About the Author
Scott Spencer is a digital sculptor and concept designer at Weta Workshop in Wellington, New Zealand. He uses ZBrush every day as a tool for creating creature and character concept art. His most recent and exciting project is Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit. His background is originally physical sculpture for the makeup effects world. Over the years he has worked in various media, creating digital characters for film, broadcast, and games as well as physical sculptures for concept design, promotion, and other applications. Over the past few years Scott has worked on various film projects in the Weta Workshop design department. Scott is fortunate to work as a designer as well as a sculptor, painter, and fabricator on many of the films that come through the workshop. This allows him to remain excited and stimulated by working in various stages of the creative process.
Huge thanks to those artists who loaned me their expertise and agreed to share their tools and techniques in the book. The presence of industry professionals like them raises the overall quality of the book and exposes readers to more than just one artist’s perception on this creature and character design process. I want to thank all of these talented folks for their time and effort.
Alterton
Born in Trelew City, Chubut province, in the cold lands of the Argentinean Patagonia, Alterton quit a prominent career in orthodontia to become a full-time sculptor for the collectibles business. As a traditional sculptor he has worked for companies such as DCDirect, Art Asylum, and Diamond Select Toys, and as digital artist he has done work for McFarlane Toys, Pop Culture Shock Collectibles, Hollywood Collectors Group, and Disney Development.
Eric Keller
Eric Keller has been a professional 3-D artist and high-end animator for film, commercials, and TV for over twelve years, creating animations and effects for films and commercials at the leading studios in Hollywood. He is currently visual effects supervisor working on E. O. Wilson’s Life on Earth project. Keller got his start developing animations for scientific visualization at the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute, where he worked with some of the world’s leading researchers. He is the author of Mastering Maya 2011, Maya Visual Effects: The Innovator’s Guide, and Introducing ZBrush, all from Sybex. He has also written numerous tutorials for industry magazines and websites.
Jerad S. Marantz
Jerad S. Marantz has been obsessed with creature design for as long as he can remember. As a child he was always seen hunched over a sketch pad, drawing away. Marantz started his career at the early age of 14 by interning for low-budget practical FX houses with an emphasis in studying sculpture. Originally, he wanted to become a practical FX artist, but as he pursued that line of work, he discovered his true passion was designing. After graduating from Pasadena Art Center College of Design in 2005, Marantz was hired as a freelance concept artist for Stan Winston’s Studio. Marantz has since designed for several practical FX houses, visual FX studios, and video game companies. He is currently the lead artist at The Aaron Sims Company.
Marantz’s credits include the films Clash of the Titans, Suckerpunch, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Avatar, Green Lantern, Transformers 3, and X-Men First Class. He has also worked on the television shows American Horror Story, Grimm, and Falling Skies, and several games, including Infamous 2, Tabla Rasa, and Guild Wars.
His work can be seen at jeradsmarantz.blogspot.com/
Zack Petroc
Zack Petroc is CEO of Zack Petroc Studios and Model Supervisor at Disney Feature Animation.
With a commitment to driving the digital entertainment industry forward, Petroc continues to develop new techniques that redefine how digital tools impact the art and design of storytelling. In 2005 he opened Zack Petroc Studios to focus on the development of unique new content and one-of-a-kind training tools. The Studios’ first independent project, Adaboy, gives viewers direct access to behind-the-scenes story development techniques, allowing them to follow along as it evolves from concept to completed project. See www.theadaboy.com.
Additionally, his studio has worked on the development of several feature films and video games with a recent client list that includes Disney Interactive, Scott Free Productions, SCEA, Walt Disney Imagineering, Snoot Entertainment, Hasbro, and Paramount Pictures.
In addition to lecturing at universities across the United States and abroad, Petroc has headed several workshops and training seminars at leading industry companies. Recently he began creating and distributing advanced training tools available for purchase and instant download via his website www.zackpetroc.com.
Tristan Schane
Born and raised in New York City, Tristan Schane started his professional career at age 15 as a comic book artist, which was his boyhood fantasy. He has been a full-time working artist since he was 19. After several years in the comics business, he started doing fine arts oil painting and sculpture and also moved to book cover illustration for sci-fi and fantasy novels. Schane has done concept art for DragonBall, The Mist, Thor, and the TV series Numb3rs and Teen Wolf. His most recent ZBrush creature work includes Green Lantern and Terra Nova. His fine artwork can be seen at www.TristanSchane.com and his concept work can be seen at www.TristanArtForm.com.
Paul Tobin
Paul Tobin graduated from Massey College of Creative Arts, in Wellington, New Zealand, in 2002 and has been a concept designer at Weta Workshop since 2003. He has worked on The Hobbit, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, King Kong, Avatar, District 9, and The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn. In addition to his role as a concept designer, Tobin is a freelance illustrator, and in 2010 created White Cloud Worlds, an anthology of sci-fi and fantasy artwork from New Zealand, with foreword by Guillermo del Toro. See www.whitecloudworlds.com.
Tobin also teaches Digital Illustration at Massey College of Creative Arts and runs Whitecloud Workshops. You can see Tobin’s portfolio at www.paultobin.co.nz.
Bryan Wynia
Bryan Wynia is a Senior Character Artist at Sony Santa Monica. Previously he worked at Naughty Dog where he contributed on Uncharted 2 and Uncharted 3. He also works as a freelance character designer and sculptor. Some of his clients include The Aaron Sims Company, Gentle Giant Studios, Electric Tiki, and Masked Avenger Studios.
His work has been featured in Famous Monsters of Filmland, Imagine FX, 3D Artist, and 3D World. Wynia has a passion for teaching and sharing his creative process. He has taught classes and workshops at The Concept Design Academy, Gnomon School of Visual Effects, and Art Center College of Design. You can find out more about his artwork at bryanwynia.blogspot.com.