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VISUAL STORYTELLING
EXAMPLES OF DESIGN LOGIC TO INFORM VISUAL DESIGN CHOICES​ IN SERVICE OF STORY
• Worked with Pixar pre-Toy Story as a freelance Graphic Artist & Digital Matte/3D Painter on Commercials and ABC interstitials.
• Joined the feature art department as a Character, Set & Graphic Production Artist on A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc and Toy Story 2.
• On The Incredibles, I contributing to the design of many Sets and almost all of the film's Graphics, including end-credit crawl.
• As Case Study, I have broken down the process and logic for designing the Insuricare sequences of The Incredibles.
• Joined the feature art department as a Character, Set & Graphic Production Artist on A Bug’s Life, Monsters, Inc and Toy Story 2.
• On The Incredibles, I contributing to the design of many Sets and almost all of the film's Graphics, including end-credit crawl.
• As Case Study, I have broken down the process and logic for designing the Insuricare sequences of The Incredibles.
• Examples of earlier work as a Set and Character production artist exploring and iterating environments.
• For Bug City and the Bug Bar I was tasked with translating a handful of approved concept illustrations into fully functional sets.
• I approached Bug City by first building and photographing from a bug's PoV, a practical set made with real-world objects boxes and objects.
• I built the Bug Bar out of card stock, with scale cut-out characters and real-world props that we shot from inside with a fiber-optic camera.
• The drawings were about capturing mood, lighting, and additional detail.
• For Bug City and the Bug Bar I was tasked with translating a handful of approved concept illustrations into fully functional sets.
• I approached Bug City by first building and photographing from a bug's PoV, a practical set made with real-world objects boxes and objects.
• I built the Bug Bar out of card stock, with scale cut-out characters and real-world props that we shot from inside with a fiber-optic camera.
• The drawings were about capturing mood, lighting, and additional detail.
• Production artists are also responsible for breaking down approved designs into detailed plans, mechanical studies,
cross sections, turn-arounds, poses, expressions--anything that helps communicate its design and functionality to modeling, rigging,
texturing, and animation departments for executing the design in 3D.
cross sections, turn-arounds, poses, expressions--anything that helps communicate its design and functionality to modeling, rigging,
texturing, and animation departments for executing the design in 3D.
• As a graphic artist, I designed graphics for many of Pixar's films, which typically perform one of two functions:
• Visual exposition, as a way of communicating important story information, such as newspaper headlines; or as details of
authenticity, without which, the world would feel empty and synthetic.
• Graphics also serve design logic for supporting and expressing emotional or narrative intent, such as the layering of stickers in
Andy's room in Toy Story 3 chronicling his growth from child to young adult.
• Visual exposition, as a way of communicating important story information, such as newspaper headlines; or as details of
authenticity, without which, the world would feel empty and synthetic.
• Graphics also serve design logic for supporting and expressing emotional or narrative intent, such as the layering of stickers in
Andy's room in Toy Story 3 chronicling his growth from child to young adult.
• Examples of film graphics in context of final shots for how they support the authenticity of the world, convey character,
tone, information, subtext and/or visual interest.
tone, information, subtext and/or visual interest.
• As a Set and Graphic Designer on The Incredibles, I learned how design logic aligns artistic choices with narrative intent
• This Case Study demonstrates the process and logic for designing the Insuricare sets for 2 sequences from the Incredibles.
• Here, a dramatic arc illustrates the highs and lows of Mr. Incredible’s dramatic progression relative to his wants and desires.
• Note the drop from the emotional high of the Prologue to the emotional low of Bob's job at Insuricare at the beginning of Act 1.
• This Case Study demonstrates the process and logic for designing the Insuricare sets for 2 sequences from the Incredibles.
• Here, a dramatic arc illustrates the highs and lows of Mr. Incredible’s dramatic progression relative to his wants and desires.
• Note the drop from the emotional high of the Prologue to the emotional low of Bob's job at Insuricare at the beginning of Act 1.
• Color Scripts are tools to mapping visual design choices to dramatic intent. This color script by Production Designer Lou Romano
shows how image his design choices relate to the story's dramatic highs and lows.
• Even at this level of abstraction, note how dramatic contrasts are visually codified through contrast of color, shape and pattern,
specifically how the emotionally low Insuricare sequences of the 1st Act contrast with the more dramatic moments of the 2nd & 3rd Acts.
shows how image his design choices relate to the story's dramatic highs and lows.
• Even at this level of abstraction, note how dramatic contrasts are visually codified through contrast of color, shape and pattern,
specifically how the emotionally low Insuricare sequences of the 1st Act contrast with the more dramatic moments of the 2nd & 3rd Acts.
• To emphasize the emotional low of Insuricare, Lou established a visual language around desaturated values, grids, static and flat framing
to contrast the dramatic lighting, saturated colors, dramatic angles, deep spaces and organic environments of the later Acts.
• As a set designer, my role was to apply this design theory into specific application while serving the dramatic needs of action & camera.
to contrast the dramatic lighting, saturated colors, dramatic angles, deep spaces and organic environments of the later Acts.
• As a set designer, my role was to apply this design theory into specific application while serving the dramatic needs of action & camera.
• My first step in the process was to interpret approved illustrations, against the needs of the storyboards.
• Working with 2D director Brad Bird on his first 3D animated feature, our goal was to recreate or improve upon his storyboards.
• Working with a 3D artist we pre-visualized sets through specific camera angles, to make sure scale was correct, characters could
perform their actions relative to the camera angles Brad and his story team had painstakingly worked out in editorial.
• Working with 2D director Brad Bird on his first 3D animated feature, our goal was to recreate or improve upon his storyboards.
• Working with a 3D artist we pre-visualized sets through specific camera angles, to make sure scale was correct, characters could
perform their actions relative to the camera angles Brad and his story team had painstakingly worked out in editorial.
• Once approved I quickly sketched over the layouts, applying design Lou's design logic through with set and prop design choices.
• In this manner we built only what we needed, in contrast to the tradition of building out entire sets directors would later location-scout.
• In this manner we built only what we needed, in contrast to the tradition of building out entire sets directors would later location-scout.
• Supplemental drawings provided the design iteration and details further supporting Lou's design logic so that all the design choices
worked in service to the larger needs of the scenes and sequences as a whole.
• I tried to rationalize the gridded, square design logic through each object in a way that hopefully felt believable and natural.
worked in service to the larger needs of the scenes and sequences as a whole.
• I tried to rationalize the gridded, square design logic through each object in a way that hopefully felt believable and natural.
• To convey Bob's boss as the ultimate useless bureaucrat, all the clocks are set to the same time and there are no wall outlets.
• The only things to break the square shape language are chairs and desk with angry angles designed to express aggression
towards Bob in his weak, backwards-leaning chair.
• Trivia: the only other living thing in the office is a small cactus that is simply his bosses head with a cactus material.
• The only things to break the square shape language are chairs and desk with angry angles designed to express aggression
towards Bob in his weak, backwards-leaning chair.
• Trivia: the only other living thing in the office is a small cactus that is simply his bosses head with a cactus material.
• Additional examples of how the gridded, square design language manifests through each and every shot.
• To contrast with the bold, colorful dramatic opening, Bob's cube conveyed the oppressive feeling of being trapped and powerless.
• The cube reflected grids from any camera angle, whether from the filing cabinets, insurance binders, wall calendar or desk blotter.
• The single structural pillar taking up half of Bob's cube holds up the building in the way Bob used to be a pillar as Mr. Incredible.
• Even the faded lightning bolt on the electrical box calls back to danger and emblem of being a superhero.
• The cube reflected grids from any camera angle, whether from the filing cabinets, insurance binders, wall calendar or desk blotter.
• The single structural pillar taking up half of Bob's cube holds up the building in the way Bob used to be a pillar as Mr. Incredible.
• Even the faded lightning bolt on the electrical box calls back to danger and emblem of being a superhero.
• Besides just the emphasis on squares and grids, a secondary visual motif is imbalance
• The furniture and props are designed to be top heavy, structurally unsound, prone to falling over.
• This was an ironic way of suggesting how ineffective Insuricare was at reducing risk as an Insurance Company.
• The furniture and props are designed to be top heavy, structurally unsound, prone to falling over.
• This was an ironic way of suggesting how ineffective Insuricare was at reducing risk as an Insurance Company.
• More examples of design logic informing each individual prop, from top-heavy phone and paper clip holder, to square paper clips.
• The challenge in applying design logic is how to do it in a way that feels believable and consistent without drawing attention to itself.
• The challenge in applying design logic is how to do it in a way that feels believable and consistent without drawing attention to itself.
• Even the graphic signage was an opportunity to reflect the design logic.
• Grayscale, grids, squares, oppressive imagery, all to subtly reinforce the tone.
• Grayscale, grids, squares, oppressive imagery, all to subtly reinforce the tone.
• For context, here are examples of final shots from the Insuricare sequence for how design theory was applied.
• Fundamental to Production Art and Set Design was problem solving, arriving at designs that served the needs of story and camera.
• In this simple example a problem arose on Ratatouille after director Brad Bird came on to the film with significant script changes.
• One scene he added to the reels entailed a chase scene for Gusteau's will through Paris city streets across the Sienne.
• Without budget or resources for a new set, I was tasked with finding a way to achieve the scene with existing assets.
• I quickly mocked together a map repurposing and reposition existing buildings and city props relative to camera shots for achieving
the scene as the director envisioned it.
• In this simple example a problem arose on Ratatouille after director Brad Bird came on to the film with significant script changes.
• One scene he added to the reels entailed a chase scene for Gusteau's will through Paris city streets across the Sienne.
• Without budget or resources for a new set, I was tasked with finding a way to achieve the scene with existing assets.
• I quickly mocked together a map repurposing and reposition existing buildings and city props relative to camera shots for achieving
the scene as the director envisioned it.
• For the Mater Private Eye episode of Cars Toons, I used SketchUp to simultaneously pre-viz and design characters and sets.
• Given the time and resource constraints of the shorts, this enabled us to more quickly vet design approvals for production.
• Given the time and resource constraints of the shorts, this enabled us to more quickly vet design approvals for production.