Project Review: Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- The First Final Round Design: Metal over latex/leather with a red backlight accent.

 

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- An Ambient Occlusion Dirt 3D Render Pass for advanced GI lighting as well as adding in dark materials into the cracks and intersection. Used in post work to enhance the 3D render.

 

 

 

 Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- A 3D Z-Depth 3D render Pass used for distance based editing[ blurs focus length, de-saturation, fog, etc.. ]

 

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- A Color Picker is part of what I call a Smart 3D Image. With the Alpha channel these two additional renders allow the final user to grab by object for fast masking of parts in the 3D render.

 

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- Screen Grab with materials and textures in the viewport: This shows the basic materials I build as well as a blurred simple refection sphere for the chrome work.

 

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- Camera View Screen Grab in Clay shader showing 3D form and surface.

 

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- Camera View Screen Grab in Clay shader showing 3D form and surface: This in the Base Mesh with no subdivision active. You can see all the box light between the letters I used to get very specific reflections on the edges this way.

 

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- Screen Grab in Clay shader showing 3D form and surface: Subdivision High Poly final 3D Model at a Lower Angle.

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018-Screen Grab in Clay shader showing 3D form and surface: A Low Poly view at a lower up angle here shows the holding device on the back of the Center Bevel[ Single Point Bevel] style of hand modeled text in this title.

 

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018-Screen Grab in Clay shader showing 3D form and surface: This is pulled way back to show the elongated box lights from Cebas Final Render visible in reflections needed to fully wrap the shapes.

 

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- The Second Final Round Design: The type was interlocked so I uses a bit of distance as well as multiple stacked plates with a variety on texture. You can see these object in the Behind the Art exploded view with all layers spread out below.

 

 

 

 

 Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- Screen Grab with materials and textures in the viewport: Up top right you can see the custom bump map built for the seams in the Latex/ Leather use in this concept to align with the title design.

 

 

 

  

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- An Ambient Occlusion Dirt 3D Render Pass for advanced GI lighting as well as adding in dark materials into the cracks and intersection. Used in post work to enhance the 3D render.

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- A 3D Z-Depth 3D render Pass used for distance based editing[ blurs focus length, de-saturation, fog, etc.. ]

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- The Color Picker is part of what I call a Smart 3D Image. With the Alpha channel these two additional renders allow the final user to grab by object for fast masking of parts in the 3D render.

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- Screen Grab in Clay shader showing 3D form and surface:

 

 

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- Screen Grab in Clay shader showing 3D form and surface: A lower angle shows the various plate levels. Each edge catches light enhancing the final design. This is especially used in MGFX [ Motion Graphics] applications.

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- Screen Grab in Clay shader showing 3D form and surface: A side shot of the 3D build.

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- Screen Grab in Clay shader showing 3D form and surface: An exploded view showing all the parts of the logo separated out. Each part has a channel, and a different texture.

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- Part of the Runner Up Designs-Design A: Here I used a straight stack design with the "and" used as a light source, here in red.

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- Part of the Runner Up Designs-Design B: Here I used a horizontal part line pattern on the font on the front main titles with Metal holding device edges.

 

 

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- Part of the Runner Up Designs-Design C: For the last two the type itself is a hole and used the negative space. I new concept for me on this project. I put the Alpha Channel top Left to show the black hole in "Black" for this design.

Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 3D Title Treatments January 2018- Part of the Runner Up Designs-Design D: For the last negative space concept, I put the Alpha Channel top Left to show the black hole in "Silver" for this design.

Project Review: Silver and Black: Black Cat and Silver Sable 

3D Title Treatments January 2018

Client:  Columbia Pictures, Marvel, Sony Pictures via BOND
Project Date:  January 2018.
Direction: Patrick Dillon.

      I was called in by Patrick Dillon at BOND to work on a Comic Book Film adaptation for Marvel Comics Film the Black Cat and Silver Sable characters called: Silver and Black back in January of 2018. The project began in 2009, and it ended in February 2018 and you can read up about it here.

       I was provided a packet with Adobe Illustrator vector files from Patrick and his team to create 3D Logos for. I did research into the history and look of the two characters as well as the history of the logo used in the comics. Black Cat wears a sexy black latex/leather as her tight outfit so some of that look was used by me. Silver Sable was in a metal Chrome like outfit hence the Silver tech design for that name in the title.

      Typically when I begin, I first go through the vectors to equalize them and fix any issues I might find. I also convert any bitmaps supplied into vector files too if I need to build them out in 3D, so I can build off of the vector itself, it becomes the 3D object via extrusion and subdivision.

 

     This work did not make it to finish for the final Key Art as the project was sidelined indefinitely the past 8 years. As always, a majority if what I do done not get uses as many projects are pro production development work, and this is typical in the Film industry.

 

   I have worked on quite a few Comic Book based properties , and as an avid reader and collector I find these gigs very enjoyable. Most of these projects are here on the blog and you can search them out top Left Goggle Search Widget.   NOTE: Some I cannot post.

 

Here is a list if projects I have been on in this genre:

 
X-Men 2, X-Men 3, and X-Men 5.
Wolverine.
Superman Returns, and Man of Steel.
Batman vs. Superman.
Batman Begins, Batman The Dark Knight, and Batman Rise.
Aquaman 1 and 2.
Shazam.
Daredevil.
Avengers Age of Ultron, and Avengers: Infinity Wars Part-1.
Guardians of the Galaxy 2
Underworld.
The Flash.
The Phantom Legacy.
Astro Boy.
Sucker Punch.
Priest.
Fantastic Four Rise of the Silver Surfer.
The Green Hornet.
Judge Dread.
She RA: Princess of Power.
Masters of the Universe.
Doctor Strange.
MIB: The Men in Black- 1 and 2.
Blade: Trinity.
Iron Man 1.
Sin City.
Spider-Man 3, and Spider-Man: Homecoming.
The Watchmen.
300 Rise of an Empire.
DC: The Last Boy on Earth.
DC: Metal Man.
The Crow:
Judge Dredd.
Captain Marvel.
Ghost in the Shell.

Phantom 2040.
The New Adventures of Flash Gordon.

     I have worked remote since 2009. After leaving GM in November 2024. I am 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

Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art

 

 Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: Main Render delivered with all layers.

 

 

  Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: With the hidden photography layer used for alignment for the client to see in.

 

  Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: The background 3D render group set behind the photo-shoot grab.

 

 

 Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: The Foreground 3D Color render set in front of the above render to comlete the comp.

 

Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: The full 3D render together with Foreground and Background.

 

 

Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: A Z-Depth distance based mask used for all post effects.

 

Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: I almost always provide a second render pass shaded as an Ambient Occlusion/ Dirt pass using Cebas Final Render GI plug-in. It gives both ambient realism, and a dirt procedural shader that fills in cracks in the geometry at all intersections adding realism as well. A must have in any 3D render. This is for the Foreground layer.

Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: a second  Ambient Occlusion/ Dirt pass. This is for the background scaffolding group render layer.

 

 Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: This is the original sketch as well as a screen grab of sketch, the photography and a set extension I did for the viewport background to render to.

 

 

 

Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: A Screen Grab Clay shader showing surface-This is the Camera view with the refection dome behind the scaffolding.

 

 

Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: A Screen Wire-frame grab from the Camera.

 

 

 Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: A Screen Wire-frame camera viewport showing alignment to the sketch and city photography

 

 

 

Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art :A Screen Grab Clay shader showing surface- A close up on the mesh railing and details in the build with the bolts and clamps, floor boards and props.

 

 

 

  

 

Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: A Screen Wire-frame- of the above Clay shot. Color coded meshes by object type is seen here.

 

 

 

 

 Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: A Screen Grab Clay shader showing surface- A birds eye view with both foreground and background groups in the shot

 

 

 

Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: A Screen Grab Clay shader showing surface- The same birds eye view with just the Background group in the shot

 

 

 

Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: A Screen Grab Clay shader showing surface- The same birds eye view with just the Foreground group in the shot

 

Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art; A Screen Grab Clay shader showing surface- a severe birds eye view looking into the Gap where the main Actor Pete Holmes is place virtually.

 

Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: A Screen Grab Clay shader showing surface- super close on the knotty pine box I repurposed from another gig.

 

 Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019- 3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art: A Screen Grab Clay shader showing surface- A medium shot from camera showing better detail a bit closer.

 

 Project Review: Crashing HBO 2017-2019

3D Concept Design Illustration for Key Art 

September 2017 

 

Client:  HBO via Cold Open
Creative Direction: Gardner DeFranceaux
Project Date:  September 2017.

     I was brought onto this HBO project in the Fall of 2017 for a new HBO series Crashing to do some Concept Design and 3D Illustration for a concept the client wanted to see. This was proof of Concept work, that was presented, but did not finish.

    Another great project I got from Cold Open agency. This was a Concept Art 3D Illustration piece to make a giant scaffolding structure surround the main talent Pete Holmes both front and back in a city where he is  a giant at 30 stories tall. I did some research as well as getting a reference sketch and some photos of the level of detail wanted, so I was off to work.

 

     I built out the individual parts "Lego Style" so I can have repeating parts to use, and I put a naming convention in the file to easily texture and grab the parts by object when I build all base parts. These were also all built at as quad subdivision models so I could have a low-rez base mesh and add subdivision at render time since there were a lot of parts in the file a 100+ Mb scene file so you need to be able to light it easier that way. Also when I build stuff like this I want to sure the parts in the future and at some point if it is to be animated, as they need the low poly for that to be efficient. I also color code the geometry to grab by color for quick workflow. Even a mini pipeline for a single image is helpful.

 

    This is a Behind the Art post showcasing the actual geometry in a build. I also split the scaffolding into foreground and background sections to easily place the photo-shoot Pete Holmes inside the scaffolding structure cage so to speak. I delivered the layered Photoshop file to the agency this way so they could work quickly and mask as needed.

     Many thanks go out to Gardner there at Cold Open. A fun design to execute even if t did not make it to the finish. I love the building  and lighting rendering no matter how far a project goes, the process is  what I love. Click 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 to go now.

                                 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