Project Review: 3D Corporate Logo Design: Ruby Construction 2009.

 I started with the Icon in the corner of the Logo with the ball above it. when I see a circle in 2D as a 3D Artist first place I go is will a cylinder or sphere work better, so I did try both. 

A Color-Picker is what makes a Smart-3D image so easy to mask and manipulate for the vendors and finishers.

 For the final I removed the scaffolding in front of the icon.

 A front on shot of the full type and simple icon[ with a sphere for the 'dot']

 A 3/4 overhead shot for web banners etc.

 A front tilted down low angle version too. 3D allows all alternates to be generated very quickly with sometimes just a camera change as seen here.

 Here is a nice 3/4 up angle which was my fave'

Project Review

3D Corporate Logo Design

Ruby Construction 2009.

Client: Ruby Construction via Cindy Ruby.
Art Direction: Cindy Ruby.
Project Date: Winter 2009.

I had worked with Cindy Ruby while in-house at the Cimarron Group doing Theatrical Advertising, and she contacted me after she left to help design out a nice 3D logo for a familys business with a 3D logo.

My typical clients are Theatrical in nature, though a good 25% of my work is in the corporate world, and not just a larger businesses like, Norm's Restaurant,  Countrywide or Lotus North America, but smaller one with a dozen employees or so as well, so I was ready to go.

I can typically get a logo like this done in a half a day, to just one day and the cost is reasonable for a smaller firm, if they can give me the room to design within the budget as I had here.

For Ruby Construction, I did a few large Icons with the scaffolding on them as well as a full 3D type treatment for the firm in a few angles for various usage. This was a half day project delivered. I finished up with the full type rendered out at various angles and perspectives for differing applications. A fun fast little corporate 3D logo project done in about 4-5 Hrs.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: Pathfinder[ 2007] Motion Graphics Main Title.

 Frame one of the Pathfinder Motion Graphics Title with a bit of blur that whip-pans out in 8 frames with a drift.

 The Pathfinder Logo seated fast in 8 frames[ typical].

 A slow drift around as the camera drops slowly down in frame.

 The final seated frame of the piece.

 I used a Boolean on the main object and all blood was subdivision[ off here]

 The final subdivided scene.

A shot of the whole sword I made in case with our sweep over around it we'd see more, so I built more.

Project Review

Pathfinder[ 2007]

Motion Graphics Titles.

Client: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation via The Cimarron Group.
Creative Direction: Greg Taylor.
Project Date: December 2006

I was asked to create a 3D Animated Motion Graphics Title treatment for the advertising for the film Pathfinder[ 2007] in the winter of 2006 for the Motion Graphics team at The Cimarron Group.

I was given the shots from the film and had to recreate an iconic sword used in the film that they wanted to have the title float over.

I built out the 3D Model, lit and textured it with some damage and cuts to the object, as well as getting to use some sub-surface scattering materials with the drops of blood on the blade.

I rendered out the 100 frame move in HD, and delivered it to the Dept. for the finals, a fun and quick one day project which is typical in how I work with exisiting Motion Graphics teams in that I deliver the RAW 3D renders, ready for them to composite into the After Effects project file one I am done.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: The Simpsons Movie (2007): TV Spot 3D Motion Graphics: Space

 The opening frame from The Simpsons Movie (2007) for a TV Spot where I created a 15 second 3D move thru space.

 70 frames in we are approaching Saturn as it sweeps camera right to left.

 Closer to Saturn in this 3D Animation frame.

 We get a nice crescent edge lighting on Jupiter.

 The big planet fills the frame.

 As we sweep by Jupiter, we now see Mars, Earth, and the moon awaiting our journey.

 We fly a bit over the top of Mars as it drifts downward in the animation.

 

 The moon reveals the Blue Marble next our destination.

  

 Home!

   

 As we close in on Earth, we see the small Satellite arc over the horizon.

 A bit close, can almost read it...

 DOUGH!

Here is the last frame in the animation after the satellite has bounced off camera.

Project Review

The Simpsons Movie (2007)

TV Spot 3D Motion Graphics: Space

Client:20th Century FOX Film Corporation via The Cimarron Group.
Art Director: Myself.
Project Date: July 2007

Back in 07' I was in-house at The Cimarron Group regularly providing 3D Motion Graphics frames to the division for various TV and Theatrical spots, and I was asked to help out on a large 15 second move for a TV spot for the new Simpsons Movie, so today I am covering this space misdirect.

In advertising they will often ask for a misdirect campaign ad where the ad has nothing to do with the film until a reveal at the end, and in this case they wanted a move thru space ending with the satellite bouncing off camera revealing a Springfield logo on it and we'd slam the Simpsons logo all over the frame to end it.

I had an earth made and ready to go, along with a 3D starfield from FANBOYS here, so I combined all the assets and built high resolution maps for the other planets and mocked up a simple Satellite and set this up.

Final renders were rendered for the spot overnight at the time, and I delivered the piece and it was aired back on TV in 07'.

A fun project and subject matter.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: Herbie Fully Loaded PART V- Motion Graphics Herbie in Glass [X-Ray] 2005

The same animation move is seen in my reel, here is frame one rendered out in a glass material.

As we pass by we can see into the bonnet and the floor pan area.

A full interior was built out as well as some "Lip Doors" from a 54' were snuck in as I am a VW owner and love the 54'.

 The side shot at the door.

 The final frame in this Motion Graphics piece.

Here is a frame with the virtual 3D Herbie fully rendered out.

Project Review

Herbie Fully Loaded PART V

Motion Graphics Herbie in Glass [X-Ray] 2005

Client: The Walt Disney Pictures via The Cimarron Group.
Art Direction: myself.
Project Date Winter 2005

In this, my fifth posting on the work I did for the newer[ now old!] Herbie film starring Lindsey Lohan and Justin Long, today I've posted a look at a Motion Graphics [ MGFX] render pass that I planned to do in glass of that famous 1963 VW.

If you check out my reel on the link to the right you will see a transition we did for the Herbie from fully rendered to an X-ray type of material. Originally we planned to go glass so the team I worked with was familiar with the X-Ray PPK I did at BLT prior and wanted to see that look in motion.

 However back in 2005 when I built this motion graphic piece the render times were not forgiving so it was deemed too long a render for the production. What is nice is I opened the scene in 3D Studio Max 2013, hit render and they went very fast as the software and hardware has advanced quite a bit in the last 8 years so I was done to 8 minutes a frame in glass at 3/4 HR rez.

X-Ray modeling is done when you know up front that you will see thru the objects so you build out everything internal and two sided, and for Herbie we had all sorts of plans to fly thru the tailpipe inside the engine and around the interior and speedometer.

I included the painted render pass as well as a reference for the transition.

My First four other posts on the VW build itself, are here, along with this and this,  and this.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: Southern California Honda Dealers: 3D Motion Graphics-2006

 The "Hero" Logo rendered out in the final seated position. This was combined in post with the background animation.

 The base polygon model as built by me for the job of the Honda logo "hood crest".

 For the background renders we did it with one subdivision level on....

 We did find that with 2 levels of subdivision on the crest the reflection were much smoother so we upped the resolution which doubled the render time as can be demonstrated below.

 An early frame where the particle engine has generated over 200 crests flying from behind camera in a space filed of dark blue[ Honda Blue]

 This frame shows the large 'flare' or random highlights you get with a gravity based particle system, since it is random in how it throws the crests out into space,you can get surprising results.

 The background itself had an animated noise added to it, to produce the caustic 'waves' in the fog itself, and that was modulated so we had movement with the crests, lights, and in the fog itself.

 The wave had ended and they are all now drifting back. This is where we overlaid the "Hero" crest as the space cleared up to showcase it.

 Here is the final frame of the Motion Graphics sequence Animation

Project Review

Southern California Honda Dealers

3D Motion Graphics-2006

Client: Southern California Honda Dealers via The Cimarron Group.
Art Director: Myself.
Project Date: August 2006.

After successfully getting an account with Lotus North America for the US Launch of the new Elise back in 2004, we then pursued the California Honda Dealers Association to provide advertising for them, so we did a pitch package that included some virtual cars, as well as 3D Motion Graphic as we will look at today.

I first built out a 3D model of the Honda logo for the spots, that was built as an all subdivision surface, so we could do very high resolution renders of the piece for close ups and print work. I also used this same model for the particle system base object that I set up for the creation of the Motion Graphics background for the various cards we did for the presentation.

The piece was a simple background of multiple Honda hood crest logos floating is space with a volumetric light effect to have streams of light playing on the surfaces. I rendered it out in a two pass format with a full render and a specular render so we could isolate the highlight to add post effects in Motion Graphic. I also did a Hero shot render of the final framed logo at rest as well.

I also rendered various Honda Car Models in 3D as both photo-real 3D renders, as well as a stylized cartoon shaded looks, to show the capabilities of the 3D virtual automotive solutions we were offering along with the MGFX.

I will have future posts covering those looks as well. I did eventually move ahead to work on the 2009 Accord pitch, and that can bee seen here.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review Monsters vs. Aliens. 3D Logo Designs 2008 Part IV.-MVA Buttons

Fur and Scales were the representation of the two genres for this MVA 3D Logo from the pitch we did for Monsters vs' Aliens back in 2008.

A double plate with colorful textures with this sharper designed MVA Logo.

A MVA button design with glass metal and bright lighting FX.

A darker version with all opaque materials for this ALT of the above design.

A brushed metal look on the front of a colorful background "M". WE put the 'vs' inside a glass ball in the "A".

An all metal look here for the MVA button from above.

Project Review
Monsters vs. Aliens.
3D Logo Designs 2008 Part IV.
MVA Buttons

Clients Dreamworks via The Cimarron Group.  
Art Directors(s): Chris A. Hawkins.,Calvin Sumler, and Joseph Stamper.  
Project Date: Fall 2007.

This is PART IV covering my 3D Design work I did for the Theatrical Advertising done on Dreamworks 3D animated feature, Monsters vs. Aliens from back in the Late Fall of 2008, and Winter of 2009 while I was the in-house 3D Design Director at The Cimarron Group, and today I have button designs from the 3D Logo portion.

We referred to the film as MVA[ short for Monsters versus Aliens], and the client asked for some buttons and 3D Logos with just the initials, and not the full title as well as what we already delivered, so I was provided with vector Illustrator files from the Print Division and some base direction and off I went.

I played around with the various looks for the buttons similar to what I have posted for the main titles from the glossy typically bright toon styled ones, to a more sinister and darker look as well.

You can view my prior posts for the film as follows:

You can view the MGFX city I built in just over a day for the trailers in PART I here,
You can view the full 3D logos here for PART II.
You can view Part III with more 3D Logos here.

You can also see the final 3D Animation of the Title at the front of my MGFX reel work in the right column link.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: Behind the Candelabra[Liberace] 2008- PART I The X-Ray Piano.

 The main "Hero" render was done in traditional black and all glass crystal.

 A Liberace Baldwin done in all crystal.

 Here is an exploded view showcasing all the basic parts and wireframe.

 A similar parts view render of the Grand Baldwin Piano I made in 3DSmax in basic materials.

 A Birds Eye overhead view of the piano.

 A Behind the player view of the Ivory.

 I did a few graphic orthographic renders for some comps as well, this was with the lid open exposing the full build-out if the strings and frame inside.

 A close up down the keys on this Virtual Grand Baldwin.

 A close up of the construction details with pads, wires retainers, and key mechanicals. FUN stuff!

 An exploded close up showing the wires off the posts fully wrapped around with the felt supports below.

 Another angle on the piano for a comp for Behind the Candelabra.

Project Review

Behind the Candelabra[Liberace] 2008

PART I The X-Ray Piano.

Client: HBO Films via The Cimarron Group.
Art Director: Joseph Stamper.
Project Date: November 2008.

Back in the late Fall of 2008 the Theatrical Print Division @ Cimarron wanted to do a pitch for the new Liberace Film being considered, "Behind the Candelabra", and what I was asked to build out besides the 3D Logos, was to construct a fully detailed model of the Grand Baldwin Piano used by Liberace. They also wanted to do some versions in crystal[ glass] and a regular black on black look, but they wanted it to show all the parts inside, so that meant a full X-Ray model build out, not just a shell model.

An X-Ray model is one which you build out all internal parts anticipating the fact that they will be seen, and being this is a crystal piano we'd see all the internals. I did this in the past here, and here, and since they had seen my PPK I did for Bond they wanted to do the same for this with my 3D Illustrations.

I referenced the Baldwins Liberace played and I began to create the parts inside bit by bit. As a trained Industrial Designer over half of what I do is a form of reverse engineering as I must create the parts to look relativly functional, so I must have some understanding of how the part functions so I study cut away diagrams, and How it is made books. It heped that I have a vintage upright at home so I could lift the lid and take a look up close here as well.

What you see are the various 3D Renders I provided for the comp presentations with the Baldwin.

I will be posting the 3D logos in a future post.

Cheers, THOM