The Flash 2014-3D Logo Exploration-PART II

 This "The Flash' 3D Logo was done with a mini-bevel in ruby glass, with a neon lip line, and the bolt is a stack of seven glowing objects stacked thru the glass letters.

 This version of the 3D Logo is a revers deep extruded face on a red metal with caustic turned on to get the reflection lighting inside the deep face.

 A matte red material on a heavy bevel, with the deep extrusion, a bit shallower than above, with caustics off for a more simple face detail.

This Flash 3D Logo has a bright polished metal edge with a warm reflection and a red center.
[ deep extrusion ].

 A Glass type version with a brushed stainless face inside inside the heavy bevel on the ruby glass.

This version has a rounded deep bevel with the face pulled back a bit to get a lip on the beveled edge. More matte materials here again with some self-illumination added to increase the brightness.

I flattened back the above logo and added motion blur behind it. I added caustics back to get the various bright spots on the face.

 A knife-edge bevel with the bottom tapered down as it touches the gloss black stage floor. Matte materials here to simplify the look.

 Here is the 3D Logo with a glass lightning bolt to reveal the type thru it, as well as another knife- edge design with an anodized aluminum material applied.

Project Review

The Flash 2014

3D Logo Exploration-PART II

Client: The CW via Leroy and Rose.
Creative Direction: Melchior Lamy.
Project Date: April 2014.

I've been doing work for Leroy and Rose for a bit, so when they called me to do some fast 3D logos for a Superhero property, The Flash, I was on board for a quick one day turn around project. I've done 1000's of 3D logos and many for superhero films, so I was more than ready to go on this, so today I have the second half of the work I did for this property.

Once again, the Flash was redeveloped for TV and the 2D logo design was locked from the client side, so I basically did dimensional versions in 3D.

I was given one day on this gig, so I hustled to create 19 designs in the time frame we were limited to. As will all 2D Logos, there are endless ways to make them 3D, from simple extrusions, bevels and fully modeling the text and bending and curving it.

I did as much as I could in the short one day, and was pleased with the results rendered and delivered.
You can review PART I here.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: 3D Neon Logo for Key Art for 'The House' 2017

The Neon tubes and clips were ultimately used for the final Key Art for The House 2017

The full render with the back tin plate[ removed for final]

Here is the base Quad Mesh for the 3D Logo. Note the reflection sphere behind the logo, to add details to both the glass objects , as well as the metal clips. 

 Early on I did an alternate with broken glass tubes and dented and gritty back tin.

If requested by the client I can provide an ambient/dirt pass to overlay the color pass to accentuate edges and intersections to add some light grit to the render.

A Close Up shot of the full 5K finish.

 A Color render at a low angle of the 3D Neon Sign I made for The House.

 The Quad Sub-D build with subdivision removed to see the base objects.

Close up details on the 3D Neon Sign design and build.

This Quad Mesh shot shows the inner glow object inside the outer glass tube, as well as the build for the retaining clips.

 This is a Distance Based 3D Mask, or Z-Depth pass I include so the team can do distance based editing on a pixel by pixel basis.

This first Color-Picker Mask I rendered out isolates the inner glow inside of the Neon Tubes, this is SMART 3D. 

This second Color-Picker Mask I rendered out isolates the outer glass of the Neon Tubes.

Here is a Wide format Key Art piece using the Neon Sign I made in 3D to assist the team at Leroy and Rose.

Project Review

3D Neon Logo for Key Art for

'The House'

2017

Client:New Line Cinema via Leroy and Rose Agency
Art Direction: Melchior Lamy
Project Date: March 2017

Back in the Spring I was asked to create a 3D Virtual Neon sign for the New Will Farrell film, The House. This is what I call a '3D-Assist', as the Posters and logo were already locked in by the client, and I was called in at Finish to help with a 3D version of the logo, as that is my expertise.

Most clients I have are limited in-house with 3D Designers and Artists, so they call me for these smaller jobs, which make up the bulk of my work.

For this one, I had to create all elements including all base vector splines, and as I have done dozens of 3D Neon signs, I have a procedure down to create them on time and on budget.

I was originally tasked with a clean version of the 3D Neon Sign, and a distressed alternate, with these delivered at a smaller size for approvals to save cost. A typical 3D Logo like this is first delivered at 1500 pixels wide to get approval for the larger final, which in this case were 5000 pixel wide final. I have rendered up to 18,000 pixels wide in the past.

When I build 3D Neon Signs now, I have some 'off the shelf' parts I have already made to reuse, like the glass clips and fasteners. I build the neon tubes themselves with two objects, an outer glass shell, that is not solid inside, but skinned with a shell command to get a thickness on the glass edges for proper reflection and refraction characteristics in the final render, as well as a second object, a glow object inside the glass at a smaller diameter representing the 'gas' inside the tube.

The final deliver is usually a multi-pass render with extra channels and masks to use, including a Z-Depth pass, and my Color-Picker layer to grab elements, include the glow inside the tube to add outer glows in post as needed by the Art Directors I deliver this too.

Neon is getting popular to use in Key Art, as I worked on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Despicable Me 3, and the Defenders all using 3D virtual Neon Signage, just in the last few months.

If you ever need a 3D-Assist, contact me for an estimate to make your logo into 3D Neon signage.

Cheers, THOM