Here were a couple images done in 2010 for a feature film called 'QUALIA' being directed by Michael Reisinger. You can see more of Michael's work here LINK![]()
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Qualia
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Aliens
Pencil & Photoshop. 2008. Copyright Sony Pictures.![]()
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A few designs created for the book 'Alien Race' while i was a student. Published by Design Studio Press. 2008
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Face by Scott Robertson, body/costume by myself. 2008![]()
A few designs created for the book 'Alien Race' while i was a student. Published by Design Studio Press. 2008
Face by Scott Robertson, body/costume by myself. 2008
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Robotics/Weapons
Some various robots and weapons from the past few years. Here's what i thought Boston Dynamics militarized Big-Dog could look like after reading they won the contract to build them. Its very much an idealized "hollywood" version, i doubt some of the servo-based joints i used could take the +400lb loads that the real one needs to take and still function properly.....might work everything out a bit more at a later date. Really excited to see where that technology goes by the time its ready for mass production in 2012!![]()
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Vehicle from a project i worked on beginning of last year, just got clearance to show this design. Probably the first vehicle i tried to visualize in 3D to show a Director what i had in mind. Lot of things i would do differently now on this from a design / rendering standpoint, but was a fun project to be involved with and look forward to see where it goes. ![]()
'Realistic' robot to get 2013 started, like a more developed Boston Dynamics 'Petman' type robot that could be used for the military, similar territory Long and i explored on the 'DRONE' web-series. When you head into the 'realistic humanoid military robot' territory it is hard to get away from (but i will try!) the brilliant work my co-workers Christian Pearce, Greg Broadmore and especially Aaron Beck have done the past few years and of course Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell work before that, particularly the think-tank robots. Milled aluminum looking forms for body chassis, hexapod stabilizers/pistons, chunky/angular head forms, hexagonal 'stealth' panel breakups, aerials, helicopter vision optics, NO GLOWING LIGHTS especially for eyes etc (all basic rules/guidelines learned from working with Aaron Beck). Though if you aren't careful it can start to look like a pile of stacked rectangular junk like mine did, will try to avoid that next time. :P ![]()
'COPPERHEAD' - Synthetically engineered cyborg assassin.![]()
Design done for the ZBrush 4R5 Beta test.![]()
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FZD Demo 2012![]()
Robot design done for 'DRONE' web series. Collaboration with Long Ouyang.![]()
And a shot of the (damaged) robot in the show.![]()
An ImagineFX demo from 2010![]()
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Stealth inspired weapons from 2009![]()
White Wolf anti-material SMG![]()
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K.I.W.I. Mech from 2009![]()
Vehicle from a project i worked on beginning of last year, just got clearance to show this design. Probably the first vehicle i tried to visualize in 3D to show a Director what i had in mind. Lot of things i would do differently now on this from a design / rendering standpoint, but was a fun project to be involved with and look forward to see where it goes. 
'Realistic' robot to get 2013 started, like a more developed Boston Dynamics 'Petman' type robot that could be used for the military, similar territory Long and i explored on the 'DRONE' web-series. When you head into the 'realistic humanoid military robot' territory it is hard to get away from (but i will try!) the brilliant work my co-workers Christian Pearce, Greg Broadmore and especially Aaron Beck have done the past few years and of course Masamune Shirow's Ghost in the Shell work before that, particularly the think-tank robots. Milled aluminum looking forms for body chassis, hexapod stabilizers/pistons, chunky/angular head forms, hexagonal 'stealth' panel breakups, aerials, helicopter vision optics, NO GLOWING LIGHTS especially for eyes etc (all basic rules/guidelines learned from working with Aaron Beck). Though if you aren't careful it can start to look like a pile of stacked rectangular junk like mine did, will try to avoid that next time. :P 
'COPPERHEAD' - Synthetically engineered cyborg assassin.
Design done for the ZBrush 4R5 Beta test.
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FZD Demo 2012
Robot design done for 'DRONE' web series. Collaboration with Long Ouyang.
And a shot of the (damaged) robot in the show.
An ImagineFX demo from 2010
Stealth inspired weapons from 2009
White Wolf anti-material SMG
K.I.W.I. Mech from 2009
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Huxley
Set in a post-apocalyptic world, ravaged in ages past by a nuclear holocaust which caused massive geological upheaval. To escape the earthquakes, volcanoes and other instabilities many people build large flying cities and machines while others just adapted to the conditions on the ground. Much technological and scientific knowledge was lost but those that remained were copied and advanced to take them to the stars and colonize the sky, and what remains of old technology are dug up and pored over by scavengers and archeologists.
These are some junky industrial machines found in the lower sector of a ruined city along with some of its inhabitants.
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Various Creatures
A range of creatures done in my free time over the past 8 months or so while learning ZBrush, most are modeled in ZB and then composited/painted in Photoshop. 2011
Horned Ape
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Small sample of some of the CDW wellington demos done over the course of 5 days (3 hours a day), these will be available shortly as a digital download / DVD through their website showing the creation of all of this (and more!) going over research, design sketches, world building, props/weapons/costumes, digital sculpting and illustration. I will make sure it includes all the ZB models and high-res layered Photoshop files used to create everything, i want to make it as dense as possible with content.![]()
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Small sample of some of the CDW wellington demos done over the course of 5 days (3 hours a day), these will be available shortly as a digital download / DVD through their website showing the creation of all of this (and more!) going over research, design sketches, world building, props/weapons/costumes, digital sculpting and illustration. I will make sure it includes all the ZB models and high-res layered Photoshop files used to create everything, i want to make it as dense as possible with content.
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Book: Mas Macho
This work is for an upcoming book from DesignStudioPress in conjunction with the IP creator of "Mas Macho", Wil Stahl.
Done in 2007 with my talented buddy John Park.
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Dino D-Day
Work done for a Half-Life 2 mod in 2009.![]()
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Work done through the same client for a Discovery Channel show. ![]()
Work done through the same client for a Discovery Channel show. 
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Rapture
A school assignment done in 2008 for my Architecture 2 class.![]()
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Oppenheimer
In the late 21st century, experiments in transhumanism are accelerating. Tests started in chimps and other primates to begin merging the mind with technology. This being an early experiment in successful implantation in a chimp, his rate of cognitive development and capacity quickly surpassing that of a human, post operation.
ZBrush + Photoshop
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Later in time scientists started experimenting with gene splicing.....coming up with bizarre combination's of animals mixed with human DNA for the military sector. This appears to be some sort of human spliced with a goat, dog and a kind of hard shelled animal for added protection. The creature grew to maturity quickly but ultimately became unstable as its cells developed and it died from a cancerous type affliction.![]()
Later in time scientists started experimenting with gene splicing.....coming up with bizarre combination's of animals mixed with human DNA for the military sector. This appears to be some sort of human spliced with a goat, dog and a kind of hard shelled animal for added protection. The creature grew to maturity quickly but ultimately became unstable as its cells developed and it died from a cancerous type affliction.
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Blue
These started as CDW Wellington Demos done over the course of a week, 3 hour sessions each day (15 hours total). This is a little overview of what was created during the workshop, if you would like to watch the creation of all of this being made and get all the .psd's and ZBrush files they should be available shortly as a downloadable tutorial through CDW.
All of these were done as a design brief for a imaginary client, this would be the initial round of exploration sent off to get conversations started as to where the director wants to take the characters in his film.
Wanted to test myself by illustrating colors/patterns/forms i typically don't, which made for an interesting 3 hours to say the least! This character is based on a really incredible photo of a parrot fish that was completely blue, i wanted to try to capture as much of that as i could instead of defaulting to something more commonly seen. Also intentionally keeping the character a little goofy looking for the sake of doing something different than i normally would.
Blue
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Small sample of development work for creating the costumes/culture/props. ![]()
Taking some of the more successful elements and building the costume.![]()
Polypainting elements to get basic color/material breakups. Thought it would be pretty striking to have this characters clothing all pale faded materials, like they use every part of the creatures they kill. Using bones and every part of the animals to fashion weapons and clothing from their skins which fade in the sun on their planet. So his 'grenade' looking devices on his chest and the spear along with other elements on his costume would all be carved pale bone objects. ![]()
Slightly more detailed view of the sonar shield the aliens wear on their backs. I imagine the panels being some translucent rock/crystal material they find in their environment and fashion into tools/weapons to survive in their environment.![]()
This creature was created before the workshop but i decided to have these two characters be part of the same universe. On the last day i started sculpting the body of this creature, this page showcasing some initial ideas and reference before i got started. ![]()
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Body sculpt of HH creature![]()
Rite of passage moment between young aliens and HH creature.![]()
Quick image showing some of the sonar concepts i came up with during the workshop while creating the main characters gear. This idea fit the scenario that was created and i ran with it, so most of the gear that these aliens have (at least in this tribe) are built around enhancing/deflecting/controlling sonar in order to deal with the HH creature which plays a big role in their culture. These devices might be something that the aliens get in adulthood, i was thinking as a rite of passage from boy to man a group of them would need to survive an encounter with the creature with just their wits and their environment. Once that basic rule was set i could just have fun coming up with interesting ideas for how they could deal with an encounter with the creature, the shield was one solution and could be worn on their back and made out of some material found in their environment that they figured out many generations ago was able to deflect the sound-waves emitted by this creature and then fashioned into these devices.![]()
Quick rendering of the HH creature, not very happy with how it turned out. I think the grey model and the scene with all the characters surrounding it better showcase the design i was going for.... this angle looks too friendly/boring or something? I will probably take another crack at this sometime in-between some other creatures i was sketching out.![]()
First pass at the alien Theria creature. I'm trying to tie all of these guys together some how, like maybe most of the creatures don't have eyes or see the world with some form of sonar? So this creature would act more like a prey animal with eyes on the sides of his head. So the large flat planes on his front sides emit sonar left and right from some internal organ (or maybe the petal form on his back emits the pulse and the head area picks up the signal?), whereas the HH creature acts more like a predator with eyes in front of its face emitting sonar forward. I imagine this guy eating more like an ant eater, some long weird tongue coming out the front to eat plant life in the area. ![]()
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Some sort of herbivore type creature in this universe, wanted it to feel a bit more prehistoric like some sort of alien Ankylosaurus/Stegosaurus type of creature, overall a very docile creature but has a natural weapon built into its back to defend itself with. The idea was that this creatures back would either contain the material they use to make the deflector shields against the HH creature or was just the inspiration to build them after seeing the creature defend itself in the wild. I was trying to keep the color of the back similar to the deflector shield and also make the overall shape vaguely similar, so they could have gotten inspiration from this creatures back to design their defensive tools from and also to imply the material used is in their back or that they found a crystal/rock material that had similar properties as this animal to deflect and absorb the sound from the HH creature.![]()
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Neobatracia - Some sort of alien winged poison dart frog type creature that has the ability to glide from tree to tree, this guy is a bit smaller than the green variant and also has a thin membrane between his back wings to help glide/maneuver faster to evade predators. Will be doing a more elaborate rendering of the design soon posed on a branch or something so you can see it in a more dynamic view and/or maybe a grey render to show the form a bit more clearly? Similar to other creatures in this world it sees its surroundings with some sort of sonar type pulse, the head is some advanced almost completely circular disc type form, almost like the big radar dishes you see on AWAC’s, so this little guy has a very clear picture of his surroundings from 360 degrees while it is in the air. Think it would look really cool as this creature twists and turns in the air and this disc head form rotates first as it leans into turns, like some strange shifting geometric form cutting through the air.
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Starting to block out a larger scene with around 10 new creatures, a small teaser below.![]()
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Small sample of development work for creating the costumes/culture/props. 
Taking some of the more successful elements and building the costume.
Polypainting elements to get basic color/material breakups. Thought it would be pretty striking to have this characters clothing all pale faded materials, like they use every part of the creatures they kill. Using bones and every part of the animals to fashion weapons and clothing from their skins which fade in the sun on their planet. So his 'grenade' looking devices on his chest and the spear along with other elements on his costume would all be carved pale bone objects. 
Slightly more detailed view of the sonar shield the aliens wear on their backs. I imagine the panels being some translucent rock/crystal material they find in their environment and fashion into tools/weapons to survive in their environment.
This creature was created before the workshop but i decided to have these two characters be part of the same universe. On the last day i started sculpting the body of this creature, this page showcasing some initial ideas and reference before i got started. 
Body sculpt of HH creature
Rite of passage moment between young aliens and HH creature.
Quick image showing some of the sonar concepts i came up with during the workshop while creating the main characters gear. This idea fit the scenario that was created and i ran with it, so most of the gear that these aliens have (at least in this tribe) are built around enhancing/deflecting/controlling sonar in order to deal with the HH creature which plays a big role in their culture. These devices might be something that the aliens get in adulthood, i was thinking as a rite of passage from boy to man a group of them would need to survive an encounter with the creature with just their wits and their environment. Once that basic rule was set i could just have fun coming up with interesting ideas for how they could deal with an encounter with the creature, the shield was one solution and could be worn on their back and made out of some material found in their environment that they figured out many generations ago was able to deflect the sound-waves emitted by this creature and then fashioned into these devices.
Quick rendering of the HH creature, not very happy with how it turned out. I think the grey model and the scene with all the characters surrounding it better showcase the design i was going for.... this angle looks too friendly/boring or something? I will probably take another crack at this sometime in-between some other creatures i was sketching out.
First pass at the alien Theria creature. I'm trying to tie all of these guys together some how, like maybe most of the creatures don't have eyes or see the world with some form of sonar? So this creature would act more like a prey animal with eyes on the sides of his head. So the large flat planes on his front sides emit sonar left and right from some internal organ (or maybe the petal form on his back emits the pulse and the head area picks up the signal?), whereas the HH creature acts more like a predator with eyes in front of its face emitting sonar forward. I imagine this guy eating more like an ant eater, some long weird tongue coming out the front to eat plant life in the area. 
Some sort of herbivore type creature in this universe, wanted it to feel a bit more prehistoric like some sort of alien Ankylosaurus/Stegosaurus type of creature, overall a very docile creature but has a natural weapon built into its back to defend itself with. The idea was that this creatures back would either contain the material they use to make the deflector shields against the HH creature or was just the inspiration to build them after seeing the creature defend itself in the wild. I was trying to keep the color of the back similar to the deflector shield and also make the overall shape vaguely similar, so they could have gotten inspiration from this creatures back to design their defensive tools from and also to imply the material used is in their back or that they found a crystal/rock material that had similar properties as this animal to deflect and absorb the sound from the HH creature.
Neobatracia - Some sort of alien winged poison dart frog type creature that has the ability to glide from tree to tree, this guy is a bit smaller than the green variant and also has a thin membrane between his back wings to help glide/maneuver faster to evade predators. Will be doing a more elaborate rendering of the design soon posed on a branch or something so you can see it in a more dynamic view and/or maybe a grey render to show the form a bit more clearly? Similar to other creatures in this world it sees its surroundings with some sort of sonar type pulse, the head is some advanced almost completely circular disc type form, almost like the big radar dishes you see on AWAC’s, so this little guy has a very clear picture of his surroundings from 360 degrees while it is in the air. Think it would look really cool as this creature twists and turns in the air and this disc head form rotates first as it leans into turns, like some strange shifting geometric form cutting through the air.
Starting to block out a larger scene with around 10 new creatures, a small teaser below.
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Precinct 114
"Introducing an historic partnership between the law enforcement agencies of the City of New York and the Commission for Corporate Responsibility.
The New York Police Corporation is a pilot program under charter A.C4151 of the city of New York, for the benefit of its citizens. Targeted deployment will begin in May 2085 throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn."
Some behind the scenes can be viewed here: http://jameslawler.org/
Another short film i worked on around the same time as DRONE, I have collected the main design elements that were in the short (and a few that were cut)....there was much more stuff but i will just post the highlights for now. The opportunity presented itself to me and i decided to take it as a design challenge and see what would come out of the collaboration. Having low budget (and time) constraints was definitely limiting in many respects but it also forced me to try to solve problems in different ways. When the project gets picked up i would of course like to go back in and redesign a lot of these but thought i would get these out there as a bookmark on where the project was in 2012.
Quick promo image done early on to show the producer what the suit would look like in one of the locations we were going to be shooting in.
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Police costume design, created with a lot of back and forth with the Director/Producer/Manufacturing to meet the design needs for the script....and of course what was possible on the budget....which was extremely small! A lot of the design needed to be simplified to large panels especially on the back/front as the future police used that as adspace to generate revenue for the NYPC. When the show gets picked up and we get a nice budget i would definitely like to redesign this or maybe make a more advanced version?![]()
A gun design i did in 2011 that sparked initial conversations about the project, we came to an agreement and i let them use this for the short film. The gun is based on current day 'centrifuge weapon system' technology, this just being some sort of future miniaturized version of the same tech. Video here illustrating the basic idea: HERE![]()
Early exploration of some larger rifles based on the same technology as the centrifuge pistol. We ended up building a few larger rifles as background props that show up briefly in the short. This is just a small sample of the guns i did.....too many guns. ![]()
Flying drone seen in the short film.![]()
A larger police vehicle that was cut for budget reasons. Probably the first vehicle i tried to visualize in 3D to show a Director what i had in mind......then i never looked back, powerful stuff! Lot of things i would do differently now on this from a design / rendering standpoint, but was a fun project to be involved with and look forward to see where it goes. The idea with the cockpit is that its entirely self contained, so cameras mounted all over the exterior of the vehicle combined with display screens all over the interior which would result in the pilots being able to look nearly 360 degrees around them while flying and remain completely armored/protected. ![]()
A few people were asking to see the ZBrush base i built before painting over so here it is, really simple stuff, enough to show the forms/basic details to the director/producer to get them to lock off on it before taking it further. ![]()
One of the police vehicles seen in the short film, this design was a collaboration with the Director. Multiple other directions were explored but the more thin/streamlined helicopter form was decided as the final direction to take. As with a few other things there is a lot i would do differently on this now but thought it was worth putting out there. ![]()
Robotic cat seen in the short film, this painting like many of the others was pretty rough as it was just meant to lock down the design the Director and Producer were wanting but i either did an ortho or brought it into 3D to give the VFX guys a better idea of the design from all angles. ![]()
Robotic mosquito that was cut for budget reasons, this is the rough concept that went back and forth with the director until we had something close to what he was after. The form and mechanics got worked out in more detail on the ortho but we couldn't afford to shoot the scenes this was going to be in...maybe someday! Definitely would do a lot of things differently on this now, but thought it was worth showing.![]()
Police costume design, created with a lot of back and forth with the Director/Producer/Manufacturing to meet the design needs for the script....and of course what was possible on the budget....which was extremely small! A lot of the design needed to be simplified to large panels especially on the back/front as the future police used that as adspace to generate revenue for the NYPC. When the show gets picked up and we get a nice budget i would definitely like to redesign this or maybe make a more advanced version?
A gun design i did in 2011 that sparked initial conversations about the project, we came to an agreement and i let them use this for the short film. The gun is based on current day 'centrifuge weapon system' technology, this just being some sort of future miniaturized version of the same tech. Video here illustrating the basic idea: HERE
Early exploration of some larger rifles based on the same technology as the centrifuge pistol. We ended up building a few larger rifles as background props that show up briefly in the short. This is just a small sample of the guns i did.....too many guns. 
Flying drone seen in the short film.
A larger police vehicle that was cut for budget reasons. Probably the first vehicle i tried to visualize in 3D to show a Director what i had in mind......then i never looked back, powerful stuff! Lot of things i would do differently now on this from a design / rendering standpoint, but was a fun project to be involved with and look forward to see where it goes. The idea with the cockpit is that its entirely self contained, so cameras mounted all over the exterior of the vehicle combined with display screens all over the interior which would result in the pilots being able to look nearly 360 degrees around them while flying and remain completely armored/protected. 
A few people were asking to see the ZBrush base i built before painting over so here it is, really simple stuff, enough to show the forms/basic details to the director/producer to get them to lock off on it before taking it further. 
One of the police vehicles seen in the short film, this design was a collaboration with the Director. Multiple other directions were explored but the more thin/streamlined helicopter form was decided as the final direction to take. As with a few other things there is a lot i would do differently on this now but thought it was worth putting out there. 
Robotic cat seen in the short film, this painting like many of the others was pretty rough as it was just meant to lock down the design the Director and Producer were wanting but i either did an ortho or brought it into 3D to give the VFX guys a better idea of the design from all angles. 
Robotic mosquito that was cut for budget reasons, this is the rough concept that went back and forth with the director until we had something close to what he was after. The form and mechanics got worked out in more detail on the ortho but we couldn't afford to shoot the scenes this was going to be in...maybe someday! Definitely would do a lot of things differently on this now, but thought it was worth showing.
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ELYSIUM
Had the pleasure of working on this film for around 3 years (2009-2011) alongside my incredible co-workers Aaron Beck, Christian Pearce and Leri Greer. Was one of the first films i worked on right out of design school so it was a huge learning experience for me trying to keep up with guys who had just come off working on District 9 and AVATAR... intimidating to say the least! It has been a really incredible experience seeing this go from words on a page back in 2009, to the finished product nearly 4 years later. My co-workers really set the tone and feel for the world we created in the film, i learned and grew heaps over that time, it was by far the best experience i have had working on a film to date!
I will be able to share some artwork around August 9th 2013 when the film is released, make sure to check out my co-workers websites around that time as well to see where most of the cool stuff in the movie (and a lot of stuff that wasn't in the movie) came from. ;) Until then check out the fantastic trailer and promo websites!
http://www.civilcooperationbureau.com/index.php
http://armadyne.net/create.php
http://www.itsbetterupthere.com/site/
And dont forget to get a copy of the 'Art of' book!
http://www.amazon.com/Elysium-The-Film-Mark-Salisbury/dp/1781162476
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Engines of Extinction
COMING SOON.![]()
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THE HOBBIT
Neato, we finally got clearance to show work that was in film 1! Here was one thing that i know made it into the movie, i will have to go back and check if there was anything else worth showing from the art of books but i wasn't as involved in the films as some of my co-workers. There are a few things here and there that made it through but i put more of my time into ELYSIUM for obvious reasons. ;)
I will try to showcase the basic design process that lead to the Warg (heads) seen in the film. This is actually one of the first things i did at Weta Workshop with ZBrush so excuse my rough as models! Weta Digital did an incredible job bringing them (and everything else in the film) to life. Most of this stuff is pretty standard production art, there wasn't a ton of time in most cases to do sexy paintings/renderings....but that's how it goes a lot of the time.
There were some initial designs done by the fantastic Nick Keller for this version of the film, but Peter seemed to respond to one of the Warg designs from a Gus Hunter environment painting (crop of which can be seen in lower right corner). My job initially was just to bring this into 3D as that's what we thought he was after. As this design looked very much just like a wolf and less like the hyena looking creatures from 'Lord of the Rings' i created a few other options that bridged the gap from the more wolf looking direction to the hyena looking ones seen in the earlier films. (i will spare your eyes from some of the mankier ones i did!)
First design trying to match the illustration.........and yes, i was asked to draw the glowing lines coming out of its eyes.
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One of the variations attempting to link these wargs to the ones in LoTR.![]()
After some feedback we learned that Peter did in fact want to go more in the wolf direction but he only liked the illustration i was given as a starting point. He wanted the Wargs for Hobbit to be more of an exaggerated theatrical embodiment of evil and not something that was just an over-sized anatomically correct wolf where the initial illustrations were going. He referenced the 'Darkness' character from LEGEND as a good example of this idea, if you look at the forms on his face none of them are necessarily 'anatomically correct' but they enhance and embody the evil nature of that character, it is much more iconic and stays with you long after the film is over.![]()
So with that in mind i again did a few more options taking it in that direction, starting more subtlety then increasing how prominent the exaggerated features were in the other options. (again i will save your eyes from the really manky ones!)![]()
...and a more intense version, definitely started to look pretty evil in the bottom left view but maybe getting a bit too much in some of the other angles. I think it was a good call though, really made them stand out visually even though we toned things down significantly from this version in the final. ![]()
After that, one of the more toned down options was selected and i was asked to sculpt it with a closed mouth which we milled out at the Workshop to build a full size prop/rig of the albino matriarch for the actor playing Azog to sit/act/roar on while on set. I'm not sure if this was the final model used to mill out, i recall being asked to widen the head a little in the back so it was a bit more broad right before i handed it off, will try to track all that down and see if i can find the others. This model and a few of the others were then supplied to Weta Digital where they worked their magic making them extra menacing/realistic and absolutely fantastic in the final film!![]()
Showing a quick comparison of the final Weta Digital models. (seen in the art of books)![]()
Quick screen grab from the film.![]()
One of the variations attempting to link these wargs to the ones in LoTR.
After some feedback we learned that Peter did in fact want to go more in the wolf direction but he only liked the illustration i was given as a starting point. He wanted the Wargs for Hobbit to be more of an exaggerated theatrical embodiment of evil and not something that was just an over-sized anatomically correct wolf where the initial illustrations were going. He referenced the 'Darkness' character from LEGEND as a good example of this idea, if you look at the forms on his face none of them are necessarily 'anatomically correct' but they enhance and embody the evil nature of that character, it is much more iconic and stays with you long after the film is over.
So with that in mind i again did a few more options taking it in that direction, starting more subtlety then increasing how prominent the exaggerated features were in the other options. (again i will save your eyes from the really manky ones!)
...and a more intense version, definitely started to look pretty evil in the bottom left view but maybe getting a bit too much in some of the other angles. I think it was a good call though, really made them stand out visually even though we toned things down significantly from this version in the final. 
After that, one of the more toned down options was selected and i was asked to sculpt it with a closed mouth which we milled out at the Workshop to build a full size prop/rig of the albino matriarch for the actor playing Azog to sit/act/roar on while on set. I'm not sure if this was the final model used to mill out, i recall being asked to widen the head a little in the back so it was a bit more broad right before i handed it off, will try to track all that down and see if i can find the others. This model and a few of the others were then supplied to Weta Digital where they worked their magic making them extra menacing/realistic and absolutely fantastic in the final film!
Showing a quick comparison of the final Weta Digital models. (seen in the art of books)
Quick screen grab from the film.
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TESSERACT
Coming soon.![]()
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2080
Future earth where manned machines play an active role in society, building cities, solving crimes and fighting wars. Initially starting with a demo at the Massive Black workshop 2013 doing a live action take on Patlabor but decided to continue some other illustrations to get my environment chops up for fun, using this as a starting point to build some cool story moments from a film that doesn't exist. :)
Massive black workshop 2013.
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Environmental demo, can watch HERE![]()
Some earlier explorations in 3D before deciding on the above shot.![]()
Conflict in Cambodia.![]()
Environmental demo, can watch HERE
Some earlier explorations in 3D before deciding on the above shot.
Conflict in Cambodia.
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Ender's Game
"On their home worlds, do the buggers put on human masks, and play?"
-Orson Scott Card
Just having some fun after re-reading one of my favorite sci-fi books 'Ender's Game'.
One thing i wanted to capture with the Buggers was something that could initially seem scary, but by the end you could sympathize with them (as Ender does by the end of the book). It could go either way really.....as some scary completely unrelatable creature that even the audience has a hard time understanding visually (which would probably be the most interesting) or something that is easier to understand and can quickly get sympathy from a larger audience (but not nearly as interesting). Anyway.... here were a few ideas, if i have time i might do a 'scary' version as another direction these could go in, or a version of the queen could be fun as well.
Bugger Brute
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2 years later..... finally getting around to possibly making some 3D prints of this guy. Here was some early tests of a possible stand, still some artifacts here and there where it connect with the stand but i will clean all that up when i decide on a base and send it off to the printers. Also need to make sure its not too front heavy so it doesn't fall forward, i think as it is currently i might need to lengthen the bottom a bit more. ![]()
These were in one of the other folders but seemed to fit into a similar universe as where the Bugger was going so decided to group them all together. An early test while learning the tools/brushes in ZBrush, rendered in Keyshot.![]()
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2 years later..... finally getting around to possibly making some 3D prints of this guy. Here was some early tests of a possible stand, still some artifacts here and there where it connect with the stand but i will clean all that up when i decide on a base and send it off to the printers. Also need to make sure its not too front heavy so it doesn't fall forward, i think as it is currently i might need to lengthen the bottom a bit more. 
These were in one of the other folders but seemed to fit into a similar universe as where the Bugger was going so decided to group them all together. An early test while learning the tools/brushes in ZBrush, rendered in Keyshot.
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Primates / Creatures
Chimp tutorial 2013
http://www.badking.com.au/site/product-category/tutorial-pro-packs/![]()
Orangutan 1![]()
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Gorilla![]()
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Albino![]()
Big Red![]()
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Isaac![]()
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Orangutan 1
Orangutan 2
Gorilla
Albino
Big Red
Isaac
Trilobite Creature
Scythian
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OPAL
Project developed for a workshop i did at the Concept Design Academy in Pasadena.
The idea is that the smaller arms can clip/lock into the main arms while in motion or while in transit on another vehicle. The larger arms/legs are for locomotion and manipulation, each finger is a retractable tentacle type manipulator that come out when needed for more delicate interaction with its environment or for attacking. The smaller arms are for manipulation and have an ammo feed inside so the design can hold another weapon with its fingers or fire directly out of its hands to engage targets in multiple directions at once. The arms are all very flexible like an octopus or something so it could move and traverse areas where a human cannot, the more hard surfaced parts at the top of each limb contain ammo/battery/brain of the thing so even if the main 'head' area gets damage or an arm gets blown off they can operate independently to finish their task.
More to come!
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Here was the initial photo/sketch that lead to the refined image posted the other day. Would typically do a round of these to explore ideas quickly along with sketches etc at beginning of a design brief. A bit bulkier and more of a fish skeleton spine which i like, a bit of that got lost in the 3D refinement which is fine, could always be used as more of an earlier prototype down the line. ![]()
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Here was the initial photo/sketch that lead to the refined image posted the other day. Would typically do a round of these to explore ideas quickly along with sketches etc at beginning of a design brief. A bit bulkier and more of a fish skeleton spine which i like, a bit of that got lost in the 3D refinement which is fine, could always be used as more of an earlier prototype down the line. 
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Tesseract
TESSERACT Test footage - Ben Mauro and Eduardo Pena
With an over-reliance on VFX in film, this was a test to try to make something for cheap with no VFX. Taking cues from books like Neuromancer and early Ridley Scott films, we set out to explore what was possible on a limited budget. While flawed, i hope you guys find it somewhat interesting.
2052, technology has merged with mankind at an exponential rate changing the way we see and interact with the world. The more integrated the technology the more it is used as a form of control which governments, corporations and crime syndicates take advantage of to its fullest. Tesseract is the story of a man on the run from his past, in a world where no one forgets.
Below you will see a series of still frames from the transfer sequence in the short as the old man transfers his mind into a black market 3D printed body in future Hong Kong.
Mind Transfer.
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Black Market 3D Print Lab.
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The rooftop.
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Making of
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Hiding out in future Malaysia as a farmer, Zao thought he was finally free, living a long life in this old mans body, the perfect disguise…… until the black car came into the rice field and his old life caught up with him once again. He had been preparing for this moment for decades just in case, he made it back to his shack and had just enough juice to transfer his consciousness into his black market printed body he payed for before he left Hong Kong all those years ago.
The new body worked out ok….but the same cant be said for the others in the room, the deformed geometric bodies all around, the printer must have broke years ago….close call. Now he is on the run, hunted for the information in his mind, as he comes to terms with all the things he has done.
The super wealthy can afford to buy replacement artificial bodies once they outlive their organic ones. Their consciousness is stored in a piece of tech implanted in their heads, they have multiple copies of themselves stored up in case there are any accidents, they can essentially live forever. The poor cannot afford such luxury, but there are alternative and risky methods like the black market 3D printer dens around the city where you can (for a hefty fee) buy a replacement body in a pinch, but its luck of the draw if you get what you payed for, they are very unreliable.
Some of the extremely rough illustrated storyboards done before we started shooting to get the basic idea down.
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Black Market 3D Print Lab.
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The rooftop.
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Making of
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Hiding out in future Malaysia as a farmer, Zao thought he was finally free, living a long life in this old mans body, the perfect disguise…… until the black car came into the rice field and his old life caught up with him once again. He had been preparing for this moment for decades just in case, he made it back to his shack and had just enough juice to transfer his consciousness into his black market printed body he payed for before he left Hong Kong all those years ago.
The new body worked out ok….but the same cant be said for the others in the room, the deformed geometric bodies all around, the printer must have broke years ago….close call. Now he is on the run, hunted for the information in his mind, as he comes to terms with all the things he has done.
The super wealthy can afford to buy replacement artificial bodies once they outlive their organic ones. Their consciousness is stored in a piece of tech implanted in their heads, they have multiple copies of themselves stored up in case there are any accidents, they can essentially live forever. The poor cannot afford such luxury, but there are alternative and risky methods like the black market 3D printer dens around the city where you can (for a hefty fee) buy a replacement body in a pinch, but its luck of the draw if you get what you payed for, they are very unreliable.
Some of the extremely rough illustrated storyboards done before we started shooting to get the basic idea down.
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