Project Review: After Earth: 3D Icon Development 2012

The first step was to create a series of 3D solutions to the single vector file supplied to me. 3D is more than extrusion, it can be a very complex surface.

Here is the above shot of looks rendered from a low angle in an ambient shader.

A front view hides some of the 3D details but I always do a straight on view for most 3D logo design.

A 3/4 side shot really shows off the differences in the designs.

 I did a glass on black shot.

Aged concrete was a rough look that was found in the film production and I was asked to do a few looks to match that.

The characters wore rubber suits so I did a few matte black looks with some surface detailing like this one with ribbing.

A smooth metal look is what went to finish with a strong blur on the reflections.

A mesh over the top of a green core was this design with a two layer Icon design.

 I grew moss on this design to age the logo back, as well as mixing concrete materials with DA sanded metal.

 A Logo with a thatch like natural material to the smooth Icon for After Earth.

Project Review

After Earth 

3D Icon Development 2012

Client: Columbia Picture thru Sony Pictures Releasing via Facet Creative.
Art Direction: Drew FitzGerald.
Project Date: June 2012.

        Last Summer I had a fun little 3D Logo development job with Drew FitsGerald of Facet Creative for the new Will Smith/M. Night Shyamalen film, After Earth that released this summer.

I was provided with a 2D Vector file of a Icon logo with the "AE" morphed into one elegant shape,and Drew asked me to help develop them out in 3D.

So, my first step was to build out a set of 'solutions' for the shape, as a simple bevel is just an extrusion with a small edge detail, so I went and created a full set with tapered faces, curved fronts, hollows and a host of other ideas to show what is possible in just one shape.

Once these were done Drew picked a simple Single-Point-Bevel look and so I proceeded to create a few textured styles from glass to aged stone and concrete. Once they were satisfied with a look and design,  I rendered the final out a 6K for a finish.

A fun project that was about eight hours of total work done over a few weeks.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: Fight Lab 3D Logo Exploration for THQ Game Studio 2009 PART I

The THQ Fight Lab 3D Logo had to include barbed wire and a fist int he typography solution as well.

 A 3D Logo with crossed fists and barbed wire top and bottom like this.

 I curved the extrusion as a typical car emblem has so the reflection horizon would fall where I wanted it to, and it is better for lighting than a flat surface.

 The fist would animate in for MGFX apps in this solution with the type hanging on the the sheet music barbed wires.

 A BIG fist icon with the smaller type over the holding device for THQ.

 Did an alternate with double fists and the type in the negative space.

 A spiral of ever decreasing scaled fists on each side in this version. I was inspired by this KA logo.

 The dueling fists turned out to form a "V".

 Fists as bookends with the logo inside the locked in barbed wire.

 Love the cut out in this type provided to me.

 A shot with a whole bunch of barbed wire, double fists, and a Single-point-beveled type treatment, my design, my fave.

Project Review

Fight Lab 3D Logo Exploration

for THQ Game Studio 2009

PART I

Client: THQ via Wellbrand Inc. via The Cimarron Group.
Art Direction: Goutam Mitra.
Project Date: May 2009.

        Back in May 2009 I was still in-house at The Cimarron Group[ R.I.P.], and I would bring work into the department from outside using a producer friend, Goutam Mitra a fellow ACCD ID grad whom I have had the pleasure of working with for a few decades, and he brought this 3D logo work to me from THQ.

I did 2D conceptual design work for THQ a decade earlier on the Scobby Doo Game here, so I was familiar with the game companys product and level of quality. THQ wanted to start a second division for MMA games called at the time 'Fight Lab", and I developed a series of two dozen 3D logos with some key images as directed.

It was to have a clenched fist, as well as some barbed wire or chain link for a cage fight type of feel, so off I went to develop the 3D surfaces for the Logo. You will note that there are no textures on the project as I did form studys first.

Sadly THQ went out of business and the Fight Lab name changed to RAGE anyhow, so these were not used.

In this first part, we've looked at the first half of the logos for Fight Lab, look for added parts in the days and weeks to come.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: Breaking Bad 2008-Blue Ray Menu 3D Microscopics

 The final design I delivered to Home Entertainment for Breaking Bad 3D Microscopic Menus.

 A Shot of the smoothed Geometry for the "meth' chemical model.

 I did a set of DOF[ Depth of Field shot tests to see what worked the best for the 3D particle animations, and this is the first test shot I did.

 

 For each shot I moved the focal point in Z depth to test to look.

 The camera target was close to the front in this test and we loose almost all background particle completely.

 Here was a midway point so foreground and background was out of focus with just the center of the scene in focus.

 Here is a shot with the focal point moved 70% back in the scene.

Project Review

Breaking Bad 2008

Blue Ray Menu 3D Microscopics

Client: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment via The Cimarron Group.
Art Direction: Brian Larson.
Project Date: July 2008.

Five years back now, I did some 3D animations and 3D Illustrations for the Blue-ray Menus for the Cable Series Breaking Bad. I had done a good number of menu projects for the Home Entertainment Department there and had worked extensively with Brain Larson who was Art Directing the job in the past , so I was tasked with this one day job for him.

I built out the chemical model for Meth as the show deals with the subject, so I created a Medical Animation using microscopics for the look as I had done on prior projects like this here, and here.

I used the Simbiont procedurals with the Xray texture as the base for the look.

I also played with the 3D Depth of Field settings, which we could animate in 3D to get some great focal length FX on the frames as these were delivered to the Art Director for the final AE[ After Effects]comp.

A fun little gig.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: Turbo-3D Character Placeholder Model 2011

 The final render delivered for the Teaser Comp pose for Turbo.

 The base Low Poly mesh I created for the Turbo Character Comp back in July 2011.

 The file with Turbo-smooth[ no pun] applied at one level[ ruff].

 The High Polygon final Mesh Subdivided for the Comp Teaser Poster presentations.

 Here is another angle showing the higher[ sub-division poly model] I built in Development.

Project Review

Turbo 3D Character Placeholder Model 2011

Client: Dreamworks Animation via Midnight Oil Creative
Art Direction: Christine Schweiger
Project Date: July 2011.

I regularly build out 3D assets for my clients from the various films they advertise for to use in the various posters, trailers, and websites they build, and sometimes I build something that only exists in concept form, or a 2D painting, because it is early in production. Today we review a project like this for Dreamworks.

Midnight Oil contacted me to build out the main  3D Character for the newly produced Dreamworks film, Turbo, and I was off to building back in the Summer of 2011.

 The main Character was designed out as a 2D Concept Art Painting, and they did not have the model yet, so I built this from a single 2D concept piece and created the above 3D Character Illustration for Turbo.


A fun job, as I get only a few 3D Character jobs per year as 3D Logos are my bread and butter, but I do love to do these fun jobs in-between too.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: Hollywood Bad Girls Club: Title Design 2010

 The final was rendered out in three layers with two thicknesses and finishes to the Hollywood Letters themselves, and here is the pyramid jewel face treatment in 'thick' type.

Here is the thinner brussed steel look to the main letters as an alternate for Hollywood Bad Girls Club.

A close up render with a heart "letter' alt with the pink ballon type removed done for a banner ad.

'HOL' as a tag for another ad for Hollywood Bad Girls Club TV series.

A lowered camera shot with half the sign seen now.

 The smoothed [subdivided] polygon mesh is seen in this wire render.

The base single point bevel base mesh for the devil heart object.

 Here is a shot of the sign from behind showing the 3D letter placement.

Project Review

Hollywood Bad Girls Club: Title Design 2010

Client: BPG Print.
Art Direction:n/a.
Project Date: April 2010.

Today my posting overs a build I did for BPG back in 2010 for the TV Show Hollywood Bad Girls Club.

What I was tasked with is building out the Hollywood sign in 3D adjusting the design and adding in the Show Logo built out in 3D geometry as well.

I had built the sign a few times[ see here] so it was super fast to rebuild it for this show with details missing that they did not want on this one.  I also built out the "Devil-Heart" Mylar balloon for the main Title as a Sub-D model, as this was to be reused in Motion Graphics if it went to finish so higher rez was in order if needed.

I rendered this out at 4K finish size for a few print ads, a fun quick little one day gig.

Cheers, THOM

Project Review: Medical Product Dispenser 3D Modeling 2010.

 The final 3D model of the Medical Dispenser I made back in 2010.

 An overhead shot shows the part lines and details in the 3D file.

 

 The textured and rendered finished file.

 

 A fully subdivided final model showing the wireframe build.

 The Low-Poly base design that I made for this Subdivision 3D all Quad model.

 A closer look at the geometry on the top of the dispenser.

 Here is a semi exploded view of the 3D file.

Project Review

Medical Product Dispenser

3D Modeling 2010.

Client: Alen Petkovic.

Art Direction: Myself.

Project Date: April 2010.

Three years ago, I did a one day 3D modeling job for a former colleage from BLT to recreate a virtual version of a new medical dispenser. 

I regularly build out objects from scratch to assist other 3D and Motion Graphics teams with getting the asset they need at a high level of detail, and with my advanced surfacing training from Art Center, Industrial Designers like myself are perfectly suited to build these type of objects out.

As usual, I was not given the actual object itself, but just a few photos, and I built it out from there.

I created a very detailed 3D model for this Medical Dispenser that was to have multiple uses. I often am given a quick Product Design modeling project like this, and for this job, I built out this dispenser with partlines and all details modeling into the 3D file that were needed for the project. 

I did a few renders of the object that I was directed to create for Alan.

Cheers, THOM

Sure-Grip International PART IV Rock Skates Truck Redesign 2011

The Multi-View shot of the final re-design I did for Sure-Grip International back in 2011 for the Rock Skates truck.

 Orthographic views of the truck design.

The subdivided 3D Printer build is what I exported out for the prototyping. I also added the molded axles for prototyping as seen in the DA45 here.

The base 3D model is a low poly build.

 A view from underneath the truck in high Polygon form[ STL]

The low poly base model I made to create the high rez final.

The cushion cup profile emulated the DA45 as seen here.

The Low Poly view of the above Rock Truck design.

Here is the final Product first casting shots of the new Rock Truck.

Sure-Grip International
PART IV
Rock Skates Truck Redesign 2011

Client: Sure Grip International.
Art Director: Myself.
Project Date:  September-December 2011.

This is my fourth post covering work I have done for Sure Grip International[ SGI], the largest and oldest skate manufacturer in the USA.

I did some 3D-Logo work posted here, and here, I also designed the look of the new DA45 Plate The Avenger, as a sharp edged stealth look for them and that design post can be seen here.

Today I have posted  a simple redesign of the Rock Truck they sell on a very popular entry level skate. The truck was granfathered over when SGI bought the skate from Rock Skates so they wanted to rebrand the truck with the current SGI logo, as well as adding some of the design forms found in the flatter surfaced DA45 their flagship truck at the moment.

We had already used 3D Printing to help visualize the other projects so I created this design in the same manner with a metal prototype being made from this model output as a STL [ stereolithograhy ] file for 3D printers.

I am an avid Quad Skater myself, so designing skate items for SGI was a dream job.

Cheers, THOM