Millions of fans enjoy the Marvel Cinematic Universe content that we’ve received for more than a decade. We have the luxury of seeing the final product on screen, but there’s a lot of hard work that goes into the process. Much of it begins during the visual development stage, and at this year’s Lightbox Expo, several members of the department participated in a panel to explain exactly what they do for those interested in pursuing a career in the field.
In attendance were Jackson Sze, Ian Joyner, Holly Myer, Ryan Meinerding, Andy Park, Rodney Fuentebella, and Jana Schirmer. One big aspect of the job is character design including costuming. They create the initial concepts and work with the directors until they finalize everything. You can imagine the difficulty because every project has a new director and/or showrunner so it’s like having a revolving door of bosses.
The visual development department is also involved in devising props and logos as well as creating key frame illustrations for specific scenes. This is a more detailed process than regular storyboarding. Sometimes, they can incorporate practical ways for the eventual special effects in their art such as blending in green screen into a mask or costume. They can even pitch their own ideas. For example, Meinerding suggested Spider-Man’s eyes be emotive in his suit. It can be rewarding to see their work in the Marvel films and series since the final product usually isn’t too different from what they came up with. It’s even more satisfying to see people cosplay as their creations.
The amount of time they spend on each task can vary. The looks for Mighty Thor in Thor: Love and Thunder, Ant-Man in Civil War, and Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 were accepted rather quickly with minor modifications. The dark elves from Thor: Dark World were the hardest. They were open to interpretation because the comics versions were not as well known. It took over six months and 360 different slides until an image was approved. Ego was another difficult one because of the whole planet thing. The initial idea was for him to have a pulpy novel sci-fi feel and they eventually added a swashbuckler tone to him.
Is a position in the Marvel Visual Development department in your future? The panelists recommend including specific examples in your portfolio. First and foremost, much of the work is design so make sure you have samples that feature your ability to not just design characters and costumes, but also logos and props such as weapons and accessories. In addition, make sure you can capture likeness and resemblance because all the key frame art is supposed to represent what will be filmed, including the actors.
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