Re designing a cult classic

Mike talks through some of the concept design decisions that he took while working on Blade Runner 2049

“I got involved with Blade Runner in January 2016 in the pre-production stage of development. The script was fully developed conceptually, so my briefs consisted of story context combined with production designer Dennis Gassner articulating the feeling he wanted to elicit from the sets and the various props and devices that the script was describing.

Once the feeling was delivered, my job was to synthesise designs from scratch that operated both logically and emotionally. I was given a blank canvas and could design everything from scratch with just the script’s initial descriptions.

When starting a concept art commission I’ll begin by considering what the design needs to communicate to the audience. Then, with that in mind, I’ll simultaneously weigh up what physical and mechanical requirements will be necessary for the design to be realistic and functional. This enables me to ping-pong in my mind quick iterative cycles of design and test different configurations to see which feels right intuitively.

I’ll do simple 3D blockouts in 3ds Max, getting major structural elements into place. I’ll create animations that will describe the mechanical functioning of the design. This allows the design to “express” itself, even in raw and untextured form. This stage is important, because without it the structural ideas could become arbitrary.

With the animated model in place, I’ll run some animations past the director (on Blade Runner most of my deliverables were actually animations, not concepts). The director will be able to see the behaviour of the design, which is much more important than the aesthetic finish. This means there isn’t a concern for endless

variations: if it works, it works, and so and the process of making the design look appealing can begin.

I’ll do some quick UV unwraps of the model I’ve mocked up, create simple texture concepts and then render them out, either from the viewport screenshot (sometimes simple is better) and paintover. Alternatively, if the design needs real polish, I’ll get it into Corona Renderer and get some physical renders out to clarify material treatments.”

found work easier to come by. They complemented each other, not just artistically, but in doing all the other stuff that goes into setting up a studio: branding, scheduling, accounting, and just being organised.

In 2010, Karakter moved to Berlin and a bigger studio for a bigger client list, and a year later worked on concepts for Killzone 3, developed by another Amsterdam developer, Guerrilla Games. It’s a collaboration that continues to this day. However, in 2013 Mike decided it was time to leave. He was in Los Angeles for a while and now lives a “nomadic lifestyle” in Europe.

“Managing and growing a studio didn’t leave much time to be creative. I made the decision with the other guys to restructure the studio so I would be able to continue expanding my interests in design and psychology.”

The monomyth

How does a film look from 30,000 feet? If it’s any good, the decisions made by the scriptwriter, the director, the editor, and even the colour grader, will be linked to “a central structure.” This structure is set out in a hugely influential book: The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Author Joseph Campbell said that, throughout history, all the best stories have shared a fundamental structure. The theory of the “hero’s journey” – the monomyth – has influenced everyone from Stanley Kubrick to the makers of Magic: The Gathering. Understand the monomyth and you’ll understand stories.

“There’s a massive misunderstanding about creativity, especially with storytelling,” says Mike. “Ultimately there’s an unbelievably powerful logic to a story’s construction, a thick tapestry of interlocking causes and effects at every level. Through its delivery, through the sensory overload of a movie, when all those interlocking elements overlap and intertwine, we, thankfully, fail to see the logical structure and will summarise it as an emotionally artistic experience.

“But, as Mad Max director George Miller said: ‘Most of what we see in the world has hidden architecture.’ And that hidden architecture is extremely logical.” Interesting stuff, so how does all this benefit your art?

This feeling is always the sum total of lots of logical ideas

“Aesthetics are never an initial factor when I’m considering a design,” Mike says. “That’s a bit like thinking about cosmetic makeup before you’ve sculpted a head.” He begins a concept by analysing what the design needs – often while walking or running. In his head, he tests various designs to see what feels right. “This feeling is always the sum total of lots of logical ideas syncing up, rather than some esoteric hippy-dippy creative feeling.”

He knows how the design will look by the time he starts simple blockouts in 3ds Max. Then he makes animations that “describe the mechanical function of the design.” This stage is important. Without it, structural choices are meaningless. He needs to know the design works literally before thinking about how it works symbolically.

Mike believes the audience will know by looking at it whether or not the design is right, even it they can’t say exactly why it might be wrong. He animates in the concept stage to avoid problems later on. For now, how it works is far more important than how it looks. It needs to be “realistic and function.” A desk need to be a desk.

a lack of function

Mike elaborates: “I notice this a lot when looking at mechanical design online: often it’s clear to me that the designs have been modelled in great detail. But, having spent a lot of time doing rigging and animation, the sheer lack of function jumps off the screen. The design simply won’t work.”

If he’s working on a film, Mike will show the animation to the director so they can see the design’s “behaviour.” Now the concept artist can start to make it look cool. He does quick UV unwraps – unfolding the model, which enables him to create a 2D texture to fit the 3D object – then moves it into Corona Renderer, if the design needs “real polish.”

K’s apartment “Another space that was intended to be minimal, to support the scarcity that existed in the world of 2049.”

The Pilotfish “An autonomous drone unit that operates as a recording and surveillance device for Ryan Gosling’s Officer K.”

K’s kitchen “Inspired by the iconic original kitchen, but taking the design into a colder, more brutalisminfluenced future.”

Manicure Tray “An oriental-inspired piece of hardware to operate as a service station for a future manicurist.”

Luv’s glasses “With these glasses I was going for a design that was a sleek and minimal holographic interface.”

the Memory Orb “This is a production title for the object that Dr Stelline uses to create dream memories for replicants.”

USC Flagship “A hero design placed into a marketing illustration context for the release of the free-to-play video game Fractured Space. Big situations, human context.”

Anime Roadster “Inspired by the feeling of classic Japanese anime, I decided to create a design and illustrate it in a more eastern-inspired style.”

Killzone Hangar “This was a full mock-up for a level design for Killzone Shadow Fall. This piece was to sell the mood and tone of the space: ships being suspended on racks for launch.”

Madam’s desk “A Blade Runner 2049 design showing a multi-layered, highly dense workspace. Inspiration taken from the original film.”