Concept art for Lauren

Lauren is currently (excuse the pun) 'fleshing out' a gratuitous zombie splatter extravaganza for her 4th Year piece.

Her style is incredible - think Tank Girl meets Metal Gear Solid. She asked me to design a 3D plane to be duplicated for the outside airport scene.

I kept the geometry low in the model, feigned a toon shade / cell style using a ramp shader, some tinkering and a vector texture, then throwing it into Photoshop to add some added grit.

Here are 2 slight variants.

Mark

More Concept Art

Here are a couple of new concept art pieces.

As I mentioned in the last post, Samurai Jack has been a huge influence on us. It really was one of the few cartoons (possibly even programmes) that managed to beautifully gel high art, comedy, sincerity & compelling storytelling.

The style is certainly one which I'm not used to designing; my work is mostly inspired by darker, gloomier films, literature and art. However, this departure allows for all new experimentation and its something Finlay, Kieran and myself are really looking forward to getting our teeth into.

I'll post a breakdown of how I designed, coloured and textured these for those who are interested.

The next step will be to apply this to our 3D models. I've been trying out texture tests on a plane for Lauren's project (which I'll post up soon also).

Mark

New Concept Art

Here are a couple of new concept pieces for our 4th Year film. We've been watching a lot of Samurai Jack re-runs of late, along with a brilliant Danish students' short animation, 'The Saga Of Biorn.'

We still want to retain the isolated atmosphere of The Shadow Of The Colossus and the dauntingly angular angles of Giorgio De Chirico's work, but fuse it with a colourful palette and slick textures so that we have plenty to play with in post-production.

Mark

Rango vs Django

Ok, he's no Franco Nero, but the Don Quixote-esque Rango is quite the unexpected badass..........as is the film and everything about it. Countless Leone references, really invective, despicable bad guys, and plenty of brilliant jokes.

However, the visuals are something else to behold. The textures, environment, effects and colours are incredible; words honestly can't do them justice. The creatures are as beautifully gritty and ugly as the cast of Once Upon A Time In The West and animate as convincingly as actors move in a Terry Gilliam film.

It is a must see.

Mark

4th Year Project

......and so it begins: our first steps into a year and a half of perpetual mental Maya torture.

I'm working with Kieran Duncan (www.kieranduncan.blogspot.com) on an idea which we've spent the last few weeks fleshing out. It began with us considering doing our own take and re-imagining of the classic Sci-Fi short story, 'Time Enough at Last', by Lyn Venable. However, it began to take its own shape and transformed into an original idea that we're both extremely proud of.

Here is the synopsis and some early concept art.

"A young inventor sits aggravated and dumbfounded at his faltering time machine. His continuing attempts at success seem futile. He places his watch into the machine, throws the switch , resulting in a fantastic explosion of light that fills the room...

However, as the dust settles, he finds that the watch remains on the time machine's platform seemingly untouched. Indignant, he furiously and repeatedly cranks the massive lever activating the machine over and over before collapsing - defeated - in his chair with a mug of tea.

In a last ditch attempt, he grabs the watch, pulls the lever, and slips through the doors into the chamber. He watches in amazement as the world around him rips apart into infinite expanse, before reforming before his eyes.

He slams back into reality, stumbling off the platform onto his knees. Staring at the ground confounded, he finds himself surrounded by watches… all of them identical to his own.

Perplexed, he stands up to find himself in the same room, although not all is what it seems: the décor diminished, neglected and dusty… As if hundreds of years have passed.

The time machine emits a lonely spark as it lies destroyed behind him; he’s trapped in the future.

After climbing the rotting stairs, the inventor steps out of the doorframe and into the outside world, only to be confronted by a vast, barren landscape; the remnants of his former city, now a desert wasteland.

He wanders aimlessly through the city streets looking for any signs of life. Suddenly, a loud clang echoes from the distance. He spots the figure of a man through the dust rummaging in a pile of scrap.

Shouting, he walks towards the figure. The man flees, tearing through the city streets and down alleyways. A chase ensues, culminating in the exasperated inventor tackling the man; wrestling him to the ground.

He turns him over onto his back and recoils in horror as he sees himself staring back. Standing up, he’s surrounded by duplicates of himself seemingly non-phased at his presence. One of them pats a chair - inviting the inventor to take a seat.

In the background, several other clones are building what seems to be another time machine.

Present Day: The inventor sits down once again at his desk frustrated, with a cup of tea. He’ll try again tomorrow."

Mark

New work.

Poster for new Art, Fashion & Tattoo Boutique.

Opening in Dundee very soon.