Quarterly Rant on Conceptships

Hello Conceptships readers! A while ago, I had the idea of doing a small rant every three months to communicate ideas to you guys for what is to come. I've not been doing it because the move to the new house was crazy. Here goes one though.

My wife and I went to see Episode I this weekend. The artists that worked on that film are so friggin inspirational... To the point of depression. Just like a lot of you, My dream would be to work on the next three Star Wars movies (providing Mr. George Lucas decides to make them). I watch movies so differently from my wife. She is totally into the story and dialogue, while my eyes comb every frame for stuff I've missed before. The sound separation is so incredible as well... Made me wish I had my laptop with me so I could doodle during the show.

I had noticed how much Jar Jar's eyes looked like a mudskipper's at the beginning of the film and remembered I had shot a mudskipper here at the Denver Zoo not too long ago with my Canon T2i/ef-400 lens . Like a little kid, I whipped out the clip after the movie and started to conceptualize a more realistic Gungan. My wife just sort of stared at me while I was piecing the comp together with the eagerness of a ten year old kid.

Two and a half days (20 hours later), I had this crazy video concept art. The Star Wars flick seriously made this production so completely different from anything I have ever tried before. It was like a Eureka moment for me. This is my first piece of art in 2012... I'm so lucky my wife likes Star Wars because I don't think I would have made it otherwise.

The top two eyes are .png sequences on separate layers that are somewhat randomized. I need to learn how to do a proper randomization script in Flash. This will more than likely end up as the header for ConceptALIENS.

The theory behind this Gungan alien is that when in water, the top two eyes stick out of it to look out for enemies, while the bottom two eyes are submerged looking for prey that is attracted to its bioluminescent "lure":)



The chances of ever working over at Lucasfilm are about as good as hitting the Colorado lottery but just the idea of it makes me a better artist... I think. However, a more realistic option would be to team up with all of you talented folks and make short but sweet sequences that perhaps could be pitched to large studios. I want to eventually make a film. That always has and always will be my main goal (Other than being a good dad and husband:).

I find the concept of 5,000 artists from all over the world working simultaneously on one film fascinating. Could something like that ever be coordinated? What would the quality be like. Sounds interesting. I've met so many artists in the last few years, It is starting to feel more plausible than ever. Let's keep making stuff and see what happens.

I've had so many entries as of late, I can honestly say, I'm starting to get a little overwhelmed. I really need to figure out how to do this full time so I can start doing the stuff I really want to do!
Thanks so much for reading my rant. New header on the way for March... Stay tuned.

And as always, thanks to each and every one of you for submitting art. Whether it makes the blogs or not, I think I am getting smarter studying all of your images. Much Love!!!!

P.S. working on this made me realize that photography is going to replace polygon modeling in some instances pertaining to film and video games. Instead of basic geometry with photo maps, i believe objects will be photographed from every angle to form a hyper-realistic experience. Geometry will be used for secondary elements such as terrain and backgrounds. Just a thought. Later!
Keywords: concept star wars animated flash loop of gungan alien using mudskipper footage frame sequence shot at th edenver zoo with a canon t2i ef-400 mm lens concept animated character sheet for star wars sequels by igor tkac