Project Review: 3D Glass Logo Concepts for Key Art for the film Glass from M. Night Shyamalan in 2019

This 3D Logo I did for Key Art concepts for the film Glass, from M Night Shyamalan was my favorite one personally in the group.

 
 

 This Screen Grab shows the boolean objects I used to make the cracks. I designed the cracks based on a real bullet hole image I found and I hand drew and vectorized the file to make the cutter object.

 

This Screen Grab shows the Cebas: Final Render Rectangular Lights I used to accentuate the edges for legibility since glass materials can be tricky to light for Key Art use.

 

 This flat Clay shader in the screen grab shows base surface at the camera viewpoint. Surface in a 3D Model is what makes the lights and material work. Very important to have a nice model.

 

This 3/4 angle shows the thickness as well as where I hand moved some pieces out, and removed some entirely.

 

 

 

This Screen Grab for the Film Glass, shows everything in the cracks are radiating from the center hole in the letter "A".

 

 This last Screen Grab is a close up on the 3D Logo model letter A the start of the destruction to the logo.

 

 

 

 This 3D Rendered Logo used the same type as above, and shows a solid 3D file with a procedural texture of surface scratches. It's a much faster render with less face count, and a different look.

 

 

 

This last render on that same font above is a simple sharp beveled edge render. Clean.

 

 

 

This next design I also cut it using the shatter cutter I had in concept one above.

This render is a Center Bevel , or Single Point Bevel with both front and back bevels using a mirror modifier. This gives a lot of internal reflections rather that a plain flat extruded style.

 

  This same type face set for me I  also created a soft rounded edge design which is liquid like and  gets nice smooth highlights. To do this I built it out as a Quad model and add in Sub-D to soften and melt the edges. you get no sharp hard chisel reflections.

 

 This last type layout also need to get shattered. I loved doing these as you can see. The second film Split in the trilogy was my inspiration for bringing that look back as an echo to the prior film Poster use of shattered glass.

Project Review

3D Glass Logo Concepts for Key Art for the film Glass from M. Night Shyamalan in 2019

Client:  Universal Pictures via BOND
Project Date:  May 2018.
Direction: Patrick Dillon.

        This next posted project for Patrick Dillon @ BOND was to build out 3D Logos for the final film in his trilogy of films from Unbreakable, to Split, and finally Glass, from M. Night Shyamalan. It was a real treat for me, as M Night is one of my favorite directors, and I loved the two prior films of Unbreakable and Split, so I really wanted to do this freelance.

     I began doing glass logos and illustrations in 3D back in 2001 while at BLT Communications on the James Bond Die Another Day Film. I first did 3D Glass Logos for 007, then I built out his signature Walther PPK firearm as a full X-ray model with all interior parts. The theory at the time was to use it in a Motion Graphics piece. That never came to fruition at the time however.

      Coincidentally a visiting Director at the agency, Todd Phillips saw the piece I did, and I got to sit down with him and discuss using that glass look for his current project Starsky and Hutch in my office at the workstation to show the 3D X-ray model I built. He had a great concept with an 8-Track player in the car that would shift over to glass for a Title credits sequence. Though that did not finish either, it was a great talk with a really great director as well. An experience I will remember.

 

      For each of the Glass title concepts I was given type set up for me by various Art Directors and Designers on the project. They provide the vector outline file, then I am off to build. As a 3D Visualization Artist, I see many ways to take an outline and make it a solid and dimensional. Some are sharp edged, some rounder, and some are destroyed as you see in this post. One single file can have a multitude of dimensional solution, and the posted images above show this.

 

      Glass itself as a 3D material, is very difficult to get legibility to work as a Title Logo, as it is entirely dependent on the environment. It reads in both dark and light, but darker environments with strong highlights is better. Also studio lighting with liquid reflections from light boxes and wands works best in CGI as in a studio.

 

        I did concepts where the logo was shattered apart and made from glass, and not just a static design to me but 'a frame in time' that crossed from 3D Illustration into a 3D Logo. I have a Screen grab showing the cutting object that I made a hand drawn vector with a little gap and thickness since in 3D, CG glass likes that space so reflections and refraction don't take forever to render.

 

     As a Behind the Art aspect to this post, I dropped a slew of screen grabs showing the base mesh and surface details without lighting or textures in a flat Clay material in 3DSmax. If you look closely you can see once the object was cut via a boolean, I slightly moved and rotated the shards a bit to indicate the motion fame caught in time. It also give the render a more realistic feel as all face planes are not parallel.

      Need my help on a project? My Linkedin Profile button on the right column has all my contact details in there along with in my experience section here, with links back to samples on this blog. 

    That Google search widget window up top in the Blog page is helpful for finding work going back to 2009.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

                                 Cheers, THOM

Project Review: NOS4A2 AMC Series- 3D Illustration of 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith for Key Art 2019 - PART II

 

A Camera view straight on  the 1938 Rolls Royce Wraith built Skull Icon with all the bells and whistles. I added blood spatter and some aging along with dramatic lighting, which made this concept my favorite.

A Camera view straight on rendered out with out the blood spattering so it is clean so the client can rough it up the a level that they want too.

 A Lowered front Camera view that tipped the skull back so it was looking down at us. 3D illustration makes this a simple camera move and re-render, an economy of scale with tight budgets.

 

 

A 3/4 left Camera view shows some more depth in the build. Since multiple Art Directors are using these 3D Illustrations this gives them more options to pick from.

 

 

A 3/4 right side Camera view. I also used the Z-Depth pass to darken the lighting as the skull tipped back on the left to stage it better.

 

 

A elevated Camera view straight on looking down showing of the "chin" area below the radiator grill and those chrome strips on elevated sheet-metal gave a similar lighting like teeth sockets in the skull or the gums.

 

 

Another elevated Camera view tilled slightly, but I used a much shorter lens with the Cebas Final Render fish-eye camera instead.

 

 

A Camera view straight on in the Ambient/ Dirt shader render pass. I use this to add depth to the render by darkening geometry intersections. It also add a bit of roll to the lighting and material naturally found in real life.

A Camera view straight on screen grab in the Red Clay showing the Quad Subdivision Base Mesh

A Camera view straight on screen grab in the Red Clay showing the Subdivision set a 2.

Aclose front perspective view in the Red Clay showing more details in my build.

 

A 3/4 screen grab in the Red Clay shows the dimension as well as those fabulous horns taken from the classic car.

 

A 3/4 screen grab in the Red Clay showing that cool 'chin' just below the grill. it made great 'teeth' for the skull!

A 3/4 screen grab in the Red Clay close up shows the woven screen on the horns. I grabbed that from a microphone I built out in a prior project, and flattened it back out, as I saved it flat for this reason for later use.

 

A 3/4 screen grab in the Red Clay showing surface and dimension on the grill area

This screen grab shows the Hood ornament as a base mesh with out Sub-D added yet as the main character, Charlie Manx along with the Rolls Royce logo changed out to his initials to CM.

  A view-port material view screen grab shows that I did build out the interior inside the headlight buckets with bulb, reflector back that was properly fluted, and the bulb holders and internal filament too.

Project Review
NOS4A2 AMC Series

3D Illustration of 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith

for Key Art 2019
PART II

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

     I am now able to post more work that I did for Melchior at Leroy & Rose for some Key Art work for the AMC Series NOS4A2 [ a.k.a. Nosferatu ] I love working with L&R!

      This project was a really fun concept that I was given to take a classic 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith front end and use the parts to emulate a human skull with the headlights as the eyes. It also has an old county fair Ferris wheel that made the round top of the skull.Everything except the Ferris wheel were built out in Quads for subdivision surfaces. 

 

     I also posted some Behind the Art images with some wireframes and Clay shader screen grabs showing the base poly mesh and the subdivided smoothed one above. I love the 'Jewelry', or shiny bits and details found on classic cars, take a look at my Instragram and you will see that I take a lot of close up shots on classics, so this love of mine translates over to my 3D builds.

 
    This project really showcases the power of using 3D assets for this type of work. It could have been a "Frankenstein-Comp" using Photoshop to piece it together bit by bit, but when you do it in 3D you have the benefit of rendering it again with different camera angles, lighting, textures, and even a unique camera lens with a fish-eye exaggerated views as shown in my images above. So one base 3D model at different angles with a variety of textures was possible with a single 3D build, and then rendered over and over. The first comp is where the time is mostly billed at, with the extra shots at a much quicker pace when the model is ready.

 

     My Global Illumination render plug-in of choice is Cebas Software Final Render, as it include extra cameras to have full control of the level of distortion so you get a true curved lens output in 3D.I highly recommend this software as a plug in for 3DSmax or Maya.

   As a Transportation designer I love all things automotive, so from the 3D Logo License Plate to actually building out classic car parts to put together into a really fun concept of a skull was super cool, and a rare type of gig I get. Also as a huge Horror fan the concept was a privilege to do this work.

You can view PART-I here. The License Plate 3D Logo that made it to finish, and was also used on the new reprints of the novel Book Cover as well.

     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 ]. I have worked remote since 2009, so I am ready to go, but I would prefer an in-house team.

                                 Cheers, THOM

Project Review: 3D Concept Designs for Key Art- Maze Runner: The Death Cure 2018 PART I

 

This Design was the largest part of the project, as it was a full city shot with a rock cliff out front [ rendered separately]. The file was quite large, and a long render at 160Mb's.

This is the Z-Depth pass that is used as a mask for post effects. De-saturation, Fog, or Camera Blurring can be done in post which is much faster and gives the designers more control so re-renders are kept at a minimum.

This Screen Grab shows the massive lighting I had in the scene with the streetlights and inside the buildings to achieve the look. You will also notice the Cebas Final Render Rectangular lights I put on each billboard to get a nice glow on the environment as well.

This camera view Screen Grab is in a basic Clay shader to show off the models geometry.

This pulled back birds eye view Screen Grab is a Clay shader, that shows I only build what is seen. Also you will notice the details drop off as they get farther away from camera I learned that on my first job from the miniature artists doing practical effect for the Mazda MX-6 work here.

This  birds eye closer view Screen Grab shows the little cars and streetlamps down below.

This is the second view on the full city build I rendered out using Cebas Final Render.

 

 This Screen Grab is a Clay shader view for the second render in the city build. You will see it was cut down slightly for the final as they did not need the bottom area. I frequently over-render so the Art Director can slide it around, and this was done for that purpose.

A closer Screen Grab shows that the details were centered around the billboard and the buildings. To the Left in frame it was a much simpler build as it was darkened out quite a bit in the final, so no need to put more time into it. The nice part of 3D is it can be embellished later.

 

This last Screen Grab shows that I placed the two building very close at an angle to get just the right amount of detail for the still render.

The next concept was the Maze, a stylized render of the city as an actual maze. I used mid-rez 3D assets for this as it was a long shot render for the views asked for.

 

The Z-Depth Mask I provide if the client wants to use it.

 

Screen Grab is a Clay shader shows the models are relatively simple, but they are build not mapped for windows and details so I get better lighting controls with an actual 3D surface.

 

 An elevated view Screen Grab shows a little bit of a curb I built so I could match the maze design itself with the building plaement.

This lower angled Screen Grab shows some of the wall details and staircases and railings that were added in as it was a foreground object.

 This last render is a top down perspective render from camera of the maze. The most graphic piece in the project.

This Z-Depth was used in post for saturation effects.

This last Screen Grab shows the simpler build-out for this render. I built around 24 unique 3D Models used in the scene.

Project Review

3D Concept Designs for Key Art- Maze Runner: The Death Cure 2018

PART I

Client:  20th Century FOX via BOND
Project Date:  August 2017.
Direction: Patrick Dillon.

        I was hired for a project in August 2017 by Patrick Dillon from BOND to build out some concept pieces for the Maze Runner series of films, and this work today was for Maze Runner:Death Cure that was released the following year in 2018.

 

        In PART I for the 3D Conceptual Design work I did for Entertainment Advertising is for the Posters, the Key Art pieces. 3D Illustration is about half of my work, with the other half being 3D Logos.

 

     There were two basic concepts I was tasked to focus on for my work; one was close in the city itself with giant electronic digital billboards that would have "Wanted" posters on them for the main characters who are on the run. The second concept was to build out a circular maze of the city for a more graphic approach. 

 

      For each concepts I did a number of renders at different angles. This is is the biggest advantage to using 3D Illustrations, as you have the ability to build it once, and render it multiple times.

      As a traditionally trained 2D Artist / Designer, I have had to re-draw designs for multiple angles. In fact in my first Automotive Design Classes at both College for Creative Studies and at Art Center College of Design, this was the first assignment we were given in Transportation Design 1, by both Bill Robinson at CCS, and Harry Bradly at ACCD to see if we understood and thought in a dimensional manner.

 

     As a Behind the Art aspect to this post, I again threw in screen grabs showing the base mesh and surface details without lighting or textures in a flat Clay material in 3DSmax. 3D Models are the first step in any good 3D illustration and built out details always are there to catch lighting. 

    I also can send the preliminary images out to the agency before the time consuming Lighting, Texturing, and Rendering step. This assured us that I am on the right track before investing a lot of time into a piece that is high concept.

     I work project to project currently, be it a half day to weeks or longer.  My Linkedin Profile button on the right column has all my contact details in there along with in my experience section here, with links back to samples on my blog. 

    That Google search widget window up top in the Blog page itself is helpful for finding work going back to 2009 with over 6300+ posted images and growing here.

Thanks for stopping by.

 

                                 Cheers, THOM

The Kingsman: The Secret Service 2013- Firearm Logos and King's Crowns PART II

 

 

My first crown design alternated the firearms to create visual gaps to match an actual crown that would typically have points.

 

 

 

 

This Clay Shader Screen Grab showing the wire-frames of this file I built from a higher angle.

 

 

   

This Second crown design spaced out the firearms to create visual gaps and had a band-ring made up of a variety of ammunition that I had from prior projects as well. I also sell the models for those online for $35.oo at TurboSquid Stock Models.

This is a Clay shader Screen grab showing the wire-frames for this second design I built out in 3DSmax at a slightly elevated angle.

This second Screen Grab of that design is a close up on the model details as you can see that the hand-grip was modeled, and not mapped. The 3D Bullets are all Sub-D built.

 

This Third crown design spaced out the firearms in a circular array with the objects rotated to interlock and space them out.

 

 

This Third Design Screen Grab is closer on the model at an elevated angles showing the full 360 nature of the model. I frequently build the files like this as I am asked to proved them to Motion Graphics artists for MGFX Trailer work.

 

This Fourth crown design snugs the object much closer with less gap between them.

 

 

 

 

Moving forward I am reviewing the 3D logos built into a firearm for a Secret Service Agent. This is a sheet of preliminary designs I rendered out at a smaller resolution to get feedback without breaking the budget prior to more direction.

 

 

 

 

Another Clay shader Screen grab showing the wire-frames from the preliminary design work at a 3/4 lower angle.

 

 

 

 

 Clay shader Screen grab closer to the Camera View showing the wire-frames. I love the multiple stacked Kingsmen on the grip texture it emulates.

 

 

 

Clay shader Screen grab with the wrapped text on the silencer at a low angle showing the depth the text is going into the main model to get those deep shadows as the file is extruded more.

Clay shader Screen grab closer to the Camera View wrapped on the frame and silencer here.

 

A much simpler design with different versions of fonts to render on the same file.

A bit bolder and brighter with the font on this one for better legibility in this larger render

 

 

 

A low 3/4 angled view of the above design showing off the dimensions a bit more.

 

 

 

 

Large Text over the frame of the firearm covers it almost entirely.

 

 

 

 

The final design I curved the text on the silencer to conform to the cylinder shape. You just cant beat a curved surface to get the best value contract in the lighting.

 

Project Review

The Kingsman: The Secret Service 2013- Firearm Logos and King's Crowns

PART II

Client:  20th Century Studios via BOND
Project Date:  June 2013.
Direction: Patrick Dillon.

      This is my second post for the work I did for Patrick Dillon at BOND, and today I am going to review my firearm based logo's and King's crowns I was directed to create for the franchise, The Kingsman: The Secret Service. 

 
       I was provided ample direction and vector files for the typeface work so I could begin the project. As a concept artist I can start from nothing or from just a little, to full direction, it's up to the client.

      I have been building firearms going back to the Glass Walther PPK I did for the James Bond franchise going back to my time at BLT Communications when I began in Key Art in 2001. I have more than a few 3D Models of Firearms and weapons that I have built, and for this project I used many assets including the Dessert Eagle and a Beretta I made. These were built with BREP objects that are NURBS from nPower Software based builds, so not a Sub-D build in Quads.

     This work did not make it to finish for the final Key Art, but I continue in my craft for each assignment I get the privilege of working on.To visualize in 3D is a challenge in composition and lighting and I love what I do, do it is a win for me.

     I will be posting more Key Art 3D Illustration and 3D Logos I did for this The Kingsman: The Secret Service for BOND in future blog posts here.

-Here is a link to PART I: covering 3D badges and Emblems I did.

     I am back to full time freelancing as I await the US Job market to pick back up, so big or small I would love to assist you in any 3D visualization work for your projects. My Linked in Profile button on the right column has all my contact details in there along with in my experience section.

 

                                 Cheers, THOM