Film Sketchr Talks To 'Grimm' Concept Artist Jerad S Marantz

Grimm (2011) "Billy" by Jerad S. Marantz

Mike said, "His work always stood out to me before I really knew who created it, because of the striking silhouettes and the unique designs of classic creatures." Jerad S. Marantz creates striking visuals. His creatures are always very distinct.

Jerad S. Marantz (I Am Legend, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Amazing Spider-Man) has worked on some of the biggest movies in Hollywood as a creature designer. He also teaches at the Gnomon School of Visual FX, and the Concept Design Academy.

I talked to him about working on the hit TV show Grimm and what its like to be a concept artist, even when you're working on a bad movie.

As always, click on the images to enlarge.


Q: What's It Like When You Look Up At The Screen And See Your Designs Come To Life, And They're Mostly Yours?
It’s incredible. It’s why every concept artist does it. It’s what you hope happens throughout the entire process. Of course it’s a team effort and we're all working towards the same goal which is to get something on the screen that makes everyone happy. But, it's an added plus if what’s up on that screen is yours.

Q: American Horror Story Is Nominated For An Emmy. You Worked On The Show. Tell Us About It.
American Horror Story is created by Ryan Murphy. It’s really well written with amazing story arcs. Last season I designed the Frankenstein baby (Infantata), burnt man and the twins.

American Horror Story "Burnt Man" (2011) by Jerad S. Merantz

Q: Every Movie Can’t Be A Blockbuster. What’s It Like Working On A Bad Movie?
That’s a tough question. There are ways around working on a movie that you think isn't going to be good. As a concept artist I think the guys that last the longest are the ones who are just in love with the process. If the film is great it's an added benefit. I've designed for quite a few films that haven't done well, but I've had so much fun working on them.

Dragonball: Evolution (2009) "Picallo" by Jerad S. Marantz

Dragonball: Evolution (2009) "Assassins" by Jerad S. Marantz

Q: Grimm Came Out This Week And You're One Of The Concept Artists On The Film. What's The Biggest Challenge Of Working On Grimm?
Grimm is a great show and I love working on it. I’m so happy it’s doing well. As a child I loved watching the X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It’s always been an ambition of mine to work on a TV show that introduces a new monster every week and it’s about time creatures made their way back to network television.

I get my assignments from Steve Oster (producer). I really like working with him. As a designer you want a client that gives solid feedback and propels the design process forward.

It's a fun challenge in every episode to capture what animal each creature is based on while maintaining the actor’s character in a subtle balance. I’m fortunate to be designing these creatures with my good friend Constantine Sekeris. We compare notes on the show all the time and we are motivated by each other’s work. Constantine has been designing in the industry for a long time and it’s truly inspiring working with him. 

Grimm (2011) "Rhino" by Jerad S. Marantz

Q: When You're Working On A Design For Grimm, Do You Take Into Account The Fact That It Might Be CGI Or Practical?
I’m never sure how the creature design will be executed on screen. At this point I just have to make sure the design can work as a practical makeup and as a visual effect. It’s always exciting to see how they end up using the designs. Either way we have great artists that bring these designs to life.

Grimm (2011) "Gator Man" by Jerad S. Marantz

Barney Burman at B2FX has done the majority of the makeups for season 1 and the work’s been incredible. Every now and then I’ll be in touch with Barney and he’ll tell me how the makeups are going. For the first episode of season 2 I designed a Saber-tooth Tiger man. I was talking to Barney about it and was so excited he was able to flock the makeup and get those teeth top work practically.

Edward Irastorza is the shows Visual FX supervisor. Ed’s in charge of making sure the creatures look their best in CG. He’s done a great job on the show. Grimm is incredibly ambitious with regards to visual FX. I think if people really knew how much work goes into the transformations of these creatures it would blow their minds. Ed was the guy that recommended me for the show and I’ll always be grateful to him for that.

Q: What Led You to Become A teacher?
I teach because I was very fortunate to have teachers myself. Many have been very gerous with imparting knowledge, like Constantine Sekeris, who nutured younger artists and wasn't afraid to share their tricks. They like me, recognize that concept artists are part of a group working to achieve the same goal. Plus, teaching helps keep my skills sharp. It allows an artists to hold onto techniques that they may not otherwise use. A director may say, "I want a sketch" and it keeps my skills sharp in these areas.

I always get very excited when I come across an artist that I think may have a real shot at making it in the industry.

Here are some more concept designs from the television show Grimm.

See more of Jerad S. Marantz' portfolio at jeradsmarantz.blogspot.com.

Make sure you tune in for Grimm on NBC on Mondays and check out the official site http://www.nbc.com/grimm.

What do you think of his illustrations? Did you learn anything from the interview? Can you name which episode each comes from?
 
@ Copyright 2011 GK Productions, Hazy Mills Productions, Universal TV, Jerad S. Merantz. All rights reserved 

Exclusive: 'The Amazing Spider-Man' Concept Artist Jerad S. Marantz On Working With The Studio Designing The Lizard And More

Spider-Man has been an enduring character since he first appeared back in 1963. After hundreds of comics, and several movies, he returned to the screen in The Amazing Spider-Man (2012). Concept artist Jerad S Marantz (I Am Legend, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Green Lantern) has worked on some of the biggest films in the industry. 

I got a chance to have an exclusive interview with him about working on the film The Amazing Spider-Man. He talks about working with the studio, what it was like to help design the Spider-Man suit and why concept art often looks so different from the final design.



Q: What Work Did You Do On The Amazing Spider-Man?
I was on the show for a while. At the time, I was the lead artist at the Aaron Simms Company and I did a lot of concepts for the lizard and the new spidey suit.

Q: There's A Wide Range Of Designs For "The Lizard." Was There A Point Where The Studio Said It's Gone Too Far?
In all honesty, concept artists may start the design process with a version of the creature or character that they would love to see in the film, but we are really there to help realize what the director and studio wants. How that usually works is I’ll do a first pass and the client says, "Eh, more human. Less human. More based on this reptile. Not so much iguana." Till the process gets filtered down and that's how any concept design gig really works.

That's why, often times, you'll see concept art that does not exactly match what appears on-screen.  There are a lot of designers on a show like Spider-man that all contribute to the design process. The final product is often times pieced together from the best elements of many different concepts from different artists.

Q: Just Focusing On This One Illustration. This Lizard Has A Very Human Face. Who Did You Use As A Model?
That was an actor. There's a likeness in there for him. Oftentimes when you're doing concept art you have to design a character around an actor the studio really wants to cast. It happened on Green Lantern when I designed one of Phillip Seymore Hoffman for the character of Hector Hammond. Sometimes I feel as if a concept artist plays a small roll cast actors for these films.

Editor's Note: There was talk that Michael Fassbender was going to play a villain in Columbia's The Amazing Spider-Man, but he went with Fox's X-Men: First Class instead. No doubt the above concept art was designed with his face.

Q: The Spider Man Costume Is Very Different From The Traditional Design. Was That A Concern?
You know, its funny no one seems that upset about the suit now. When I originally did an interview with ComicBookMovie.com  the suit was already released and some people weren't very happy with it at the time.

You know I'm a comic book geek myself and some fans don't take into account how many Spider-Man suits there have actually been. There was even a Spider-Man suit created by Tony Stark and it was red and gold and was made out of Iron Man parts. There have been so many versions.

Costume designer Kym Barrett designed the suit for the film and did an amazing job. She would come by the office from time to time and give me notes. I really enjoyed working with her.

Q: What's It Like Seeing Your Design In The Final Film?
It still feels incredible. Its what I hope happens throughout the entire process.

See more of Jerad S. Marantz' portfolio at his blog jeradsmarantz.blogspot.com and you can see more of his work on upcoming films like G.I. Joe: Retaliation and the FX television show American Horror Story.

What do you think of Marantz' illustrations? Did you like his designs for the film?

Can You Name All The 'Green Lantern (2011) Guardians?

Watching the film Green Lantern (2011) you would never know the difference between the alien leaders known as Guardians. If you're a fan of Green Green you may have wondered who they were since they never used names. Thankfully, Jerad S. Merantz is here to clear it up.

Lantern has some of the most original concept designs I've seen. Some of the most sriking were done by concept artist Jerad S. Merantz. On his blog he posted some of his Guardians Designs. They are amazingly complex.

Here's what he said about the illustrations:

The Guardians where the most fun to design. I really ejoyed finding their individual personalities and developing their look.

In the comics all the Guardians look the same, but he did a great job of giving them unique features.

Appa Ali Apsa, a.k.a. "the Old-Timer" and/or "the Mad Guardian".

Broome Bon Bari

Pazu Pinder Pol

 

Ganthet

Scar

You can see more of his work at Jerad S Marantz http://www.jeradsmarantz.blogspot.com/

Update: Are These New 'G.I. JOE 2: Retaliation' Concept Art Images Real?

A couple of sites have posted what they claim to be concept art from the G.I. Joe: Rise of COBRA sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation.

I have a hard time believing it though. A lot of times fan art is created and people try to pawn it off as concept art. This feels like that.Simply because it's not detailed enough.

Concept art is usually extremely detailed with color and precision. These are black and white images done in a very simple style. They would be useless to a director, director of photography or costume designer.

But, you never know. So, here they are.

They're very well done illustrations though. Very dramatic. I doubt they're really from the studio though.

Concept artists from IMDb are Matthew R. Cunningham, Jock, Jerad S. Marantz, Michael Meyers, Manuel Plank-Jorge, Steffen Reichstadt and Raj Rihal. Production design is by Andrew Menzies.

Via Filmofilia
Update: A couple of sources have confirmed these are not concept art from the film.

What do you think? Are these real G.I. Joe Retaliation concept designs?

Merantz Concept Sketches Reveal The Lost X-Men Mutant Beak

Jerad S. Merantz's concept sketches show us a very different mutant for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. When the movie was scripted Dominic Monaghan was supposed to be a circus freak called "Beak."

The first version of the script by David Benioff had him  a carnival sideshow attraction, who was killed by Sabretooth. Instead they changed him to the electricity manipulating "Bolt."

Here is some work I did on the movie. Beak was a character that was intended to be in the movie but he was cut. - Merantz

I can't say enough about Jerad S Marantz's blog so check it out today! http://www.jeradsmarantz.blogspot.com/

What do you think of the art? Would you have preferred to have Beak in the movie over Bolt?

UPDATED: Artists of 'The Thing' (2011)

Updated: Ed Natividad
These are some of the artists that worked on the recent blockbuster prequel The Thing (2011) according to IMDb.

"The Thing is a science-fiction horror film directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., and written by Eric Heisserer and Ronald D. Moore. It stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Joel Edgerton. Despite sharing the same title, this movie is not a remake of but rather a prequel to the 1982 John Carpenter film of the same name, taking place immediately prior to the events of that film. It follows a team of Norwegian and American scientists who discover an alien buried deep in the ice of Antarctica, realizing too late that it is still alive, consuming then imitating the team members." - Wikipedia

Production Design by Sean Haworth http://www.seanhaworth.com/
Character Design

• Jerad Marantz http://www.jeradsmarantz.blogspot.com/
• Jordu Schell http://www.schellstudio.com/
• Aaron Sims http://www.aaron-sims.com/
• Michael Broom http://michaelbroom.daportfolio.com/

Concept Artists

• David Vyle Levy (Senior Concept Artist) http://vyle-art.com/index.html
• John Dickenson http://jdickensonart.com/
• Ed Natividad ednatividad.com
• Robert Simons http://www.robertdraws.com

Set Designers

• William Cheng
• David G. Fremlin
• Joseph Hiura
• Douglas Slater

Storyboard Artists

• Richard Bennett
• Robert Consing
• Benton Jew http://bentonjewart.blogspot.com/
• Rob McCallum http://mccallumart.com/
• Vicki Pui

Top Ten Amazing Concept Art of 'X-Men: First Class' (2011)

There are many talented artists who worked on X-Men: First Class, and while I haven't seen all the artwork, these are my favorites.

Official plot synopsis: "X-Men: First Class charts the epic beginning of the X-Men saga, and reveals a secret history of famous global events. Before mutants had revealed themselves to the world, and before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Not archenemies, they were instead at first the closest of friends, working together with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop Armageddon. In the process, a grave rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men."



1. Angel by Howard Swindell

It's not hard to make the beautiful Zoe Kravitz look good, but the coy way Angel peeks behind her extended wings really sells this piece.

2. Beast by Howard Swindell

3. Beach wreckage by Jamie Rama

In the clymactic battle at the end of the film, the mutants crash onto the beach. This landscape by Jamie Rama does a great job exploring the wreckage of the X-Men's jet.

3. Banshee scream by Unknown (Aaron Simms Company)

Banshee was an alright character in the film, but I think this concept art makes it really dynamic. Notice the change to his throat suggesting an incredible release of power.

4. "Havok v.5" by Alex Mandra Unknown (Aaron Simms Company)

In the film Havok is able to release blasts of energy. I'm assuming this was a scene from when Havok was trapped on an aircraft carrier and he's blasting his way out.

5. "Havok v. 4" by Alex Mandra Unknown (Aaron Simms Company)

Another great scene of Havok blasting away. Notice a couple of things. First, he's not wearing his harness, but still has control of his power. Second, notice the sword which I'm assuming was owned by Azazel. That also might explain the leg and hoof hanging in the air.

6. Azazel by Jerad S. Merantz

This image of Azazel is much more extreme than what we saw on film. With the suggestion of horns and an amazing armored costume. I'm not sure about the fur coat though. Too much?

7. Angel by Jerad S. Merantz

Another alternate view of Angel, this one is far more goth than the final result. Some nice touches are the gorgeous backlit wings and the slight hint of drool at the corners of her mouth suggesting her acidic saliva.

 8. Darwin by Howard Swindell

A Photoshop job adds gills. This is the first art I've seen that shows Darwin's tranformations effectively. He created a bunch more, but this is my favorite. 

9. "Emma Frost, Preliminary Design" by Hao Wu

The lovely view of Emma Frost as being made of large diamonds with sparkling eyes. The fire in high-quality diamonds really adds to the drama. In the film the effect is a bit muddied, so I like how this one shines.

10. "Havok Firing Sequence" by Hao Wu



While the final result looks nothing like this, I like how he laid out the feel of the sequence which is sweet. Great use of colors too.

Visit all the websites of the artists for more great stuff.
http://www.aaron-sims.com/
http://www.howardswindell.com/
http://www.haosketch.com/
http://jamierama.com/
http://jeradsmarantz.blogspot.com/
http://alexmandra.blogspot.com/

Some artwork taken from conceptartworld.com
What's your favorite concept art from the film? Do you have a favorite artist?