Beowulf

All images contained in this blog are the property of Paramount Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment

2007-11-30T19:52:00.000-08:00

Above: Type design and rendering of early Beowulf title.

Royal Meadhorn Design

2007-11-30T19:22:00.001-08:00

Note: The majority of the work in this blog is in chronological order.

Yes, I designed that glowy-thing that Beowulf carries around for half the movie. Zemeckis wanted to make sure that the dragon had a small gem on his neck to serve a significant story point.

Factoid: Most Viking meadhorns didn't have feet. If your meadhorn had feet, you could set it down without spilling your mead. And if you set your drink down before finishing it you obviously weren't a badass Viking. Which might have something to do with all of the Vikings being alcoholics.

Below is the dwarf-performer's version of the king's meadhorn. This design had to be a crude version of its big brother made mostly of driftwood and old rope.

Factoid: The dwarf's meadhorn is all shiny and the paint is worn-off where it is handled the most by the little guy.

Helmet Design

2007-11-30T19:19:00.001-08:00

Below are some helmet designs I created on top of some early portraits by character genius Colin Fix.

Early Set Design

2007-11-30T19:16:00.001-08:00

Below are some black and white renderings of sets for Beowulf. This early work was a blast to work on since we had the whole movie ahead of us.

Factoid: Vikings had no problem with peeing indoors, and I seriously doubt anyone bothered to soak-up spilled drinks (note the shiny pool in the first concept).

Prow Design

2007-11-30T19:12:00.001-08:00

Even though this design looks simple it was a tough solution to come up with. This was my first experience with early Anglo-Saxon design.

Monster Design

2007-11-30T19:01:00.001-08:00

Below: Design for a sea monster

Below: Design for a Sherman Tank of a dragon. I really picture this guy head-butting castles into smithereens. Yeah, I said "smithereens."

Below: Dragon head designs (on top of a body design by Doug Chiang)

Chandelier Designs

2007-11-30T18:49:00.001-08:00

Below are the few pen drawings I did for this film. Zemeckis wanted chandeliers ideal for goring Vikings which is why these particular chandeliers are so damn pointy.

Weapon Rack Designs

2007-11-30T18:34:00.001-08:00

Just a few more pen drawings. Even a Viking's gotta set his spear down to take a break sometimes.

Above: Designs for glyphs to go on the weapons racks. (CG model provided by Young Duk Cho)

Weapon Design

2007-11-30T18:31:00.001-08:00

One thing that I just realized is that my weapon designs for Beowulf were either very graphic or photo real. Below are some sword scabbard designs.

Above: Design for King Beowulf's axe. The leather wrap had to be designed so that Beowulf could easily untie it and swing the axe around his head like a maniac.

Firebreathing Concept

2007-11-30T18:27:00.001-08:00

Below is an illustration I did to visualize what the dragon's fire breathing technique would be for the movie. Someone's gotta figure out how all those dudes are gonna get burnt up.

Treasure Pile Keyframe

2007-11-30T18:11:00.001-08:00

This is an illustration for a scene that was eventually cut from the movie.

Beowulf Icon Design

2007-11-30T18:09:00.001-08:00

Below are designs for THE SYMBOL of Beowulf. I typed that in all caps because I have seen this image used everywhere (or at least it seems that way).

Beowulf Opening Concept 2

2007-11-30T18:01:00.000-08:00

I did some image sequences in Photoshop to conceptualize how the film might open.

Beowulf Opening Concept 1

2007-11-30T17:49:00.001-08:00

A concept for the opening of the film done in Photoshop. Since the movie is being shown in 3D IMAX I really liked the idea of a wall of flame washing over the audience. Notice the female figure at the very end?

Map of Herot

2007-11-30T17:47:00.001-08:00

There's a part of me that really loved creating a fake Viking map. Although the Viking's didn't have topographical maps back then... I won't tell anyone if you don't.

Royal Tapestries

2007-11-30T17:23:00.001-08:00

Below are designs for royal tapestries. The first two designs had to look more crude since they were Hrothgar's tapestries (Beowulf's predecessor). These were SUPER fun to work on for a couple of reasons: 1) The art could be super stylized and 2) the concepts I did were in the final film! I liked the idea that portions of the tapestries might be extra faded where the sun would hit for most of the day.

Below: King Beowulf's battle tapestry. I designed it so that the tapestry bragged of Beowulf's successes as king (war time accomplishments on the top half, peace time accomplishments on the bottom half).

I had to re-do the tapestry, though, because I didn't stylize the images the way a Viking would. Not sure what I was thinking, but I am very happy with the final product.

Dragon Keyframe

2007-11-30T17:16:00.001-08:00

Beowulf keyframe done in Painter: This keyframe illustrates the dragon tossing soldiers over a cliff. I loved drawing the soldier (who is highest up) still holding his sword as if it would make a difference when he lands.

Beowulf Counterculture

2007-11-30T17:06:00.000-08:00

The images below were all created for an underground marketing plan for Beowulf. Fun with a capital F.

There now I hope you've had fun checking out my Beowulf concept work! Have a fantastic time doing whatever it is you do!