FilmSketchr Lab: Nathan Schroeder

Friday, June 21, 2013

The sequel to the $449.3 million hit Thor(2011), called Thor: The Dark World, is set for release November 8, 2013. But it's still fun to look at the beautiful concept art for the film by Nathan Schroeder.

Nathan Schroeder is a professional concept artist who's worked on films such as X, Y and Z. These designs seem to glow with all the gold and gleaming ice formations.

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

He described these illustrations by saying, "Directed by Kenneth Branagh and designed by Bo Welch. Having worked with Bo a year before on LAND OF THE LOST, I was excited to create artwork for the ice world, Jotunheim; as well as the realm of Asgard, where Thor lives."

Thor (2011) "Asgard" by Nathan Schroeder

Thor (2011) "Jotunheim" by Nathan Schroeder

See more of Nathan Schroeder's portfolio at NathanSchroeder.net

Click on the links if you want to see more of Nathan Schroeder's work and Thor on my blog.

Official Thor Synopsis
Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment present the epic adventure, “Thor,” which spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is the mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and is forced to live among humans. A beautiful, young scientist, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), has a profound effect on Thor, as she ultimately becomes his first love. It’s while here on Earth that Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

Official site: thor.marvel.com

© Copyright 2011 Paramount Pictures, Marvel Entertainment Marvel StudiosAll rights reserved

What do you think of the illustrations?

With the release of the Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures [Blu-ray] I thought it would be fun to look at some concept art from one of the films: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008). While it's not my favorite of the series, the scenes of the Mayan ruins are breath-taking.

Nathan Schroeder (The Avengers, Star Trek, X-Men) helped design for the film and here's what he said about the design on his site.
"I was very excited to be able to work on the fourth, and perhaps final installment of this legendary series of films. My biggest contribution to this film was the creation of a series of paintings and relief carvings that explain the origins of the crystal skull."

Click on the images to enlarge

Wikipedia Synopsis:
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a 2008 American adventure science fiction film. It is the fourth and final film in the Indiana Jones franchise, created by George Lucas and directed by Steven Spielberg. Released nineteen years after the previous film, the film acknowledges its star Harrison Ford's age by being set in 1957. It pays tribute to the science fiction B-movies of the era, pitting Indiana Jones against Soviet agents—led by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett)—for a psychic alien crystal skull. Indiana is aided by his former lover Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen) and son Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf). Ray Winstone, John Hurt and Jim Broadbent are also part of the supporting cast.

See more of Nathan Schroeder's portfolio at NathanSchroeder.net

What do you think of the illustrations?

@ Copyright 2008 Paramount Pictures, Lucasfilm, Nathan Schroeder. All rights reserved

Alternate ending for Iron Man 2 by Ryan Meinderding

Whiplash says, "Don't release that concept art!" One thing that has a huge impact on my blog is the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) that studios use. Since I'm not in the industry, I'm an outsider looking in.

In some cases I find artists that have worked on a film years ago and there's no problem sharing the art.

Other times I know a movie is coming up and contact the artists. I know they can't reveal any details without approval from the show or until after it has been released. But I can at least line up the illustrations and interviews for the day the show opens.

For those outside Hollywood the question comes up: What is that thing anyway?

I contacted five major industry artists to find out what an NDA is and how it affects their work. They all said NDAs are a necessary part of the industry and it doesn't impact them unless they can't show their work.

Dawn Brown is a set designer and concept artist in the film industry for almost 20 years. She's worked on huge films like Star Trek (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010) and the upcoming The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013).

Craig Shoji is a concept artist who's worked on blockbusters like Avatar (2009), Thor (2011) and Men In Black 3 (2012).

Nathan Schroeder is a conceptual artist in the movie industry that has a huge comic book pedigree with films like The Avengers (2012), X-Men (2000) and Star Trek (2009).

Rob McCallum has been a storyboard artist for almost 20 years in movies and television. You've seen his work on Falling Skies, 16 Blocks (2006) and Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004).

Andrew Probert is the legendary concept artist who helped create the DeLorean in Back to the Future (1985), The Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation and more. He has over 34 yeqars of experience in the industry.

What is an NDA?

Dawn Brown
"A Non-Disclosure Agreement is basically a confidentiality agreement between the employer and the employee. It requires that the employee not share any information they receive while working for the employer. In reference to concept artists working in the film industry, every studio asks us to sign one at the start of every single show. We must promise not to publicly discuss or share any artwork, designs, script info, etc. The term of the agreement typically ends when the feature film is theatrically released."

Craig Shoji
"I'd say it's a written, contractual agreement between (at least) two parties that infers that there will be 'confidential' material and information shared, and that neither party should 'disclose' any of that information to any entity outside of that contract.

"In film it's usually between an entity that's labeled the 'Producer' and one that's the 'Artist.'

"Although there aren't normally expiration dates on them, the producer usually determines when information can be shared to the public by first releasing it. Either through a public trailer, marketing material, the release of the movie, or a 'making of' book. I believe they still reserve the right to ask an artist to not publicly showcase any work created under that contract for whatever reason."

Nathan Schroeder
"An NDA is a non-disclosure agreement that we all sign whenever we start a new show. It says we cannot reveal anything about the project we are working on (presumably until the film is released.) "

Rob McCallum
"I'd say an NDA is legal document you sign stopping you from telling anyone outside of the production- in this case- anything about the project so it's kept a secret. They are common on all jobs these days. You can't show work to anyone, you can't tell anyone details if it hasn't officially been released."

Andrew Probert
"An NDA is an agreement signed by a person who's hired to work on a project of which the producer does not want it's contents revealed to anyone not working on that project."

How does it affect your work?

Dawn Brown
"Personally, I think its perfectly reasonable for the studios to ask the crew not to spill the beans on their projects. As far as how it affects my work, the hard part is the giant lag time between when we wrap a show and it's theatrical release.

"For example, I finished Oz: The Great and Powerful last summer 2011, but I can't show anything until spring 2013. By the time I can add it to my portfolio, the artwork will be almost 2 years out of date!

"But that's the nature of the beast and most people understand this and play by the rules."

Nathan Schroeder
"It only affects us in that we can't post work on our website until a show comes out. It can be a problem if a show goes down and is never released."

Andrew Probert
"The only way it affects my work is in not being able to use the materials I've provided (as works for hire) as work examples, to be shown to anyone outside of the project until (typically) that project has been released to the public."

Craig Shoji
"As far as how it affects me, it's usually a little bit of a bummer that I can't 'show off' the work that I create until a couple of years after they've been completed and the film is released.

"But internally, usually all the people who are in a position to hire me (producers, production designers) on the next film have come across that work in the pipeline, or are already familiar with my work and working with me. The producers and production designers that come across my work have most likely already signed an NDA with the studio or they're part of a company that has most likely signed off on the NDA (post production house, working on a sequel to the film, etc).

"So it's usually not a problem for establishing 'credibility' for finding work. And it's a necessary part of working on a creative property so I wouldn't hesitate to sign one that I've read through and OK'd."

See more of the artist's portfolios at their sites
Dawn Brown dawnbrown.net/
Rob McCallum mccallumart.com
Andrew Probert probertdesigns.com
Nathan Schroeder nathanschroeder.net
Craig Shoji pensketch.com

Did you learn anything about the industry? What do you think about NDAs?

I featured some concept art from The Avenger's Helicarrier before, but one of the main artists who helped bring the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier to the screen was Nathan Schroeder (Thor, Star Trek, Captain America: The First Avenger) and I got an exclusive interview with him where he talked about his designs and the challenges of redesigning one of the most iconic vehicles in comic book history.

Nathan repeatedly said that there were many talented designers that worked on the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. But, James Chinlund, the production designer, said "the key designer on the piece was Nathan Schroeder, who was elbow deep for several months helping to bring the ship to life."

I'm sharing some exclusive photos, but you can see more on his site. Here's what Nathan had to say about the designs, the challenges and the one scene that caused them to panic.

"I was really happy how it turned out. Joss Whedon did a great job with it." he said. While he didn't work directly with director Joss Whedon, as is typical in the industry, he did work with James Chinlund the production designer.

Whedon would talk with Chinlund about elements of the Heli-Carrier that had story implications. Where would the engines be and what would the technology be like? He would need this information to block out the scenes.

When the designs of the Helicarriers were first done there was a lot of speculation about how to do it.

“It’s basically an aircraft carrier in the sky,” said director Joss Whedon. “Throughout the years, the look of the Helicarrier has evolved in the comics, but it was always the idea of this floating fortress. It was part of the bargain in writing the script that it had to be included, and I wasn’t about to say no. We had a lot of discussions on figuring out how to make it work, but the streamlined design that our production designer James Chinlund came up with was very sleek and cool, but it also toed the line between fantasy and reality very well.”

The designers went through many phases from submarines with propellers to flying boats. In the end they went for a more militaristic look inspired by Steve Jung. The following are some of Schroeder's concept designs.

The Lab

He didn't get to read the script because of security concerns, but he was given details that he needed. One scene in particular he mentioned was the scene with the lab when Banner "Hulks out" and is attacked by a plane.

"I had to develop the construction of the lab specifically based on what they needed for this scene." Nathan said. He went as far as having to determine where the stress points were. For example, Whedon wanted to know if the windows blow out or just have bullet-holes in them? Is the lab completely destroyed and burnt or is it useable afterwards?

The Bridge

The bridge was a collaborative effort with set designers and artist Steve Jung. Nick Fury could stand in several locations and there was a table that the Avengers could have meetings in.

One of the "biggest challenges was the front window," which was a real stage and was a "big engineering job." The questions the designers asked was "How do you make it look cool and still actually make it structural?" The metal can't block shots, but the spacing and girders had to look strong and futuristic.

The contribution he talked about most were the angled "mullions," or two massive struts, that give it a dynamic attitude and the struts point right to Nick Fury.

The Helicarrier Ascending

What was most surprising to me was how the scene of the Helicarrier ascending from the water led to a structural change of the ship. That scene actually happened kind of "late in the time that" he was involved.

"Originally the reveal was going to happen right at the beginning. The end of the Captain America movie was going to be dovetail right into this. He was going to wake up, kind of stumble outside this building that looks like a modern office building and he keeps walking and he realizes he's on this tarmac and he gets to the edge and he realizes he's on the edge of the aircraft carrier looking down floating over the city and that's kind of his introduction to the modern world.

"At some point, Joss must have decided that it would be more dramatic to do the takeoff from the water. We had the design of the carrier with the wings flush at the flight deck level. Which means that you're going to see them as soon as you see the carrier and we need to hide them under the water. So, we had to come up with some way that the wings could actually move. They kind of climb up and down on the side of the ship. So they start underwater, and if you pay really lose attention, they kind of elevate upwards and lock into a final position. If you see the original, when its in the water you can see there is bit of folded pieces where the wing is. And if you look at the underside of the Helicarrier you'll see that I put in some tracks on the front wings and back wings to suggest that's how it rides up and down.

"When that decision was made we went into sort of a panic mode. How do we get the wings out of the shot and still make it look [right?] It has kind of a nice aggressive posture when the wings are up higher and if you bring the wings down it's not as interesting."

Overall, he said it was a "great time" working on the Avengers with James Chinlund and the other artists. He was "very open to trying stuff in 3-D" and technology.

"I would also say, as any artist, that we all work on a lot of movies and it's really great when the movie turns out well." Nathan said thoughtfully. "Because we all invest a lot of energy into these movies. It's really satisfying. All that work was really worthwhile."

See more of Nathan Schroeder's portfolio at http://www.nathanschroeder.net/
and Steve Jung's work at http://www.stevejung.net/ and http://jungsketch.blogspot.com/

What do you think of the illustrations? Did you like the Helicarrier?

Related Posts

Back in 2001, Bryan Singer began work on a movie based on the 1970s television series Battlestar Galactica. It died thanks to event surrounding 9/11. Recently, the projects been picked up again with a new writer.

Concept artist Nathan Schroeder (Star Trek, X-Men, X2) posted some concept art from the original project. It features some new visions of the Cylons, ship interiors and a design for a Scorpion fighter ship.

Here's what he says about the concept art:

Battlestar Galactica: no, this is not the Battlestar Galactica that is a big hit on cable. This was an earlier attempt to re-launch the series by director, Bryan Singer. Unfortunately, this did not get finished, which is a shame since I think we really developed a nice architectural language.