Stunning THOR: THE DARK WORLD and New X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Concept Art by Keith Christianson

 

Check out X-Men: Days of Future Past concept art by Kevin Christensen!

X-Men: Days of Future Pastdoesn't open till May 23, 2014, but concept art has already hit the Internet. These alternate designs for Wolverine and Professor Xavier's future costumes by Kevin Christensenare amazing and are a great taste of things to come.

Christensen is a professional concept artist who's worked on major hollywood films like Man of Steel (2013), Star Trek: Into Darkness (2013) and Marvel's the Avengers (2012). I always love his oil painting style.

X-Men: Days of Future Past

These Empire Magazine covers show what the costumes look like in the final film.

As a bonus, here an alternate costume for the "Warriors Three" from Thor: The Dark World.

See more of Kevin Christensen's marvelous portfolio at http://artofkc.com

Click on the links if you want to see more of Kevin Christensen's work, Thor: The Dark World or X-Men: Days of Future Past on my blog.

Via Superherohype Forum (xii22_loop) via Comic Book Movie (MarvelFreshman)

Official X-Men: Days of Future Past Summary
The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. The beloved characters from the original “X-Men” film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from “X-Men: First Class,” in an epic battle that must change the past – to save our future.
Directed by Bryan Singer
Cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel
Production Design by John Myhre
Starring: Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, Jennifer Lawrence, Ellen Page, Peter Dinklage, Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart
Release date: May 23, 2014 (USA)
Official Site: www.X-MenMovies.com
© Copyright 2014 20th Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment, Bad Hat Harry Productions, The Donners' Company, Simon Kinberg Production, 20th Century Fox. All rights reserved

Official Thor: The Dark World Summary
Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s Thor and Marvel’s The Avengers, Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano and Jaimie Alexander with Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Thor: The Dark World is directed by Alan Taylor, produced by Kevin Feige, from a story by Don Payne (credit not final) and screenplay by Christopher Yost and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (credit not final) and is based on Marvel’s classic Super Hero Thor, who first appeared in the comic book Journey into Mystery“ #83 in August, 1962.
Thor: The Dark World is presented by Marvel Studios. The executive producers are Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Stan Lee, Victoria Alonso, Craig Kyle and Nigel Gostelow. The film releases November 8, 2013, and is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.
Directed by Alan Taylor
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo, Anthony Hopkins
Release date: November 8, 2013 (USA)
Official Site: http://marvel.com/thor
© Copyright 2013 Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. All rights reserved
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Exclusive: MAN OF STEEL Costume Concept Art and Interview by Keith Christensen

 See the gorgeous Kryptonian costume illustrations by Keith Christensen for the Man of Steelmovie.

Man of Steelhas been out for a while, and the art book Man of Steel: Inside the Legendary World of Superman was released back in June. But these are the first time high-resolution images have been seen and the artist identified.

Keith Christensen is a professional costume concept artist on films like Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), The Avengers (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man (2012).

He told me what it was like working on such an intimidating project, and how a famous architect influenced the costume design.  Check out the rest of the pictures after the jump and click to enlarge.


Maurice Mitchell: It's great to finally talk to you Keith. What did you spend most of your time designing for this movie?
Keith Christensen: The bulk of my work was generating concept art for Kryptonian costumes, and in particular Kryptonian armor. Jor-El's costume changes as well as Zod, Faora,, Carvex, Toran, Jaxer,the Sapphire Guards, and a handful of Kyptonian soldiers kept me employed for about 7 months.

MM: The costume designs are amazing and I know you had a big part in it. What was the hardest part for you in illustrating the costumes by Michael Wilkinson?
KC: The hardest part was working out the Kryptonian 'look'? The costume designer [Michael Wilkinson] kept pushing for something strange and different, while referencing 16th century armor. He wanted a future/past blend that felt both alien and historical. You needed to feel like there was a culture behind the decadence… a real sense of history.

After hearing that Art Nouveau was influencing the art dept., I introduced the costume designer to the decorative motifs of Louis Sullivan, an early twentieth century architect that was a contemporary of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Sullivan's work always looked alien to me, and it seemed like the perfect inspiration for Kryptonian design. After illustrating a large swatch of Sullivanesque shapes and lines, I started incorporating those elements into costume and armor designs that were already in process.

When I saw the film, it was pretty exciting to see how faithfully the designs were translated into both practical and digital costumes.

MM: Over time I really have been amazing by how closely the film matches the art. Where can we see your work next?
KC: Recent projects include Star Trek: Into Darkness, Oblivion, After Earth, G.I. Joe Retaliation, Thor: The Dark World, The Amazing Spiderman 2 (2014), David Fincher's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), and Tomorrowland (2014). Currently I'm working on Man of Steel 2, and Star Wars 7.

MM: It sounds like you've been kept busy! What do you remember from working on the project?
When I got the call to interview for the job, I was nervous. I grew up loving the Christopher Reeve/ Richard Donner Superman, and to be part of the reinvisioning of such an American icon was exiting and overwhelming.

At the end of the day, we all realized that we weren't saving lives, but the emotional baggage from childhood, combined with with the  ego issues of a creative group effort, can create some uniquely frustrating situations.

Arguments over which aspect of Faora's costume took priority, sexiness or Kryptonian-ness. Should Superman wear red panties? No straight lines on Krypton? Really? And the ultimate bone of contention… who has departmental jurisdiction over the 'S'?

In hindsight, it all seems rather trivial, but if we weren't passionate in the moment, the motivation would've been lost.

I also have some very dramatic photos of me wearing Superman's cape.

See more of Keith Christensen's portfolio at http://www.artofkc.com.

Click on the links if you want to see more of Keith Christensen's work and Man of Steel on my blog.

What do you think of the illustrations?

Official Man of Steel Synopsis
From Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures comes "Man of Steel," starring Henry Cavill in the role of Clark Kent/Superman, under the direction of Zack Snyder ("300,""Watchmen"). The film also stars three-time Oscar® nominee Amy Adams as Daily Planet journalist Lois Lane, and Oscar® nominee Laurence Fishburne as her editor-in-chief, Perry White. Starring as Clark Kent's adoptive parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent, are Oscar® nominee Diane Lane and Academy Award® winner Kevin Costner. Squaring off against the superhero are two other surviving Kryptonians, the villainous General Zod, played by Oscar® nominee Michael Shannon, and Faora, Zod's evil partner, played by Antje Traue. Also from Superman's native Krypton are Lara Lor-Van, Superman's mother, played by Ayelet Zurer, and Superman's father, Jor-El, portrayed by Academy Award® winner Russell Crowe.

Official Site: manofsteel.warnerbros.com

Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Russell Crowe
Cinematography by Amir Mokri

Release Date: June 14, 2013

© Copyright 2013 Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures, Syncopy. All rights reserved

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STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS Spacesuit, Klingon and Alien Concept Designs by Constantine Sekeris, Neville Page and Keith Christensen

Update: Corrected the credit for one artist
Get a good look at costume designs for Kirk's spacesuit, the Klingon uniform and aliens that didn't make it into Star Trek Into Darkness.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) is a global hit selling $181,537,381 in tickets in the U.S. alone. Costume Designer Michael Kaplan brought Constantine Sekeris, Christopher Ross and others in to help concept the designs.

Check out the rest of the pictures after the jump and click to enlarge.

Kaplan told Clothes on Film that designing the first film was about feeling correct to today’s audiences of ‘Trekkies’ and general moviegoers. This time, that had been done so they moved forward with a darker tone and costumes reflect that world.

First, here are some shots from the film.

Spock's Volcano Suit

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Volcano Suit" by Christopher S. Ross  Keith Christensen

The design of the volcano suit and space suits were a challenge. "They were all built by Film Illusions, and worked without a snag." Kaplan added, "These were not simple costumes, since ventilation, cooling, audio and lighting systems were necessary. The actors’ comfort and safety were always our second concern.

"Spock's suit is to protect him from the heat of the volcano." Kaplan told the Guardian "I'd never seen a space suit in copper, and I think copper's very beautiful. I went for the look more than the correct reasoning. Copper is probably the worst material to use when you're trying to protect yourself against heat. There needed to be ventilation in the helmet so that it didn't fog up, so that Zachary Quinto wasn't perspiring."

Kirk's and Khan's Space Jump Suit

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Space Jump Suit" by Constantine Sekeris

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Cumberbatch's Space Suit" by Christopher S. Ross Keith Christensen

Klingon Designs

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Klingon Costumes" by Constantine Sekeris

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Klingon Costumes" by Unknown

"The helmets address a lot of the features the Klingons have without having to show them." Michael Kaplan said, "You kind of know they're Klingons because they have those foreheads … even when they're wearing their helmets you can tell."

Alien Designs
Here are some alien designs that didn't make it into the film.

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) "Alien Designs" by Neville Page and Michael Kaplan (with Constantine Sekeris)


See more of Constantine Sekeris' portfolio at http://constantinesekerisdesign.blogspot.com, Neville Page's at http://www.nevillepage.com and Keith Christensen IMDb page.

Official Synopsis
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organisation has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

Pioneering director J.J. Abrams delivers the explosive action thriller Star Trek Into Darkness, following on from the international box office success of Star Trek in 2009. Featuring a stellar cast including Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, Alice Eve, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Bruce Greenwood, Noel Clarke and Peter Weller.

Official Site: StarTrekMovie.com

Director: J.J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, Bruce Greenwood, Benedict Cumberbatch, Peter Weller

What do you think of the illustrations?

© Copyright 2013  Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, Bad Robot. All rights reserved

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