Act Now to Win HOUSE OF MONSTERS Maquette by Warren Manser and Dawn Brown

Faux bronze maquette of "The Bride" sculpted by Warren Manser

Check out exclusive House of Monsters concept art by Dawn Brown and Warren Manser and find out how to win a beautiful Bride of Frankenstein maquette!

Last year Dawn Brown started a Kickstarter campaign to fund the production of her next stop-motion animation web series House of Monsters based on the award-winning short. They got really, really close to their goal. But, unfortunately, didn't make it. She's not giving up though and has started a new campaign that promises to be bigger than ever.



Here's some concept art they sent me for the film. It's glorious.

"The Famous Girl" by Warren Manser.

Even though the great stop-motion animator Ray Harryhausen is gone it's great that stop motion animation isn't dead. That's why I support this project and you should too!

Here's the full press release

Built around a 2012 stop-motion short film of the same name, the new House of Monsters web series is a throwback to the classic Rankin/Bass holiday specials like Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer and Mad Monster Party. House of Monsters is created by Dawn Brown, a successful Hollywood concept artist, whose credits include Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Hunger Games movies. When Brown was developing new character designs for the House of Monsters Kickstarter campaign, she turned to veteran concept artist Warren Manser. Manser's credits include Man of Steel, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Thor.

“Great concept art can charge the imagination and inspire people to jump on board the project,” says Brown. “Warren has an amazing talent for capturing the charm and energy of what we hope to accomplish with House of Monsters.” Brown has turned to the popular crowdfunding site Kickstarter to raise funds to initiate production of the series. “We felt that Kickstarter would be a great way to get people involved and be a part of the filmmaking process from the very beginning.”

The series follows mummies, werewolves, vampires and friends through their adventures in an ominous castle perched over a fearful village. House of Monsters will begin production after the Kickstarter campaign wraps April 17, 2014. The series will premiere on Amazon.com early next year.

For more concept art, storyboards, and character designs, visit the House of Monsters Kickstarter page.

About The Monster Shop, Inc.
The House of Monsters web series is the inaugural project for the newly launched studio, The Monster Shop, Inc. The Monster Shop is a full service production studio that specializes in stop-motion animation, character design, and production design. Founded by concept artist Dawn Brown, the studio provides creative services for all avenues of entertainment including feature films, short films, television, new media, video games, toys and comics.

WIN A BRIDE OF THE MONSTER MAQUETTE!
We are running a special incentive for our Kickstarter campaign. The person who refers the most backers will win this awesome maquette. You don't have to be a backer yourself. So if you have a website, a blog, a podcast, or like to tweet, etc. this is your opportunity to get involved! 

Two things: 

1. Your readers or friends need to tell us how they heard about us for you to get credit. 
2. We need to hit our goal to offer the prize. 

That's it! Any questions, just ask. Good Luck!  

House of Monsters Kickstarter page

Here are some of the episodes planned:

• "The Famous Girl" - the Doctor's most celebrated creation ditches the spotlight to forge her own path.
• "Full Moon Fever" - bear witness to the most spectacular stop-motion werewolf transformation in the history of cinema! Also featuring singing and dancing creatures of the night.
• "Frank and the Zombie Girl" - Frank finds true love when the local village is over-run by zombies. Zombie Girl's inevitable decay puts a hitch in their budding romance.
• "Sasquatch vs. Yeti" - All bets are off when the furry brutes compete in feats of strength.
• "The Odd Couple" - The vampire and the mummy become unlikely roommates when the count's coffin is suspiciously compromised.

So, if you want to win a wonderful maquette, tell all your friends about this Kickstarter campaign! This maquette is normally only for pledges of $500 or more, so act now!

See more of Dawn brown's portfolio at DawnBrown.net and Warren Manser's portfolio at WarrenManser.com.

What do you think of the Kickstarter campaign? Would you support House of Monsters?

Official House of Monsters Synopsis
Mummies, Werewolves, Vampires, and all your favorite creatures of the night gather together for a stop-motion monster party!
Directed by Dawn Brown

Official Site: houseofmonstersmovie.com
Air Date: Apr 17, 2014
© Copyright 2014 The Monster Shop, Inc. All rights reserved

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Exclusive: BATMAN & ROBIN Set Designs, Concept Art and Storyboards by Timothy Burgard and Dawn Brown

Batman & Robin (1997) storyboard

Check out Batman & Robinset design and storyboards by Dawn Brown & Timothy Burgard!

Update: Tim was kind enough to send me some exclusive storyboards and let me know that the first set aren't from him. I'm not sure who the artist is though.
 

I'm going to start off this post by saying Batman & Robin is so campy it's terrible. Bad in a fun way, but terrible. That said, it's the most visually arresting Batman movies ever made. So, the design is really impressive to me. Two of the talented artists working on the film were Dawn Brown and Timothy Burgard.

Dawn Brown and Timothy Burgard are professional concept artists and set designers who've worked on Hollywood films like The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) and Rise of the Planet of the Apes(2011).

Read on to see blueprints from Batman & Robin for the Batcave and storyboards of the ice fight between Mr. Freeze's henchmen and Batman.



Tim Burgard Unknown

Tim Burgard (Thanks Tim!)

Dawn Brown (Thanks Dawn!)

See more of Dawn Brown's portfolio at www.dawnbrown.net and Timothy Burgard's amazing storyboards at www.timburgardart.com

Click on the links if you want to see more of Dawn Brown & Timothy Burgard's work or Batman & Robinon my blog.

What do you think of the set design and storyboards? If you've seen Batman & Robin what was your favorite part?

Some images via Comic Book Movie (Nailbiter111)

Official Batman & Robin Synopsis
The fourth outing in the popular movie franchise features yet another personnel change as George Clooney dons the mantle of the bat. Joel Schumacher directs for the second time as Batman (Clooney) and Robin (Chris O'Donnell) have to stop the vengeful Mr Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger) from taking over Gotham City by using his new ice weapon. To make matters worse, the venomous Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) decides to join forces with Freeze, so making an almost undefeatable double-whammy of a team. Luckily for the caped crusader and his rebellious ward, they are able to team up with a tough and courageous new partner - Batgirl (Alicia Silverstone).
Directed by Joel Schumacher
Cinematography by Stephen Goldblatt
Production design by Barbara Ling
Starring: George Clooney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Chris O'Donnell, Uma Thurman, Alicia Silverstone
Release Date(s): June 20, 1997 (United States)
Official Site: batman-robin.com/
© Copyright 2005 Warner Bros, All Rights Reserved


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Amazing HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE Concept Art by Dawn Brown

Check out The Hunger Games: Catching Fire concept art by Dawn Brown!

After already making $333 million, The Hunger Games sequel is a huge hit. The studio, Lionsgate Films, has already decided to take the third book "Mockingjay" and split it into two movies: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. This means that working on this film is like working on one long movie which creates a whole new set of challenges. One of the artists that are working hard on the movies is Dawn Brown.

Brown is a professional set designer, concept and costume artist who's worked on %Hollywood/big budget/blockbuster movies like Oz the Great and Powerful, Star Trek (2009) and The Last Airbender.

What's it like work on the sequel to one of the most popular movie series of all-time? Find out and check out designs for the Capitol hovercraft landing site, Capitol Theater, Arena, District 11 perimeter wall, and medical bay after the jump (click to enlarge).


Here's what Dawn said about working on the Hunger Games 2 movie.

"As far as challenges go, there were two main concerns." Dawn said, "The first challenge is keeping things new yet familiar the second (and third and forth) time around, and the second challenge is time.

"These films are coming out a year apart, so we really have to keep moving. And thankfully we have a very close art department. Phil Messina is the production designer, and I've been a part of his crew for many years. There's a kind of shorthand - an efficiency - that develops when the crew is all on the same page. We've been working very hard to establish a vocabulary, a stylistic foundation for Katniss' world. Once that foundation is established, we are free to build on it and push it and break it and make it bigger, better, cooler, with each film. There is definitely an effort to be respectful to the books, yet we want to surprise people with something new as well."

So, what's next for Dawn?
She said, "Next up, I worked on costume concepts for X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Transformers: Age of Extinction. I think those will be out next summer. I am also working on resurrecting House of Monsters. We may try Kickstarter again in the spring. Fingers crossed."

Here's hoping her Kickstarter campaign for House of Monsters 2 is an even bigger success than last time!

See more of Dawn Brown's work on the film at www.dawnbrown.net

Click on the links if you want to see more of Dawn Brown's work and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire on my blog.

What do you think of the concept art? If you've seen The Hunger Games: Catching Fire what did you think?


Official The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Synopsis
"THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark.  Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a “Victor’s Tour” of the districts.  Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) – a competition that could change Panem forever."
Directed by Francis Lawrence
Cinematography by Jo Willems
Production Design by Philip Messina
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland
Release date(s): November 11, 2013 (London premiere), November 22, 2013 (United States)
Official Site: http://www.catchingfiremovie.com/
© Copyright 2013 Lionsgate. All rights reserved

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How to Help Make HOUSE OF MONSTERS 2 by Dawn Brown and Warren Manser

Here's how you can be a part of a stop motion animation movie. I've done interviews with both Warren Manser and his wife Dawn Brown before. Now they're working on a sequel to their award-winning short film House of Monsters and you can help!

They started a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the sequel.

Find out more after the jump.



Here's a video of Dawn explaining what one dollar can buy for the project. She takes a single piece and follows it through the process to a final model.


Here's the description of the project.

CREATING STOP-MOTION MISCHIEF, ONE MONSTER AT A TIME!

Last year we made a little short film called House of Monsters. We hit the festival scene, won some awards, and had a blast. If you didn't catch it then, you can catch it now on YouTube. Inspired by the feedback from folks like YOU, we want to keep going with this and develop it into a series.

That means we need to have, y'know, more than one episode. We want to make a few episodes for a "pitch package" that will really sell our vision for this project. The ultimate goal is to get financing and distribution for an entire series of monster shorts.

That all starts with this first step. We would like to invite you to join us on this adventure in making the next episode of House of Monsters. It's a 7 minute stop-motion animated short called "Fun in the Sun" and tells a cautionary tale about a vampire who takes a little creative liberty to enjoy an afternoon in the sun.Everyone who pledges $5 and up will get to see the finished film online via private link. It ain't headed to YouTube for free. That wouldn't be fair to you and it could spoil our distribution opportunities.

The story is done! The character designs are done! The set designs are done! We've taken this as far as we can before jumping into the expensive stuff. House of Monsters creator Dawn Brown has assembled a small but mighty crew of Hollywood's most talented artists to help bring these monsters to life.

IT STARTS WITH $1 AND AN IDEA.

When you donate you get a whole bunch of cool stuff from stickers to t-shirts to beer steins.


Find out more on House of Monsters Kickstarter page and House of Monsters Facebook page

See more of Dawn brown's portfolio at DawnBrown.net and Warren Manser's portfolio at WarrenManser.com

What do you think of the project? Will you visit the Kickstarter page?

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Exclusive: Dawn Brown Talks About OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL Art

The new Sam Raimi film Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) had $150 million in opening weekend ticket sales around the world. The visual spectacle was the work of many, many artists. One artist that helped create the visuals for Oz is professional concept artist, and set designer, Dawn Brown Manser who's worked on big budget films like Star Trek, Watchmenand Alice in Wonderland. She shared some illustrations on her website and agreed to answer a few questions about working on the film.

Interestingly enough, she's the first concept artist nice enough to do an interview my blog! I'm always happy to have her back.

Find out what it was like working on this film after Alice, why the set was 2000 miles away and see the rest of the pictures after the jump.


Q: Thanks for doing this interview Dawn. How did you get involved in the production?
Most of this art department worked together on Alice in Wonderland. I was one of the first people brought on by production designer Robert Stromberg and supervising art director Stefan Dechant, also from Alice. It was nice that we already had a system in place how Robert likes to work.

Q: How much of the original source material (ex. Book or Wizard of Oz) were used in the designs?
It was very important to develop a look for the film that stands on its own.

Q: What was your favorite illustration?

I had two favorites, first was the treasure room. If for no other reason than the set was such a grand spectacle.

My other favorite was the crystal ball stand, it was challenging to find the right look for such an iconic prop. I ended up developing 30 options, (yipes!) and the director picked my favorite. (yeah!)

Q: Did you have any challenges on Oz the Great and Powerful and, if so, how did you overcome them?

One of the biggest challenges was that we were developing the film in Los Angeles, but the sets were being built in Pontiac, Michigan. I think we lost the opportunity to learn from what goes right and what goes wrong when you're 2000 miles away from the construction crew. The disconnect can be frustrating, but that seems to be the way things are done now. You either adapt to it or you stop working!

Q: How did this production compare with the similarly childhood story themed Alice in Wonderland?

As I mentioned before, this was most of the same art department crew from Alice, so we had a certain way of working already established. I really like everyone on the crew, we've all worked together many times before on other things. These guys are some of the most talented designers and artists in the film industry and I was humbled and inspired every single day.

Q: Thanks for the insights Dawn! Where will we see your work next? Are you working on any more short films?
My next projects are Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Ender's Game. Both will be released this fall, not sure which will come out first. [Editors Note: Ender's Game comes out November 1, 2013 and Hunger Games 2opens November 22nd] For Hunger Games, I worked on the sets, and for Ender's Game I worked on the costumes. Both were really fun projects and I'm looking forward to seeing how they look on the big screen. Last fall, I made a stop-motion short film called "House of Monsters" and it is currently on the film festival circuit! Hooray! Hope to get going on another one soon.

Watch the hilarious "House of Monsters" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPxRLtrofE4

More Oz concept art here: http://www.dawnbrown.net/

See more of Dawn Brown's illustrations and set designs at dawnbrown.net and read my otherinterview with Dawn Brown here.

@ Copyright YEAR STUDIO, ARTIST

Official Site: disney.go.com/thewizard

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What is An NDA or Non-Disclosure Agreement?

Alternate ending for Iron Man 2 by Ryan Meinderding

Whiplash says, "Don't release that concept art!" One thing that has a huge impact on my blog is the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) that studios use. Since I'm not in the industry, I'm an outsider looking in.

In some cases I find artists that have worked on a film years ago and there's no problem sharing the art.

Other times I know a movie is coming up and contact the artists. I know they can't reveal any details without approval from the show or until after it has been released. But I can at least line up the illustrations and interviews for the day the show opens.

For those outside Hollywood the question comes up: What is that thing anyway?

I contacted five major industry artists to find out what an NDA is and how it affects their work. They all said NDAs are a necessary part of the industry and it doesn't impact them unless they can't show their work.

Dawn Brown is a set designer and concept artist in the film industry for almost 20 years. She's worked on huge films like Star Trek (2009), Alice in Wonderland (2010) and the upcoming The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013).

Craig Shoji is a concept artist who's worked on blockbusters like Avatar (2009), Thor (2011) and Men In Black 3 (2012).

Nathan Schroeder is a conceptual artist in the movie industry that has a huge comic book pedigree with films like The Avengers (2012), X-Men (2000) and Star Trek (2009).

Rob McCallum has been a storyboard artist for almost 20 years in movies and television. You've seen his work on Falling Skies, 16 Blocks (2006) and Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004).

Andrew Probert is the legendary concept artist who helped create the DeLorean in Back to the Future (1985), The Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation and more. He has over 34 yeqars of experience in the industry.

What is an NDA?

Dawn Brown
"A Non-Disclosure Agreement is basically a confidentiality agreement between the employer and the employee. It requires that the employee not share any information they receive while working for the employer. In reference to concept artists working in the film industry, every studio asks us to sign one at the start of every single show. We must promise not to publicly discuss or share any artwork, designs, script info, etc. The term of the agreement typically ends when the feature film is theatrically released."

Craig Shoji
"I'd say it's a written, contractual agreement between (at least) two parties that infers that there will be 'confidential' material and information shared, and that neither party should 'disclose' any of that information to any entity outside of that contract.

"In film it's usually between an entity that's labeled the 'Producer' and one that's the 'Artist.'

"Although there aren't normally expiration dates on them, the producer usually determines when information can be shared to the public by first releasing it. Either through a public trailer, marketing material, the release of the movie, or a 'making of' book. I believe they still reserve the right to ask an artist to not publicly showcase any work created under that contract for whatever reason."

Nathan Schroeder
"An NDA is a non-disclosure agreement that we all sign whenever we start a new show.  It says we cannot reveal anything about the project we are working on (presumably until the film is released.) "

Rob McCallum
"I'd say an NDA is legal document you sign stopping you from telling anyone outside of the production- in this case- anything about the project so it's kept a secret. They are common on all jobs these days. You can't show work to anyone, you can't tell anyone details if it hasn't officially been released."

Andrew Probert
"An NDA is an agreement signed by a person who's hired to work on a project of which the producer does not want it's contents revealed to anyone not working on that project."

How does it affect your work?

Dawn Brown
"Personally, I think its perfectly reasonable for the studios to ask the crew not to spill the beans on their projects. As far as how it affects my work, the hard part is the giant lag time between when we wrap a show and it's theatrical release.

"For example, I finished Oz: The Great and Powerful last summer 2011, but I can't show anything until spring 2013. By the time I can add it to my portfolio, the artwork will be almost 2 years out of date!

"But that's the nature of the beast and most people understand this and play by the rules."

Nathan Schroeder
"It only affects us in that we can't post work on our website until a show comes out.  It can be a problem if a show goes down and is never released."

Andrew Probert
"The only way it affects my work is in not being able to use the materials I've provided (as works for hire) as work examples, to be shown to anyone outside of the project until (typically) that project has been released to the public."

Craig Shoji
"As far as how it affects me, it's usually a little bit of a bummer that I can't 'show off' the work that I create until a couple of years after they've been completed and the film is released.

"But internally, usually all the people who are in a position to hire me (producers, production designers) on the next film have come across that work in the pipeline, or are already familiar with my work and working with me. The producers and production designers that come across my work have most likely already signed an NDA with the studio or they're part of a company that has most likely signed off on the NDA (post production house, working on a sequel to the film, etc).

"So it's usually not a problem for establishing 'credibility' for finding work. And it's a necessary part of working on a creative property so I wouldn't hesitate to sign one that I've read through and OK'd."

See more of the artist's portfolios at their sites
Dawn Brown dawnbrown.net/
Rob McCallum mccallumart.com
Andrew Probert probertdesigns.com
Nathan Schroeder nathanschroeder.net
Craig Shoji pensketch.com

Did you learn anything about the industry? What do you think about NDAs?

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Build Your Own Star Trek Captain's Chair With Dawn Brown

Have you ever dreamed of sitting in Captain Kirk's chair? Well, now you can thanks to some detailed set design blueprints by artist Dawn Brown.

I usually don't feature set design, but couldn't resist this one.

They were done for the movie Star Trek (2009) and give all the elevations and measurements to build the captain's chair from the starship U.S.S. Kelvin.

 

For good measure you can also build a replica of the main helm console (con and ops) station.

See more of Dawn Brown's portfolio at DawnBrown.net

What do you think of the illustrations? Would you sit in the captain's chair?
 
@ Copyright 2009 Paramount Studios, Dawn Brown. All rights reserved

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Dawn Brown's The Last Airbender Concept Art

Yesterday, I shared an exclusive interview I did with Dawn Brown, one of the concept illustrators on The Last Airbender. She kindly sent over some awesome concept art from the film. These were listed as her favorite designs for the film.

Have you seen The Last Airbender. What did you think of her amazing set design for the film?

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