alexander lindner concept art and illustration

The Storm

2012-01-11T05:59:00.000-08:00

Digital Sketch in Photoshop (2011)

"The Gruffalo's Child" - BBC One Christmas Ident 2011

2011-12-24T13:31:00.000-08:00

Here are my matte paintings in BBC One's Christmas Ident 2011.

The Gruffalo's Child - Matte Painting

2011-12-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

Matte Paintings for BBC's "The Gruffalo's Child" (2011). Click thumbnails to enlarge.

Laura's Stern und die Traummonster - Art Direction

2011-10-29T08:49:00.000-07:00

Laura's Stern und die Traummonster: Official Movie Site

In 2009, I was art director on "Laura's Star and the Dream Monsters. I was leading a team of designers from Germany, Belgium and Canada to conceive and develop sets for the floating "Dream City" and several sets in the "real" world of Laura and Tommie.

All "Laura's Stern und die Traummonster" designs in this post are copyrighted © 2011 Rothkirch/Cartoon-Film, Warner Bros Filmproduction Germany GmbH, MaBo Investitions GmbH & Co.KG, Comet Film GmbH.

Art Direction and concepts: Alexander Lindner, executive artists mentioned below the pictures.

"Dream City", early concepts. Illustration: Alexander Lindner

I proposed Gaudi as inspiration for the Dream City shapes and architecture.

Photographs by Blossfeldt and drawings by Piranesi were additional sources of inspiration.

Dream City "Underworld", early concepts. Art Direction: Alexander Lindner, Artist: Jose Martinez. Official Blog.

Dream City "Labyrinth", early concepts. Art Direction: Alexander Lindner, Artist: Ghislain Cloutier. Official Website.

Dream City "Bridge over Crystals", and "Twilight Labyrinth" early concepts. Art Direction: Alexander Lindner, Artist: Matthias Lechner. Official Website.

Dream City, final concepts. Art Direction: Alexander Lindner, Artist: Matthias Lechner. Official Website

Dream City outside, final concepts. Art Direction: Alexander Lindner, Artist: Matthias Lechner. Official Website

Dream City "Underworld", final concepts. Art Direction: Alexander Lindner, Artist: Matthias Lechner. Official Website

Playmobil® "Future Planet" - Concept Art

2011-10-09T11:45:00.000-07:00

I was commissioned to create concept art and matte paintings for Playmobil's new science fiction toy series "Future Planet". You can see the toys on the official website: Playmobil.com
Here is a selection of my work.

Concept art "Darkster Planet":

Planet matte paintings:

Sky (360°) matte paintings for 3D mapping (click on thumbnails for larger version)

"Darkster Planet" ambiance sketches:

"E-ranger" Planet concept art:

Matte painting elements for 3D mapping:

Click on thumbnails for larger version:

Link to Playmobil's youtube channel: Playmobil on Youtube

Concept Art - Danone commercial IV

2011-06-06T10:50:00.000-07:00

Futuristic vehicles - concept designs for a Danone commercial. Client: Animationsfabrik / Danone.

Alternate versions:

Turnaround for the 3D department:

First concepts:

Final 3D renderings (Animationsfabrik, Germany)

Article about Alexander Lindner on TRIKK17 (part 2)

2011-06-02T07:30:00.000-07:00

To read the article click on the banner:

Matte Painting - "Seven Vikings" Exposition, Denmark

2011-05-14T11:52:00.000-07:00

The permanent exhibition at the Moesgård Museum presents many unique archaeological finds from prehistoric Denmark. Two finds from the Iron Age - the Grauballe Man, the only completely preserved bog body, and the impressive sacrifices of weapons from Illerup Ådal - are the absolute highlights, but you can also see various reconstructed houses of the Viking Period, among others the Hørning Stave Church.

In 2011, for the occasion of it's 150th anniversary the museum opened a special exposition, "Seven Vikings", for which large scenography's were created, with incorporated original artifacts.

In the course of the exhibition, visitors are given an amazing insight into everyday life in the Viking Age, into significant trends and events during the period and into the globalised world of the Vikings.

The exhibition was created by scenographer Kim Witzel, who the people of Eastern Jutland know well from the Bob Dylan shows at Aarhus Theatre, and in close collaboration with theatre director Vibeke Wrede and various experts within the Museum and beyond.

I was commissioned by MARK FILM, Denmark to create 3 matte paintings, showing three different scenes of a narrative taking place in the Viking village. This was a great experience, since the job was done under scientific and archeological supervision. Every detail needed to be historically correct - from the architecture of the houses down to width of an alley, or the height of a hedge. A very different experience from painting mattes for pure entertainment like movies or games, but I thought it was a real blast. I am looking very much forward to work for museums again!

All paintings done in Photoshop (no 3D elements). © Alexander Lindner - all rights reserved.

Sky Master (Photoshop)

Sky Detail

Footage shot for the port sequence (the second painting from above) by MARKFILM, Denmark.

Footage still for the street scene (third image from above)

SEVEN VIKINGS Exposition

26th of March to 23rd of October 2011

Moesgård Museum

Moesgård Allé 20

DK-8270 Højbjerg

Telephone +45 8942 1100

Fax + 45 8627 2378

E-mail: moesgaard@hum.au.dk

Opening hours

April-September: Every day 10 AM - 5 PM

October-March: Tuesday-Sunday 10 AM - 4 PM, Monday closed.

Also closed on the 24th, 25th, 26th and 31st of December and 1st of January.

Interview on CG Today

2011-04-16T14:12:00.000-07:00

Click on banner to read the interview with Alexander Lindner on CG Today.

Color Concept

2011-04-11T07:53:00.000-07:00

Color and Lighting concept for "Laura's Stern und die Traum Monster", Photoshop (2009)

Interview with Alexander Lindner on TRIKK 17 Animation Blog

2011-02-27T04:30:00.000-08:00

Click on banner to read the TRIKK 17 Animation Blog interview with Alexander Lindner (in German)

Concept Art - Danone commercial III

2011-02-26T07:27:00.000-08:00

More concept design for another Danone commercial. Client: Animationsfabrik, Hamburg.

Vehicle design, "Submarine" with laser gun

First versions

Final version

Submarine, side and frontal views for 3D modeling

Prop design "ejection seat"

Prop design, "Actimel disc holder"

Concept color sketch for the final battle scene

The Odyssey for iPad - Splash screen final version

2011-02-13T16:00:00.000-08:00

"The Gruffalo" is Oscar nominee!

2011-01-25T06:22:00.000-08:00

I am happy and proud to announce that "The Gruffalo" has been nominated for an Oscar in the category "Best Animated Short", as announced by The Academy this morning in Los Angeles. You can see the full list of nominees on the Oscars homepage.

I would like to express my congratulations to the directors, Jakob Schuh and Max Lang, and everybody at Studio Soi, as well as to producer Michael Rose at Magic Light Pictures.

I am grateful I was part of the artistic team on the film - it was a fantastic experience. You can see some of my matte paintings done for "The Gruffalo" in another post here.

The Gruffalo - Making Of

2011-01-22T08:41:00.000-08:00

Nice 'making of' documentary of "The Gruffalo". You can see some of my matte paintings (at 00:38sec for example), more designs and some shots of the miniature forest that was build for the film, plus interviews with the creators and actors.

You can also watch the video on my youtube channel here.

Concept Design Danone Commercial II

2010-12-18T13:11:00.000-08:00

Concept design for a commercial, 2010.

Space station corridor, layout.

Color render. The client wanted a Star Trek/ Tron inspired feeling.

Control desk, front and rear for 3D modeling.

Space station corridor, rendering.

"The Gruffalo" has made it into the Oscar shortlist!

2010-12-08T08:31:00.000-08:00

A year ago I worked as matte painter on "The Gruffalo". The film has just entered the shortlist of 10 possible nominees for the Oscar 2011. I would be thrilled if we would make it to actual nominee!

From Cartoonbrew:
"The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced this morning the shortlist of ten animated shorts for the 2010 Best Animated Short category. Members of the Short Films and Feature Animation Branch will now vote one more time to narrow it down to five nominees. The final vote, which determines the winner, is open to all Academy members provided that they have watched every nominated short"
--> Cartoonbrew Website

"The Gruffalo" will also be aired in the USA on ABC channel this Thursday, December 9 at 7/6c!
--> ABC USA

I think that deserves a repost of two of my matte paintings ;-)

Layout "Laura's Star"

2010-11-18T07:15:00.000-08:00

Re-post of a layout I drew for the 2D animation film "Laura"s Star". (2003)

Prop Design Motocycle

2010-11-14T14:44:00.000-08:00

Prop Design Motocycle - Client Ferrero (Kinder Surprise) / Animationsfabrik

Screenshots

The Red Citadel

2010-11-07T15:12:00.000-08:00

Concept painting (2010). Click on thumbnail for larger version.

Dungeon

2010-11-01T11:23:00.000-07:00

Location design and concept painting (2010) for a feature animation film. (TBA)

Vehicle Design

2010-10-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

"Max' Flightmobile" - concept design for a plane made out of scrap materials. Cartoon Film/Warner Bros (2003)

Layout / Workbook

2010-10-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

Galapagos Islands - Workbook / Layout feature animation (2004)

Matte Painting for The Gruffalo

2010-09-11T11:58:00.000-07:00

Image with character animation inserted:

Forest River matte painting:

Original color key (delivered by Studio Soi)

Forest River matte painting build up:

Set photographies:

Film stills:

The Gruffalo was made by Studio Soi, Germany, in association with Magic Lights Pictures UK, and the BBC UK. Buy the DVD or Blue Ray here: Amazon UK.

Storyboard and Concept Design, Lars II

2010-09-11T10:27:00.000-07:00

I have made literally tons of storyboards over the last decade, for feature films as well as television series and commercials, but I never know how to present them. Many people make the mistake to look too much at drawing esthetics when looking at storyboards. Ok, if the drawings are nice it's a plus, but what really matters is storytelling...that's what a storyboard is all about, right? To really look at a storyboard narration of, say, two, or five minutes of film, you would need to look at hundred drawings or more, best edited into a movie (some call it "Leica Movie") with the appropriate timing on the pictures....and even some previs voice acting if possible.

Here is a very short story moment I did for the children movie "Lars II", with Lars breaking through the ice into a tunnel. The idea was to make a short and exciting "ride", like in an amusement park. This particular one is interesting, because back at the time I managed to lay my hands on some original Studio Ghibli (Miyazaki) storyboard paper, and I had fun to draw my sequence onto those pages. Thinking of the master is very inspiring!

Concept art for the same sequence:

Road to Keshatta, City of Mages

2010-09-11T08:54:00.000-07:00

Matte Painting (2009). Personal project inspired by the original Conan novels, by Robert E. Howard. The painting is done entirely in photoshop, there are no 3D elements.

Laura's Star and the mysterious dragon Nian

2010-09-10T17:19:00.000-07:00

I worked for two years as art director on the movie. It would be impossible on this blog to give an idea of the amount of work done for this film. Hopefully I can do better on my upcoming web page! Here are just some examples:

Beijing hotel room:
Original concept art, design and supervision of additional design, 3D model and color supervision.

Chinese "Hutong" house, living room:
Original concept art, design and supervision of additional design, 3D model and color supervision.

Early concept art (2007)

Dream City

2010-09-10T16:53:00.000-07:00

Concept design (2009) for a feature animation film. (TBA)

Early concept sketches:

When I was doing this early concept art, I had ICO on my mind, one of my favorite computer games. If you don't know it check it out!