District 9 Trailer

The trailer for Neil Blomkamp's new film, 'District 9' has just been released and it looks great. The team at Weta worked on this while I was there and I was lucky enough to be a part of the Design Team and help out with some 3D modeling. Can't wait to see the finished product!


The trailer is here.

Rayguns goodies

I've been keeping you all out of the loop for a while, not through intention, but through laziness and world travel plans. BUT, here are some cool vids from Weta's Dr Grordborts world, created by Greg Broadmore.



and number two...

Den Den Town - Japan

Den Den Town, Ponbashi, Geek-Vill. It's where I bought robots and looked at disturbing comics. You can look at the full, ponsy, wiki down low here.

Robots, Robots, Robots

You didn't think I'd go to Japan without getting my robot fix did you? Thank you Den Den Town...

After days of soaking up the ancient history and culture of Japan, I decided I need to see massive guns, attached to massive mechanical arms, shrunk down to a purchasable size and put on display. And display they did...

I blew my budget all over robots and robot related paraphernalia within days. Books, hobbie magazines, robot kit sets, the works. Luckily, working only 25 hours a week i have enough time to ponder over them all :)

Retro Advertising Posters from Japan

These must have been successful at the time, but if your product morphs me into Harry Potter or turns my skin a putrid green colour I ain't buying. The Marlboro poster is actually modern, but thought it fitted with the others regardless.

All Manga'd Out

You know there's a lot of Manga out there when it seems like a good sales idea to release a comic about an Executive Marketing Director. However there were 6 thick compilations of this comic, so I'm obviously behind the times.

Grizzly Tang Visits Japan

I was lucky enough to visit one of the design Meccas of the world, Japan, for one week recently. I didn't make it up to Tokyo, but spent a fantastic time in both Kyoto and Osaka. Full heartily recommended to all Tangers.

These are just some random images that caught my eye. Kyoto was a beautiful older city, which reminded me of Rome, and Osaka was a bit more Metropolitan, with all the relevant fashion quirks that come along with it.

Retro Asian Movie Art.

Found in the Seoul Animation Center... I'm at a loss for words.

Gassed in a Subway? Look for Snuffie

This logo is very cute. However it seems a little less cute when you see that it's on a box containing 20 gas masks.

Which leads you to think "Why would we need 20 gas masks?"
Which leads you to think "In a subway station with 300 people?"
Which leads you to think "Stuff that, I'm standing next to this gas mask vending machine just in case."
Which leads you to think "Stupid elephant."

Squidy and Butter Strike Again!

When I first got to Korea I'd stop every few steps for a wtf moment due to things like this. Now I don't bat an eyelid.

Korean Graphic Design and Toilets!

One of the things you notice when you visit Korea is the Graphic Design and Illustration -it's everywhere. Somehow they resist the urge to put smiley, beautiful people on everything in photo form. In these examples they've even give the middle finger to those chubby stick figures we're so fond of in the west. Take that, you generic stand in for me.

Asia would be a good place to be a designer of the Illustration persuasion me thinks. So many businesses have little characters, cute little stand ins for logos and such. More to come later...

Retro Animation Posters from the Seoul

Poster art. You've got to love it. Because if you don't you've got to love garden gnomes instead, and that's for losers. It's either one or the other. You decide... annnnnyway

These are from the Seoul Animation Center which is a funky little idea. It has an exhibition hall, editing rooms, sound design rooms etc, a comic library (containing mainly Korean and Japanese comics with a few X-men thrown in for good measure). I'm not sure that these posters were actually for public display, but I could always say that I couldn't read the warnings - which is technically true.

Basically I used my Navy Seal-esque skills to bring you these images. I had to smuggle my camera out... don't ask, but rest assured, you owe me.

Ahhhhhhh! Korean Toys

So, there's a cool area in Seoul called Insadong. I lived there for almost a month before moving to a more 'suburban' area. I miss it, because they have a Toy Museum...

And it's packed. Toys are on the floor, in shelves, on top of boxes, on top of other toys, hanging from the ceiling, in nooks, in crannies. Sweet Hey-Zeus, they're everywhere.

I took over 50 photos, you only get to see 3, cause I paid the 2 dollar entry, and you didn't ya cheap blighters.

daynightdusk™ Music Video

Gang of ruffian designers and Mo-Graphic doctors daynightdusk™ releases 'So Free,' and music vid for up and coming Kiwi band 'The Ricksaws.'

You all know how much i dig the retro horror and sci-fi imagery of the film industry - so the reason I dig this should be obvious. You should dig it to. Go on, you know you want to....

Enter the Dragon

So long and thanks for all the Fish (and Chups)

So I've moved to Korea. It's random, I know...

The work that I was doing was great fun, I'd been doing Concept Art at weta for the last year or so, and was getting better every day. But I felt like my life needed a change. Apparently a big change.

Moving to Seoul is that change, and I'm feeling pretty good abut it. I have a lot more free time now to work on my own projects. Moth-City and Dead-Guy are progressing very well and I expect to have more time to work on personal illustrations and designs. Moving to a new city, especially one so different from Wellington, has really opened my eyes - like only traveling can, and I expect it to have a big influence on both my life and my work for years to come.

Have spotted some extraordinary pieces of design and architecture and I will post these up as soon as I get sorted.

Updates soon :)

My new Favouite Music Vid

New stuff from the Holograms, Kap10kurt Music video revisits the eighties, somewhere in between manga and motion design, the past and the future.

In a world full of danger, where music is banned by an evil militia, Kap10Kurt, an easy-going hero, helped by his sexy mate Leah, will blow up this Machiavellian conspiracy....

Directed by The Holograms (UFO LABEL).

Merry Christmass Yo

Halo Adverts

I've tracked down a clip of the 3 halo commercials cut together to form an uber military sci-fi geekfest. You get to see a lot more of the Warthog that I worked on, and also some of the overlaid motion graphic (HDUs, security cam footage, Warthog camera systems, and Satellite/Chopper tracking Systems, and also the tracking system locking onto the falling asteroids) that me and a friend produced for the folks at Origami to integrate.

All up, I reckon it looks awesome. As always, there's a lot more work put into everything than will ever be seen (especially at you tube res), but I'm getting used to that.

Illustration Experiments

I've been posting a bit to my Concept Art sketch book here, and came accross a way for producing a watercolour like effect in photoshop using the heal brush to blend colours.

I've had a brief play, the results of which you can see below (painted under a quick life drawing sketch from the previous week). I intend on playing around with some other methods to see what comes out, so expect a few more iterations soon.

Scott Spencer Workshops

One of the wizz kids of digital sculpting came and visited us here at Weta Workshop last week. We spent three hours every day for a week while he showed us Z-brush tricks and taught us various nifty things. He showed us a lot a things he's learnt but also some personal methods of his own that he will gift to the wide world in the form of a book written by the man himself.

I'm not sure when it's due out, but I expect it to be awesome.

The classes were interesting, I felt comfortable enough because of my 3d background, some of the traditional sculptors had to find their feet with the computers, but more than made up for it with the awesome sculpting skills and control of form.

Anyway, enough jibba jabba - here's what I did in one of the classes - I need to do more.

Weta Work: The Red Star

And here's even more stuff I've been up to at work (suddenly it's in a rush to get public eh?) - the latest edition of the uber-indi Red Star comics - The Sword of Lies issue 2 has just been released and is available at comic retailers now.





















Here's how Wikipedia describes it: "The Red Star is a graphic novel by Christian Gossett set in a sci-fi/fantasy world described by Gossett as "Mythic [Soviet] Russia". The "Lands of The Red Star" were inspired by both Russian folklore and military history. The series is thus heavily reminiscent of a post-WW II Soviet Russia mixing technology and sorcery."

Myself and some of the designers here cranked out all the digital painting work, working with the lovely pencils of Mr Gossett. I has been an awesome experience to work on a graphic novel and one of my life-long ambitions. I was very lucky to have been involved and hope that it will lead to more work in the comic industry in the future.

And did I mention that it was oarsome? huh?

Weta Work: Automaitre'D

Okay, so here's something I've done here at Weta Workshop. And you can see it finally... I've been wanting to show this to people for fricken ages.











And a hi-res image:





















He's a mechanical butler from the Rayguns universe - an Automaitre'D. He was designed by Dr Broadmore and 3D modeled by myself and is possibly one of the most complex 3d models I've created. I shouldn't show any images that haven't been posted on line already, but let me say that the back of this dude is a right jumble of extravagant detail and steam-powered, cog driven antics.

He joined the team at Comic Con in standee form, serving up comics and collectible for all and sundry. Hopefully one day he may join Weta's impressive set of collectibles.

Weta Work: New Raygun Revealed

This little puppy is my favourite Raygun to be revealed so far, the 'Victorious Mongoose 1902a'. I have held it in my arms and wish to caress it's sweet metallic finish again and again. ohhhhh baby.

"...despite its humble proportion, the pistol packs quite a whollop. Able to project a conical emission for up to seventeen yards, the Victorious Mongoose will obliterate four pounds of Budgerigars in three fascinating seconds."

For the Wetapage and details go here.

Weta Work: Comic Con 07

So we've got this bug at weta, she's called the 'weta bug' and she often dresses normally, but in light of the geekeness entailed in a comic convention she's dressed up. As her character - Weta Bug. But she doesn't really look like a weta or a bug, but she has antenna or antennae or whatever.

It's complicated.

Anyway, she's cranking out some youTube updates for all of us about the San Diego Comic Con. And they go like this:

Weta Work: Halo Warthog

Well, it's on the Weta Workshop site, so I'll take that to mean I can show you the images. Now if you think this looks cool, it's cooler. It's real, it has a turbo motor, it has 4WD, it 'Crabs' and it has a frickkin massive gun on the back. A frickkin gun!

Trust me, it is a thing of green beauty. The Weta details are here.