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 

Dan Schaefer Talks About Monstrous Time Contraints Storyboarding 'Grimm''

Grimm started season two this week and I've contacted several people working on the show to share exclusive interviews and designs.
Today I'm sharing the work of storyboard artist Dan Schaefer (Leverage, Gone, James Bond Jr.).

His official site is filmstoryboards.com

Read his interview and check them out after the jump. Click the images to enlarge.

"The experience working on Grimm is usually one of being flexible and fast.  Meeting with the director (just before production or with maybe some lead time) is the first phase." Schaefer said. "I will sit down with and break down the script usually on the fly, creating boards based on what location photos they have as well as actors, props and proposed CG.  Mostly I have little of this and have to do what I can to pre-visualize the scene based on the director's interpretation of the script.  Often times the stunt coordinator, art director, First AD or props person will be involved.  I end up working with many departments, but it usually begins and ends with the director. Sometimes I work over the phone to break down a scene.  It just depends on the situation.  

"The biggest challenge can be pre-referencing locations that don't yet exist or are not found and making the staging work anyway.  I did some work on a scene that was supposed to be filmed in a pool in a basement that was later changed to an entirely new location.  Fortunately, the staging stayed the same and our work was helpful.  

"The time frame is a challenge too.  I usually have hours/minutes to do my work and not days.  Television is a very fast moving schedule and demands that you are focused. My work is very similar on both Leverage (TNT) and Grimm (NBC)."

Thanks for answering Schaefer.

Here's a set of storyboards from Grimm Season 1, Episode 11: "Tarantella "

Official Synopsis:

See more of Dan Schaefer portfolio at filmstoryboards.com

What do you think of the illustrations?
 
@ Copyright 2011 GK Productions, Hazy Mills Productions, Universal TV, Dan Schaefer. All rights reserved. Used with permission
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• Concept Artist Constantine Sekeris Talks About Turning Bears Into Monsters For The TV Show 'Grimm' - Exclusive

Concept Artist Constantine Sekeris Talks About Turning Bears Into Monsters For The TV Show 'Grimm' - Exclusive

The second season of Grimm starts next Monday (August 13th) at 10/9 c and I decided to contact some of the artists and share designs and stories for the show.

For those who haven't heard of the show, here's the official synopsis:
"Grimm" is a drama series inspired by the classic Grimm Brothers' Fairy Tales. After Portland Homicide Detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli, "Turn the Beat Around") discovers he's descended from an elite line of criminal profilers known as "Grimms," he increasingly finds his responsibilities as a detective at odds with his new responsibilities as a "Grimm."

First up is Constantine Sekeris (Blade II, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Jarhead). He talked with me about working on the show and the challenges of designing a good balance of creature and humanity.

Q: What's it Like Working On Grimm?
Its always a lot of fun to work on these creatures because of the theme of the show that has to be retained in the design of the creatures. I’m thankful to be a part of a team on a cool show. I’m very happy that it’s doing so well and audiences like it.

Jerad (concept designer Jerad S. Marantz) and I really like to push the design so people can really enjoy the creativity of the team and we help bring their ideas to life from a cool image. I love it each time I get an email from Steve Oster telling me what the next creature I will be challenged with.

Q: What Was the Biggest Challenge You Faced On Grimm?
My most challenging design was the Bear (Jägerbar) creature it’s hard to take the structure and round shapes with all that fur and bring it into more of a human creature feel so it’s a bit scarier. We had to remove a lot of the hair so it’s not so cute and we had to really be careful that it didn’t look like the werewolves from the show. I think they went with Jerad Marantz take on the character.

It’s great to have an objective and fresh eye like Steve Oster the main producer on Grimm who helps give tips of what is liked and what changes can be made when we all hit a wall sometimes to make the creatures still have a human quality. There has to be a good balance of creature and humanity for the character to work on the show.

Q: How Do You Design Your Creatures?
I begin my process with research and rough sketches to explore the best designs for the show and then render a few options that then go through a decision process with the team and then take the final design to finish. So the prosthetic team of Barney Burman and the digital team have enough time to do their best for the show. I can’t wait for the next creature.
I would like people to know that I’ve come out with a book called MetamorFXof Constantine Sekeris with Creature, Makeup, Robot and Costume design you can find it on Amazon and Barns & Noble.

Thanks for having me apart of your blog.

See more of Constantine Sekeris portfolio at constantinesekerisdesign.blogspot.com

What do you think of the illustrations? Have you seen Grimm? What do you think of the creatures?
@ Copyright 2010 GK Productions, Hazy Mills Productions, Universal TV, Constantine Sekeris. All rights reserved. Used with permission

VINTAGE BATMAN MOVIES - TV Ad Commercials From Greece!

Check out these fun "Batman Movie" TV Commercial Promo Videos from Greek Television. Yes, these were shown in Greece! The other cool thing is that they are vintage commercials for some of the older movies: Batman Returns (1992), Batman and Robin (1997), and Batman Begins (2005)! Besides being foreign I also like how they are edited to be way more fun and exciting, ha!

Peek At What The V' Could Have Looked Like

P is For Peek
If you were disappointed by, or delighted with the the reveal of the aliens in the 2009 reboot of V they could have looked very different.

V is an American science fiction television series that ran for two seasons on ABC, from November 3, 2009 to March 15, 2011. A remake of the 1983 miniseries created by Kenneth Johnson, the new series chronicles the arrival on Earth of a technologically advanced alien species which ostensibly comes in peace, but actually has sinister motives. V stars Morena Baccarin, Lourdes Benedicto, Morris Chestnut, Joel Gretsch, Logan Huffman, Charles Mesure, Elizabeth Mitchell, Laura Vandervoort and Scott Wolf, and was executive produced by Scott Rosenbaum, Yves Simoneau, Scott Peters, and Jace Hall. - Wikipedia 

So, what would the aliens look like? We heard a lot about "skinning" Vs (the nickname for the aliens),and the anticipation was pretty high. In the final episode, after months of hints, peeks and skeletons we finally got a look at them in the season finale "Mother's Day." But, it could have looked very different.



John Gallagher's portfolio has a bunch of concept paintings of the aliens, ship and hybrid baby. When asked about his inspiration for the designs, here's what he said.

 A fairly conservative marching order. Given that the series was a reboot of the Kenneth Johnson 80's series, it was clear from the outset that there was a creature under that harvested human suit. This wasn't a closely guarded secret or prestige reveal: they're green aliens. So the conceit in our minds had to evolve out of a no-surprise scenario. We played with multiple iterations, from reptilian to insectoidal to a protean mixed bag of looks. We wanted at least some cool creepy surprise. a visual hook. There were certain constraints however. The alien was required to be slightly slimmer and smaller than humans, bilaterally symmetrical, either appropriate for an actor in an effects suit or a CG counterpart. They were to share the same engineering as humans.

So from that we extrapolated some versions where they folded their legs up to their chest and cocooned, with the legs functioning as prosthetic appendages, others where the arms and legs were reversed, vestigial arms, two legged, four legged etc. All fell within the limits of the conversations and usually discarded through cost or time or just too outside the lines.

The inspirations were to create within those parameters and offer a fresh spin on what would amount to an updated version of the original Sleestak style creature. Conventional and interesting but we weren't jumping into the magical, esoteric, dark horror or wild spaces. It wasn't the type of show for that sort of exploration.

So we pushed around all sorts of variants until we arrived at what made it to screen which became the spirit of what we'd designed combined with television effects delivery schedule and budget.

Here are my favorite Visitor concept designs. First, what the V actually ended up looking like.

Now, some variations on the design.

Pretty wild hunh?

Thanks to Gallagher for the images and the quotes. You can see more of John Gallagher's work at http://uncannyknack.com



This post is part of the month long "A-Z Challenge." For 27 days, I'll be choosing a letter from the alphabet and crafting a post around it. To read more of the posts in the series click here. To find out more about the challenge go here.

Hosts: Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs, Jenny Pearson at Pearson Report, Matthew McNish at The QQQE, Tina Downey atLife is Good, Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude, Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse, Elizabeth Mueller, Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs, Karen Gowen at Coming Down the Mountain, and Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small. Check the Facebook page and the Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge.  

What do you think of the illustrations?

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Exclusive: 'Munsters’ Reboot ‘Mockingbird Lane’ Will Be 'Delicate Balance' Says Concept Artist

M is for Munsters
An exclusive interview with concept artist John Gallagher about the Munsters (1964) reboot Mockingbird Lane.

You know that scary house on the corner you were scared of as a kid? Imagining all the horrible monsters inside? Well, it turns out you were right about this house.

The latest issue of Entertainment Weekly has concept art of the new reboot of the 60s comedy The Munsters. Bryan Fuller is developing a dramatic re-telling of the show called Mockingbird Lane for NBC.

“We want this show to be an American Harry Potter,” Bryan Fuller says. “To have that sense of a magical world that you get to go to with your family and find stories told in a fantastical way that are instantly relatable. It’s an American Horror Story that the whole family can watch.”

Here are some comments from the creator Bryan Fuller and some exclusive comments from the concept artist, John Gallagher, on the designs. Gallagher breaks down some of the elements of color and design and even gets into some of the things we'll see in the house. It's all pretty exciting.

We wanted [the mansion] to have feeling of the original. We wanted a house in the neighborhood that children would walk past faster than other houses. - Fuller

The image below shows the concept designs for Grandpa and Lily. Charity Wakefield has been cast as the "freakishly" normal Marilyn and Eddie Izzard as Grandpa.

We’re not doing bolts in the neck and Bela Lugosi. It’s almost the Real Housewives of Transylvania. These are a blinged-out representation of what monsters would be doing if they lived in our society today. How they would look, how they would interact. Our wardrobe is heavily influenced by Alexander McQueen and his use of animal textures. For instance, with [the vampire] Lily, all of her wardrobe comes from nature. The first time we see her this nest of spiders weaves her dress on her body as she’s standing there. We’ll see ravens come in and assemble her blouse out of their feathers. We won’t see animal skins because the animals are donating as opposed to dying for it. She has domain over nature and nature has a fantastic aesthetic. - Fuller

And now here are the words of the illustrator

Pilot season is always a busy time in Vancouver and this year was no exception. I got a call from Don MacAulay, the art director, checking on availability. For the Munsters? I was all in. In fairness, as a kid I was more Addams Family than The Munsters but you couldn't beat some of the core elements of the original series and its off-center satirical skewering of mainstream sensibilities. But I jumped at the chance and was especially looking forward to reading the script given Bryan Fuller's pedigree and they didn't disappoint. The script crackled with smart, sharply-drawn characters and a delightfully wicked worldview. In other words, not simply a branded rehash but a bold and clever cache rethink. So after broad strokes conversation and a meeting of design minds off we went.


The marching orders from Don and Michael Wylie, the production designer, on palette and aesthetic is the dark fantasy convention of desaturated and muted cool tones punctuated by bold punched through with warm textural flourish...golds, reds, yellows. The world they inhabit isn't exactly overflowing with technicolor mirth so the visual metaphor needs to reinforce that prevailing mindset. In terms of the house, this is a virtual extension, a green screen second story incorporated over an existing location. The main floor was to be recladded and fitted with scalloped siding, window caps, wrought iron railings, tiled diapers and moulding to dovetail with the neo-Victorian look and the second floor festooned onto the roofline of the original building. We co-opted details everywhere from Queen Anne finishes to the Carson House. The home is meant to engage as a regal slightly tarnished mansion. Not so outright haunted but with a slightly menacing grandeur. The interior grand foyer borrows from Everton Station to the Titanic grand staircase. Again, an old world opulence with some significant new world finishes. And of course Spot's home beneath the stairs is there, along with the twin perched vultures at the railing foot. They've moved in and some of the previous owners tastes linger in places. And given that the Munsters don't stand on ceremony they don't seem to be in any hurry to unpack. Grandpa's Cellar will be a delight to behold for fans of design: Barrel vaulted polished tile meticulously applied with a moody chiaroscuro mad coroner's decorative choices. I can't reveal details but the previous owner was inclined to strange and specific practices.

We did look at the original house but what is often lost on viewers is how small the original actually was. It's marginally larger than a two story bungalow size footprint. By loosely defining the immensity of the house's form on our version, the writers are freer to explore the space given that it hasn't been strictly locked and we have room to enlarge or compress for creating scale for interiors. In the case of a re-imagining like this one, capturing the spirit of the original is critical. Alienating fans by disregarding the show's visual cues is disaster in my opinion. So they're everywhere and I think fans will get a big kick out of spotting them. Michael and Don are very smart guys. They know the score. And this one will be that delicate balance between respecting all the trappings of the original and introducing this new property rethought from the ground up by a very sharp team.

Thanks John! You can see more work from John Gallagher at http://uncannyknack.com/.

I was a huge fan of the show, so I'm looking forward to it.

@ 2012 Universal Television, John Gallagher

Via Entertainment Weekly

Image source: Entertainment Weekly and http://www.comingsoon.net






This post is part of the month long "A-Z Challenge." For 27 days, I'll be choosing a letter from the alphabet and crafting a post around it. To read more of the posts in the series click here. To find out more about the challenge go here.

Hosts: Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs, Jenny Pearson at Pearson Report, Matthew McNish at The QQQE, Tina Downey atLife is Good, Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude, Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse, Elizabeth Mueller, Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs, Karen Gowen at Coming Down the Mountain, and Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small. Check the Facebook page and the Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge.

'Terra Nova' May Not Have Been A Great Show But It Looked Great

L is for Lee, Richard S.
I was not a huge Terra Nova fan. I watched a few episodes and thought it lost something. but, one thing I did love were it's breath-taking visuals. You really felt like you were in a prehistoric world.

One artist that helped bring the world to life was Richard S Lee. He's a concept artist\matte painter who worked on movies as diverse as Sucker Punch (2011), Fast Five (2011) and The Hunger Games (2012)

Official Synopsis: 

In the year 2149 the world is dying. The planet is overdeveloped, overcrowded and over-polluted. With the majority of plant and animal life extinct, devotion to science has brought mankind to the brink of destruction, but has also provided its only hope for salvation. Knowing there is no way to reverse the damage to the planet, a coalition of scientists has managed to open up a fracture in the space-time continuum, creating a portal to prehistoric Earth. This doorway leads to an amazing world, one that allows for a last-ditch effort to save the human race … possibly changing the future by correcting the mistakes of the past.

The series centers on the Shannon family as they join the tenth pilgrimage of settlers to TERRA NOVA, the first colony of humans in this second chance for civilization. JIM SHANNON, a devoted father with a checkered past, guides his family through this new land of limitless beauty, mystery and terror. Jim's wife, ELISABETH SHANNON, is a trauma surgeon chosen through a global lottery as a new addition to Terra Nova’s medical team. JOSH SHANNON is their son, mourning the girl he left behind, as he’s torn between two role models - his father and the charismatic COMMANDER FRANK TAYLOR, the leader of the settlement, and the heroic first pioneer through the time portal. MADDY SHANNON, Jim and Elizabeth’s teen daughter, is as independent and adventurous as her parents, but her distrust of authority soon leads her on a dangerous path.

In addition to blue skies, rolling rivers and lush vegetation, TERRA NOVA offers new opportunities and fresh beginnings to its recent arrivals, but the Shannons have brought with them a familial secret that may threaten their citizenship in this utopia. Additionally these adventurers soon discover that this healthy, vibrant world is not as idyllic as it initially appears. The areas surrounding Terra Nova are filled with dangerous dinosaurs, and other prehistoric threats, as well as external forces that may be intent on destroying this new world before it begins.

But perhaps even more threatening than what lies outside the protective walls is the Shannons' realization that something sinister may be happening inside TERRA NOVA as not everyone on this mission has the same intentions of how best to save mankind.

Hope Plaza 
Hope Plaza is the name of the center responsible for all operations related to the Time Portal and Terra Nova.

What Hope Plaza looked like on the show.

Here are some more awesome paintings

Head over to Richard S Lee's website http://paintrichardpaint.com/ to see more of his portfolio and visual style.  

What do you think of the illustrations? Did you watch Terra Nova and what did you think?




This post is part of the month long "A-Z Challenge." For 27 days, I'll be choosing a letter from the alphabet and crafting a post around it. To read more of the posts in the series click here. To find out more about the challenge go here.

Hosts: Arlee Bird at Tossing it Out, Alex J. Cavanaugh, Stephen Tremp at Breakthrough Blogs, Jenny Pearson at Pearson Report, Matthew McNish at The QQQE, Tina Downey atLife is Good, Jeremy Hawkins at Retro-Zombie, DL Hammons at Cruising Altitude, Shannon Lawrence at The Warrior Muse, Elizabeth Mueller, Damyanti Biswas at Amlokiblogs, Karen Gowen at Coming Down the Mountain, and Konstanz Silverbow at No Thought 2 Small. Check the Facebook page and the Twitter hashtag is #AtoZChallenge.

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