Guy Davis's Blog, page 2

PACIFIC RIM Props!

In 2011 I spent almost a year working as part of Guillermo del Toro’s concept team on PACIFIC RIM! Along with designing some of the film’s kaiju (including Otachi and Slattern) and helping out with storyboards, I also got to design some props and set pieces. One of the first props I designed was the “welding backpack” that Raleigh wears while working on the construction of the Anti-Kaiju Wall.

I sketched the initial design as a place holder when I storyboarded that scene, Guillermo liked the shapes in the drawings and asked me to refine it. I did a more detailed version of the front / back which was then sent out to be worked up for construction.

Below is the final hero prop from the film (photo from the Prop Store Pacific Rim auction).

Later on I was asked to design some of the various maintenance vehicles for the Shatterdome scenes. One concept that made it into the film was the “Tool Train”~ which was a series of driverless carts that carried different Jaeger repair tools and were directed by a technician using control wands. 

A few months later I was thrilled to be told it was sitting outside in the studio parking lot (not my photo)! Check back for more Pacific Rim concepts in a future post!

The Cameo of Cthulhu!

A recent episode of this years Simpsons (“Halloween of Horror” Season 27 Ep 4) had the Cthulhu I designed from Guillermo del Toro’s Treehouse of Horror XXIV intro making a guest appearance wandering around the background!

In 2012 I had a lot of fun working with Guillermo on storyboarding his Simpsons intro along with creating some gags and designing the “Simpson-fied” monsters! One of the gags Guillermo wanted had Bart riding his skateboard through Springfield as it was torn up by a huge Cthulhu.

Before the storyboards I sketched up a few variations, including the possibility of a Futurama guest appearance (Why not Zoidberg!?) and Guillermo chose to go forward with the first concept!

Below is part of the storyboarded Cthulhu scene~

And a screenshot of how he appeared in the final episode! Be sure to check out the full Simpsons Treehouse of Horror opening too!

Beware the BRAMBLEGOR! The Mill at Calder’s End

A few years ago I met up with the amazing Kevin McTurk, I was already a huge fan of his Spirit Cabinet Victorian ghost stories told with rod puppets and was thrilled when he asked me to work on his newest short~ The Mill At Calder’s End! (Beware! Spoilers below!)

Along with a Hammer Horror inspired title design and a couple posters for the projects Kickstarter (which you can see here), Kevin asked me to do concept on the films monster! His new short had a creature at the climax, but no details were in place aside from Kevin wanting to use a boar skull as its base and the form needing to be modeled after a gorilla for the actor in costume (the incredible

Hoping to keep it mythical in appearance~ and always getting inspiration during long hikes~ I wanted to use lots of twigs, branches and bramble around the skull to act as a mane and horns so it didn’t have the feel of a stereotypical horned demon. Also dressing up its shape with red bloated and peeling skin, a belt tail of skulls and an oxen hump to get as far from the gorilla feel as possible.

When I started working up the design ( and having said the word “bramble” too much when describing it ), I called it the “Bramblegor” just to label it. Kevin liked the way it sounded and the name stuck!

Be sure to check out Kevin McTurk’s award winning The Mill At Calder’s End on Vimeo!

PAN’S LABYRINTH DVD extras: The Power of Myth

A look back at some of the spot illos I did for the Pan’s Labyrinth DVD featurette~ “The Power of Myth”. One of the first collaborations I had with Guillermo del Toro was getting to work on the special features for the Pan’s Labyrinth DVD back in 2007. Part of the DVD documentary extras from producer Javier Soto were a couple motion comics I worked on along with spot illustrations that would run in the background during the “Power of Myth” feature. Below are a few I did based on old fairy tales. Pen an ink on bristol board (digital was still around the corner!)

STEVEN UNIVERSE...and Monsters?!

Some after Halloween left overs! Here’s a peek at more series development that I did for the amazing Rebecca Sugar’s show, STEVEN UNIVERSE! Along with concept for the Crystal Gems Temple and an early (and unsavory) design for Steven’s Lion, I also worked on some early monster designs with Rebecca which you can see below! 

The first pass at the monsters the Crystal Gems would fight were mostly gag and shape based without any story attachment. The gem motif wasn’t part of the design sense yet, just creature mutations with the gems hidden inside.

Next with Rebecca’s direction, the monsters started incorporating the gems into their eyes and bodies!

These early ideas never went pass the initial rough sketches I did, but more incredible monsters would be coming from Rebecca and her team to give Steven and the Crystal Gems many seasons of monster fighting ahead! Check back for more early SU monsters in a future post!

CRIMSON PEAK: The Art of Darkness

This month saw the release of Guillermo del Toro’s gothic romance movie, CRIMSON PEAK from Legendary Pictures! It’s a beautiful and haunting film, and I had an incredible experience getting to be part of Guillermo’s concept team on various designs for the production (including work on the films ghosts!) 

Coinciding with the films release is the Crimson Peak: The Art of Darkness book from Insight Editions! A great collection chronicling the making of the film with interviews, photos and production art throughout (along with some concept pieces and illustrations I did for the film). Below is a peek at the inside showing some of my included work, but be sure to check out the book for more!

(images from ScreenWeek blog)

STEVEN UNIVERSE....and Lion?!

In 2012 I was delighted to get to work with the amazing Rebecca Sugar on some concept and visual development for her wonderful new show on Cartoon Network, STEVEN UNIVERSE!

Along with doing concept for the Crystal Gems Temple (you can see more of the Crystal Temple over at the Steven Crewniverse Tumblr too), I also worked on some monster concept and an early design for Steven’s Lion~ who started off a bit more “sketchy” looking!

The first idea I kicked around with Rebecca was that Lion would be an unsettling, silent caricature of a lion, like an old medieval heraldry image. His face frozen into an uncertain grin except for his eyes which would follow Steven around while he creeped out the other Crystal Gems. He might not be pretty and actually kinda suspicious, but Steven loved him!

…I blame the forehead wrinkles…

That idea never went past my initial sketches, but in the end Steven got his Lion courtesy of Rebecca and her amazing team! And let’s face it~ he turned out damn cute! Be sure to check out new episodes of Steven Universe~ including a new Lion episode on Dec 4!

Trick or Treehouse! part 1

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! It’s been too long since I’ve updated, so what better day to get back to the ghoulies, ghosties and long leggedy beasties than tonight with a look back at some of the storyboards and concepts I did for Guillermo del Toro’s 2013 Treehouse of Horror XXIV on the Simpsons!

Along with storyboarding the opening, I had a great time getting to work on some of the gags with Guillermo and designing the “Simpsonfied” monsters! Below is the sketch idea for the Pale Man-Burns gag parodying the character from Guillermo’s amazing Pan’s Labyrinth film.

Guillermo liked the gag, so I worked up a tighter concept for the Pale Man-Burns and Smithers too.

Below is the final storyboarded Pale-Man Burns sequence~ the notes in red were added to all the boards identifying the characters we were using throughout so they could get approval.

Now go ring some doorbells and eat that candy loot! Will post more boards and concepts soon!

Usagi and the Treasure of Tengu Mountain!

Awhile back I did a pinup for the upcoming Stan Sakai benefit book “THE SAKAI PROJECT”, where different artists try their hand at Stan’s wonderful Usagi Yojimbo character (always a favorite)! I’ve been lucky to get to draw Usagi in the past for a couple pinup trades with Stan and short story for Usagi Yojimbo #100, and it’s always great fun!

For the new pinup, I wanted to draw Usagi and the Tengu (from issue #65), with the Tengu changing into a demonic crow and placing them in a setting that hints at the end of an adventure that never happened (but hopefully will make the viewer imagine it did)!

Now as part of the benefit, the original artwork I did for the book is up for auction with all proceeds going to the amazing Stan and his wonderful wife Sharon! So please bid and share for a wonderful cause, and you can see the finished color pinup in THE SAKAI PROJECT too (coming July 23rd!)

Whole lot of SLATTERN going on- Creating a Category 5!

Along with Otachi, another of the kaiju I did concept for on Guillermo del Toro’s PACIFIC RIM was the huge category 5 Slattern who dukes it out with Gipsy Danger at the films end. Unlike Otachi whose role wasn’t defined when I started the design, Slattern had a part to play from the beginning that would help with his evolution. The category 5 needed to be huge and tough and as Guillermo originally described, an “executioner” (which became his nickname I gave to the designs) for an underwater battle near the breach.
My initial idea was that while Slattern would be an executioner, he would be more agile than a brute. Swift and moray eel like in the water and almost gremlin-like using the many chest arms to pick apart the jaegers as he fought. The multiple tails would also dance around the tentacle motif (which was forbidden in the kaiju designs we did).
His head design would subliminally have the feel of a “skull and crossbones”, with the lower jaw shape mirroring the top horns and his eyes clustered in the middle like a face.
Guillermo liked the initial form and idea but wanted the eyes moved to the sides, which worked great since now the center spot could be similar to a nose cavity on a skeleton and give the head a hammerhead shape (I also thought it gave him more personality and kinda made him look a bit like a monster caricature of Jack Palance). From there I worked up a more detailed version of the body and head with Guillermo’s input.
Another unused concept like the chest arms, was for Slattern’s head to have a spiked cobra like hood that would fan out when he bellows and reveal a huge cavernous mouth!
After Guillermo approved this design, I moved onto another needed concept and Slattern was passed to the incredible Wayne Barlowe who did his take on the character, bulking up the form and adding details like the formidable chest spike! From there, concept artist Francisco Ruiz Velasco did another awesome rendered painting to bring the kaiju in line with the final designs of the others. The final touch was David Meng’s amazing maquette which again brought it all together before ILM brought a Category 5 to life on the screen!