Project Review: Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I

 

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- The final 6K color render used for the Key Art Teaser poster.

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A dark version done in Crystal edge lit.

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A daylight crystal version up in the sky.

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A Screen Grab showing the basic materials as well as the wireframe Iso-line geometry.

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A clay Shader Screen Grab from the Camera viewport showing the poly Sub-D subdivided 3D model I built for the final rendering for the Teaser Posters.

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A clay Shader Screen Grab from the Camera viewport showing the polygon Base Mesh 3D model I built for the test animation rendering.

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A clay Shader Screen Grab from a low angle 3/4 view showing the poly Sub-D subdivided 3D model I built.

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I-A clay Shader Screen Grab from a low angle 3/4 view showing the polygon Base Mesh 3D model I built.

 

 Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I-A clay Shader Screen Grab from a high angle showing the bend modifier I applied to the shield to curve it back on the sides as if it were on Superman's chest.

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- One of the early 3D renders of the rooftop to the Daily Planet Building.

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A Ambient Occlusion / Dirt 3D Render pass to add in aging and details to the geometry for the final renders.

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A 3D Z-Depth Render pass allows for 256 levels of grey as a mask for depth effects on the still renders for precise post effects.

 

 

 

 

 Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A closer angle on the Art Deco eagles that surrounded the Daily Plant Globe on the top of the building.

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- An Ambient Occlusion / Dirt 3D Render pass to add in aging and details to the geometry for the final renders.

 

 

 

 Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I-A 3D Z-Depth Render pass allows for 256 levels of grey as a mask for depth effects on the still renders for precise post effects.

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A Screen Grab showing the basic materials as well as the wireframe shaded view in Camera.

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A Clay Shader shows the 3D Geometry builds form without textures or colors. This is the Camera viewport angle of the shot.

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- Clay Shader view of the top of the building Deco design.

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A clay shader on the top deck roof of the Daily Planet building I made for the Key Art.

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A clay Shader close up on the Art Deco Eagles that surround the Daily Planet Globe. This was a subdivision Quad Modeling job and this is the High-rez Sub-D asset.

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A clay Shader close up on the Art Deco Eagles that surround the Daily Planet Globe. This was a subdivision Quad base Low-rez Sub-D asset.

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A clay Shader view of the Model I made Close up on the Daily Planet Globe with the Deco text that would spin on top of the building.
 

 

 

 

 Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- Clay Shader screen grab pulled back on the full globe asset for the Daily Planet.

 

 Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A proof sheet of the top of the Daily Planet 3D full color renders I provided the Key Art team to build out comp ideas from. A 3D asset is built once and can be very cost effective to render out at multiple views using various lenses.

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A full 7K render for the third party tie-in artwork needed for Consumer Packaged Goods "CPG", as well as to store displays as seen in a press photo below.

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- Though Bright Blue sky day renders were asked for I also did a nice moody night city view.

 

 

 

 Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- An Ambient Occlusion / Dirt 3D Render pass to add in aging and details to the geometry for the final renders.

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I-A 3D Z-Depth Render pass allows for 256 levels of grey as a mask for depth effects on the still renders for precise post effects.

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- Screen Grab in a Clay Shader from the Camera View of the wide shot of the city with the Daily Planet.

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- Another Screen Grab in a Clay Shader of the wide shot of the city with the Daily Planet.

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- Up angle on the Daily Planet Screen Grab in a Clay Shader of the wide shot of the city with the Daily Planet.

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- Screen Grab in a Clay Shader of the wide shot of the city with an eagle spirre Sub-D taken from a Crest I built prior.

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I-Screen Grab in a Clay Shader of a stepped round Art Deco building from the concept sketch.

  

 

 Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I-Screen Grab in a Clay Shader of long shot on the Daily Planet.

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- Screen Grab in a Clay Shader of the full city layout with the buildings spaced out for the camera view composition.

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- The Crystal spaceship the Superman comes to earth in. a full 3D render I did for Key Art Comp Ideas.

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- Ambient Occlusion / Dirt 3D Render pass to add in aging and details to the geometry for the final renders.

 

 Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- The 3D Z-Depth Render pass allows for 256 levels of grey as a mask for depth effects on the still renders for precise post effects.

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I-A Screen Grab showing the basic materials as well as the wireframe shaded view in Camera.

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- Screen Grab in a Clay Shader of long Crystal Spaceship. This is the Camera viewport.

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- Close Up Screen Grab in a Clay Shader on the Crystal Spaceship.
 

 

 Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- Another Close Up Screen Grab in a Clay Shader of the Crystal Spaceship.

 

 

 Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I-Screen Grab in a Clay Shader of long on the Crystal Spaceship.

 

 
Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- The finished final Tease Poster utilizing my 3D Superman Shield.

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A Blue Ray DVD Key Art poster for Home Entertainment Marketing.

 

 

 

Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- Another Blue Ray DVD Key Art poster for Home Entertainment Marketing. You will se a variety of these Metropolis 3D renders  used on Cable for the Movie on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc still.

 

 Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I- A Press Event in Beverly Hills with Brandon Routh (Superman), and Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane) pictured here with my City render in the store display window at the event.

 

Project Review: Superman Returns 2006- Key Art and 3D Illustrations PART I

 

Client:  DC and Warner Brothers via The Cimarron Group
Creative Direction: Calvin Sumler and Joseph Stamper Jr.
Project Date:  June 2005.

     In the Summer  of 2005, I was in house at The Cimarron Group as the 3D Design Director and I got another dream project working on Superman Returns a film by Bryan Singer rebooting off the original films from the 80's from Richard Donner. I grew up watching those films, some of the first superhero  films that set the stage for an explosion of films in the 2000's. This work was done just over 2o years ago now, but seems like yesterday.

 

     This work was very early in the production process before any principal photography was done, so we had very little to go off of. I started with the main Icon, the Superman Shield. There was a really small 3D image done by another vendor, but the Director was not going to use it. A number of Agencies were on the project including my old agency BLT Communications. There was a lot of competition for this as the film was getting a lot of attention, and the Icon was the first image they wanted for a Comic Con debut surprise by Bryan Singer.

     I started with the main Icon. I made it as a subdivision model so It would have perfect surfaces. The first pass from the other vendor was a NURBS based model with some sharp edge issues and the reflections made it look very CGI. As a Transportation Design graduate, this was an advanced surface design with curved surfaces blending into flat ones with a little crown on each to control the reflections better as they laid out on the "S". I also added a slight curve to the build as the Icon laid out on Superman's barrel chest so it had about 7 degrees of curve that is seen in the Clay Shadier above.

     Once the Icon Debuted Bryan Singer was so happy with the design he awarded our team the whole project. A very rare occurrence, so I continued to build out much more.

     Next I built out the Art Deco inspired Daily Planet with a high poly rooftop as well as the full building to the main entrance. I also had to build out a full wide Metropolis skyline from a single concept art illustration as no CGI was done at the time we were working on it. I love building out hard surface models especially architecture, and Art Deco is a favorite style of mine so this was really fun work. 

    Finally, I had to design out the Crystal ship he arrived on earth in, and for this I only had a concept Art sketch to work from. I had a production shot of the land built out of hexagonal crystal designs, so I built out the space ship using this design piece and blocked it out with the starburst center and long tail all crystal material ship with an internal light source glowing with warmth inside.

    All in all I spent well over a year on this project doing a variety of Metropolis city shots, Spaceship angles, and a lot of rooftop views. I also did extruded 3D text titles along with animations for online mobile and web. This is the only project where my 3D work went in the film itself, The 3D Shield model was used in the film itself as Imaginary Forces asked us for the files to animate it for the Film title opening. I remember making a DVD -ROM cover for it for the deliver and got it sent over at Warner Brothers approval and shared request. This too was very rare as agency's usually do not share 3D assets. WB was very glad we did, and we ended up doing a lot of WB work while I was there.

     I am still currently doing freelance as I still 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 of course a Full Time opportunity [ Open to relocation ] would be best. I have worked remote since 2009, so I am ready and experienced to help you.

                                 Cheers, THOM

Project Review: The Nutcracker and the Four Realms: Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments December 2016

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- First Title was a nice ornate Old German Font made with glass with a very thin internal filament like a vintage light bulb. Neon was too contemporary for the design but this is a tribute to that look.

 

 

 

 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- A Clay Shader Screen grab highlighting the geometry. This is the camera viewport with the main extruded type with a micro bevel.

 

 

 

 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- A Material Shader Screen grab shows the internal modeled filament inside the box extrusion font.

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- A Material Shader Screen grab front view shows the internal modeled filament inside the box extrusion font.

 

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- I loved this design as I got to add in blowing snow dust around the font. A translucent ice material for the type with whimsical snow dancing around the title.

 

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- An extra render pass as a Z-Depth mask to give the Creative team distance based masking with my delivery.

 

 

 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- The Screen Grab viewport shaded from Camera shows the individual lights I used to light the Key Art. If you look closely you can see the snow particles I placed around this title.

 

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- A Clay Shader Screen grab highlighting the geometry. A Camera viewport.

 

 

 

 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- A Clay Shader Screen grab highlighting the geometry. Here you can see the tiny snow flying around the font from the Bird's Eye view.

 

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- A standard Gold Single Point Center Bevel is always wanted for most fancy font styles like this. Here I did a negative bevel that bend inward with a thin sharp knife edge center profile.

 

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- A Clay Shader Screen grab highlighting the geometry. The Sub-D divided final mesh with enough divisions added to smooth out those longer curves.

 

 

 

 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- A Clay Shader Screen grab highlighting the geometry. The base mesh I hand built for the title without subdivision added. This file is lean for animation work in MGFX.

 

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments-An extra render pass as a Z-Depth mask to give the team distance based masking masks ready to go.

 

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- A Clay Shader Screen grab highlighting the geometry. At this more extreme angle you can see the thin bevel edge well in low poly base form.

 

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- A Clay Shader Screen grab highlighting the geometry. The High Poly count file ready for renders.

  

 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- A Clay Shader Screen grab highlighting the geometry. Looking down the depth of the font is clearly visible. Enough extruded surface for camera moves thru the file. Low Poly seen here.

 

 

 

 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- A Clay Shader Screen grab highlighting the geometry. High Ploy mesh smoothed geometry.

 

 

 

 

 

 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- I liked the font as it had nice "thorns' so to speak sticking out from the horizontal sections ans the ornate swirls as well. This was a clean metal version.

 

 

 

 

 

 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments-An extra render pass as an Ambient Occlusion/ Dirt render pass to add realist lighting as well as aging in the intersections in the geometry. You can see the dirt collects in the tighter curved areas.

 

 

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- A rougher metal texture with procedural pitting as well as some mapped distress and cracks. This has a reflection with some  warmth in the cold metal. I added wrapped vines around sections of the title in this alternate design using that last design as a base model.

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments-An extra render pass as an Ambient Occlusion/ Dirt render pass to add realist lighting as well as aging in the intersections in the geometry.

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- This version went warm in colors with a Gold and Black texture set, and it was reminiscent of a Postcard look with a extrusion to the side.

 

 

 

 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments-An extra render pass as a Z-Depth mask.

 

 

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- An extra render pass as an Ambient Occlusion/ Dirt render pass to add realist lighting as well as aging in the intersections in the geometry.

 

 

 

 

 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- For this design I also used a distressed metal and the font was wavy and bumpy with a melted metal feel to it. Hand built not machined in appearance was the goal.

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- Here I applied an Ice texture to the above file as an alternate design. Nutcracker is a Holiday Winter film so there were a few with the cold materials in the design.

 

 

 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments-An extra render pass as a Z-Depth mask to give the Creative team distance based masking.

 

 

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- An extra render pass as an Ambient Occlusion/ Dirt render pass to add realist lighting as well as aging.

 

 

 

 

 The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- This crest design was the larges render of the bunch with hand built swans and crest elements based on scrap reference given to me from the team. Hand built scales and the parts were all very fun to work on.

 

 

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments- An extra render pass as an Ambient Occlusion/ Dirt render pass to add realist lighting as well as aging in the intersections in the geometry. The center crest in the middle was built as separate objects that I boolean the parts into one object to give it a cast metal look with rounded edges more appropriate for the time period.

 

 

 

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments-The extra render pass as a Z-Depth mask to give the Creative team distance based masking.

 

Project Review

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms

Key Art Proof of Concept Title Treatments

 December 2016 

 

Client:  Walt Disney Pictures via Cold Open
Creative Direction: Gardner DeFranceaux
Project Date:  December 2016.

     Back in the Winter of 2016 I was hired for the Disney Holiday Film The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. This project was very early in production as the film was released 2 years later in 2018. I worked on the Key Art 3D Logos for a few weeks developing a variety of title treatments. These were proof of concept, so they did not make it to the end and finish.

     I love doing freelance for the Cold Open agency, and as usual I get really fun 3D Logo concepts from the team there, and this production was no different. I do many 3D Logos, and I definitely enjoy fancy ones. I worked with a team and was provided about 10-12 vector files to build out in 3D as dimensional.

 

     I was given a lot of room on this gig to created a few distinct looks. This is the stage in the design whey we can explore concepts to get a feel for what the director of the film wants to see to represent the work. 

 

     I did a wide variety with extruded logos, beveled logos, ones with vines growing around them, some light up vintage Victorian bulb filament styles as well. A range of finished metals, and even one with snow flying around the icy frozen wonderland text. A really fun project!

 

    This is a larger than normal post as I took a larger number of screen grabs in a flat Clay Shader to show the sculpture forms I made for the ornate title treatments. A Behind the Art post is for those wanting to see the actual geometry in a build, focusing on on the font builds with base mesh builds and polygon subdivision mesh smoothed finals. A Disney feature film title usually is animated, so using 3D with a lot of surface and details work well for any Motion Graphics [ MGFX ] use.

     Many thanks go out to Gardner there at Cold Open for bringing me on for these project based roles. Please do take a trip over to the site at the link to see the impressive work they do! 

     I am currently 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 of course a Full Time opportunity [ Open to relocation ] would be best. I have worked remote since 2009, so I am ready.

                                 Cheers, THOM