While the League of Extraordinary Gentleman (LXG) (2003) movie was a pale imitation of the graphic novel by Grant Morrison, the special effects by Steve Johnson's team were top notch.

I found this old Hyde make-up effects video on YouTube and it's amazing how much thought and work went into the design of the monstrous Mr. Hyde.

The video has Johnson explaining the many design decisions that went into making Jason Flemyng into Dr. Henry Jekyll / Edward Hyde.

Check out the video after the jump and see the concept art that could have made him look even freakier.

First, here's what he looked like in the film.

Here's the concept art.

Now watch the fascinating behind-the-scenes videos.

PART 1

Part 2


Official Description
A hunter, a scientist, a vampire, an invisible man, an immortal, a spy, a beast…when a masked madman known as "The Fantom" threatens to launch global Armageddon, legendary adventurer Allan Quatermain (Sean Connery) commands a legion of superheroes, the likes of which mankind has never seen. 

Directed by Stephen Norrington

Starring Sean Connery, Naseeruddin Shah, Peta Wilson, Tony Curran, Stuart Townsend, Shane West, Jason Flemyng and Richard Roxburgh


See more of Steve Johnson's work at his Facebook page and Constantine Sekeris' portfolio at constantinesekerisdesign.blogspot.com.

© Copyright 2003 20th Century Fox. All rights reserved

What do you think of the design? Do you think some of the designs are better or worse than the final film?

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Update: Corrected the credit for one artist
Get a good look at costume designs for Kirk's spacesuit, the Klingon uniform and aliens that didn't make it into Star Trek Into Darkness.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) is a global hit selling $181,537,381 in tickets in the U.S. alone. Costume Designer Michael Kaplan brought Constantine Sekeris, Christopher Ross and others in to help concept the designs.

Check out the rest of the pictures after the jump and click to enlarge.

Kaplan told Clothes on Film that designing the first film was about feeling correct to today’s audiences of ‘Trekkies’ and general moviegoers. This time, that had been done so they moved forward with a darker tone and costumes reflect that world.

First, here are some shots from the film.

Spock's Volcano Suit

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Volcano Suit" by Christopher S. Ross  Keith Christensen

The design of the volcano suit and space suits were a challenge. "They were all built by Film Illusions, and worked without a snag." Kaplan added, "These were not simple costumes, since ventilation, cooling, audio and lighting systems were necessary. The actors’ comfort and safety were always our second concern.

"Spock's suit is to protect him from the heat of the volcano." Kaplan told the Guardian "I'd never seen a space suit in copper, and I think copper's very beautiful. I went for the look more than the correct reasoning. Copper is probably the worst material to use when you're trying to protect yourself against heat. There needed to be ventilation in the helmet so that it didn't fog up, so that Zachary Quinto wasn't perspiring."

Kirk's and Khan's Space Jump Suit

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Space Jump Suit" by Constantine Sekeris

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Cumberbatch's Space Suit" by Christopher S. Ross Keith Christensen

Klingon Designs

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Klingon Costumes" by Constantine Sekeris

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Klingon Costumes" by Unknown

"The helmets address a lot of the features the Klingons have without having to show them." Michael Kaplan said, "You kind of know they're Klingons because they have those foreheads … even when they're wearing their helmets you can tell."

Alien Designs
Here are some alien designs that didn't make it into the film.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Alien Designs" by Neville Page and Michael Kaplan (with Constantine Sekeris)


See more of Constantine Sekeris' portfolio at http://constantinesekerisdesign.blogspot.com, Neville Page's at http://www.nevillepage.com and Keith Christensen IMDb page.

Official Synopsis
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organisation has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Pioneering director J.J. Abrams delivers the explosive action thriller Star Trek Into Darkness, following on from the international box office success of Star Trek in 2009. Featuring a stellar cast including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Alice Eve, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Bruce Greenwood, Noel Clarke and Peter Weller.

Official Site: StarTrekMovie.com

Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Weller

What do you think of the illustrations?

© Copyright 2013  Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, Bad Robot. All rights reserved

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Venom is the most popular Spider-Man villain of all-time. Many were disappointed with his portrayal in Spider-Man 3 mainly for the development of the character, but he also lacked the look of the classic villain.

Constantine Sekeris shared some designs on his blog that show a very different, and more faithful version, of the character that was rejected.

Check out the rest of the images after the jump and click to enlarge.

Official Synopsis:
Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire) finally has the girl of his dreams, Mary Jane Watson (Kirsten Dunst), and New York City is in the throes of Spider-mania! But when a strange alien symbiote turns Spider-Man¿s suit black, his darkest demons come to light changing Spider-Man inside as well as out. Spider-Man is in for the fight of his life against a lethal mix of villains - the deadly Sandman (Thomas Haden Church), Venom (Topher Grace), and the New Goblin (James Franco) - as well as the enemy within himself. 


See more of Constantine Sekeris' portfolio at http://constantinesekerisdesign.blogspot.com

What do you think of the illustrations? Would you have preferred this version?
 
@ Copyright 2007Columbia Pictures, Marvel Studios, Laura Ziskin Productions. All rights reserved

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AvP: Aliens vs. Predator had some pretty cool, and faithful visuals, for the creatures. Here's your chance to see the ones you didn't see by concept artist Constantine Sekeris.

It turns out Steve Johnson's Edge FX creature effects put in a bid for the film and lost out to Amalgamated Dynamics, but we can see the designs that almost made the film.

All descriptions are from Steve Johnson's Facebook page. Check out the pics after the jump and click to enlarge.



ALIEN QUEEN

"a) These original pencil designs were done by Constantine Sekeris, for Steve Johnson's Edge FX bid to do the creature suits for AVP, however  they lost out and ADI continued to do the creature designs for this part of the Alien franchise. Sketches for a proposed Alien Queen, the first with two extra legs protruding from her shoulders , the second, third and fourth with four legs, the fifth with three legs and the last is an earlier rough sketch which shows the more classic Aliens design.  each measures 17 x 14 inch.and Steve Johnson FX on Facebook.

"b) A thing to note about Constantine's work, he has a penchant for creating monsters with long limbs that end with dagger like tips so entities with these sorts of appendages are likely to turn up in numerous drawings by this artist"

ALIEN CREATURES

"This original pencil design was also by Constantine Sekeris for Steve Johnson's Edge FX bid to do the creature suits for AVP. This is another sketch for a proposed Alien Warrior. , measures 17 x 14 inch.

"The first sketch here shows a fairly abstract variant on the idea of an alien warrior creature, with this entity's head ending as a sharp point it has no tail but has two long tentacles sprout from his back, the tentacle on the right displays finger like appendages extending from the tip.

"For these, pictures by Constantine Sekeris. original sketches was scanned and coloured digitially so physical images of this art only exist as printouts.  Measure 13 x 19 inch.  The first has strangely elongated middle digits that seem to recall the over sized fingers of the alien warriors in Alien Vs Predator"

 

ALIEN FACEHUGGER

"Here is a sketch and rough sketch for a proposed facehugger.  Each measures 17 x 14 inch. These original pencil designs were by Constantine Sekeris, for Steve Johnson's Edge FX bid to do the creature suits for AVP.

"Many FX companies presented design concepts for AVP before ADI were hired. Edge FX produced these concepts for the face huggers, created by Constantine Sekeris. The original sketch was scanned and coloured digitially so physical images of this art only exist as printouts.  Measures 13 x 19 inch."

 

Wikipedia Synopsis:
Alien vs. Predator (also known as AVP) is a 2004 science fiction film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson for 20th Century Fox and starring Sanaa Lathan and Lance Henriksen. The film adapts the Alien vs. Predator crossover imprint bringing together the eponymous creatures of the Alien and Predator series, a concept which originated in a 1989 comic book. Anderson, Dan O'Bannon, and Ronald Shusett wrote the story, and Anderson and Shane Salerno adapted the story into a screenplay. Their writing was influenced by Aztec mythology, the comic book series, and the writings of Erich von Däniken.

Set in 2004, the film follows a team of archaeologists assembled by billionaire Charles Bishop Weyland (Henriksen) for an expedition near the Antarctic to investigate a mysterious heat signal. Weyland hopes to claim the find for himself, and his group discovers a pyramid below the surface of a whaling station. Hieroglyphs and sculptures reveal that the pyramid is a hunting ground for Predators who kill Aliens as a rite of passage. The humans are caught in the middle of a battle between the two species and attempt to prevent the Aliens from reaching the surface.

See more of Constantine Sekeris portfolio at constantineconceptsinc.com

Image Source: http://alienexplorations.blogspot.com, yourprops.com  and Steve Johnson FX on Facebook.

What do you think of the illustrations?
 
@ Copyright 2004 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation ,  Davis Entertainment ,  Brandywine Productions, Constantine Sekeris. All rights reserved

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Unseen Lizard concept art from Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 (2004) have hit the web thanks to professional concept artist Constantine Sekeris (Spider-Man 3, Thor, Grimm).  The movie was an unqualified success, grossing over $783 million worldwide and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. But, what if the movie had been slightly different?

The art was first reported by NailBiter111 on Comic Book Movie. Here's what he said about them:
"Some of you may be shocked to learn that director Sam Raimi was initially planning to have Dr. Curt Connors (Dylan Baker) turn into The Lizard for Spider-Man 2. He, along with Dock Ock, Black and Harry (James Franco) as the new Green Goblin, were all to be featured in the sequel, but screenwriter Michael Chabon suggested narrowing the field down to just Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina).

"So, as I was scouring through Constantine Sekeris' website today I came across concept art of a reptilian figure. I asked the artist if it was for The Amazing Spider-Man. He then emailed me back explaining that it was actually created a long time ago for Spider-Man 2 when the choice of villain(s) was still up in the air."

The biggest problem with Spider-Man 3 was the number of villains. If Spider-Man 2 had four villains it would have been insane. I contacted Constantine and asked him a few questions about the pieces to get more information.

Click on the jump to read my interview with Constantine and see pictures of the Lizard. Click on the images to enlarge.



Q: Thanks for this quick interview Constantine. What description did you get from Sam Raimi?
Actually, the lizard designs were done when I was working at Steve Johnson's Edge FX years ago. Steve and I were in a meeting for another Marvel movie and, by chance, Marvel brought up the lizard as one of the options for the Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2. This was long before the movie was in production and, to get Marvel excited, I did those designs in hopes of working on the film.

Back when I worked at Edge FX, we were very aggressive in getting projects and so Steve would let me loose and start coming up with designs to get clients excited and to set meetings up for possibly working on the film and getting the work. We never met up with Sam Raimi to discuss the Lizard character. By the time the movie was in production Dr. Octopus was already decided as the villain.

Q: What was your inspiration for the designs?
The inspiration came from the comics and I did what I thought Marvel would like to see in their movie. Back then practical fx where still used more than today, and so I was designing the lizard as a guy in a suit with an animatronic mouth and another design more in the digital world.

If you want to see more lizard designs, I have more in my book MetamorFX: Art of Constantine Sekeris.

I don't have the book, but you can bet it just went into my "Buy" list on Amazon.

Make sure you get a copy.

See more of  Constantine Sekeris' portfolio at constantinesekerisdesign.blogspot.com and find more about Constantine on my blog here.

Via  Comic Book Movie

Official Synopsis:
In Spider-Man 2, the latest installment in the blockbuster Spider-Man series, based on the classicMarvel Comics hero, Tobey Maguire returns as the mild-mannered Peter Parker, who is juggling the delicate balance of his dual life as college student and a superhuman crime fighter. Peter's life becomes even more complicated when he confronts a new nemesis, the brilliant Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) who has been reincarnated as the maniacal and multi-tentacled "Doc Ock." When Doc Ock kidnaps MJ (Kirsten Dunst), Spider-Man must swing back into action as the adventure reaches new heights of unprecedented excitement.

Actors: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Alfred Molina, Rosemary Harris, Donna Murphy

Director: Sam Raimi
Screenwriter: Alvin Sargent
Producers: Avi Arad, Laura Ziskin

Official Site: http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/spider-man2/index.html

What do you think of the illustrations?
@ Copyright 2004 Columbia Pictures Corporation, Marvel Enterprises, Laura Ziskin Productions, Constantine Sekeris. All rights reserved

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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

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