Fifth image in the series. It's time for some action! At some point in the story, the main protagonists are busted in their safe house. However, they can handle themselves, mostly due to an efficient machine gun and a couple of electro-magnetc motion-sensor explosives planted around the apartment (in case the opponents have cybernetic enhancements or are pure androids).
Fourth image in the series. Some designs for ZEN troopers ('soldiers' of the main corporation from the story). Just like with the architecture, the idea was to make them sf-looking with strong Eastern influences, visible mostly in the outfits/armor.
Third image in the series. A couple of heavy weapons, where it's more about functionality and firepower than fancy design. One is actually a modified factory tool. These weapons are in use on image 'Search in progress'.
Second image in the series. ZEN troopers are searching through Purgatory - the lowest part of megalopolis, partially beneath the city streets, in order to recover the stolen module. Of course, they fail and the main hero has to be called into service.
'Butterfly' is my long-term personal project that started as a sf/cyberpunk point-and-click adventure game back in 2009. Here you can read an actual interview about it and see some old concepts - that's when I started with digital painting :) Since I don't have any more time for its development, I decided to tell the story in a series of concepts, maybe finalized with a downloadable mini-artbook. We'll see ;) Anyway, here's the first concept from the series.
The story, set in Shanghai, in the year 2099, when androids stand for almost 1/3 of the general population. An undercover agent of a major corporation, ZEN Technologies, is sent on a mission to recover a stolen prototype of an AI module. In order to track the thief, he has to lurk into the deepest and oldest areas of megalopolis.
General overview of futuristic Shanghai, where the story takes place. The idea is to mix the old, stone architecture and traditional elements, like gates or monuments, with vast scale and futuristic additions (more city views to come).
A new, refreshed portfolio will replace my current one in about 3 weeks time. Currently, I'm working on many new concepts and designs for a personal project that will replace many older pieces. There will be quite a variety: new environments, characters, vehicles, props, action scenes.. Since they are all a part of the same story/universe, the whole batch will be released at once, so stay tuned for a massive update around mid-August.
So, the rest of the world caught up with China and today WB released the official hi-res mega-trailer, an official (or at least temporary) poster and a cool commentary from the directors (all 3 of them). Feast your eyes on iTunes here.
I am definitely pleased to see that certain scenes and elements from Somni story bear a strong resemblance to some of the concepts I did while working on the film last year. Can't wait to see the whole thing :). Too bad it suppose to arrive to China during Spring Festival 2013 (so, around February). Gotta keep waiting..
