ALXART blog

Art Dump 2011

2011-12-05T13:02:00.001-08:00

Since this year has been full of life events and not much art (that I can show anyway) I thought I'd share a portfolio of a selection of my car designs and misc stuff since there hasn't been much art on this blog in a while. Enjoy!

Farewell Father

2011-11-15T06:59:00.001-08:00

After a courageous battle with Alzheimer's, the ugly disease robbed my physically healthy dad of his mental functions until his brain forgot how to operate it's own body.
At age 79, the man known to most as Dr. Jaeger or George, and to me as dad, passed away early this morning. He was a gentle giant, a quiet authority, a humble man of God and a willing servant to his fellow man. His death ended an amazing 42 years of marriage to my mom, who I know will miss him dearly. He was father to 3 surviving children, my sister, myself and my brother. He was also fortunate enough to be the grandfather to 4 grand children, 2 from my sister and 2 from me, although Flynn was too recent to meet in person they did have a brief FaceTime call after Fynn's birth.
Not many people these days can say they were blessed with amazing parents, but thanks in part to my dad I can.
Thanks for your continuing prayers. If you feel lead to give or help, we ask that you donate to Clarion Forest VNA Hospice, First Baptist Church, of Clarion PA or the Alzheimer’s Association.

farewell dad, I press on knowing that you are now whole again and rest with Jesus in perfect clarity and awareness.
Love to you above and beyond
-Alex

Welcome the newest Jaeger!!

2011-10-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

Here is my latest creation, Flynn Michael Jaeger:)
We are so happy that he is here and healthy, both Flynn and mommy are doing great! Thanks for the prayers, God is so good.
Keep thinking above and beyond!
-ALX

Help MORAV get it's start!

2011-10-03T10:47:00.000-07:00

Go to Kickstarter and be a part of a new sci-fi series MORAV by helping them raise enough to make the pilot episode. Fon Davis and his crew have been working hard to get everything ready, now they just need you to give them a kickstart!
here's a new video on the project!

Imagine FX Art of Star Wars Issue!

2011-08-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

In this #74 issue of Imagine FX, there are interviews, art and even workshops from the artists of Star Wars, including myself! I unfortunately didn't have time to do the workshop part,(sorry guys :( ) but there is some more artwork and an interview in there from me. Also enjoy work from Aaron McBride, Ian McCaig, Feng Zhu, Ralph McQuarrie and more.
Visit Imagine FX for more details and pick up a copy for the interviews, art and a free DVD. If you want to see some tips from me, don't forget to pick up a copy of my Gnomon DVD series, thanks!

movie poster retrospective of films I've worked on

2011-08-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

From 1994-2011

So here's what I've been doing ...for the last 2 years....

2011-05-20T15:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrqyxmKvS84&feature=player_embedded

almost done....

Merry Christmas 2010!

2010-12-25T22:06:00.000-08:00

Hello all, well the end of the year has been a bit busy but good things are going on. 2010 was a good year starting with working in LA with production designer Nigel Phelps, and a great crew of concept artist like Warren Manser, Ben Procter, Matt Codd, Joel Chang and many others. Finally finished my Gnomon DVDs.
My son is growing up fast and is an amazingly smart 20 month old! I met several big name Directors in person about various projects and overall had fun.
Went to Japan with the crew from Modo and had a great time exploring Tokyo and all the fun and strange things to do there. Finally finishing off the year with the adventure of buying a house in CA and Christmas in snowy PA! Thanks to all helped this be an amazing year for me and my family we wish you all the very best in the new year and hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

God Bless
-Alx

long time no post...

2010-11-17T17:17:00.000-08:00

sorry for the lack of art lately, busy with life... but here's an odd render of the Axis I found that I thought looked cool, enjoy!

Joining the Modo Road Trip in Tokyo!

2010-10-09T03:13:00.000-07:00

I've been invited to be a guest speaker at 3DCG conference in Tokyo by Luxology and Modo! So if you're in the neighborhood stop by and see what's up :-P

just because....

2010-09-28T14:47:00.000-07:00

the VW Scirocco in Martini Racing!

'rod'n

2010-09-15T14:57:00.000-07:00

Encounter with The Stig!

2010-08-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

Just got back from Laguna Seca race track where the Rolex Monterey Motorsports reunion was held. Tons of classic race cars from 1910 - 2010. In the pack was a large group of classic Bugatti racers, a 'standard' Bugatti Veyron and the one and only Veyron Super Sport 16.4! Amidst the crowd I spotted a familiar... helmet....

Some say, that he is confused by stairs,

and that for some reason he's allergic to the dutch....

...All we know is he's called, The Stig!

"the radiation from the Stig gave me a headache"

That was a good day...

2010-07-30T17:22:00.000-07:00

ok, so this is obvisouly from many hairs ago, but back in 1994 I got the chance to meet Syd Mead at his house in Hollywood. Not only to meet him, but for him to review my portfolio! This is all pre ILM, pre graduation etc. I had bought one of his books, and inside the book was a comment card for their mailing list. At the bottom of the card was a space for comments. I asked if he reviewed portfolios and put my # on the card. 2 weeks later i got a call from Syd's assistant saying thank you for purchasing the book, and that Syd would review my portfolio, but only in person, and asked if i would like to make an appointment!
So I did, and my Dad and I (he took this picture) set out to California from PA to visit several places for interviews. ILM in SF, then a drive down the PCH to LA to visit Universal enterainment design, Warner Brother's, Dream Quest images and Syd Mead.
We arrived at his house, a huge black car in the driveway with 'OBLAGON' plates. (his book publishing name) I being a 21 year old dork wore a stupid suit and tie and came with my entire 24"X36" portfolio case plus a box of some models I had made.... and my Dad. Syd was very friendly and took his time going through it all, even giving me a few pointers and compliments along the way. At the end he told me my work was "very competitive" and that I should pair it down to just a few of the best pieces. Then he signed all the books I had of his, but I was missing one of the 11x17 red/green/blue series, so he went in the back room, pulled out a brand new book from it's wrapper, signed it and gave it to me. That was a good day!

-Alx

Axiom

2010-07-29T20:06:00.000-07:00

Here's another random car drawing, this 3 wheeled speedster was inspired by Syd Mead's speedboat sketches.
enjoy - Alx

Random Car'nage

2010-07-28T18:37:00.000-07:00

New Tron Legacy trailer! and music....

2010-07-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

still a bit busy, so in the mean time enjoy these. I didn't work on them, but I love the look and feel of this.
The Newest trailer is here.
and some of the new Soundtrack music from Daft Punk is here.

Video interview on CGchannel

2010-05-26T21:38:00.000-07:00

Here's the video interview I did a while back for CGchannel.com in conjunction with the Gnomon DVD.
Watch my bald head blab about movie design :-P

Thanks to Matt McCorkell of CGchannel.com for putting it together.

Happy 30th Empire!

2010-05-25T22:21:00.000-07:00

It's been 30 years since the Empire Stuck back against our rebel friends on the ice fields of Hoth, so in celebration, here's my tribute in the form of 'Entrenched' from Star Wars Visionaries from Darkhorse comics. Done all in markers and marker inks, old school style, for the old school king of all sci-fi films, The Empire Strikes Back! See the rest of the story in the full comic. Also here is a drawing I did back in '82-83 in crayon and water color. If you look closely in the bottom corner you can see a little red 'OK'..... that's a stamp from George Lucas that he stamped on there while I was working on EP3. ;)

-cheers!
-Alx

'69 Stang

2010-05-24T13:36:00.000-07:00

This is a drawing I did for a T-shirt for a friend of his dad's beautiful 1969 Mustang,

High Resolution Tank W.I.P. #2

2010-04-27T01:27:00.000-07:00

Close up of the turret sensor pod

Top down view, here you can see the air-brakes and the offset barrel and hatch details

low angle on the barrel and the large blank spot below...

here's the rear view, still lacking the hatch and light details

nice low angle on the front 3/4

rear/ top view, again the air-brakes in their down position

Here's some more details on the high resolution tank model in Modo. Still plenty left to do, like the rear hatch, more barrel details and lots of small details like tie downs, bolts, cables and suspension parts. Also with this project I'll be doing an environment to place to the tank in a scene. All that still needs to be figured out along with all the texturing of the tank. I post some sketches of those ideas soon. For now enjoy these test renders of the gray shaded model.
thanks

the mean front end, still awaiting all the small stuff and below, the top of the turret

-Alx

Tank Subdivision Model (Work In Progress)

2010-04-20T23:44:00.000-07:00

The front suspension arm complete with panel lines and intakes

The rear tires showing the segmented tread sections, these will be applied to the exterior later as a detail. The Drive bar for the hub-less system is in place. The center of the wheels will be open with the suspension system mounted on top of the drive bar when I'm through.

Here's the front tire with a temp tread pattern applied. I'll be making a custom texture for the tires and sidewall lettering.

Here you can see the more detailed barrel and turret in the background. I'll show more of those in the next post.

Here's some images of the Convoy tank model in progress. I've gone through most of the vehicle and added enough detail to sub divide the model now. The back half still needs to be detailed more and the rear hatch needs to be added. The barrel and turret are subdivided but need another level of detail yet. Keep checking back for further updates. If you have any questions please leave a comment or check out the DVD videos of this tank design being drawn at The Gnomon Workshops.
thanks
-Alx

Tank proxy model

2010-04-09T12:15:00.000-07:00

Here you can see the mean 'muscle car' expression in the front end design. Going back to what I talked about in the DVDs on the aesthetic reason for this as well as the real-world function.

In this angle you can see how the turret is neatly, and safely, tucked behind the shoulders...

Here's the proxy model of the Tank. Basically it's a low resolution poly model to block in the basic shapes. I found I only had to do a few minor adjustments from the drawing, so I can say the 2D orthos turned out pretty close so far! This will serve a base to build the higher detail model which will be a subdivided model in the end. It's best to make any major alterations at this point before adding all the extra details. I've already moved onto the high res model at this point, but I'll update on that in more detail. More to come.
Enjoy!

Happy Easter 2010!

2010-04-04T15:50:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to a talk by Denton Bible Church's Tom Nelson on

"Was Easter Really Necessary? or Is Christ the Only Way?"

Gnomon Tank 3D start!

2010-04-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

OK, so I'm going to try and build the Convoy Gaurd tank from my Gnomon DVDs in 3D using Luxology's MODO. Since I did the whole design in 2D, I want to go through the process building the 3D to show that I was thinking in 3D while I was designing it. Sure there will be a few areas I'll need to do some rethinking on but that's all part of the process too.

I'll start with the orthographics I made that are on the supplemental materials on the DVD. Thankfully they line up pretty well, so I don't have to do any resizing.

Next up I'll block in the wheels and major shapes. I'm going to approach this by building a proxy model, or low poly count model, just to get the basic layout down. Then once I finish that, I'll start detailing the proxy geom to full sub-divided high resolution model, but I'll get to that later.

thanks

-Alx

Alex Jaeger

2010-04-01T13:29:00.001-07:00

Alex Jaeger’s futuristic mecha tank tutorial series!

Posted using ShareThis

Gnomon Dvd articles

2010-03-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

From CGchannel.com:

"Really a lot of your job when working on productions involves interpreting a script and making something cool which will not only make the director happy but also make you proud to say I did that when it gets up on the big screen." This dvd series (or download, it really depends on your preference) will take you through the thought process of one of the leading art directors in the industry. Alex Jaeger’s fingerprint can be seen in just about every majorly cool sci-fi movie for the past 15 years. Including Star Trek: First Contact, Wild Wild West, Starship Troopers, Galaxy Quest, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Special Edition, Star Wars: Episode 2, Star Wars: Episode 3, Transformers, Mission Impossible 3, Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen, J.J. Abram’s Star Trek. So check out the dvd its definitely worth your time and it should help you improve that aching mech portfolio.

Matt McCorkell /CGchannel

Also stay tuned for a video interview on CGchannel!

Quotes from Industry professionals:

"Nobody knows how to start and finish a design like Alex Jaeger. From raw concept to final film frames, Alex makes it sing every step of the way."

Ben Proctor / Concept Designer, Lead Robot Designer for Transformers

"Alex's unmatched credit list give him a unique insight to

every step of the Concept Design production pipeline. In
these DVDs Alex shares his techniques and workflow with
a vehicle design job from thumbnailing and rough ideation
to final refined design."

Ryan Church / Senior Concept Designer

“Through hard work and dedication, Alex has gained an amazing amount of achievements in his professional career. His designs and art direction have brought life to some of the most iconic films in Hollywood. It is individuals like Alex who continue to forge the unknown roads ahead and define the industry we all call Entertainment. He is truly an inspiration for me.”

Feng Zhu

Founder, FZD School of Design

Founder, Feng Zhu Design

Gnomon DVDs are finally out!!

2010-03-25T13:19:00.000-07:00

The wait is over! Today Gnomon announced the official press release of my Vehicle Design DVDs

So please go check it out available in both hard copy DVD or digital downloa

Disk 1: Vehicle Design With Alex Jaeger : From Script to Concept

Disk 2: Vehicle Design With Alex Jaeger : Concept breakdown and Rendering

Also for those who buy the sessions, I'll be covering some follow up on building the Tank in 3D using Modo here on my blog. So check em out and then check back here for more updates!

thanks and I hope you are able to learn something from them!

God Bless

-Alx

Heading to the Oscars!

2010-03-06T22:46:00.000-08:00

The Limo Parade

The strange throngs of people along the way to the Kodak Theater...

Some serious security dudes with assault weapons and bullet proof vests...

Searching the Limos for bombs... this is all the stuff you don't see on TV....

And Finally inside the Kodak Theater... granted I was in the 3rd Balcony... way, way up!

The 2010 Academy Awards happened this Sunday and I had the honor of being there again. This time to support ILM with Star Trek's nomination for best visual effects. Although we lost to Avatar (surprise) it was still a fun evening of literally rubbing elbows with Hollywoods biggest stars. I'll have some photos to post later, unfortunately cameras are not allowed on the red carpet but I did have my iphone for a few blurry pics inside. Congrats to all the winners and thanks to ILM for sending me down!

-Alx

My Joy Baby:)

2010-03-05T11:07:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not posting any artwork lately, I've been traveling, working and generally enjoying time with my amazing son who I can't believe is almost 1! So I figured I'd at least share some of that joy with you. Here's Venice at 5 months having a laughing fit! - Enjoy!

long time coming....

2010-02-02T15:30:00.000-08:00

OK, I know I've been out of it for a while but I have been hard at work and putting the finishing touches on a set of Gnomon instructional DVD's! Yes that's right....finally!

So check out the Gnomon Workshop site's coming soon section. The title is still in the works, but it will most likely be called Vehicle Design with Alex Jaeger: Vol 1 'From Script to concept' and Vol 2 'concept breakdown and rendering'.

I'll update more in a later post, just wanted you to know I'm still alive and kickin'.

Also check out one of my co-worker's DVD as well. Christian Alzman's DVD on Digital Illustration, now available!

thanks and God Bless

-Alx

MOON IS ON BLU-RAY TODAY!!!!!

2010-01-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

MOON IS ON BLU-RAY TODAY!!!!! Go get your copy and enjoy!!!

IMO one of the best films of 2009, and for a tiny budget!

Check it out if you missed it in the theater, it's worth owning!

Merry CHRISTmas 2009

2009-12-25T22:01:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas 2009! And I pray you all have a fun, safe and happy new years eve for 2010!!

God bless

-Alx

STAR TREK: The Art of Film is here!

2009-11-17T10:45:00.000-08:00

Here's a review of the book! I still haven't seen it yet but it looks to be a pretty complete art-of book, unlike most that only include pre-production art. Check it out!

OK I actually had a chance to check it out in person, it's a great art book, nice thick paper and all, BUT my big issue is that they removed everyone's names from the artwork!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????? And didn't even number them for the index, so you have no idea who did what

:-\ LAME

Sure there is a credit list in the back, but it's not very accurate because it lists by pages, but the art on that page may have been done by up to 3-4 different artists. And there will be a quote by one artist on a page, but 90% of the art on that page was by someone else....

Other than that, it IS a great book and covers a large portion of the artwork from all phases of production. I personally would like to thank Yanick Dusseault, Jerome Moo, Warren Fu and Dave Yee for their help on the ILM side of things.

Enjoy and Happy late Thanksgiving!

-Alx

more reviews here

and a flip through movie from parkaBlogs

Memorable Melbourne Trip...

2009-10-13T17:33:00.001-07:00

It was a memorable visit to melbourne to give a talk for Semi-Permanent design conference. First off the trip getting to Australia was very, well.... LONG. Usually it is a long trip, but this one was made a bit a longer all because of a single bird....

Shortly after take off from LAX our Qantas 747 struck a bird, right in the nose cone of the plane. No only did it cause a huge crater in the nose of the craft, but internally it took out the planes weather radar. So once the plane got to cruising altitude the pilot announced, "we struck a bird after take off, unfortunately it damaged our weather radar and we can't fly across the ocean without it, so we'll need to return to LAX and assess the damage, but first we need to dump our fuel over the ocean, that will take about an hour. Also you'll need to stay overnight in L.A. until we can get a new plane into service..." D'oh!

here's a photo of the damage one little bird caused to a huge 747.....

But once we finally arrived in Melbourne we had a great time. The conference was held at the brand new Melbourne Convention Center which was pretty cool in it's self!

I had a great time talking with LA artist Jeff Soto, the guys from Three Drunk Monkeys, and the rest of the speakers as well as Murray Bell and Andrew and the crew of organizers. I also had a chance to speak to some of the attendees at the after party.

It was a great event and I hope to be able to speak at future events!

-Alx

speakin' down und'a

2009-10-06T10:30:00.001-07:00

I'll be doing a talk in Melbourne Australia this weekend! Semi-Permanentdesign conference has graciously invited me to share with the Australian design crowd. If you're 'in the area' grab a ticket and come on by :). I'll be sharing a bit of ILM history, some of my own history as well as a behind the scenes look into our work on Transformers and Star Trek and others. There are several other speakers as well including music video directors and print design artists. Check out the line up on their website -Alx

CCS has grown... sadly Detroit hasn't...

2009-09-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

After a nice visit back to the College for Creative Studies, I had the chance to explore campus and the surrounding area. The school has grown massively since 1993. The school had built a new Ford building a few years ago which now houses the clay modeling studios as well as other design classrooms. Sitting in the lobby of the building was a relic of the 90's, a red Saturn EV1. A car I thought was all but history in a scrap yard according to the film "Who killed the electric car?". They also recently were given the historic GM Design building and put a massive 145 million dollar renovation into it. It now houses dorms, classrooms for design classes, as well as an elementary and high-school!
The areas around the school haven't changed a whole lot. While the old Ferry houses have been renovated into the Inn on Ferry st. Some blocks have been wiped clean into vacant lots, while some have new developments and others are left as they were... full of old abandoned and fire charred buildings. The new Comerica Park right on Woodward is a bright spot, the downtown is still a boarded up ghost town of empty storefronts and broken windows. In fact I just had a brief trip to LA and was buying something to read on the flight and noticed TIME magazine's cover was on the Tragedy of Detroit! It stated that the unemployment rate in the city is 28.8% !!! And that over 20% of the buildings are empty or abandoned. At it's peak Detroit was a city of 1.9 million people.... today that number is less than 900,000!! More than half of the population has left! They went on to say that in order for the city to grow again it may have to shrink first. Meaning that they should abandon huge sections of the city and turn them into parks and compress the people into a smaller more controllable footprint for Police, fire and sanitation to handle in a city with a $275 million dollar deficit. Staggering numbers that show in the number of broken windows in 30 story buildings left to rot back to the earth.
It's still hard to tell if now is a good time to start from scratch there or do like the auto industry (and the other half of the people) and leave for greener pastures. One store front in particular caught my eye, a single corner window pane with an orange wall with the words "Detroit, Everything WILL be alright". I hope so.

-Alx

Upcoming talks

2009-09-13T17:33:00.000-07:00

I'll be in Detroit on September 19th to speak at the College For Creative Studies for the students as a representative of ILM along with folks from Pixar and other design and entertainment companies.
Then in October I'll be Melbourne Australia to talk at the Semi-Permanent Design Conference.

San Francisco Motors_ Coronet

2009-08-31T16:53:00.000-07:00

THE LM CORONET
I entered another design competition on Local Motors. This time the design was to be a 'shooting brake' design for San Francisco. Based on specific dimensions and an electric motor and battery pack, the competition was to make a realistic design that could be built now. With the kid and work I did this design in one night.
Voting is over. One of these days I'll have enough time to put in a good effort, this one suffered from a lack luster front end design, but got high scores on it's profile and other aspects.
thanks
-Alx

Star Trek: The Art of the Film -Pre-order!

2009-08-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, the new Star Trek Movie will be out on DVD in November and along with the release they are also making an Art of the Film book filled with all the great art done both in pre-production and post-production. Look for art from Ryan Church, James Clyne, John Eaves, Tony Kieme and myself and many more. A must-have for any Star Trek fan and concept artist!
It's available for pre-order on Amazon right now for $10 off the retail price! It will be released on Novemebr 17th.
reserve your copy today!
thanks
-Alx

Axis W.I.P. in 'Clay'

2009-08-06T17:36:00.000-07:00

Just doing some surface refinement and still plugging away on details. I thought I'd revert it back to a solid color to see the forms and how they floe together. It helps show where it needs a little tweaking and it's kinda like the clay model process without the mess... or the smell.
-Enjoy
-Alx

Axis work in progress #3

2009-07-29T00:41:00.000-07:00

Here's an update on the Axis model. I've cut the door panels and glass, re-shaped the pillar and added a few details like the underside ground effects. Still adjusting a few shapes and adding details. I'm not sure i like the colored panel on the nose, I may keep it all glass and carbon fiber. You can now see the tandem seating layout in one of these pics as well as the scale of the car. The dark colored side blade is a half door for the rear passenger. Also still in the works are the placement of the headlights. I've drawn them in in Photoshop to get a feel for them here.
lots more to come! stay tuned!
-Alx

old tank painting

2009-07-27T23:50:00.000-07:00

A little something that's been on the website that I thought I'd post here until I get something new up :-P
This was done for an alternate reality story for a graphic novel that I don't know if it will ever get made... but it was fun to do.
enjoy
-Alx

Axis W.I.P. in white

2009-07-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

Nothing terribly new since yesterday. I'm still working on details and on the door cuts.
enjoy these white renders,
-Alx

Axis W.I.P. #2

2009-07-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

Here's an update on the progression of the Jaeger Axis in Modo. I've been refining some shapes and working on the way the back end comes together. I also upgraded to Modo 401, so I now have some wonderful new preset shaders and environments to work with. I've added under-wing diffusers and refined the 'wings' to the wheels a bit more. The headlights in these renders are just temp colored faces. The final lights will be different as will the pillars.
As I am still modeling the shaders and textures are just temp as well, but here's a nice metallic looking blue and red, as well as a brushed aluminum :)
enjoy, thanks for stopping by and keep checking back for updates!
-Alx

the JAEGER AXIS work in progress

2009-06-24T11:11:00.000-07:00

Here's my second 3D model in Modo. The first one was a good basic starting point, but I thought this one would be more of a challenge:) The Jaeger Axis is a tandem 2 seat hydrogen powered car. There is a rough interior on this model to make sure it all fits, but just basics. I'm focusing on the exterior design at the moment. Mainly I had the original design drawing, but I really wanted to see this thing from other angles to make sure it worked. So here's what I have so far. I've made a few minor alterations from the drawing, but so far I'm pretty happy that it's all working and looking cool in 3D. (it means my 3D thinking when drawing it is still working :)
And of course the Axis is made by Jaeger Tech Design :P
enjoy, and let me know what you think so far!
-think above and beyond!
-Alx

THE PACIFIC! Band of Bothers 2!

2009-06-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

The original HBO series 'Band of Brothers' is soon to be followed up by a second mini series 'The Pacific '! If you haven't seen the original series which follows the 101st Airborne through Europe from D-day on, now's the time to catch up. In 2010 HBO will air the second installment focusing on the pacific theater of WWII. Check out the 1st sneak peak trailer!

MOON!

2009-06-20T00:10:00.000-07:00

OK, so you know how last year I raved on about The Fall? Well this year let me begin to rave about a new independent film called Moon. I had seen the trailer a few months ago and seen a few production stills and was hooked from the outset. I won't list any spoilers here but I must say it has been a long...long time since I've seen such a pure sci-fi film. Sure Star Trek was great, but that is a different kind of glossy high budget sci-fi. Moon was made for around 5.6 million dollars... for the whole film... that's not even a fraction of the VFX budget on Star Trek! Thankfully though it looks like a 50 million dollar film.
Moon is a sci-fi that takes place on, well, the moon! And the main character Sam Bell, expertly played by Sam Rockwell, is there on a 3 year contract to work for Lunar Industries mining for Helium3. His lonely 3 year tour has been rough on him and he's now 2 weeks away from returning home to his wife and child. His only companion is the base's computer 'Gerty' voiced by Kevin Spacey. Things begin to get a little weird for Sam as his contract nears it's end and it's here where the story gets really interesting. I won't say much more than that, but the movie tells a great human drama and phycological thriller without the use of big explosions or mind numbing action sequences. Director Duncan Jones handles the story with good pacing and visual grit while the erie soundtrack by Clint Mansel adds to the creepy loneliness of the moon's landscape. Tony Noble was the production designer and I'm amazed at the beautiful sets and FX they were able to pull off on such a small budget. The designs were simple and not distracting from the real, human story that Moon is about.
If you long for a refreshing Sci-fi story that is not drowned in 'hey look at me!' summer movie explosions and wonder what happened to simple human stories in the Sci-fi genre, then MOON is the movie you've been waiting for!
It's being released all over the US is various cities, so check your local theaters for when it will be playing in your area, it's worth the wait!
The amazing soundtrack is also available now on itunes! check it out!

it's 'Alex Jaeger' week at the Drex files!

2009-06-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

Doug Drexler has been digging up some old Star Trek : First Contact artwork on the ships I designed for that film. Earlier he focused on the Saber Class and Steamrunner Class, and today is Akira Class day! So check out the posts and the comments! I'll get some new stuff up here soon I hope :)
-Alx

even more Trek! with the Drex Files!

2009-06-10T15:04:00.000-07:00

Another of the long time Star Trek designers, Doug Drexler, has a blog as well and is currently featuring one of my First Contact designs, The Saber Class. Doug has been a part of the Trek franchise for a long time and is now offering up a behind the scenes peak at some of the designs that go into the shows.
As for the Saber Class, it was one of 4 new designs put into Star Trek lure back in 1996 on First Contact. I hope to be able to offer up more details in the future, but for now check out the Drex Files

want more Trek? drop in on John Eaves!

2009-06-05T14:16:00.000-07:00

LONG TIME Star Trek artist and designer, John Eaves is responsible for many of your favorite Trek details, from the movies to the Next Gen TV shows. He's also a good guy and we've met a few times back in 1996 on First Contact and again recently on the new Star Trek movie. If you would like to see lots of his work as well as some of my long lost Trek images check out his site Eavesdropping with Johnny!
He has recently posted some old ship designs of mine as well as some of James Clyne's new work from Trek. Scroll down further to read about the battle of art departments on First Contact too!
-Enjoy!
-Alx

Where No Star Trek Has Gone Before

2009-05-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

In a new article on VFXwolrd Roger Guyett (the ILM VFX Supervisor) talks about the designs and effects in the new Star Trek movie. He mentions how I worked together with J.J. Abrams and Scott Chamblis and Ryan Church on the design of the Enterprise and later on some of the effects designs as well.
Other great artists that also helped out on Star Trek are James Clyne who came up with the crazy Romulan ship, John Eaves who is a long time Trek designer, Tony Kieme who I worked with on Transformers and Yanick Dusseault who was Associate VFX Art Director with me at ILM. Also Jerome Moo, Warren Fu, Dave Yee, Didier Mathieu, and many others!
Enjoy!
-Alx

new local-Motors contest entry

2009-05-14T12:17:00.000-07:00

I did this REALLY quick!, like 1 and a half hours quick. I wasn't going to enter because of lack of time, but I had a moment free after work while waiting for a screening of Star Trek :)(which is really cool BTW) and got inspired. It's not my best work, but it's all i had time for with the new baby and work. About the design:The Woodward CCS was the outcome. This contest is to design a car for the revival of Detroit, something that could serve multiple purposes for a wide range of entrepreneurs and city tasks. Named after the main artery Street through Detroit, Woodward Ave, this design was meant to have a customizable cargo space. From a simple cargo van, to a taxi, police cruiser, rescue, construction, delivery and personal family use. See my design here. Check out the other entries as well while you're there. Congrats to Dmytro Zyubyairov a.k.a. "Carbofos" for winning this competition with his beautifully rendered Michigan design. I came in 18th out of 62, not bad, but not great either. Stay tuned for future competitions and be ready to vote!
thanks!
-Alx

GO SEE STAR TREK!

2009-05-06T17:30:00.000-07:00

It's pretty darn cool, it's fun, funny, intense and it's truly 'not your father's Star Trek'. It opens tomorrow everywhere and even in IMAX if you live near one.
Check it out and stay for the credits! :) Even if you don't like Star Trek, GO SEE IT! This is the Star Trek for you!
'Live long and think above and beyond!'
-Alx

more doodles

2009-04-28T19:32:00.000-07:00

Here's some more roughs I did in between baby naps. I know... more cars :)

A quicky..

2009-04-18T15:26:00.000-07:00

I did this in less than 2 hours as a demo for some family in town to see Venice. They wanted to see something that started as nothing and how it gets there. So enjoy..
thanks
-Alx

My Best Creation Yet!

2009-04-07T00:25:00.000-07:00

On March 29th at 7:15pm my 1st child, my son Venice Paul Jaeger was born!
He was a healthy 7lbs 13oz and a tall 20.5 inches long. Both he and mom are doing great and Venice is now a week and 2 days old. He's an awesome perfect bundle of joy, a perfect gift from God, an amazing blessing to our already happy family.
I thank you all for your prayers and support during the pregnancy and birth and I also thank God for the amazing health of both him and my wife throughout.
It has been an experience 'above and beyond' my wildest dreams, and I know (from lack of sleep) that the journey has just begun :-)
God Bless!
And I present to you Venice Paul Jaeger!

Modo progression

2009-03-18T23:18:00.000-07:00

Here's an update on the Modo model of the VW SC I designed. Still tweaking some lines, and adding more details.
On this round I added lower sculptural details, headlights, tail lights, side vents, and started the rear deck lid. I plan on redesigning the wheels and continue adding details and working on the glass portion next. Here's a few renders using global illumination and very simple shaders.
enjoy!
-Alx

New Star Trek Trailer!

2009-03-06T11:40:00.000-08:00

Check out the new STAR TREK TRAILER #3!
Enjoy!

The Journey back into 3D with Modo

2009-03-06T07:53:00.000-08:00

3D sculpting for overall form...
re-topology for a clean mesh and clean lines...
starting some details, like wheels...

I say 'back' into 3D because I never really left 3D, I just allowed it to be used to a certain point. I used to be fluent in such programs like Form Z and Electric Image. I used them for modeling and animation for animatics and layout. Then getting busy at work and having people who specialize in such aspects take over for a while, the 3D world for me became just a blocking and perspective guide for the most part. I mainly built rough models in Google Sketchup for blocking, never to be used in the artwork except for getting some quick perspective underlays or shading cues. Then there was the stigma of 'if you did it in 3D then you're cheating'! Recently (meaning several years ago) there has been a huge move for designers to use 3D for full blown concept models and artwork. It used to be that designers would just design, and modelers would just model, and that is still the case in some places. Although Maya has been around for a long time and I've been exposed to it for just as long, it always seemed out of reach if you weren't 1. rich and 2. using it everyday in every way and 3. a tech head with math variables floating in your head. Artists by nature tend to shy away from things that involve too many numbers and technical data, and that's where Maya lost me.
Thankfully things have changed a bit, and I too have embraced the new motto "it doesn't matter 'HOW' you get there, just use the best tool for the job"! AKA, if you can explain your idea better and possibly quicker in 3D then go for it! Plus most if not all design students are taught a 3D package of some sort in school these days, so it's good to keep up!
So one tool that has crossed my path recently is Modo from Luxology. It's a great all around 3D package that has it all and is accessible both in price (around $800 for the full package) and it's usability. I've only been using it for a few weeks now and am on my way to feeling very comfortable back in the world of 3D. It has a great modeling structure and the renderer is super fast! So you'll be seing more 3D designs from me soon, I'll even share some of the progress along the way. I started with one of my designs that I thought would be a good start and a challenge. So here's my progress after just a few hours with my VW super coupe and watching the concept car demo from Modo's own down loadable demos.
Enjoy and God Bless!
think above and beyond!
original design drawing
quick slap of materials to see the surface reaction to reflections.

Local Motors - RF side vent design competition

2009-02-04T07:44:00.000-08:00

Meh.... came in 11th on this one. But I only had an hour to do it and the one that won is pretty cool, congrats!
my vent design The RF-Extractor
the winner of this quick "parts bin" competition wins $200 and the possibility of the design ending up on the Prototype car!
thanks for voting! we'll get 'em next time.
-Alx

Chicago Interceptor for Local-Motors Competition

2009-01-20T08:13:00.000-08:00

VOTING IS OVER, winner is.... NOT ME :-/ looks like I came in 9th place.
video of the winners
Congrats to Giulio Partisani for his wild and sculptural entry 'Socom' for 1st place
I had entered another car design into the Local Motors competition, this one was for Chicago. The competition was to design a car that looks cool, but is practical enough to run in the snow and Chicago's not so smooth roads and fit the classic 'gangster' mentality. Mine was the 'Interceptoor'.

See My Design!

-Alx

here's my write up on the Interceptor:
About my Design:
The Chicago Interceptor is a multi-purpose low slung cruiser. I works as a sleek family sport wagon with it's cool low stance, space for up to 5 adults and storage. It can also serve as a Police cruiser in the same fashion as the 'Paddy Wagon's' of old. Then there's the interceptors darker side... the sinister gangster ride. With it's minimal dark windows, unique reverse sloped windscreen and classic lines the interceptor calls on the 20's and 30's dark rides of the mafia. To handle Chicago's adverse weather and not so smooth streets the Interceptor is equipped with performance Haldex all wheel drive linked to a slick 7-speed DSG gear box and all powered by a clean burning torque filled turbo diesel TDI engine. To save some fuel in the stop and go traffic it is also equipped with Hybrid drive. Sinister angry eyes made of L.E.D. technology use less energy than H.I.D. lamps and pierce the dark city streets.n The Interceptor can be many things....which one will it be for you?

DAS AUTO! VW RULES DAKAR!!

2009-01-19T11:16:00.000-08:00

The Dakar is a grueling 2 weeks long cross continent race that is run by both Factory sponsored professionals and individual privateers. It is usually run in Africa, but this year marks the 1st year it was run in South America. It also marks the 1st year that is was won by a diesel powered vehicle. That TDI machine was non other than the VW Race Touareg 2, and not only 1st place, but second place as well! The 15 stage race across more than 9,600km of rough terrain proved to be a tough one indeed. VW's main rival Mitsubishi started the race with 4 cars, and ended it with only one. BMW looked strong from the start with their lead driver Nasser Al-Attiyah paving the way with a strong lead, but in stage 6 he missed several waypoints by going around the dunes and was hence disqualified. VW would've had a 1-2-3 domination of this year's Dakar if it were not for a poorly marked dry river bed that swallowed the dominating leader VW's Carlos Sainz in stage 12. He and his co-driver fell 13 feet into a waddy and landed on their roof. Remarkably the VW was still viable but the crash left co-driver Michel Perin with a broken shoulder and therefore their race was over.

The lead spot then fell to VW's Giniel De Villiers and second to VW's Mark Miller with Robby Gordon in his Corvette powered Hummer in third, but well over an hour and a half behind the 2 lead VW's while the remaining VW driver Dieter Depping finished in the top ten at 6th place overall. There were many ups and downs throughout the 2 week race across some amazing terrain of Argentina and Chille. If you missed the action check out the highlights on the Dakar site in the video section!

VW Bluesport!

2009-01-16T15:57:00.000-08:00

Wow, it's not a Karmann Ghia, but it's pretty darn close. At the Detroit International Auto show VW unveiled this sweet little roadster that, like my previous post called for, a mid engine rear wheel drive VW. This car looks amazing and shows that VW may actually produce a more sport oriented coupe with light materials, the right type of drive-line layout and some sweet styling!
Check out more of VW's Bluesport concept at VWvortex.com

Karmann Ghia dreamin'

2008-12-19T17:40:00.000-08:00

I'd LOVE for VW to revive the Karmann Ghia, but this time as a mid-engine coupe. The rear deck vents would feed the mid-mounted engine (2.0T or bigger) and would pop up like a 911 at speed and retract to be flush with the rear window. It could use the adjustable ASC from the New Scirocco and the magnetic suspension from the RS4 to allow adjustable ride and handling levels. Anyway here's my stab at keeping the great lines of the old Ghia, just bringing it up to date. Enjoy!
-Alx

Local-Motors Rally Fighter hits the road!

2008-12-18T11:24:00.000-08:00

OK, maybe not yet, but I thought I'd add my rendition of a possible image to inspire the guys at Local-Motors in their first car build. Oh and BTW, I didn't win the Boston competition, but thanks for voting. I'll be entering more in the new year so I'll keep you posted. Congrats to the Boston Bullet for winning this one.
cheers!
-Alx

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2008!

2008-12-17T17:36:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!
I know it's a bit early, but things get pretty busy so I figured I'd just post it now. :)
Like God from 'above and beyond' us, He came down to be 'with and within' us!
-Alx

Local Motors - Boston LM Patriot

2008-12-08T21:48:00.000-08:00

Check out my submission to Local Motors!

http://www.local-motors.com/entry.php?e=806

The winner of this Local Motors sketch competition will win cash in the thousands. You can view my design by clicking the link above. Vote for me! If the community likes my design, it could actually be built into a real prototype and production vehicle as early as next year.
Just by putting my designs on the Local Motors site, I'm also competing for a chance to have my car built. I could win $10,000 and participate in the development process for my own design. This means if you like my design, you should vote for it because if this design is chosen for production you could actually DRIVE it and own it.

Thanks!
-Alx

STAR TREK!

2008-11-25T14:52:00.000-08:00

Oh yeah, you guessed it, I did that! :-P
After over a year and a half of work, the new JJ Abram's Star Trek is done and I had the pleasure to work on many of the designs. One design in particular is the Police Officer's face mask in the latest trailer. I also served as the visual effects Art Director for the film, but that's about all I can say until it comes out in May 2009.... yeah I know, but I have to wait too!... :-\
For now enjoy the latest trailers and Happy Thanksgiving!
-Alx
STAR TREK TRAILERS

sneak peek update

2008-11-09T19:35:00.000-08:00

Just a sneak peek at some new sketches in progress. I'll have the full versions done soon.
enjoy!
--Alx

in memory...Mark Buck

2008-10-21T10:38:00.000-07:00

It is with a heavy heart that I recently heard that a co-worker of mine was killed in a motorcycle accident on his way to work. Mark Buck was a seasoned rider and was crossing 19th ave near SFSU when the accident happened, according to the report, which is still under investigation.
Mark Buck or "Buck" worked in the ILM modelshop, Skelington Productions and Kerner Optical (Previously ILM's modelshop). He was always a joy to work with and always greeted me with his signature drawn out "Allleeexxx!!". I had the pleasure of working with him on many shows and projects including Star Wars EP2, Mission: Impossible III and most recently Transformers. He also was a very talented artist and skilled builder. He even took time in between shows to illustrate children's books. He was one of those guys who may have looked like a scary brute to those who didn't know him, but was really a big gentle guy who loved what he did and was very easy to get along with. He was truely a humble, funny and positive spirited guy who will be greatly missed by myself and the rest of his co-workers and friends. Most of all by his family, of which I've only met a few times at some company parties, but Mark was always so eager to introduce us to. Mark was 41 years young and leaves behind his wife and 5 year old child.... please join me in praying for them through this horrible time for strength, support and massive amounts of love from surrounding friends and family.
May we remember him in thanks for the joy he brought us, ra ther than the swiftness of his absence.
Mark's IMDB
Mark's Guest Book if you wish to share a few words

For those who wish to leave monetary
condolences which the family suggests in
place of flowers please forward to:
Tom Van Deren
c/o Mary Ann Buck
521 Clubhouse Drive
Aptos, CA 95003

Sleepy Mommy :)

2008-09-24T08:14:00.000-07:00

Funny how perspective changes when the possibilities of a child enter your world. As I looked up from my computer last night and saw my beautiful sleepy wife I was thanking God for all the blessing in our lives, one of which is the now 3" little baby growing in her tummy :) ! That's right, we're through the first trimester of our first baby! We're so excited and grateful for this and so as I looked at her sleeping on the couch I had to capture it. So using the most basic photoshop brush I captured the moment in this sketch painting. It has been a while since I've done something like this. But hey what an occasion!
We got to see the little wiggler a few weeks ago, and will get to see 'em again next week. But for now I'll share with you this.
enjoy, God Bless and reflect on all that you have to be thankful for.
and live above and beyond!

The Fall on DVD and Blu-ray

2008-09-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

YES! My favorite movie just came out on DVD and Blu-ray! THE FALL. If you missed this wonderful epic on the big screen then here's your chance to see it, (hopefully on a decent size TV with really good sound and picture). If you're like me, you bought a PS3 long ago knowing Blu-ray would win the HD DVD battle and can enjoy THE FALL in glorious 1080p HD. Either way go get it, buy it, rent it and watch it, over and over! Please don't download a crappy version or watch it on your ipod, I'll come and personally slap you! This is a film that deserves and demands the best viewing experience possible. It also deserves your attention, so hunker down on the couch, turn off the lights, turn up the volume and don't hit play until you are settled in.

From the very first frame of the opening credits you'll be bathed in some of the most beautiful footage ever to grace your living room. Blessed with the score of Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92: II. Allegretto, and amazing performances by the 2 lead characters 5 year old Catinca Untaru and Pushing Daisies star Lee Pace. Let THE FALL take you on it's imaginative journey into stunning worlds (that really exists without special effects!) as Alexandra and Roy share their lives, through stories, intense emotions and a potentially dangerous relationship. Bring your childhood imagination along for the ride and enjoy this once in a lifetime film.
Oh and if you see it, let me know what you think!

vette sketch

2008-09-03T14:28:00.000-07:00

Just a quicky lunch time vette sketch...
enjoy!
-Alx

VW Golf MK6

2008-08-14T07:41:00.000-07:00

In another recent announcement from VW late last week were the release photos of the new Golf (Rabbit/GTI in the U.S.). Of course I had to mess with it a bit, 'Jaeger' it out, so I did a quick p-chop job on it like I did with the Scirocco. Mainly changing the front end to be a bit (or a lot) more aggressive. Here's the original and then my version. I made sure to add in details from recent VW concepts to keep it 'in-the-family' but also added some touches from the Scirocco I did previously.
Changes:
Wider and fuller front fender flares, changed the cut of the headlamps to a more chiseled edge, changed the slope and front cut of the hood, moved the VW badge from the grille to the hood like the Scirrocco, re-sculpted the bumper and made it deeper in the lower opening 'ala R32, widened the entire rear, turned the rear C-pillar into side air spoilers like on the GTI650 concept, Made the roof carbon fiber, deepen the side skirts, and of course tinted the windows and lowered it a bit :)

In VW's defense the photo they released is of the base model, so I'm sure the GTI version will look better, but I had to mess with it, it's in my blood ;-P Photo from VWVORTEX

Comicon 2008

2008-07-17T23:19:00.000-07:00

The San Diego Comic Con is coming up! Unfortunately I can't attend this year, but I'm making plans to be there in force next year!
If you are planning on going be sure to look for some of my friends and co-workers. Christian Alzmann has a booth this year and will be selling many prints of his work be sure to check it out. Wayne Lo and a few of his co-workers will be selling their new book called Battle Milk at the Lucas Film booth so be sure to stop by and pick one up as well as some others. Derek Thompson will be at the Maverix booth with his new monster annual with 365 new monster sketches. Derek also has a new Gnomon DVD out at the Gnomon School booth.
There will be tons of other great artists there as well as all the cool movie stuff and great books to get, but I'll have to let you enjoy it this year and I'll see you there next year!
Have a good time!
-Alx

My Gnomon talk tank

2008-06-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

above the Gnomon final, below a close up of work in progress.

Well, I know I promised this a while ago, but better late than never. Here's the examples I made for my talk at the Gnomon school in LA about making sure the design fits the story, and is not just fluffy Hollywood slick design. So for the talk I made up a sample story in order to establish "the problem". At it's heart that's what design is, problem solving. So in order to design something for a purpose you need to establish 'the problem' and/or design constraints. I'm going to save some of the details for a later offering, but here's the jist of what I came up with. The basic design problem was a tank, that could do nearly 250 miles an hour, go on and off road, carry up to 5 crew and be low enough to fit under underpasses. Armed with some sort of pop-up turret and the ability to smash through road blocks and keep going. So first I started by doing some small sketches and some research to explore some existing tank tech, and find some cool shapes. After a few pages of exploration I weeded out the impractical designs that didn't fit the needs of the story, and combined the ones I did like. Above are some of those sketches and what I had finished at the time of the talk. I've since worked on it a bit more, but I may save that for a later offering...hhmmmmm. :)
OK I hope you enjoy these and Happy 4th of July!
-Think Above and Beyond!
-Alx

Go see THE FALL....now!

2008-06-02T15:35:00.000-07:00

WOW, I usually don't recommend films but I can't believe that this film hasn't been widely released! The Fall is an amazing fairy tale that will make you remember the whole point of film making... a beautiful art form in which to tell a tale with drama, humor, sadness and breath taking visuals! Not to mention the most honest acting performances by the 2 lead characters, one of which is a 5 year old girl. I'm confused as to why the movie was rated R, because it's not as violent as many PG-13 movies and it has a beautiful redemptive story line. So go search it out, and try and see it on a big screen if you can. It took nearly 4 years to complete it and was shot in 18 different countries around the world, that's right, no blue screens!
Don't read the so called 'critics' reviews, their inner child must be dead, because this movie has heart and a vivid imagination and is a film lovers film, not a shallow popcorn flick like most films these days. I've seen it twice now, and my wife has seen it three times. It is a joy the second and third time because you get to pick up other details you missed the first time.
Go see it and let me know what you thought!
http://thefallthemovie.com/
check out the clip "I'm touching one" for a little taste!
The Fall Trailer and clips!

10,000 hits!

2008-05-20T08:55:00.000-07:00

Thanks for all of you who check this blog every now and then and for all of you who have left comments! The Blog just rolled over the 10,000 hit mark! Nothing to brag about in terms of #'s in comparison to other's sites, but not bad considering not that many people know about it. So please pass it on to your friends and thanks again for stopping by! I'll try and post something soon to celebrate, unfortunately my home computer is down and out right now :( , so please be patient.
Thanks again and keep thinking Above and Beyond!
God Bless
- Alx

Dressed up a sketch

2008-05-08T14:06:00.000-07:00

So it's been over a year now since I started this blog. I hope to keep it up longer than I did the now defunct 'Sketch of the Day' I had on my website. But no worries, I am still sketching on a mostly daily basis, and have even had a chance to dress up a few of those sketches into more finished pieces. Like this one from May 6th. I did a series of racers and chose to flesh this one out a bit in color. I started with the original sketch and basically re-drew it with a bit more gesture. And cleaned up the sweeps with the path tool in photoshop. I dipped into Painter X for a second to add some smeary streaks and puddles on the ground and also played with a program called Alchemy to creat a splashy background element. It's never too late to keep learning new programs. I love having another arrow in the quiver.
enjoy and think above and beyond!
-Alx

Ye 'olde Pen Sketches from 1993

2008-04-03T18:33:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe these sketches are that old already. These were done for a story I wrote back in college while attending CCS. It took place in Detroit in 2073 where C.Y.C.O. (CYbernetics Co.) was making advanced body modifications which then were used by gangs and so forth. The police had to counter the stronger gangs by mechanizing themselves in these power suits, created by who else.... JaegerTech :) So our hero, Sgt. Kyle Anderson is seen here wearing the JaegerTech bluesuit. Much like the Knight Sabers from Bubblegum Crisis it uses display readouts instead of clear glass visor. Each joint is powered by it's own flat-disc motor and the whole suite is powered by a near perpetual motion JaegerTech frictionless generator the size of a small frisbee. The whole story was going to be made into a comic book series but the company I was going to do it for vanished... It was also the start of me moving away from car design and into more concept design for stories.
Originals are ball point pen on 8.5x11 plain old Kinko's copy paper. Enjoy!

VW SCIROCCO

2008-03-06T14:35:00.000-08:00

OK, so most people who know me know I'm a VW freak, so when VW announces a new car like the just released Scirocco, I'm all over it. Now the first thing that needs to be said is that this new VW WILL NOT be sold in North America....GGRRRRR!!! That's doesn't mean that it won't ever, but many of us die hard VW fans are hoping for an even better one by the time it hits our shores. So even though the photos have only been out for a day or 2, I had to take a stab at making the US Spec version :P
So at first look I thought, Cool!, Not bad. Then I thought, hmm those head lights are too BMW-ish and the center is oddly long.
But overall decent. So my first attempt was to do what Audi did with the R8, and try and kill the odd length in the center by visually breaking it up with an off-color 'side blade'. And the usual bigger rims and lower stance. I also mildly changed the blend to the taillights.

Then I decided I might as well go all the way to a redesign, so I looked at some old Scirocco and Corrado's and then got to work on slopping the back, flaring the fenders, deepening the side sculpt, reshape the rear, and redo the front for a more aggressive retro muscle car look. Below is the result. I'm pretty happy with it. And I've recieved some good reactions on VWVortex too :).
hopefully we'll see something like this here in the next year or two....let me know what you think!

Bitter Sweet Oscar's 2008

2008-03-04T09:14:00.000-08:00

Well, the good news is I was invited to the Oscar's this year to support our nominated Transformers VFX crew, Scott Farrar, Scott Benza and Russel Earl, the bad news of course is that we didn't win. Much to our and seeming every one's shock! I think even including the crew of the Golden Compass wich took home the gold this year for "Best Visual Effects". Many have chalked it up to the Mr. Bay boycott, the ILM snub or just that there were more big name actors in 'Compass... Anyway, congrats to all parties.
Before the awards was the most fun anyway, getting all dressed up, getting in the limo and walking the red carpet. It was all very surreal to be there and have bleachers on either side of the road and the carpet full of people taking pictures. Then there was the "oh look there's Dennis Hopper, pardon me Cameron Dias, oh hi Jason Bateman etc...' yeah... that was fun/weird.
The bomb was dropped 4 awards into the show that The Golden Compass won over Transformers and Pirates 3, and I think everyone who had anything to do with Transformers was so in shock or upset that most of them left the theater and never came back in. I went back in and watched the rest of the show, well because I was there! ;-P
Pictures to come Soon!
Anyway, back to regular life.
I've been sketching a bit more these days with the old school pen and paper, as well as a few in the box sketches too. I'll be posting some of those soon.
enjoy
-Alx

VES ruled by Robots!

2008-02-12T14:37:00.000-08:00

The 2008 6th annual VES (Visual Effects Society) Awards were Sunday night Feb 10th. The VES honors mixed media from Film to broadcast TV to Video Games, and is made up of outstanding professionals in those fields. So it was an honor that I was included in the nomination for Best Models and Miniatures in a motion Picture for Transformers, along with fellow ILMer's David Fogler, Ron Woodall and Kerner Optical's Brian Gernand. Transformers won nearly every catagory it was nominated for including Best Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Motion Picture.
It was a fun evening where we found ourselves sitting at a table between Steven Spielberg and Brad Bird, and dozens of other VFX legends like Douglas Trumble, Ken Ralston, Denis Muren, John Knoll and Lorne Peterson. Even Michael Bay was there to cheer us on as well as Megan Fox(Transformers), Patton Oswalt(Ratatouille) countless others. Steven was there to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award from the VES and did so with a grateful heart.
In the end ILM walked away with 25 statues in 6 catagories!

Transformers:

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects Driven Motion Picture:
Scott Farrar, Shari Hanson, Russell Earl, Scott Benza

Best Single Visual Effect of the Year (Desert Highway Sequence): Scott
Farrar, Shari Hanson, Shawn Kelly, Michael Jamieson

Outstanding Models or Miniatures in a Motion Picture: Dave Fogler, Ron
Woodall, Alex Jaeger, Brian Gernand

Outstanding Compositing in a Motion Picture: Pat Tubach, Beth D'Amato,
Todd Vaziri, Mike Conte

Another ILM project that took home a few statues:
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End:

Outstanding Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture (Davy
Jones): Hal Hickel, Marc Chu, Jakub Pistecky, Maia Kayser

Outstanding Created Environment in a Live Action Motion Picture: Frank
Losasso Petterson, Paul Sharpe, Joakim Arnesson, David Meny

Congrats to all! And all the hard working dedicated crews at ILM! Whoo hooo!

Merry Christmas 2007

2007-12-28T16:19:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone!
I hope everyone has a fun and safe holiday with friends and family.
And have a happy and wonderful new year!

Gnomon Workshop Live

2007-12-04T07:49:00.000-08:00

Just got back from an exciting weekend in LA where myself and several other working professionals spoke to both students and professionals alike in a series of demos and lectures. Mine specifically focused on the topic of making sure your design, whatever it may be, services the story, and is believable within that context. I also stressed the importance of thinking through your design from all angles and creating orthographic views and creating reference and material sheets to pass on with the design to the next phase of production artists.
It seemed to go well, and I believe that this is something that is lacking in many of today's film designs. Everything is getting too "hey look at me!" for the sake of design, and not believable within the context of the story. I hope those that were there were able to take away a bit of knowledge about this topic and will implement the points I discussed in there future projects.
It was also nice to meet many of the people there, some were still students, some were working professionals there to glean a bit more insight into how others work. I even met a few CCS alumni and local Bay Area folks as well.
I enjoyed seeing the talks by the other speakers and got to see how talented they are as well. It was an honor to get to meet them and put some faces to the names. If you were one of the people who were able to be there, thanks for coming and listening to me, I hope you were able to learn a bit more as to what makes good design and how you can apply it in your own job or project! And special thanks to Travis and Alex and all the Gnomon crew!
Think above and beyond!
-Alx

Slipstream

2007-11-02T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hey there, wow, it's November already!? Well, here's piece I did recently that started out as a doodle. Basically a retro inspired streamlined racer. I love those old open top racecars and the graphics in that era. All 'in the box' and straight to to you. I hope you enjoy it!
-Alx

American Le Mans!

2007-10-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share some photos I took last weekend at Laguna Seca at the American Le Mans Series races. It was an ear pounding blast! The race was exciting with the Penske Porsche Team going head to head with the Champion Audi team from start to finish. Although I have to say that even though the Porsche kept it exciting, the Audi clearly dominated the race. The V10 Turbo Diesel Audi was both insanely fast and incredibly quiet! While all the other cars roared by rattling every fiber of your being, the Audi would whoosh by almost sounding like a high power electric car. It would start at the head of the main straight in 4th or 5th place and halfway down it had passed every car and was several lengths in front by the first turn, incredible!
There were a host of other notable cars present including 2 Audi R8's and even the new S5 sedan. Several Porsche GTS R's and about 100 Ferrari's. The race went from 3:30 until 7 or so in the evening, so the last dozen laps were in the dark making for a dramatic finish. The results were obvious though, the Champion Audi V10 TDI's came in 1st and 3rd with the Porsche's 2nd and 4th.
Hope you enjoy the pics, I know I enjoyed the race! :-)

See you in LA

2007-10-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

Well I mentioned that I'd have some news to report soon and here it is. I'll be speaking at the Gnomon School for Design in LA on December 1st! I'll be joining a host of other great artists from film and games. Check out the event page to see more info. I'll be talking about the need to make designs that work, or at least look like they work, and how that effects the outcome of the final product no matter what medium it ends up in.
That's all, hope to see you there!
-Alx

hot off the wacom...

2007-10-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

Here's the final versions of the sneak peek I gave in the last post. They are mainly just 2 designs, but I thought I'd do a rally version of the one since when I designed it I had that in mind. So these both started out as ball point pen sketchs, but the line work from the pen is not really visible in these. The original sketch was no more then 3 inches across for each.
Hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoyed drawing them. I just finished them an hour ago and thought I'd just post 'em up!
Enjoy!
-Alx

Over 5000 views!

2007-09-23T23:04:00.000-07:00

Wow, thanks everyone for stopping by the site, since March of this year this site was looked at over 5000 times! whoo hoo! I'm sure that's no big deal to some, and I'm sure it's nothing to brag about, but I just noticed it on the counter and figured I'd mention it to start out today's blurb. So thanks everyone!
OK, well I can't believe it's fall already and this month is almost gone! We started up our local church college group this past friday and there were plenty of eager new faces ready to learn more about Genesis which is our focus this year.
Other than that there's no real news to report, just working away and still drawing! I'll have more to announce at the start of next month, but for now I'll just post a sneak at some recent sketches I've working on here and there.... and yes... more cars:-)

more cars....

2007-08-22T17:40:00.000-07:00

Hey there, here are 2 more car sketches that are a little rougher than the ones in the previous post, but I think I like 'em the way they are. Both of these as well as the 'bull car' in the previous post were done entirely 'in the box' and no paper was harmed in the making of them :-P
So enjoy these as well.

car crazy!

2007-08-19T23:03:00.000-07:00

OK, So anyone that really knows me, knows I'm a huge car freak, especially German cars like VW, Audi etc... So I had some extra minutes this week and banged out a few cars. Not all were meant to be VW's some I just slapped the badge on at the end. But the GTI is one I intended to be a VW as I drive both an '86 GTI and an '04 Golf R32. I thought I'd take a stab at making the next gen a bit more ...sexy and aggressive and less pedestrian and boxy. I also got a request from a friend to see me do a few WRC ralley inspired versions, so I'll be doing those next. But for now enjoy these few. The 'Bull car' is something I did on the fly, thought it might appeal to some mega rich Texas cattle owner somewhere...:-) The 'Sports Hybrid' is more a form study, where the motors are contained within the wheels, so there is no need for an engine compartment.
My summer travels took us to Greece, Turkey, Rome, London and Sydney...phew! It was loads of fun, but now it's back to the usual grind ....as I have no more vacation time left :-P
OK enjoy and I'll be adding these and others to the main site soon as well.
God Bless!
-ALX

On a break

2007-07-29T05:14:00.000-07:00

Hello All, thanks for all of you who have left comments or written to me. If I haven't written you back yet, please bear with me as I have been taking a break and doing some traveling off and on with my wife. This is also the reason I was not at the San Diego Comic Con this year. But I hope to be there next year in force with some of my co-workers to show our wares.
I know Tranformers has just been released in some countries, so I hope you enjoy! This is one film that I would've loved to have been in Japan to see :-) I've recieved many emails about an Art of Transformers book. I wish I had an answer, I've been in contact with Ben Procter and we're inquiring on this issue.
OK well I'll have more once I'm back at it. But for now I pray you are all well and like I've told many of you, the best practice is to just draw! draw! draw!
And if you are in the Dallas - Fort Worth Area hurry up and go see the Star Wars Where Science Meets Imagination exhibit! Where I am part of a (pre-recorded) panel of WAY smarter peers talking about how science can influence movies, but also how movies have influenced science!
Ciao for now!
-Alx

CG Society Profile Article!

2007-07-11T09:44:00.000-07:00

OK, back from a much needed break. One big bit of news is CG Society just posted a very nice article about the work on Transformers and an overall look at my career in film design! Check it out! And let them know if you 'digg it' ,overall it was a very nice piece. There was no ILM art department in LA, it was the LA art department they sent me down to, and plenty of great artists there who deserve just as much credit, namely Ben Procter, Paul Ozzimo, Ed Natividad, Feng Zu, Tony Kieme, Ryan Church, James Clyne and more! Great work guys! They were responsible for the bulk of the design work of the robots.
I've got another month of Sketch of the day ready to scan in. I also hope I responded to anyone who emailed me recently, if not please forgive me and buzz me again.
I hope you all enjoyed Transformers, it was a fun, fast paced ride for sure. A little bit on the silly side for my tastes, but it worked in context. I saw it opening night with my family and a full house of TF fans who all seemed to eat it up with a cheer. My wife and #1 fan made sure that my credit was duely noted throughout the theater at the end.... thanks babe.
Oh and here's that Sub attack pic a little better resolution for ya.

Website update

2007-06-05T14:52:00.000-07:00

Hello all, well I finally got March sketch of the day scanned and up on the site, April is almost done so I'm slowly 'catching up' :-P . I Also added a few more pieces from some other Old "Wild" show. Not much else to report at this time. Still have a few things in the works and will share more about those in July. In the mean time, there are some great books just out. For a new look into the making of Star Wars, Jonathan Rinzler's new book The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film. This is a great new look into the stories and unreleased photos of making the original Star Wars. Also in that same line is Lorne Peterson's book, Sculpting a Galaxy: Inside the Star Wars Model Shop. this is a book full of great behind the scenes stories and photos of the modelshop's work on the Star Wars movies. (and it doesn't hurt that I'm in it :-P ) On another film, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Art of Pirates of the Caribbean. Is an awesome art book packed full of , well... art and huge full page and even fold out size high quality prints of the great artwork from all 3 films. Aaron McBride, a fellow ILM co-worker is featured heavily in it as well as some Warren Fu, Brian Kalin-Oconnel and Wayne Lo, all ex-ILMer's. And many other great concept artists. Those should keep your eyes busy for a while.

April 12th EVA wip

2007-04-12T14:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been quite busy lately, and have not had much time to work on my own stuff. But I do have some things in the works, as well as the sketch of the day still going (although behind a bit).
I've had a few questions about how I work, wether all digital or not. I mainly sketch on paper first although i've been trying more lately to start 'on the box'. I'm also looking into a Cintq tablet to help that :-)
Usually I'll start in ballpoint pen or do a small thumbnail and then blow it up as a guide. I'm not big on overlays, but I do at least one depending on how tight it needs to be. I also still do some of the drawing part in blue col-erase pencils and then scan those in and change them to black and clean up the line work to taste. I'll then put the line work on a layer (photoshop) on top and make it in 'multiply' mode. The do the color on a layer below. This keeps the lines from being covered up. Then as the color blocking becomes tighter and more detailed I may erase out some of the lines or make them less aparent. I used to have lots of layers, but have found I work faster if I flatten some layers as i go so I'm only working with 2-3 layers. One layer for black lines, one layer for color, and another on top for highlights. other times I may do all the shading in grayscale, and add the color with an 'overlay' layer so i can easily adjust colors later if needed.
Well, if you have any specific questions, please ask through the comments below or through my email.
In the mean time here is another 'work-in-progress' image I've had on the back burner. Now that Transformers has been made a reality, i can't wait to see what a Evangelion or Macross film would be like!
enjoy!
-Alx

April 8th Happy Easter!

2007-04-05T16:13:00.000-07:00

Well, March was a busy month! But everything is going well. Transformers is on track and looking awesome, and I've managed to also secure a few good freelance jobs as well. So my Sketch of the day has taken a bit of neglect already, I think I'm only up to March 24th right now. But I'll get back on track a bit this weekend. Speaking of this weekend I pray you all have a good Easter as we celebrate the biggest holiday (at least for those who know the real menaing of it, and not the holiday about bunny's laying eggs and leaving them all over the place :-)
Yes it's the basically the whole point of Christianity, the sacrifice and resurection of Jesus Christ for the sins of the world. ('the world' is YOU and ME, and yes we ALL sin) In fact I think it's funny that people think that Christians are 'goody two shoes' and that they've got it all together. In fact someone who believes in and accepts Christ as the Son of God is claiming that they are indeed NOT perfect and NEED a SAVIOR. The fact that they choose to take the steps to become 'right' in God's eyes is not really they're doing either. It's like if you're dying, you need a cure. And then you get a package in the mail for free. And there's a letter on the package that says what it is and how amazingly expensive it was, and it's the cure and something you've been looking for your whole life, but yet you leave it sitting on the floor in the entryway. Get up and open it up!
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." -- C.S. Lewis

Well, I'll be updating the Sketch of the day this week, so please check back often!
And don't be shy, leave a comment!
Hope you had a great easter and continue to think above and beyond!
-Alx

March 22....My Birthday!

2007-03-22T10:29:00.000-07:00

Whoopie!
I'm getting old-er. But It's all good, and I thank God for each day I get. He's blessed me with so much, that it would be a slap in His face not to. So on this day I'd like to thank my wife, my parents, my lil' bro and big sis and my friends and Co-workers here in California and my friends in other parts of the U.S. as well as my friends overseas, Like Michael, Lucas and Steffi in Germany! Thanks for all your birthday wishes!
So to celebrate, here is some more sneak peaks at the march Sketch of the Day and some other work-in-progress! -Enjoy!

Above is the 'sketch' and below is the Work-in progress painting....

March 20th

2007-03-20T14:57:00.000-07:00

Hello again, it's been a busy week. Spent half the weekend doing taxes...yippee! Anyway, I finally finished off a sketch I did when I was testing a WACOM Cintiq tablet a few weeks ago. I gotta get me one of those! It's been around, we tested one a few years ago and I didn't like the lag and the feel of the old ones, but this new one was awesome, even had felt pen tips to simulate the feel of a marker or pen. They aren't cheap, $2500 but it is a monitor and a wacom tablet, and being able to draw right on the screen is the closest to drawing on paper!
I just finished a cool freelance job for a racing team doing the graphics for their cars and their logo. It was a blast :-)
Hope you enjoy this piece and I'll have more soon!
thanks for lookin'
and think above and beyond!
-Alx