Exclusive: Concept Artist George Hull Shares His Thoughts on 'The Amazing Spider-Man'

The Amazing Spider-Man set a record grossing $35 million opening day. George Hull (The Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions, Battleship) was asked by the late production designer J. Michael Riva to design a few major set pieces of the film. He "touched on" several things but primarily designed the Oscorp Tower, the Lizard's doomsday device and props, and the Oscorp laboratory/web rooms.

Since the film was very grounded in reality, he said there weren't too many crazy designs. "The film was fairly modest in its conceptual design. That is there weren't giant robots or over the top environments to create." He said, "The items were very specific and I had a lot of notes dictating how the designs should work within the story beats."

Despite this modest design there were a lot of problem solving and limitations, and it reminded him of his Industrial Design background. "When you design products for  the real world application, looking cool is only half of it, there are a lot of restrictions." Hull said. "But I had recently finish a few very high concept design projects like Battleship and Cloud Atlas, so I enjoyed the change."

 

"As a conceptual thinker, I am always looking for artistic challenges in some way. Sometimes a film maker and story asks for fantastic set pieces, landscapes, machines, etc. But not every film is like that and it would be boring if that were the case. For example, on the Amazing Spiderman, one of the items I was tasked with was to make the Oscorp tower look cool, elegant, but not too sci-fi or fantastic. It needed to have certain staging platforms, ramps etc. for a fight sequence. So I did a lot of revisions making that work for the production designer.

"Then the challenge comes in flexing my architectural muscles and turning my stylist brain off for a while. I would say to myself  'well if there isn't a huge aesthetic challenge (blue sky architectural or prop design) , then I will push myself in other ways.' I worked more 3-D on this film than I usually do, so I could fly around tower and offer exciting camera perspectives, or get into the set design specifics more than a concept artist typically does."

The production designer, J. Michael Riva, recently passed away and George shared his thoughts on working with him. "Working with Mike Riva was a huge, huge plus. I worked with him on Iron Man and Spiderman" Hull sadly added "I need to say he was truly an immense talent and an amazingly friendly human being."

You can see more of George Hull's work envisioning a futuristic Seoul Korea in the movie THE CLOUD ATLAS. Then in March 2013, he's worked on the movie ELYSIUM from District 9 director Neil Blookamp.

Be sure to check out more The Amazing Spider-Man illustrations and more of George Hull's portfolio at ghull.com 

What do you think of the illustrations?

Related Posts

• See the Future Of Korea In Wachowski's 'Cloud Atlas' Concept Art
• George Hull Shows off His Concept Art for Speed Racer
• Artists of 'The Amazing Spider-Man'

Aliens Sink Your 'Battleship' In Never Before Seen Concept Art By George Hull

George Hull (Speed Racer, Transformers, The Matrix Reloaded),a lead conceptual artist for the Peter Berg movie Battleship (2012) has shared some concept art with me that were produced in the early stages of film development.

If you've ever wondered what it would be like if aliens came and attacked your Battleship board game, here's your chance.

Official Synopsis:

Peter Berg (Hancock) produces and directs Battleship, an epic action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force. Based on Hasbro’s classic naval combat game, Battleship stars Taylor Kitsch as Lt. Alex Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker as Sam Shane, a physical therapist and Hopper’s fiancée; Alexander Skarsgard as Hopper’s older brother, Stone, Commanding Officer of the USS Sampson; Rihanna as Petty Officer Raikes, Hopper’s crewmate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones; and international superstar Liam Neeson as Hopper and Stone’s superior (and Sam’s father), Admiral Shane.

Hull told me the following, "I was called by the battleship production in Sept 2009 to start the earliest design phase- creating the initial ideas for the alien warships. The only information I was given described 'that the Humans are fighting Alien warships at sea.' What could that look like?
"But when I started there was nothing, zilch,  only the brief and a blank sheet of paper. So I started drawing threatening battle cruisers that were more like alien submarines that could unfold its weapon array in surface mode.  I always approach a design with function in mind.  So I imagined on my own these warships had to plummet from space into the oceans.  Consequently they had to have thrusters  for interplanetary travel as well as submarine propulsion. 
"I should say I was a hired gun at the starting line, creating the big ideas and shapes to consider from my imagination. But lots of other people worked together to finish the marathon. There was a large art department and films take years to realize, many hands will touch the look of the ships along the way. Only each individual artist and their colleagues know how much they initiated a look versus adapted a look.
"And I'm happy to see some of my work is  evident in the big shape vocabulary."
The "Regent" is the name given to the alien invasion force. In an interview with Art of VFX Grady Cofer – VFX Supervisor – ILM said the following about the alien designs.

Production Designer Neil Spisak and Art Director Aaron Haye led a group of illustrators, generating pages and pages of concept art. The alien ships, called Stingers, were inspired by water bugs, which have the ability to stand and maneuver on top of a water surface. It was crucial to the Director that the alien technology feel practical, instead of merely ornamental. And for everything, Pete wanted a sense of age, of history – so when we encounter this alien race, the tools, the armor, and especially the ships feel used and worn.

Back at ILM, we created different silhouettes for each Stinger, varying aspects of their weaponry, defenses, and propulsion. And we customized each ship with its own color and lighting. We noticed how our own Navy ships tend to be simplistic below, along the hull, and more complex on the top surfaces, with clusters of towers and radars and antennae. So for the alien ships we inverted that ratio, simplifying the top surfaces, and then clustering detail — hoses, ports, cargo doors — onto the underside.

Another feature of the ships is their “intelligent surface”. We hypothesized that the alien technology allowed for data and energy to travel along the outer surfaces of their ships. This helped bring the ships to life.

Here are some of his illustrations

"Regent Ship With Mining Rig Deployed" by George Hull

 "Hopper Concept Art" by George Hull

"Regent Battle Cruiser" by George Hull

These images show the inspiration for the designs using sharks and crocodiles.

 Regent Destroyer

For reference, here are the Regent ships in the film.

George Hull has a brand new website. See more of his inspired work at ghull.com

What do you think of the illustrations? Do you think they could sink your battleship?

Artists of 'Battleship' (2012)

Here are some of the artists that worked on the science-fiction film Battleship (2012). As always there are many talented artists involved in the production of a film. These are only some of them according to IMDb and my own research.

Official Synopsis:
Peter Berg (Hancock) produces and directs Battleship, an epic action-adventure that unfolds across the seas, in the skies and over land as our planet fights for survival against a superior force. Based on Hasbro’s classic naval combat game, Battleship stars Taylor Kitsch as Lt. Alex Hopper, a Naval officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker as Sam Shane, a physical therapist and Hopper’s fiancée; Alexander Skarsgard as Hopper’s older brother, Stone, Commanding Officer of the USS Sampson; Rihanna as Petty Officer Raikes, Hopper’s crewmate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones; and international superstar Liam Neeson as Hopper and Stone’s superior (and Sam’s father), Admiral Shane.

Directed by Peter Berg
Production Design by Neil Spisak

Illustrators

• George Hull (Lead Conceptual Artist) - www.ghull.com/
• Ben Mauro (concept designer) - http://benmauro.blogspot.com/
• David J. Negron Jr. (storyboard artist) - http://www.goliathpictures.com
• Eddie Yang (character designer) - http://www.eddieyang.com/
• Harald Belker (concept artist) - www.haraldbelker.com
• James Carson (concept artist) - http://www.jamescarsondesign.com
• Jock (concept artist) - http://www.4twenty.co.uk
• Josh Nizzi (senior illustrator) - www.joshnizzi.com
• Mauro Borrelli (illustrator) - http://www.mauroborrelli.com/
• Steve Jung (Senior Concept Artist) - www.stevejung.net
• Tani Kunitake (illustrator)

Storyboard Artists

• Richard Bennett (storyboard artist) - www.richardbennettart.com

Official Site: http://www.battleshipmovie.com/

What do you think of the artists? Did you see the movie or plan to?

See the Future Of Korea In Wachowski's 'Cloud Atlas' Concept Art

Concept art from the Wachowski's newest film Cloud Atlas (2012) has shown up online and it looks like a surprisingly new take on the world of tomorrow. The film, coming out in October of next year is based on a best-selling book by David Mitchell and stars Tom Hanks, Hugo Weaving and Jim Sturgess.

The novel consists of six nested stories that take the reader from the remote South Pacific in the nineteenth century to a distant, post-apocalyptic future. Each tale is revealed to be a story that is read (or watched) by the main character in the next. All stories but the last one get interrupted at some moment, and after the sixth story concludes at the center of the book, the novel "goes back" in time, "closing" each story as the book progresses in terms of pages but regresses in terms of the historical period in which the action takes place. Eventually, readers end where they started, with Adam Ewing in the Pacific Ocean, circa 1850.

The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing

Pacific Ocean, circa 1850. Adam Ewing, an American notary's account of a voyage home from the remote Chatham Islands, east of New Zealand. The next character discovers this story as a diary on his patron's bookshelf.

Letters from Zedelghem
Zedelgem, Belgium, 1931. Robert Frobisher, a penniless young English musician, finds work as an amanuensis to a composer living in Belgium. This story is saved in the form of letters to his friend (and implied lover) Rufus Sixsmith, which the next character discovers after meeting Sixsmith.

Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery.
Buenas Yerbas, California, 1975. Luisa Rey, a journalist, investigates reports of corruption and murder at a nuclear power plant. The next character is sent this story in the mail, in the form of a manuscript for a novel.

The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish

United Kingdom, early 21st century. Timothy Cavendish, a vanity press publisher, flees the brothers of his gangster client. He gets confined against his will in a nursing home from which he cannot escape. The next character watches a movie dramatisation of this story.

An Orison of Sonmi~451

Nea So Copros (Korea), dystopian near future. Sonmi~451, a genetically-engineered fabricant (clone) server at Papa Song's diner (a proxy for McDonald's), is interviewed before her execution after she rebels against the capitalist totalitarian society that created and exploited her kind. The next character watches Sonmi's story projected holographically in an "orison," a futuristic recording device.

Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After

Hawaii, post-apocalyptic distant future. Zachry, a tribesman living a primitive life after most of humanity dies during "the Fall," is visited by Meronym, a member of the last remnants of technologically-advanced civilization. This story is told when the protagonist is an old man, to seemingly random strangers around a camp-fire. - Wikipedia

From the description it looks like these are from Korea and possibly Hawaii

No word on who exactly created these yet, but there are some amazing concept artists on this project. George Hull worked with the Wachowski's on both The Matrix Reloaded (2003), V for Vendetta (2006) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003) and Ed Natividad worked on the Star Wars prequels.

Directed by Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski and Lana Wachowski

Production Design by Hugh Bateup and Uli Hanisch

Concept artist

• Daniele Auber
• Jonas De Ro
• Adam Kuczek
• Monica Manganelli
• Peter Popken
• Gloria Shih
• Rainer Stock

Conceptual designer

• George Hull
• Ed Natividad
• Emmanuel Shiu

 Storyboard artist Kurt Van Der Basch

Via Collider

George Hull Shows off His Concept Art for Speed Racer [Video]

CGSociety has a great interview with George Hull (The Island, V for Vendetta, The Matrix Reloaded/Revolutions, Speed Racer) talking about his decision to leave his career path as an industrial designer to pursue his dream of becoming a concept artist.

He left the huge special effects company Industrial Light and Magic to work with the Wachowski brothers. George Hull himself is a pretty laid back guy.

The video has some amazing concept art for Speed Racer and Matrix though, so its worth checking out.

YouTube - Interview with George Hull - Speed Racer Concept Artist

Do you think George Hull made the right decision?

Take A Ride In the Secret Avengers Heli-Carrier

Concept art, reportedly from the Marvel comics 2012 Avengers movie, has surfaced and it looks pretty cool.
The Indian artist George Hull, who also worked on the Matrix sequels, is credited with the designs.

The Heli-Carrier in the comics is a flying aircraft carrier built by Tony Stark and serves as the mobile base of operations for S.H.I.E.L.D.

Here's the original post translated from Russian:

Before the movie "The Avengers" ("The Avengers") still far away, but already we can now look at concept art of the famous USS Sch.ITa (SHIELD Helicarrier) by artist George Hull (George Hull).

It was the supposed originally to appear in the Film "Iron Man 2" ("Iron Man 2"), but over time things have changed and the idea shelved for later.

Probability of occurrence of an Aircraft carrier in the new movie Joss Whedon (Joss Whedon) is very high, Given that representatives of Marvel Studios and Kevin Faig (Kevin Feige) want to make a big surprise for everyone and build up an Aircraft carrier to the top Comic-Kona to San Diego (San Diego Comic-Con 2011). [sic]

None of this is confirmed of course, and Hull isn't even listed as one of the artists on the film. So, this is probably bogus, but you never know. IMDB has been wrong before.

For reference, here are the artists listed.

• Darrin Denlinger     ....     storyboard artist
• Michael Meyers     ....     concept artist
• Candice Muriedas    ....     art department coordinator: Los Angeles
• Raj Rihal    ....     concept artist
• Phil Saunders    ....     concept artist

Artist Link: http://www.ghull.com
Source: spidermedia.ru via comicbookmovie.com