Project Review: 3D Logo exploration for: X-Men Days of Future Past 2013- PART I

For round one exploration on X-Men:Days of Future Part, I did a big X as seen in the prior film finishes I worked on, and did a giant bevel look to move away from the smaller bevels found in the early work. A Brushed steel with some cool reflection tones to match the earlier versions was added to tie this new look over. This was a teaser image.

 Here I opened up the 3D Lighting more and warmed up the reflections and ambient. I also rendered with the background plate accepting big 3D shadows for this round to make it stand off more.

 A real 3D cyclorama with some distressed metal texturing was added as I pulled way back from the X for a longer shot.

 The client set-up the type block and wanted the same super bevel added to the title so it was a large hexagonal like block of type. a fun alternate look IMO.

 For the alt we moved away from metal textures and did a white on white in low light looks with minimal textures and bright blown out high-lights, to add a dream like feel to it.

 I also was asked to do a simple 'X' like I did for X-Men 3 only in a portrait proportion vs. landscape.

 

 The distressed version of the X was to be a pitch for a Living One Sheet where it flickered between the clean and busted up one. Sparking effects were to be added in the final animation if it went to finish.

 A 3/4 shot of the clean X as an alt. Render with alpha to putt the logo off the backdrop is a typical request and standard with my 3D deliveries if needed.

 

 Here is the distressed one at 3/4 showcasing the full twisting and bending each leg in the 'X' under went, not fully seen in the direct front shot.

Project Review

3D Logo exploration for: X-Men Days of Future Past 2013

PART I

Client: Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation via Gravillis Inc.
Project Date May 2013.

Back in May of 2013 I was happy to work on the next installment of the X-Men franchise with another in the Prequel lineup called, X-Men Days of Future Past. I worked on most of the prior X-Men films, from X-Men 2, X-Men 3, and X-Men 4:First Class, and I ended up and finished the X-Men 2 logo as well as the X-Men 3 ones in the past, so I am very familiar with both the franchise itself, as well as the marketing for the prior films. 

I am also a super-fan of the films as well, so this was FUN STUFF!

I also finished the final logo for X-Men 5 thru another client We Are Bond in 2014, and here is a link to that finished image found in the trailer a seen here below:

                                 Screen Cap from the Motion Graphics for the Trailer here.

In this PART I posting today, I am covering the first exercise in doing a big "X" and some type. They supplied me with the vector files approved for 3D layout, which is the typical way most clients work with me, though I do lay out type myself, for about 25% of my 3D logo work, most is pre-set from the client end to begin with.

Since this was a time travel genre, I was asked to do before and after concepts and they wanted one Big "X" version to have in clean and dented. I did a few conceptual images based in this direction throughout the project.

I will have another PART II posting for this X-Men work I did in the future, so please enjoy the post.

                                               Cheers,   THOM

Project Review: Babylon AD[2008]-3D Title Cards for Motion Graphics.

 The main 3D Title Card I built in 3D and rendered out for use in the TV spots for Babylon A.D.

The Vin Diesel 3D Card I made for Babylon AD.

The Michelle Yeoh 3D Card

The Script called out for a few cards, 12,000 miles.

 I added glow to the edge lighting and used box lights to keep the faces dark, and have a long reflective box for the shiny bevels to light on up.

A low cool bottom light was added to attenuate over the face just a bit. This was set up to animate from Pitch Black[ <-get br="" it="">

 A light volumetric effect was added behind the type in post as shown here.

I did three date cards, one for six days out as shown here.

 The second was a generic Season card for spring.

 The final Date Card was a Theatrical release date card.

Project Review

Babylon AD[2008]

3D Title Cards for Motion Graphics.

Client: 20th Century Fox Film Corporation via. The Cimarron Group.
Art Direction: Myself.
Project Date: September 2007.

Today I have posted up a full set of internal graphic cards used for some TV spots for the film , Babylon AD, from back in 2007 to review.

I was asked by the MGFX Dept. at Cimarron to render out these 3D cards for them to animate in After Effects for the TV spots we were doing for the film. As usual I was given the type already laid out for me, and proceeded to build out and render the 3D cards.

Usually high contrast and strong legibility was the order of the day, and in fact the first pass I did was with that look. However, in a nice turn of events, they wanted to go very subtle and edge lit on the font. They wanted them to be a bit hidden on the black cards.

A fun partial day gig, where I delivered to Motion Graphics as 32bit TGA's all final files, with an alpha channel, ready to drop into AE.

You can view other Motion Graphics work via the Tab on the Right or click here.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: The City of Ember-Motion Graphics Tunnel Build for internal Cards-PART II

 A 24 frame MGFX[ Motion-Graphics] 3D Animated Card, Built for the TV spots for The City of Ember back in 2008, this is early in the little 3D move.

The same frame rendered out as a wireframe to show the simplicity of this build.

Frame 9 we are almost around the corner already in this 3D rendered frame.

 The Ambient Occlusion render of that frame with wireframe OL.

 As we peek around the corner we see the Date Card. The DOF[ Depth of Field ] keeps the eye out front.

The wireframe rendering done in 3DS Max 2009 back in 2008.

We have slid around the corner and are approaching center in the last leg of this 3D Camera move.

The Wire frame render of this simple 3D build.

We face the card and slowly approach.

 Ambient Wire frame render ot frame 21.

The final seated 3D Date Card done for the TV spots for City of Ember.

 The Wire frame overlay render of the seated end frame of this 3D Animation.

 A Birds-eye over view of the tunnel build with the roof cut away in 3D to showcase the small Virtual Set I designed and rendered for the pitch.

Project Review
The City of Ember
Motion Graphics Tunnel Build for internal Cards
PART II

Client: Walden Media via The Cimarron Group.
Art Director: Myself and Tom Kositchotitana
Project Date: Spring 2008.

For the AV [ audio visual] trailer campaign for the film The City of Ember, I was asked to create a generic tunnel similar to a screen shot we had for the film, so off I went to work.

This client was one that usually went simple 2D white on black so we did have our own expectations very high that they would go for a more artful direction, but we were asked to explore anyways.

I had locked in a look for a glowing filament type of neon look for the titles that can be reviewed in Part I here. and they wanted a second internal card set for the TV ads that would match the red metal tunnels found in a few scenes of the film.

I experimented with procedural textures, Depth of Filed with the camera move, and used the Cebas  dirt shader for Final Render to achieve the end result.

A fun project that was about a two day gig.

You can review the main Title 3D Neon/Glowing Filament Look I developed here.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: Art Beats- 3D Stock Motion Graphics [ MGFX] concepts- 2008 PART I

 The final Style-Frame I created using a very simple 3D scene, and a bit of post color correction and Z-depth added for Art Beats from back in 2008.

 The ambient render shows the 8 sided hallway that was textured with a Mirror texture, as well as the simple chamfer boxes used for the glass posts.

 An overhead Birds-eye shot with the hallway sectioned in half, and moved out to see this long hall 3D move at 600 frames.

A raw 3D render with on ray-tracing levels at zero, shows a very dark set in this simple 3D scene.

With just two ray-trace bounces, you begin to see quite a bit more going on down the hall here in frame 600 of the MGFX piece.

At four levels of reflections and refractions, you begin to see the walls a lot more and the brightness is getting higher with each added raytrace pass.

 At 8 raytrace levels it is getting brighter still and a has much more going on in the walls.

 At 16 levels it is looking close to final.

 The final 32 raytrace levels in this final raw 3D frame before color correction and post work was done with the Z-Depth mask.

Project Review

Art Beats

3D Stock Motion Graphics [ MGFX] concepts

2008 PART I

Client: Art Beats via The Cimarron Group.
Art Direction: Myself.
Project Date January 2008.

I did a bit of Motion Graphics 3D exploration for Art Beats back in January of 2008,  to develop some 3D background looks for a pitch for assets for the company to develop. I was running my one man show there,and had a friend get me the contact at Artbeats, so they agreed to a small 8 hour test.

Though the project was cancelled early on, what I liked about it was the concept itself, which was primarily to create living 3D scenes that could be customized at the company for any end client, and for my first concept I create a 'tech' like background based on a very simple scene.

I had done reflective backgrounds before, namely for Timeline a few years earlier for the trailers for that film, and I have always loved the 'infinity' effect you get in an elevator with mirrored walls, so I create a hexagonal hallway.tunnel-room with a few glass posts that animated and once I bumped the ray trace levels way up to 32, the 3D reflections in reflections got very interesting.

I will have added posts in the future for this quick MGFX work, so stay tuned!

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: S.W.A.T. The Movie 2003 PART IV Night-Vision Binocular Model for MGFX Teaser Trailer

My deliver was a OBJ export to the 3D Animation Dept and this was the final 3D Model I designed and made. 

A render with DOF[ Depth-of--Field] as seen in the Teaser.

 A Birds-eye overhead front shot of the 3D Night Vision Goggles in Ambient with wires.

 The fully textured and rendered  S.W.A.T. Night Vision Goggles.

 I built this Pre-Sub-D, so some funky geometry on those thumb screws.
I'd go full Quads today in a build.

The 3D file still renders out fine.
 

 A Side view, with the hand grip as the only full Sub-D asset in the build. They are actually a cut down version of the front grip from the M4 Carbide model here.

A Side View 3D Render fully textured with DOF and ready as a style frame.
 

 The 3/4 rear view shows the lens inside the tubes with the appropriate glass, O-ring,and lens retention threads.

 The rendered back shot of the SWAT Night Vision Goggles , also used for the Home Alone work latter on here.

Exploded View shows the build.

 A second render of the prop as an exploded view of the 3D Night Vision Binoculars I made for the Teaser Trailer for the film S.W.A.T. back in 2003.

Project Review
S.W.A.T. The Movie 2003
PART IV
Night-Vision Binocular Model for MGFX Teaser Trailer

Client: Columbia Pictures Inc. via BLT and Associates.
Art Directors: Myself.
Project Date: Winter 2003.

It this, my fourth posting for the work I did for the TV to film adaptation of S.W.A.T., from almost a decade back now, today I am covering the Night Vision Binoculars I designed and made for the Theatrical Teaser Trailer back in 2003 for Matt Hartle the head of 3D-Animation.

I regularly built 3D Illustrations for the Print work at BLT, but I also did quite a bit of work for the MGFX[ Motion-Graphics] team for the AV Trailers as well, and for the new at the time film, S.W.A.T., I was asked by Matt in the 3D Animation dept., to make some very high resolution models for the back plates for the internal and the Title Card graphics.
 
I have more posts on S.W.A.T., both for Print and AV 3D Models I made that I will try and post up in the future, so keep an eye out.

You can View the logos in PART I here.
You can view the M4 Carbine I built here for PART II
You can view PART III, the SWAT van here.

Cheers, THOM