The award-winning artist Michael Kutsche's unique style, bright colors and creative designs have made him a bright star in the concept artist industry and I got an exclusive interview with him about his Nordic inspired designs for Odin on Thor (2011), his favorite tool besides a paintbrush and the most important trait an artist should have.

I first ran into Michael Kutsche's work when his designs for Odin and his horse Slepnir exploded onto the Internet from CG Portfolio.

A self-taught freelance German artist, he started out doing illustrations for video games before becoming one of the character designers for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland (2010) before designing memorable characters like Frost Giant King Laufey for Thor.

Q: How did you get the job of illustrating Thor and what did you design?
(Image: Alice in Wonderland Caterpillar concept art)

I was recommended to the producers at Marvel Studios by a friend and colleague whom I've met when working on Alice in Wonderland. I was doing concepts for some of the costumes and I also did some key frame illustrations. My main role though, since I'm a character designer, was designing the look of the frost giants and the frost beast.

Q: Your illustration of Odin riding a horse is amazing. The horse had eight legs though. Was this based on an early design concept that Asgard would be more alien?
(Image: Thor concept art "Sleipnir Rising")
Thanks a lot! The idea of giving Sleipnir eight legs [are] rather true to the original character in Norse mythology as well as the comic version, than anything alien inspired.  

Editor's note: Check out Wikipedia and Marvel's database for the inspiration for these designs.

Q: For those unfamiliar, how would you describe the job of a character designer?

I'm basically the guy that is brought onto the project to invent the look of the 3-D animated characters in either a life action or fully animated film.

The steps involved are reading the script, having a chat with the director to get his input, then doing a lot of research and sketches before finally creating the drawings that you can see in my portfolio. Pretty often I come up with something that is very close to being the final design, sometimes I nail it right away, but there's also situations where I have to do a couple of versions to get the final ok from the director.

Q: You're a self taught artist and have managed to work on major films. What would you say is the key to your success?

I'd say it takes more than one ingredient to get there, at least I couldn't single out one reason. It's something along the lines of passion, patience, perseverance, I would also say my interest in art from a very early age on plays a role in it.

Furthermore I'd say the primary drive is the pure interest in the process of painting, drawing and other techniques to express myself and the mastering of it; I believe one cannot become really good at something if he's only striving for financial or other success without truly loving what he does.

Q: What would you say to someone else starting in the industry?
(Image: Sega game "Viking: Battle for Asgard" Skarin)


If you are aiming to start as a concept artist in this industry you have to be aware that it's not like everyone has been waiting for you to offer your services. The market is rather overcrowded with talented people already waiting in line, hoping to get discovered or introduced by someone who works in the biz.

And even when you break into the industry, you're not necessarily getting the most fun job on the project, simply because the more fun positions are occupied by artists with a higher reputation and/or skill set.

Again, you truly have to love what you do, otherwise, with the pressure of competition and delivering the best work every single day, you are most likely going to hate it in the end.

Q: Do you have a favorite tool?
(Image: "Boxer")


Though I love to paint in oil, it would be too time consuming to use it for these projects. My preferred digital tool is Corel Painter, I love the organic, natural feel of it's brushes.

Q: Your use of color is striking. How important is color in your work?

I use a great deal of time for picking the right colors when painting, sometimes the first thing I think about when approaching a new painting is a combination of colors.

I think the logic of color is hard to grasp, but when used right, the power is immense!

I'm not just talking about the challenge of mimicking the colors of realistic lighting, but how certain deviations from a realistic color scheme can send a message to the viewer's subconscious.

Q: Where should we look for you next?

I'm currently working on Oz the Great and Powerful, directed by Sam Raimi, which is right up my alley, I'm not only doing the complete character design, but a lot of costume design as well. The next release date of a film that I've worked on is in 2012, it's John Carter of Mars, directed by Andrew Stanton.

Thanks to the artist taking time from his newborn son to answer these questions!

You can read more about Michael Kutsche from his website and look for his work in the hardcover book Thor: The Art of Thor the Movie.

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Marvel and 20th Century Fox released some concept art from the new X-Men prequel X-Men: First Class (2011) and has mind-blowing costume designs for the sexy Emma Frost, shots of the interior and exterior of the Sabastian Shaw's (Kevin Bacon) Hellfire Club and the Kremlin War Room and a revealing picture of Angel's fly wings.

IGN had a quote from January Jones, who plays telepathic mutant Emma Frost, on her character design:

No actual woman looks like that. She's very blessed, shall we say.

So coming straight from Mad Men, literally the day before, there was no way I could get physically cut like that. Also, for a woman to get that physically cut and not lose the curvy areas was a bit of a challenge for me, so I just did some weight training and body sculpting. I had a lot of fun with that, too.

All the stunt training and the physical aspects of the role that I didn't know I'd be doing were a lot of fun. Because her powers are very strong on both the mental and physical sides, so it was a lot of fun for me to go to different places than I've had to do as an actor before.

She also talked about the groovy mod designs of the Hellfire Club's pad.

...I can say that it doesn't feel like a period movie. There's obviously historical aspects in the storytelling and some of the props and stuff, but I think it feels very modern. It does take place in 1962.

One of the things that's brought in from that time, the Hellfire Club aspect especially, is that it's pretty -- I dunno, the Bunnies and the Playboy clubs. It's really cool. You'd think Sinatra was there. The sets are really cool and the vibe of the whole thing is really neat.

There's also a image of the design for the Kremlin war room which plays a big part of the Cuban missle crisis storyline.

Here are some concept design for the mutant Angel Salvatore (Zoë Kravitz) who hides her mutation of insect wings as a body tattoo.


No indication of who the concept artists are, of course. Very frustrating frankly.

IMDb lists Nick Ainsworth, James Carson, Kim Frederiksen, Paul Anthony McGill, Matthew Savage, Hayley Easton Street and Tom Whitehouse as concept artists for the film.

X-Men First Class stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Rose Byrne, January Jones, and Kevin Bacon and will be released June 3 in the US.

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."

Update: Pretty sure the Hellfire club artwork comes from Jamie Rama.

Does this concept art make you want to join the Hellfire Club?

Via Movieweb

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I have another exclusive interview with concept artist Craig Shoji, and he talks about "geeking out" with Marvel, working with producer Bo Welch designing the world of Asgard and bringing Jack Kirby's comic book designs to life.

You've seen a lot of Craig Shoji's work without knowing it. A freelance artist living in California, he blew us away on The Golden Compass (2007), Avatar (2009) , Alice in Wonderland (2010). Now he's done it again with breath-taking visuals of Asgard for Thor (2011).

Q: How did you decide to become a concept illustrator versus other types of art?
It took a long time to even figure out what a concept illustrator was! When I was at UCLA I thought it was either graphic design for web, print or video, or new media (a la John Maeda and the MIT Media Lab). It wasn't until I took some foundation classes at Pasadena City College that I learned about Product Design and Entertainment Design. I began my Art Center education studying Industrial Design but soon realized that I enjoyed drawing fantastical things and realizing worlds that could only exist on a screen, than worrying too much about manufacturing and tolerances.

Q: What's your background as an artist?
(Image: Craig circa 1983)
I've always enjoyed drawing as a kid, but I was more a tinkerer than a painter. I liked to take things apart to see how they worked then attempt to put them back together again.

I got a degree in design at the University of California - Los Angeles, but it was a very general education and not too trade-oriented. So I continued my education in Pasadena at the Community College there as well as the private Art Center. It was here that I learned about entertainment arts and was able to network and refine my craft to do what I'm doing today.

Q: What was it like working on "Thor?"
(Image: Thor exterior Odin's Asgard tower)
It was both daunting and fun at the same time. There was a large team when I first came on (maybe 4 or 5 illustrators) but the production got pushed about 5 months and everyone but myself was let go. So for a long time it was just me and Bo Welch (the production designer) working on Odin's tower and Asgard which was a lot of early responsibility.

As I settled into my role and began resolving a lot of the design details, the production started ramping up again and I was joined by some more amazing talent. This is always great as an illustrator cause you have people that you're bouncing ideas off of and constantly being inspired by.

So it was a breath of fresh air to have a handful of creative people to share an office with again.

The whole department was incredibly fun to work and hang out with, so I really enjoyed my time there. It was also nice geeking out with the Marvel execs as they came by because I feel like we've all grown up with the same love for comics. And it was effortless to get excited about how these worlds we've come to know and love would be realized in the film.



Q: Do you work with traditional mediums or do you favor digital art?
(Image: Alice in Wonderland Courtyard sketches)
I love pen sketching on paper. I'm a big fan of ball point pens, brush pens, hitec-c pens, etc! The list goes on and on! A lot of my early ideas are established in a sketchbook as a doodle or preliminary sketch. Then I'll either redraw it on the computer, or build it out in 3d and paint in photoshop on top of it.

The digital medium has allowed for so much more flexibility as well as photorealism in such a timely fashion that the analog can't compete. In a film production setting, it's crucial to get the best result in the least amount of time, so unfortunately it's no longer practical to work solely in analog.

In my free time I like to pry myself away from the computer and pick up some gouache paints and illustration board. It's much more rewarding when you have to look, think, then place down the brush stroke, than scribble scribble, ctrl-z, ctrl-z, scribble, cut, paste, scribble, unsharp mask. :)


Q: While everything you have done has its own rewards is there one project that you're particularly proud of?
(Image: Thor Asgard courtyard painting)
I'm actually very proud of my work on THOR over any of my other past films. I feel like it gave myself (and the other artists) an opportunity to translate the original intent of Jack Kirby's Asgard in an updated fashion that was still tasteful and respectful. It seemed everyone had a take on what that vision was, all the way through post production, and it was great to see it evolve until the end result on screen. I'm proud knowing that I was part of the creation of that world, and that it was well received by the fans.




Q: Who influences your artistic style the most?
(Image: Avatar Pandora fruit)
I'm creatively influenced by so many people and so many things, but as far as style... I'm probably more influenced by the world around me.

I love photography, and trying to best understand light and how it bounces, reflects, absorbs, and blankets everything around us. I also love looking at master matte painting works and seeing how those guys resolved 'photoreal' illusions with a few brush strokes. Al Whitlock, Michael Pangrazio, Syd Dutton as well as my contemporaries: Robert Stromberg, Dylan Cole, Steve Messing, Yannick Dusso, Brian Flora, Yusei Uesugi...

There are a lot of people out there that I admire whom truly inspire me. Being lucky enough to have worked with, learned from and befriended is the icing on the cake.

You can check out more of his incredible work on Alice and other designs at pensketch.com. Also, follow him on twitter (pensketch) for updates.

Thanks for the interview Craig!

To read some of my other interviews with artists check out the full list here.

What do you think of Craig Shoji's work?

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In this storyboard from Season 6 Episode 2 of Doctor Who 'Day of the Moon' a homeless man meets a sick child in an alley. What happens next surprises him.

Go behind-the-scenes and watch a powerful clip from Episode 2, "Day of the Moon" alongside the storyboards drawn for it by James Iles. - BBC America

Excellent layout designs by James Iles. While not all of it is exact to the final scene, the final shot is amazing and I'm glad it made it in-tact.

Iles is a freelance artist from Wales. His website http://www.coroflot.com/jamesiles has a lot more of his quirky stunning work.

BBC America is really stepping up with the pre-production material lately.

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The most shocking part of The Dark Knight (2008) was the Joker's bizarre facial scarring, but it could have been even creepier.

 Synopsis: The Dark Knight reunites director Christopher Nolan with star Christian Bale, who returns to continue Batman’s war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as the Joker (Heath Ledger), who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces the Dark Knight ever closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante. - Warner Bros

In the book The Dark Knight: Featuring Production Art and Full Shooting Script they have some of the other ideas behind his slashed face. The scars are a lot more extreme with flapping skin and deep gashes.

First, a look at what Heath Ledger looked like in the film.



Now a look at some early designs

Joker by Rob Bliss

Production design by Nathan Crowley. Concept artists were Jamie Rama, Dan Walker, Matthew Savage and Mark Taylor.

Rob Bliss's portfolio is at robbliss.com

Do you wanna know how he got those scars?

Via SlashFilm

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Spielberg's science-fiction show Terra Nova debutes in the fall and "Entertainment Weekly" got some exclusive concept art of the show's "time tunnel."

Previously, the studio has posted the "concept-art-turned-logo" shown below.

IMDB lists Richard S. Lee (Sucker Punch, The Last Airbender, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) as the concept artist for the pilot, so we have him to thank for this work.

Watch the trailer below. What's funny is that they hired Stephen Lang to play the leader of the crew and he plays the exact same character as he did in Avatar as Colonel Quaritch.

What do you think of Terra Nova? Does it look like a winner?

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Early this week a concept poster for the Alexandre Aja directed live-action film adaptation Cobra: the Space Pirate (2013) was released and it shows a man with a gun for a hand smoking a cigarette.

The film, based on the popular manga cartoon show Space Pirate Cobra is described this way:

The film follows the eponymous rogue space pirate, a man who has surgically altered his face and erases his own memory to hide from his enemies. Cobra gradually regains his memories and unites with his old partner Lady Armaroid and his ship Tortuga. Together, the two set off on an adventure to recover a lost treasure on Mars - Coming Soon

If you're wondering what's with the gun-hand Wikipedia explains it:

Cobra's signature weapon, the "Psycho-gun", is a cybernetic arm-laser which connects directly to his brain. The Psycho-gun can target putative enemies without having a line-of-sight.

You can watch the cool Manga opening below and while I know nothing about the show you can bet I'll be following it with interest. IMDB lists virtually nothing, so I can't give any details till it gets updated.

It's set to be released 2013.

How sweet looking is this poster? Have you heard of this show before?

Via Examiner

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