Tuesday, December 4, 2018

Rob's Room: Titans' Batmobile Concept Artwork by John Gallagher

Titans' Batmobile Concept Artwork by John Gallagher
Minor Spoilers: So awhile back I was asked to design the Batmobile for the Titans series. It debuted last episode so the secret's out and I kept my mouth shut this whole time lol. But seriously, who wouldn't want to get a call like that? Bucket List! Encore VFX gave me wide open freedom to explore so that's always a good lane to start in. So I set about, as is standard operating procedure with funnel shaped design, with broad strokes on the landscape of the vehicle while embracing all eras, iterations and media variants - real world, toys, animation, comics, features wherever I could find one and narrow the focus going forward. But getting the bones right is the only goal after that it's all window dressing. Then of course toward the end it gets cut and pasted to final form and all stakeholders sign off on the cool ass winner usually a mix of elements from the final four or five. To say the Batmobile since May 1939 has been designed to death is no understatement. So, a core design that honours the traditions of the past and design legacy while also being forward looking, contemporary and distinctively Titans. I think fans of the show will appreciate the nods to some subtle final colour choices, profile and form language to a couple classics in the '66 and the '89. I worked through over thirty complete ideations and a couple dozen abandoned relics borrowing inspirations from our shared real world automative history and full spectrum media. Here's just a few of many explorations that got the dialogue started. The final you'll just have to watch the show and see how the army of geniuses who took up the cause after me did with it  ;)
I might have to check out Titans just for the Robin storyline... anyone here watching?  Is it worthwhile?
Is that Porsche 928 in the background an Easter Egg reference to Batman - Year One?

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