Carlo Rambaldi was an Italian special effects artist who is most famous for designing the title character of the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and the mechanical head-effects for the creature in Alien (1979). Rambaldi won an Oscar for both designs.

Rambaldi's own painting Donne del Delta (Women of Delta) led him to give the creature an extendable neck. The creature's face was inspired by the faces of a pug dog, poet Carl Sandburg, physicist Albert Einstein and writer Ernest Hemingway.

Rambaldi died August, 12, 2012 and left a legacy of film design.

Wikipedia Synopsis:
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (often referred to simply as E.T.) is a 1982 American science fiction film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg, written by Melissa Mathison and starring Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace, Robert MacNaughton, Drew Barrymore, and Peter Coyote. It tells the story of Elliott (played by Thomas), a lonely boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed "E.T.", who is stranded on Earth. Elliott and his siblings help the extraterrestrial return home while attempting to keep it hidden from their mother and the government.

What do you think of the illustrations?
@ Copyright 1982 Universal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment. All rights reserved

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Mockingbird Lane (2012) "Herman Concept" by John Gallagher

The Munsters reboot pilot-turned-TV-movie Mockingbird Lane aired last Friday and the ratings were decent. A lot of speculation ruled around the Internet of what it would be like and now we know.

When the pilot was being developed in Canada, concept artist John Gallagher (official site) developed a ton of designs for it.  He shared some exclusive early designs with me and you can see very different Herman, Eddie Munster and Grandpa. Karl J. Martin and Steven M. Saylor did set designs and production design was by
Michael Wylie. Here's what John told me about the designs.



Where did the designs come from?
"It's fairly common for me to throw out a few notions that have only superficial connection to the actual marching orders of the show." Gallagher said, "We all have our required tasks to complete and once in awhile, if it's between approvals or being negotiated with vendors or what have you, I'll play with some of the motifs of the show just for my own reference and headspace."

Where do the ideas come from?
"They're rarely created for any other function than to get my palette and form language started heading in the right direction. Herman was a quick and dirty I did just to get the juices flowing and explore some elements I find interesting. That being said, as is often the case, what I find interesting and what production feels serves the story best are two different things but I'm happy to contribute however I can. To that, Masters and his crew did a splendid job with the challenge and the material is clever and subversive so I'm trusting if it's picked up as a series we'll see much more of their wonderful work."

Click below to see the art in hi-res!

Mockingbird Lane (2012) "Munsters Mansion" by John Gallagher

Mockingbird Lane (2012) "Homecoming" by John Gallagher

Mockingbird Lane (2012) "Mansion Foyer" by John Gallagher

Mockingbird Lane (2012) "Eddie on the prowl" by John Gallagher

 

Mockingbird Lane (2012) "Eddie Attacks" by John Gallagher

Mockingbird Lane (2012) "Eddie" by John Gallagher

Mockingbird Lane (2012) "Grandpa's Cellar" by John Gallagher

Here's what the final show looked like.

http://www.nbc.com/mockingbird-lane/video/mockingbird-lane/1422032/You can read my other interview with John here

Official Synopsis:

"Mockingbird Lane," based on executive producer Bryan Fuller's ("Pushing Daisies," "Heroes") script and directed by executive producer Bryan Singer ("X-Men" film series, "House"), is a new, reimagined version of the classic 1960s comedy "The Munsters," now as a visually spectacular one-hour drama with a darker edge and tone. The cast includes Jerry O'Connell ("The Defenders") as Herman Munster, Portia de Rossi ("Arrested Development") as his wife Lily, Eddie Izzard ("United States of Tara," "The Riches") as Grandpa, Mason Cook ("Spy Kids: All the Time in the World in 4D") as Eddie and Charity Wakefield ("The Raven") as Marilyn.

In the original 1964-66 series "The Munsters," the odd, but lovable family lived on 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

In "Mockingbird Lane," sweet little Eddie Munster (Cook) is a normal kid about to enter the horrors of puberty. The truth is, he's about to discover that, for him, becoming a teenager means growing hair in truly unexpected places - as in all over his body - every time the moon is full! Eddie's got it pretty good though. His loving, supportive, run-of-the-mill family includes his mom Lily (de Rossi), the daughter of Dracula, his dad Herman (O'Connell), who brings new meaning to "Frankenstein," and Grandpa (Izzard), who would give Dracula a run for his money if he weren't actually Dracula! Of course, there's creepy cousin Marilyn (Wakefield), who's really the odd one because she's so completely normal.

Buying a house these days is a nightmare, so Herman and Lily are shocked that no one scooped up the rambling Victorian mansion at 1313 Mockingbird Lane that was the site of a series of grisly hobo murders. Settling into their new place, they're quickly onto the mission at hand: to gently ease Eddie into the reality of his werewolf adolescence. But it's not always so easy to accept that your child is a little "different" from the rest of the kids. Meanwhile, Herman, who works as a funeral director, is suffering from a heart condition. Since he's made up mostly of spare parts, he knew his makeshift heart would eventually give out. No worries though, because Grandpa, who is pretty good at procuring body parts, is on the case. All Herman cares about is finding a new heart with the same capacity to love Lily as much as he has for so many decades.

"Mockingbird Lane" is from Bad Hat Harry Productions and Universal Television. Executive producers include Fuller, Singer and Sara Colleton ("Dexter"). Singer also directed the pilot.

Official Site: http://www.nbc.com/mockingbird-lane/video/mockingbird-lane/1422032/

See more of the artist portfolios

• John Gallagher http://www.Uncannyknack.com 
• Jonathan Wayshack http://www.scrapbookmanifesto.com/

What do you think of the illustrations?
 
@ Copyright 2012 Universal Television, John Gallagher. All rights reserved 

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This is a note that I'm taking a blog hiatus. An Internet hiatus really.

I'll be greatly reducing my Internet time for the forseeable future and won't be blogging or visiting blogs.

Thanks for visiting, and feel free to browse through the archives for concept art and storyboards.

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The Hunger Games DVD/Blu-ray has a behind-the-scenes clip showing how director Gary Ross and visual effects supervisor Sheena Duggal designed The Girl and Boy on Fire.

There are some great concept art and animatics showing how they translated the fire wings from the book to the screen.

Via Vulture

What do you think of the video? Do you think they did it justice?

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Jar Jar Binks. He's the most hated character in the Star Wars universe. This is a universe that includes child-killers like Anakin Skywalker, mass murderers like Gran Moff Tarkin and torturers like Emperor Palpatine.

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace "Jar Jar Binks" by Terryl Anne Whitlatch

But, the irony is that, when Lucas created the character, he thought he would be a huge hit. Designs by Iain McCaig and Terryl Anne Whitlatch (Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Jumanji, Men in Black) show a kinder, friendlier, Jar Jar that might have won fans over.

Some of the images are from The Art of Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace. Sorry for the flash. I was still learning how to use it.

Click on the images to enlarge.

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace "Jar Jar Binks" by Iain McCaig

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace "Jar Jar Binks" by Iain McCaig

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace "Jar Jar Binks" by Iain McCaig

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace "Jar Jar Binks" by Terryl Anne Whitlatch

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace "Jar Jar Binks" by Terryl Anne Whitlatch

I'm glad they decided to put clothes on him.

See more great Star Wars concept art in the book The Art of Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace.



Learn more about the artists by clicking on the links below:
Iain McCaig http://iainmccaig.blogspot.com/
Terryl Anne Whitlatch http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926041/

What do you think of the illustrations? Would you have become a Jar Jar fan?

@ Copyright 1996 Lucas Film, Iain McCaig, Terryl Anne Whitlatch. All rights reserved

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In every movie, there are ideas that never get used and X-Men: First Class (2011) is no exception. While some are not used for various reasons, some are really cool. Julian Caldow (Babylon A.D, Prince of Persia, Prometheus) has some great views of the War Room, Hank "Beast" McCoy's (Nicholas Hoult) lab and a much sleeker alternate view of the X-Plane.

Check them out after the jump and click on the images to enlarge.

X-Men: First Class (2011) "War Room A" concept art by Julian Caldow

X-Men: First Class (2011) "War Room B" concept art by Julian Caldow

X-Men: First Class (2011) "Hank's Lab A" concept art by Julian Caldow

X-Men: First Class (2011) "Hank's Lab B" concept art by Julian Caldow

X-Men: First Class (2011) "X-Plane Interior" concept art by Julian Caldow

X-Men: First Class (2011) "X-Plane Interior" concept art by Julian Caldow

X-Men: First Class (2011) "X-Plane Alt" concept art by Julian Caldow

X-Men: First Class (2011) "X-Plane Alt" concept art by Julian Caldow

You can see more of Julian Caldow's portfolio at http://www.krop.com/juliancaldow/

Official Synopsis:
"Directed by Matthew Vaughn, 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 (James McAvoy) and Erik Lensherr (Michael Fassbender) 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."

What do you think of the illustrations?
 
@ Copyright 2011 Bad Hat Harry Productions, Donners' Company, Marv Films, Julian Caldow. All rights reserved

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One of the biggest reveals in The Avengers (2012) was the appearance of Thanos "The Mad Titan." It sent fans running to the Internet to figure out who he was and why he was there. Thanos was the shadowy figure who gave Loki the alien army he used to try and conquer Earth. His appearnace was only 5 seconds long and it was one of those "blink you missed it" moments in films.

Which is why it's so exciting that the Avengers app "Second Screen" unlocked concept art of Thanos. I bought the Avengers Blu-Ray this week and am still going through it, but someone else did and shared the following concept art after the jump.


Click on the images to enlarge.



The Avengers (2012) Thanos concept art by Andy Park (bottom) and various



The Avengers (2012) Thanos concept art by Charles Wen

 Here's what Thanos looked like in the comics.

 Here's what he looked like in the post-credits scene.

I don't know who all the artists are, but I recognize Charles "Charlie" Wen and Andy Park's signature on two of them.
Official Synopsis:

See more of their portfolios by going to the following sites:
Charles Wen http://charliewen.typepad.com/
Andy Park - Andyparkart.com

What do you think of the illustrations?

@ Copyright 2012 Marvel Studios, Paramount Pictures, Andy Park, Charlie Wen. All rights reserved

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