I’ve recently added a Titles page to the site. My plan is to spend no more than a couple of hours on each of these explorations. Quick little studies using napkin sketches, Illustrator, After Effects, and Element 3D.
They may be rough around the edges here and there. I’ll gradually start migrating over to Cinema 4D. I hope you enjoy these throwbacks to some of my favorite films, characters, and stories as a child.
I’ll never forget the Richard Amsel-illustrated movie poster for Raiders of the Lost Ark (below far left) that donned a corner of my teenage room.
I was enamored with the rich detail he rendered for my favorite whip-wielding adventure hero. It had depth, texture, and contrast.
ALL IMAGES ABOVE © RICHARD AMSEL.
ALL IMAGES ABOVE © DREW STRUZAN.
Then one day I saw another poster thinking it was Amsel’s latest creation, but his signature was absent from the corner. Scribed in a similar location was the simple, understated, lowercase script “drew.” I didn’t know at first sight that the artist, Drew Struzan, was one of the most iconic album cover and movie poster illustrators of all time.
Drew could somehow depict an entire movie’s essence in one illustration. His rendering transcended the film itself, elevating it to a whole other level. His The Thing poster is one of the most original and captivating of all of his designs (above far right). In true artistic fashion, he rendered it in one night. The paint was still wet when it was en route.
Struzan also had no reference material to draw from for The Thing, only his own vastly rich imagination. Both artists’ works all shared one thing: they were all one of a kind original works of art, not mass produced Photoshop-styled montages. These “Photoshop jockeys,” as they’ve been called, merely attempt to capture both Amsel’s and Struzan’s essence, and nearly always miss the mark by a long shot.
Traditional materials could never be completely replaced by modern-era pixel pushers. To explore Richard Amsel’s portfolio visit this tribute by Adam McDaniel. For more information on Drew Struzan watch The Man Behind the Poster. Also enjoy his extensive portfolio site here.
Like most people these days I take my camera with me everywhere. You just never know when you’ll find a great reference whether it be a texture, color, material, whatever. Nothing beats great reference material. If you shoot it yourself you’ll notice the finedetails.
The best way to recreate something from the real world is to first observe that world in full detail and capture as many reference photos as possible. You'll be amazed what details your eyes didn’t actually “see” in person when reviewing the reference photos.
If you’re in a time crunch and need great reference material take a look at CG Textures. They have an extensive library that’s well organized.
They have an extensive array of catalogued photos from leaking concrete to paint splatter and nearly everything in between. Enjoy!
Visit CGTextures.
It’s been awhile so I figured it was about time to give Element 3D v2 a spin around the block. With the release of Video Copilot’s Element 3D Version 2 comes a wealth of new features. Andrew Kramer has stepped up the game for this game engine-inspired GPU plugin with raytracing, mirror and spherical reflections, shadows, new enhanced multisampling, and an animation engine that gives the user the hooks we need to push the boundaries of this ever immersive plugin. Here is one of my first tests trying out the depth of field and how it impacts the render times (top image). Feeling under the microscope vibes going on here.
I was pleasantly surprised that if sampling is set to 0,0 while one designs and animates then leaving depth of field on doesn’t cause much of a performance hit. At final render time I upped the samples to 8,8, and used enhanced multisampling. For organic scenes there's not much of a drastic change in quality, however I was working with a car model and in order for the curves to be smooth I had to up the quality to at least 8, 8. The second image below utilizes one of the new BackLight environment maps. I’ve used these maps in Cinema 4D, too. They’re quite versatile in creating moody scenes with a simple image map.
Visit VideoCopilot.
The 87th Annual Academy Awards were quite an event. Neil Patrick Harris was surrounded by an enormous backdrop that immersed us within the spectacle. The graphics were a throwback to poster designs from decades ago. They reminded me of Saul Bass in many respects.
The tributes to those who had passed on were tended to with an artist’s care. There is a great article on Motionographer and Art of the Title about the man behind those graphic designs, Henry Hobson, and the talented artists at Elastic.
ALL IMAGES FROM THE MOTIONOGRAPHER ARTICLE “CRAFTING GRAPHICS FOR THE OSCARS: AN INTERVIEW WITH HENRY HOBSON.”
Visit Motionographer.
Visit Art of the Title.
Photomosaic software has been around for nearly two decades. Way back in the day folks tinkered with this technique completely by hand just as we did with colored hole punches in Color Theory class in college. The road was tedious, but the end results can be astounding when one takes the time to view from afar.
Taking notice of the closeup details can be mesmerizing. I recently experimented with cf/x’s Photomosaic. This was my first test right out of the gate with default settings. The tile rotation option really helps give this image a greater sense of depth. I’ll post additional examples when I have more time to experiment.
While working on a logo design for a new show for NBA TV I came across a unique font family called “Gist” from Yellow Design Studio (YDS). For a modest $49 the family comes with a vast array of 20 fonts. Ryan Martinson from YDS has also posted a variety of free elements like dingbats, textures, and fonts for download.
Something I really appreciated about the “Gist” family was that the designer provided the inlines as separate fonts so the inlines could be easily colored and separated out. Also the ligatures, swash capitals, and alternates were very well thought out for multiple applications allowing for personal stylings.
Visit Yellow Design Studio.
In a world filled with movies and television sporting the latest trends in digital, data-driven effects, we tend to forget how good optical compositing and keen artistic interpretation will trump these digital hydras every time. Just because the data in the computer for a particular shot is accurate to the laws of physics, why does it still feel rigid and cold compared to the vinyl-aged practical effects? The art is missing. The art has been slowly cornered by science, rather than an artist interpreting a scene by instinct.
In a recent video that was reposted by Prolost (Stu Maschwitz’s blog) from a previous post on FX Guide, Dennis Muren, ILM legend discusses this trend toward data and away from art. We’re leaning too heavily into having the computer tween for us. Motion needs messiness.
When Stu references the T-Rex's big reveal in Jurassic Park there is a strong blue light shining from apparently nowhere in the real world, yet it works. Why is that? Artistic interpretation for heightened effect. We don’t go to the movies to watch a film. We go to the movies to be immersed within a film. This blue light washes the scene similar to a spotlight used in a stage play for heightening dramatic effect.
We are at a crossroads where the latest digital techniques need to be corralled back toward the arts. Science is a great foundation for a shot, but knowing when to bend the rules, and sometimes even break them in order for the shot to become memorable to the viewer is key. Most images on screen are too sharp and could use some blur. Yes degrade the imagery to look and feel more like the rolling falloff of film.
ABOVE IMAGE © UNIVERSAL PICTURES.
Visit Prolost.
When I was 11 my Dad convinced me that if I wanted a computer I had to first take a computer course on TV. I agreed and learned about the ins and outs of ones and zeros, bits, bytes, ROM, and RAM. So that Christmas I got my first computer: a shiny new Commodore 64 with a 1541 drive and 1702 model color video display. One of my favorite things to do was challenge myself to draw pixel-by-pixel with the cursor keys and create my latest digital masterpiece. One I fondly remember is the Amsel Raiders poster that I copied to the best of my 11-year-old artistic talents. I also enjoyed designing my own games with Garry Kitchen’s Game Maker from Activision when I wasn’t playing Zork I or Bard’s Tale.
Little did anyone know how popular this computer would become. Due to its spectacular graphics and sound, in-house production and the creation of the 10,000+ games and other programs written for the C64, it flourished. It is now listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-selling single computer model of all time category. It outsold Apple, Atari, and IBM PCs for years. According to Wikipedia: “It has been compared to the Ford Model T automobile for its role in bringing a new technology to middle-class households via creative mass-production.” For Commodore 64 emulation visit Power64. I keep Snow Leopard around just so I can run it on my mid-2010 27-inch iMac.
“[The Commodore 64] has been compared to the Ford Model T automobile for its role in bringing a new technology to middle-class households via creative mass-production.”
— Wikipedia
Mark Simonson is a rare gem of a typography designer who not only redefines classic font families, he breathes new life into them. He doesn’t just revive them he evolves them by cleaning them up stripping away unnecessary fluff. Simonson forges out the impurities. He’s also the father of one of the cleaner, more modern fonts used extensively on the web: Proxima Nova.
The font that eventually became Proxima Nova was first used for the Star Wars Radio Drama packaging by Simonson when it was released for the first time to the public in the early 90s. The original radio drama hit the airwaves in the 80s. Here’s the full story from the man himself. When I stumbled upon Mark’s website I felt at home seeing notes about my college typography professor, Professor Arnholm.
I really enjoyed Simonson’s breakdowns of some of the more influential type designers from the early days. One in particular caught my eye: Ron Arnholm. I studied under Professor Arnholm while attending The University of Georgia’s graphic design program, I designed countless catalogs, books, and exhibition checklists for The Georgia Museum of Art all along using his extensively diverse Legacy family.
Arnholm was one of my favorite professors during my years in Athens, GA. His Aquarius font was used extensively on the campus signage at UGA. My logotype on this page was created in Arnholm’s Advanced Typography course. When I presented the final design he said it would last a long time. I've tried to redesign it over the past 21 years always returning to the original.
Visit Mark Simonson Studio.
Emulators are great, but nothing beats playing a classic game on the actual hardware from ages past. I grabbed these classics so my daughter could learn about dolphins, the human body, and bugs with her Magic School Bus CD ROMs.
We opted for her to learn from these older classics rather than the latest iPad app. For a basic setup here’s all you need: 1) 1998 or 1999 iMac with OS 9 (eBay $60), 2) OS 9 Installer CDs (eBay $20), and 3) a $3 battery for the iMac. For just $83 you’re up and running in no time.
Starlog magazine had been around since I was 4 years old. The magazine excelled at going into a film’s intricate details including breakdowns of the original Star Wars weaponry or fully exploded drawings of the Starship Enterprise. For decades the magazine was the de facto standard for film coverage as well as what was hot on the horizon for television and video game consoles. Unfortunately after 33 years in publication in 2009 Starlog was shut down like many other print-related entities.
Luckily in 2014 there were rumblings about Starlog making a come back 5 years after the print edition was shut down. With much thanks to Fangoria, Starlog.com became a reality in late 2014. Now Starlog is available to a whole new generation of sci-fi fans.
A FEW KEY ISSUES FROM MY OWN PERSONAL COLLECTION
If you enjoy a great film, but find more satisfaction in the art and design of the film’s title sequences this site is for you. From Saul Bass’s spirographic Vertigo to Kyle Cooper’s demented Se7en one can spend hours pouring through the sheer volumes of titles.
One thing I find curious is that the titles created in the days of optical compositing stand out as stronger in regard to design, color, and composition in many respects, although the animation can be quite crude compared to today’s digitally interpolated scenes.
ALL IMAGES ABOVE © CECCHI GORI PICTURES, © JUNO PIX, AND © NEW LINE CINEMA.
Visit Art of the Title.
Back in the 90s we didn’t have an internet filled with a plethora of training videos to learn about image manipulation in the computer, especially those produced by real experts, let alone free. There were a handful however that rose far above the rest and didn’t break the bank: Total Training’s After Effects VHS series with Brian Maffitt, and Masters of Visual Effects VHS series with Forest Key, John Knoll, Ron Brinkmann, Scott Squires, Stu Maschwitz, Matt Silverman, and Alex Lindsay.
On the one hand there was Brian Maffitt, full of energy and most of his tutorials used impractical materials (giraffes with wheels for their feet), but he always delivered on the concepts and provided excellent training. I learned After Effects overnight watching Brian’s tapes when transitioning from a Discreet Flint. On the other hand were folks like Ron Brinkmann whose monotone voice could put you to sleep if you weren’t fascinated by every last detail of image processing in the Masters of Visual Effects series. But there was nothing mundane about what he was discussing. It kept me on the edge of my seat.
“I learned After Effects overnight by watching Brian’s VHS tapes.”
Those tapes were priceless, and I was lucky enough to convince my boss to spend a couple hundred bucks and get them for us. Alex Lindsay formed DV Garage some time later. He was able to convince the EI Technology Group to offer a free copy of an older version of ElectricImage with his 3D Toolkit. The 3D Toolkit focused more on the foundation concepts of 3D rather than a specific application, much like the Masters series did. One thing I’ve shared with my students is to consider their foundation studies like Color Theory and Figure Drawing much more important than learning the latest, greatest shiny effect making its rounds across the internet.
Now we have an internet filled with free training videos from every one that has a computer and an internet connection. You’d think with all of the offerings it would be hard to decide which training to use. But just like in the 90s sheer volume isn’t what’s important. There are a handful of solid training opportunities out there if you take the time to wade through the white noise.
Matt Silverman posted some of the Masters of Visual Effects videos online years ago so now they’re not only digital, but free. Get them here.
Long before Adobe and Autodesk had After Effects and Flame there was the Quantel Paintbox. My first job was at The Weather Channel in the mid 90s, and I got to paint with pixels on a Quantel Harriet. The Harriet had a “Ramcorder,” the precursor to the RAM Preview, of 383 frames which allowed for realtime playback and it had a live video out direct to air which luckily I only had to use once. While I thoroughly enjoyed my time on the Paintbox, I felt constrained, held back by its shortcomings. Eventually I graduated from limitations of the Paintbox and leveled up to an SGI Indigo2 sporting Discreet Logic Flint and SoftImage 3D Extreme.
My mentor and friend, Eddie Terrill, aka E.T., at The Weather Channel told me a story about their first year with the very first Paintbox in use at a broadcast network back in the early 80s. The Weather Channel Art Department were the first Paintbox users in the United States. Their in-house art department won 26 Gold BDA awards that year. The serial number on their Paintbox was number 1. MTV was one of the other few early adopters of the Paintbox. Enjoy this article about artist David Hockney and his time “painting with light” on the Quantel Paintbox here.
When we transitioned to SGIs I asked E.T. if he could train me on Flint. He looked at me deadpan and simply said, “read the manual.” Like my overnight After Effects training I read the entire wire-bound Flint manual in one night. I jumped into the hot seat the next day with E.T. alongside me giving me his wise insights into compositing and animation on the Flint. Later that year three of us got the opportunity to visit Marshall Graphics Systems in Tennessee for SoftImage 3D Extreme training. A few years later we transitioned to Apple Macintoshes, replacing all of the legacy SGI hardware with much less expensive gear with our own “Rebel Mac Unit” quite similar to Industrial Light & Magic’s own Mac group.
We now had access to tools ILM has also implemented like Puffin Designs Commotion and ElectricImage Animation System. We also replaced Adobe Premiere with Apple Final Cut Pro. We utilized local Rorke Data disk arrays paired with Pinnacle Systems Targa SDX cards for DigiBeta ingest and recording. As we entered into the 2000s we delivered graphics as QuickTime files encoded in the Digital Voodoo codec. Our SDX cards were replaced with D1 Desktops. I actually worked for Digital Voodoo as their worldwide technical support line. A few years later Grant Petty was ousted from the company he created, and he founded Blackmagic Design. BMD’s DeckLink found its home into my own homegrown broadcast design, animation, and compositing studio.
During a recent family trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, for my daughter’s sixth birthday we enjoyed a walking tour through Walt’s incredible journey as a dreamer and entrepreneur. This humble, miniature museum laid out key moments in Walt Disney’s life. He and his brother, Roy O. Disney, founded Disney World. However, Walt died in 1966 just 5 years before the doors opened. His brother came out of retirement to officially realize the brothers’ dream. Disney World officially opened on October 1, 1971 to the delight of the world. While it’s gone through many a transformation since its inception, it still remains an escape, a land of imagination where dreams do come true.
As we followed the historical placards through the dimly lit space there was one in particular caught my eye that stated “Multiplane: New Depth In Animation.” Disney developed a camera system that could layer elements onto separate planes in space. Then by moving the camera through the layers this technique gave the scene a believable, lifelike quality of depth previously only applicable to live action. This system was eventually replaced by digital compositing techniques, but the term “multiplane” stuck. We still use this term today when referring to multilayered comps in After Effects and other compositing applications like Flame, Fusion, Blender, and Nuke.
ABOVE IMAGES © DISNEY.
“With the introduction of parallax, scenes achieved a greater, more natural level of depth.”
When Walt Disney introduced the multi-plane camera in Snow White it was a game changer. New possibilities gave animators more freedom to bring their scenes to life.
With the introduction of parallax scenes achieved a greater, more natural level of depth. In many respects this technique is still used today, but in a digital variety.
Released with the very first Macintosh computer in 1984, MacPaint sold for $195 and included its word processor companion, MacWrite. MacPaint was developed by Bill Atkinson. He was one of the original members of the Macintosh development team at Apple. I can still remember when I first used MacPaint in my high school art class.
I painted a surfer catching the crest of a wave. It was crude, but the spray paint can sure did beat painting pixel by pixel with the arrow keys on my Commodore 64. Little did I know at the time, but the desktop revolution was just a few years away. First it will revolutionize print, and next it leveled up compositing and vfx for television and feature films.
ABOVE MACPAINT IMAGE © APPLE USED FOR EDITORIAL AND EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. ILLUSTRATION BY SUSAN KARE.
In 2014 CloudPaint was released online by Martin Braun. It’s an emulator of the original MacPaint program.
It will transport you back nearly 30 years to the dawn of the original MacPaint.
When you start a new job somewhere, there’s no telling what it will lead to. I heard a story years ago about a guy that answered the phones at Industrial Light & Magic who eventually became a visual effects supervisor there. I don’t work at ILM, but my college internship produced a relationship that lasted nineteen years. Plus we celebrated quite a few accolades along the journey. In 1994 while attending the University of Georgia for Graphic Design I was fortunate enough to begin an internship with the Georgia Museum of Art, the state’s official art museum. Around that time I was also the Graphic Editor for The Red & Black student newspaper in downtown Athens. Little did I know my design talents would eventually arrive in the Library of Congress.
Bonnie Ramsey, Director of Publications and Public Relations, was my mentor. She had a deep passion for advertising and identity design. The very first piece I designed was for an exhibition of Art and Margo Rosenbaum’s work. It was called “ShOut!” and I used the ‘O’ as a metaphor for a mouth shouting. Bonnie said when she saw that clever play on typography she knew we would get along quite well. After my internship ended, Bonnie and I kept in touch and nearly every year for 14 years we produced a handful of award-winning, including Best In Show, exhibition catalogs, checklists, and hard and soft cover texts. Bonnie is retired now, and I am pleased to share that we are about to collaborate on another exciting project.
I was fortunate to meet Lamar Dodd in his home one afternoon while he was cataloging his work. I had designed a poster earlier that year which included one of his daughter’s paintings. Per the University of Georgia’s Lamar Dodd School of Art website: “Founded in 1937, the School of Art is named for Lamar Dodd who as a young man in the 1920s traveled from his home in Georgia to New York to be part of the Art Student’s League.
There he learned from and worked with many of the luminaries of American art. He returned to Georgia to head the Art Department at the University of Georgia from 1939 until his retirement in 1972. Under his leadership, the department grew significantly. The department was renamed the Lamar Dodd School of Art in 1996.” Visit GMOA. Visit the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia in Athens.
Now couldn’t be a better time than ever to be a classic gamer. One thing I remember most about my first computer, the original Commodore 64, was playing Zork, an all-text adventure game set in a magical, fantasy world. I can still hear the sound of my dot matrix printer screeching away as I kept an ongoing transcript of my latest adventure. In 1992 id Software released Wolfenstein 3D, and a year later their Doom series further defined the FPS in all of its gruesome detail.
And who could forget Dragon’s Lair, the animated adventure from animation genius Don Bluth? I spent many a Saturday at Putt Putt Golf & Games and Aladdin’s Castle going through the moves to slay the dragon, Singe, as the crowd of teens around me cheered me on at every move. Now I can take the games around in my pocket and play whenever I like. Zork © Infocom, The Ultimate Doom © id Software, and Dragon’s Lair © Digital Leisure, Inc.
