Federico D’Alessandro's posted several animatics for the film Iron Man 3 including one of the attack on Tony Stark's Malibu Beach house..

Federico D’Alessandro is a professional concept artist born in Uruguay and raised in Colorado who's works for Marvel studios as head storyboard artist and Animatics Supervisor for films like Thor, The Avengers and Captain America: The First Avenger.

Check out the video after the jump and click to enlarge.

Here's what he said about the animatics and working on the film.

"I worked on IRON MAN 3 as the Lead Storyboard Artist and Animatics Supervisor, and during that time I created a lot of fun animatics. This was my favorite one, and was translated to the final film pretty closely!

"I met with Shane Black very early during pre-production to discuss this scene. Even in the early stages, the sequence seemed gargantuan. So much needed to happen in a relatively short amount of time, and I knew that this would be my most challenging animatic yet. The beauty of the way Shane works is that he’s not only a brilliant storyteller but he’s very open to other ideas, and during my time on the show he trusted me as a creative collaborator. I wanted to reward the freedom he gave me and that led to some of my best work I’ve done for Marvel yet. After a few story meetings with Shane where we hashed out a lot of beats together, he gave me control of the scene and I went to work figuring out how to turn this sequence into a visual spectacle.

"Creating this animatic was a technically challenging process as I was trying a lot of new techniques not normally found in animatics. The storytelling had to be tight, the energy frenetic, and the action clear. One of the things I focused on was a “good news, bad news” stacking of the beats…Tony gets out of a bind, only to be faced with another challenge which he overcomes but then he is immediately dealt a fresh problem. As much as anything else, Tony needed to outthink his attackers.

"Thankfully Shane and Marvel were ecstatic with the end result. By the time the animatic was approved by all the powers-that-be, were still many months away from shooting, but I think having this kind of scene locked down so early allowed Marvel to carefully strategize all the necessary elements to make this very complex scene come to life. In the end, they ended up following my animatic almost shot-to-shot, so seeing that on screen was an amazingly gratifying experience."

Watch the animatic below.


See more of Federico D’Alessandro's work at http://thefilmartist.com

(Via  /Film)

Official Synopsis
Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce & Shane Black and is based on Marvel’s iconic Super Hero Iron Man, who first appeared on the pages of “Tales of Suspense” (#39) in 1963 and had his solo comic book debut with “The Invincible Iron Man” (#1) in May of 1968.

“Iron Man 3” is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures and DMG Entertainment. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing and Jon Favreau, Louis D’Esposito, Charles Newirth, Victoria Alonso, Stephen Broussard, Alan Fine, Stan Lee and Dan Mintz are executive producers. The film releases May 3, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Directed by: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley

Official website: http://marvel.com/ironman3 
Like IRON MAN 3 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ironman
Tweet the Official Hashtag: #IronMan3
Follow IRON MAN 3 on Twitter:@Iron_Man

What do you think of the concept art? Are you planning to watch Iron Man 3?

@ Copyright 2013 Marvel Studios, DMG Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved

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In celebration of the 33rd Anniversary of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980) I'm hosting the entire book of photos and descriptions from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Portfolio  by Ralph McQuarrie.

I do not own these images, but eskimio on Imgur posted them.

There are better scans and better images, but I've never seen a more loving tribute to the book. It really gives you the feel of thumbing through this old art book.

Check out the rest of the images after the jump.




I gotta say the book is pretty cheap, so if you're interested you should pick up a copy.



See more of Ralph McQuarrie's portfolio at RalphMcQuarrie.com

What do you think of the illustrations and the book?

Wikipedia Synopsis:
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (also known as The Empire Strikes Back) is a 1980 American epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner, produced by Gary Kurtz, and written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, with George Lucas writing the film's story and serving as executive producer. Of the six main Star Wars films, it was the second to be released and the fifth in terms of internal chronology.

The film is set three years after Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The Galactic Empire, under the leadership of the villainous Darth Vader, is in pursuit of Luke Skywalker and the rest of the Rebel Alliance. While Vader chases a small band of Luke's friends—Han Solo, Princess Leia Organa, and others—across the galaxy, Luke studies the Force under Jedi Master Yoda. But when Vader captures Luke's friends, Luke must decide whether to complete his training and become a full Jedi Knight or to confront Vader and save his comrades. - Source

Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, Frank Oz

© Copyright 1980 LucasFilm. All rights reserved

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Production designer, Scott Chambliss, has posted a gallery of concept for the hit film Star Trek into Darkness and they are spectacular.

Chambliss is a professional Production Designer and Art Director. He's worked on Hollywood films like Star Trek (2009), Mission: Impossible III (2006) and Cowboys & Aliens (2011).

The images ae on his site, ScottChambliss.com and I'm sharing a handful of them. Some of the designs include the USS Vengeance, planet Nibiru, Klingon planet Qo'noS, various ships and locations and more.

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

The portfolio doesn't list who the artists are,  but I'm sure we'll find out soon.

Head to his site for more Star Trek Into Darkness concept art, set photos, and behind the scenes images at

via thetrekcollective.com and TrekMovie.com

Official Synopsis
In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness. When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization 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. 

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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Mendell's Iron Man chest arc light designs, which keep his heart going, are so cool they break my heart.

Here's the third interview for Iron Man 3 that I've done. You can read the ones with Rob McKinnon, Andrew Leung and Justin Fields.

Ron Mendell's a professional concept artist who's worked on films such as Star Trek (2009), Looper (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012) as a prop designer.

Check out the rest of the pictures after the jump. Also, find out what Ron's favorite prop was and a surprising change from the film. Click the images to enlarge.

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Stan Fleming in His San Francisco Studio, Feb-28, 1985

Hear some inspirational stories about storyboard artist Stan Fleming.

Some film artists are iconic and some are inspirational. Stan Fleming, who worked on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was both.

IMDb only lists Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) in his credits. But, not surprisingly it's woefully incomplete. His credits include Hunt for Red October, Ghostbusters II and more.

Here now are three stories about the man, and how he's touched so many lives.


Don Pontloch
84-year-old Don Pontloch contacted me and told me some heart warming sorties about his good friend Stan. I don't have space to share them all, but here are the highlights.

"Stan was also my inspiration and close friend." Don said, "We met in the army at Fort Belvoir during the Korean War. He introduced me to my future wife and was 'best man' at my wedding in Ct. later on. Our bond was that I had finished 2 yrs. at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts before being drafted and he had studied at the Chicago Art Institute. After discharge he had talked me into studying at the Art Institute on the 'G.I. Bill'. I worked for him part-time in an art studio in the 'Loop' for a while during my 4 school years there. He married one of room-mates of my future wife. Her name was Rachel, (later died), and had a son Bill who became a lawyer.

"He later moved to San Francisco where I found him many years later and had married Mary and they had three daughters. He used to send me samples of some of his storyboard sketches for movies. I was very saddened at his death.

"His suggestion when we first arrived at Fort Belvoir was to send for my art samples as a chance that I could be held back from being shipped to Korea as they may need artists it being a new camp (Formerly Camp Humphries). It worked and so Stan ended up as artist for the Military District of Washington on the opposite side of the camp from me. I ended up with my own art room next the Colonel's office doing training aids, flip charts, booklets,etc."

Finally, Don had this to say about Fleming. "He was always fun to be around...a clown and a tease but gracious and offered his home for the night and drove us everywhere to show us all the attractions the city had to offer."

Stan Fleming in His Home Studio, Novoto, CA, 1989

Stan Fleming's Obituary  03/11/09

Benton Jew
In the book Professional Storyboarding: Rules of Thumb By Sergio Paez, Anson Jew, Benton Jew talks about the impact Fleming had on his art career.

Let's talk about how you broke in. You know, going to school, starting up. How did you got from being a student to where you are right now? 
Well, as a high school and junior college student, I had already done a little bit of fredancing here and there for small things. I did some comic books while I was in college—going to art school. I would always show my artwork to different artists and get their advice and while I was studying at the Academy of Art University, I showed my work to Stan Fleming, who was a storyboard artist on films like the second Indiana Jones movie and some other films. And he shared my interest in comic strips and comic books and I showed him some comic book work that I did while he was giving a lecture at The Academy of Art. So he remembered me and recommended me for a job that he couldn't do or didn't have time to do while at ILM and so I was at my last semester at The Academy of Art. They hired me to work on a job. It was a simulator ride called Body Wars as a freelancer. So that's how I got my start working at ILM and then they decided to build a bigger art department, so I was a part of that an department for 13 years.

Now, when you showed them your portfolio, what did you show them? 
The thing he remembered was kind of a comic book style thing I did for the Oakland A's. I had done two five-page comic book inserts inside an Oakland A's Magazine and I showed him some of the original artwork and be liked my style. I just grabbed him after he gave his talk and a lot of people were showing their portfolios to him and he remembered my snuff because it was kind of an old style comic strip style. He was a big fan of Stan Drake and I was a big fan of Stan Drake so he apparently remembered me. After that, we became friends later, and that's how I got the job.

Now, you're talking about Stan Fleming. But when you went to ILM what did you show? Did they ask to look at your work or was it purely Stan's recommendation? 
Well, it was my last semester in art school, so I had basically shown them what I had done in art school and a few of my freelance jobs. Some of the comic book style samples that I did and some of my school work. Not a whole lot. We did really go through my portfolio that heavily. They could sense that I could draw and do the job.

Bryana Fleming
His daughter, artist Bryana Fleming, talked about how her father impacted her work.
"I suppose my path to becoming an artist began at age nine.  It was then that my Dad described the human figure in a series of simple shapes.  The head; two eggs, the ribcage; an upside down beehive,  the hips; a cereal bowl.  He told me the whole body is the length of nine heads.  From this point on and even before,  I received serious encouragement from both of my parents.  Macaroni art and all.  They saw something streaming from my left hand onto paper,  and recognized it as a gift that I had been blessed with at birth.

"My Dad, Stan Fleming, was a renowned storyboard artist for such films as Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and Hunt for the Red October, and my Mom, Mary, is a brilliant portrait and fantasy painter.  I suppose that I fell somewhere in between.  I only began seriously painting in High School,  and was encouraged by all of my teachers.  I spent four years at the California College of the Arts and in 2004 walked with a BFA in Illustration."

You can see more of her work at Bryanafleming.com

Here are some storyboards from Indiana Jones II, that I can only assume are his.

Images via richartprints.com and ebay.com

Here's a video of storyboards from Ghostbusters II.

What do you think of the designs? Have you ever seen his work? If he's inspired you, please share your story in the comments.

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There are some concept artist interviews I've had to hold onto until the Art of Iron Man 3 book was released today. Now that it's come out, I can share the first one: Rob McKinnon.

He was actually one of the first artists cool enough to agree to an interview for my blog back in 2009. How time flies!

Robert McKinnon is a professional concept artist for such big-budget films as Inception (2010), Terminator Salvation (2009) and Total Recall(2012).

He's a huge comic book fan and that comes through in this interview. Read on to find out the amazing designs for Iron Man 3 and what made him feel like crying like a little girl. In a good way...

Click on the images to enlarge.



Did you jump at the chance to work on a Marvel film?
I was initially approached by Marvel to work on the Avengers, but due to contractual obligations on another film, I was unable to join the team.

Which was a shame too, as I had a Captain America helmet I would have loved to have worn to work everyday! Later on, Desma Murphy, a phenomenal Art Director and colleague, recommended me to Bill Brzeki, the IM3 Production Designer, who brought me on board.

I love Bill and Desma. They're awesome people who make the challenges of concept art work fun. And who could say no to working for Shane Black who created the Lethal Weapon Series?! On an Iron Manmovie no less!

You worked on robot designs for Transformers: Dark of the Moon, when it came to Iron Man 3 what did you design?
I initially started out working with Set Designer David Moreau on Stark's garage and Hall of Armor sets. I did a lot of digital sketches generating ideas and concepts.

Eventually it led me to working on architectural renovation concept work on Stark's Malibu house which led to visually developing the scene where it's attacked. That was a very exciting sequence I did in a parallel process with Marvel's Visdev team.

From there, I worked on various concepts all over the film. I was either designing or dressing sets or visually developing story sequences with the Art Directors. I had a complete blast working with an amazing and talented group of people.

Iron Man 3 (2013) Concept art by Rob McKinnon

Iron Man 3 (2013) Concept art by Rob McKinnon

Iron Man 3 (2013) Concept art by Rob McKinnon

While every design you do for a movie is a thrill, was there something special you remember designing for this film?
The helicopters that attack Stark's house are my favorites. Initially, the helicopters were going to be helo-jacked Army Apache gunships. However, there was a pretty cool design opportunity here. So we decided to come up with gunships disguised as civilian news and tour copters. It was fun, but very challenging. These copters had to be armed to the teeth, but couldn't be exposed until the moment of a surprise attack.

So I came up with the concept that the cabin doors crack open like stabilizer wings exposing the mounted armament. I thought if they could pull this off, it would be a kick a$$ moment in the film.

Movie Still from Iron Man 3

I saw it in the trailer, and I teared up like a little girl with a skinned knee! There's nothing like watching a drawing or painting come to life.

Even after 10 years in this biz, I'm still awed by it.

Having worked on your first Marvel film, what did you take away from the experience?
Iron Man is among the most beloved, respected, and celebrated Superhero characters created by Marvel Legend Stan Lee. To be a part of this amazing team and successful franchise is not only a humbling experience, but in many ways, a childhood dream come true.

Iron Man 3 is really going to blow the fans away. The blood, sweat, and tears of the entire cast and crew have seen to that!

Iron Man 3 (2013) Concept art by Rob McKinnon

Iron Man 3 (2013) Concept art by Rob McKinnon

Thanks Robert! You can see more of his work including Iron Man 3, Tron: Legacy and an NSFW image from Total Recall at krop.com/robmckinnon.

The next Iron Man 3 interview is coming on Thursday, so check back then!

Official Synopsis
Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley, Marvel’s “Iron Man 3” is directed by Shane Black from a screenplay by Drew Pearce & Shane Black and is based on Marvel’s iconic Super Hero Iron Man, who first appeared on the pages of “Tales of Suspense” (#39) in 1963 and had his solo comic book debut with “The Invincible Iron Man” (#1) in May of 1968.

“Iron Man 3” is presented by Marvel Studios in association with Paramount Pictures and DMG Entertainment. Marvel Studios’ President Kevin Feige is producing and Jon Favreau, Louis D’Esposito, Charles Newirth, Victoria Alonso, Stephen Broussard, Alan Fine, Stan Lee and Dan Mintz are executive producers. The film releases May 3, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.


Directed by: Shane Black
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Stephanie Szostak, James Badge Dale with Jon Favreau and Ben Kingsley

Official website: http://marvel.com/ironman3 
Like IRON MAN 3 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ironman
Tweet the Official Hashtag: #IronMan3
Follow IRON MAN 3 on Twitter:@Iron_Man

What do you think of the concept art? Are you planning to watch Iron Man 3?
@ Copyright 2013 Marvel Studios, DMG Entertainment, Walt Disney Studios, Paramount Pictures. All rights reserved

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