"Edge Of Tomorrow" Concept Art Reveals Some Surprising Details

Edge Of Tomorrow has been out for two weeks now, so it seems safe to finally pull the curtains on some concept art. It's been slowly trickling out, with some massive releases by industry concept artists Kev Jenkins and Tim Browning, who have worked on features including World War Z, 47 Ronin, Thor 2- The Dark World just to name a few. For anyone wondering, the movie was pretty decent- kind of resembling a mashup of Groundhog Day and Starship Troopers, in the best way possible.

Some of the early concept art revealed some truly curious information, including this pitch image above with a different name- All You Need Is Kill. This prompted a little research, which brought up some truly surprising information about the origins of Edge Of Tomorrow's intriguing concept.

"Fetch" - A Very Short Film

Created by François Gilliot and produced by François Beaune, Fetch is an awesome little animated short created to test the abilities of an awesome piece of tech called 'Appleseed.' The software is an open source rendering platform for artists, and it's pretty damn impressive to see that it was able to generate cinematic quality visuals. In this case it's a stylized retelling of the classic Little Red Riding Hood fable with a fun little twist thrown in at the end. For anyone working on some CG animated shorts, you can check out Appleseed over here.

One Pilot's Final Journey In "The Last Travel"

In this introspective animated short, we witness an elderly man contemplating his long history- His past career as a pilot, his long gone flame and the present that he lives in. Executed in a striking CGI style, it's one of those slower paced but captivating animated shorts that come around with increasing rarity as of late.

The Last Travel is a short animated movie which invites us to discover a retired airman getting ready for his last flight. Nostalgic glance, Vintage pictures and music plunges us into a moving atmosphere. Eyes filled with emotion, he devotes to his ultimate journey as a pilot...

"Paddington Bear" Trailer Is Anything But Adorable

This post might be more catered to European audiences due to the prevalance of Paddington Bear as a childhood book overseas, but think of him as a foreign Winnie The Pooh equivalent. Based off of Michael Bond's series which spawned with 1958's a A Bear Called Paddington, it seems like a hybrid CG/live action adaptation is in the works as evidenced by this initial trailer.

The problem is, whoever called the shots on the look of this film seems to have opted for the uncanny valley route- Choosing to adapt the adorable bear into an ultrarealistic CGI animal with no stylization whatsoever. As someone who grew up with the series, the design just begged to be adapted into an animated feature...Not this hybrid project with gross out humor and a creepy, dead eyed bear with a penchant for destruction.

This trend with toilet humor has been ongoing in the adaptation scene for a while, ranging from the rather terrible Alvin And The Chipmunks movies, Marmaduke and even the ill fated Hong Kong Phooey movie attempt. To think that this low brow formula will be applied to an adorable, marmalade loving bear who was always well known for his politeness makes me appreciate Disney's respect for their movie adaptations of beloved characters. The Paul King (Mighty Boosh) directed feature is expected to hit theaters in the UK and US around the holiday season of this year.

If you want to get a good idea as to how the public reacted, check out the Creepy Paddington Tumblr that's been set up in honor of this trailer.

Dye - "She's Bad" (NSFW)

Juan de Guillebon aka Dye enlisted the help of outlandish filmmaking duo Dent de Cuir to execute this cautionary tale about the dangers of dealing with a femme fatale. By using some creative visual masking we're made to realize just what kind of intentions lurk under the surface of this predatory seductress versus her prey, portrayed as an innocent lamb.

Dye's distinct brand of electro pop is front and center in She's Bad, with plenty of distorted synth that goes perfectly with the rather messed up finale of the track. Enjoy.

"Leucotopia" - Aka One Of The Most Bizarre Animated Shorts We've Ever Seen

A giant blue man driven by headless chickens through the path of life. That's all we were given to go off of when we received Leucotopia, a truly one of a kind premise about a series of chickens attempting to pilot a massive humanoid construct on an alien planet.

There's no explanation given as to why most of the chickens commanding the construct are lacking heads or what the true purpose of their mission is, but ultimately they're forced to realize that they are nothing more than parasites in the grand scheme of things. Directed by Mehdi Louala, Geoffrey Godet, Nicolas Lejeune, Céline Hermann and Simon Legrand, Leucotopia is one trippy journey from start to finish.

Something Is Amiss In "Anorak"

Produced at the Bristol School of Animation, Anorak is a highly compressed animated mystery- following a pig slowly realizing that something is terribly amiss in his coastal town. As his neighbors slowly start to go missing, he can no longer ignore the strange screams echoing off in the distance.

Anorak is in reference to the jacket that the protagonist wears in this town, a slang word for parka. The surreal vibes of this animated short emanated ultimately reminded me of something that Dave Lynch would come up with, a la Twin Peaks.

The Art Of Fenryk

(Via)

Awesome art find! Fenryk is the alias for Efrain Farlas, an amazing artist and illustrator currently employed in the animation industry - Where she currently enjoys working as a color stylist on Steven Universe and an art director for Bee & Puppycat.

Her colorful art reflects a deep understanding of color, executing some very complex yet always harmonious color palettes in her work. Farlas' work consists mainly of awesome fanart and tribute pieces, including an absolutely amazing (And adorable) Bayonetta/Okami mashup that you can check out after the break alongside other really cool pieces.

"Escudo" Painting Timelapse By Joao Ruas

One of my favorite artists I've had the chance to run into since starting AwesomeRobo, the Sao Paolo based Joao Ruas (Who also goes by monickers like 'Souvlaki Space Station' and 'Feral Kid') seems to finally be branching off into gallery work. Sponsored by Urban Nation Berlin and Thinkspace gallery- Escudo is a timelapse painting that also offered some surprising insight into Joao's process.

Mainly it comes down to scale- From what we understood Joao tended to work with a traditional lineart foundation with a digital pass on top, but this piece features a massive lineart piece executed with Joao's signature color palette on top, with acrylics from the looks of it. The end result has a similar vibe to his Fables covers, and is incredibly fascinating to watch from start to finish.

Amnesty International Delivers A Powerful Message With "Pens"

Using a very novel visual approach to deliver their message, director Omar Senturk collaborated with Troublemakers.TV and studio One More to deliver Pens - A powerful short commissioned by Amnesty International regarding stand up for basic human rights.

Inspired by the pinpression toys that took on the shape of any object placed under it, Pens is a direct reference to the power of a signature to change our fates for the better and prevent abuses from occurring. Featuring the fantastic track Iron Sky by Paul Nutini, Pens encapsulates the essence of Amnesty International's primary directive - inspiring people to defend their fundamental human rights.

The Art Of Ranbararu

(Via)

Ranbararu is a Japanese concept artist and illustrator hailing from the Chiba prefecture, and his work brings back memories of what I like to call the 'Good ole days' of Capcom. The days in which Street Fighter 3 - Third Strike was the hottest thing around and Capcom didn't shun some of their more creative and niche franchises like Breath Of Fire, Megaman and Rival Schools. The concept art coming out of the studio back in Capcom's heyday was really loose but always cool.

Ranbararu channels that vibe, with plenty of artwork that emulates that retro Capcom look and level of stylization that the studio had at it's prime. Speaking of which, Udon is planning to release the Art of Capcom: Complete Edition book which will contain art from that era I'm referencing (Late 90's, Early 2000's), so I'd recommend picking that up when it's released on July 23. More of Ranbararu's work after the break!

Annecy 2014 - "Coil"

Coil follows a similar theme as another Annecy 2014 entry, Hors Champ with the World War I theme- This time following an army dog in 1917 trying to lay out a telegraph cable across a lit up battlefield to the other side of the front. Coil was created by Charles Badiller, Eva Lusbaronian Juliette Peuportier, Julie Robert and Arnaud Tribout.

Annecy 2014 - "Massif"

Massif sees us witnessing a massive awakening of large land colossi during an average golf game, and their quick convergence towards a meeting point in order to deliver their message to the heavens above. Animated by Caroline Cherrier, Sarah Dhorne, Hugues Opter, Vincent Tsui and Shang Zhang.

Annecy 2014 - "String"

String is a brief but visually stimulating acrobatic spectacle with plenty of shadow play and a puppeteering theme throughout- With a variety of performers being driven by the offscreen strings that allow them to execute their graceful movements. Animated by Pierre Bassil, Perrine Bayssat, Yannick Boireau, Mansoureh Kamari and Isabelle Piolat.

Von Pariah's - "Skywalking"

Taken from the Von Pariah's first album titled 'Hidden Tensions,' Skywalking offers us a seriously fun invitation to join a very one of a kind flight through the skies of a post apocalyptic realm. Starting off with a zombie pilot awakening and stumbling back into his role that he held in a previous life, the rest of the cabin follows suit until they encounter the Von Pariah's in the sky. The music video was directed by Simon Gesrel and produced by Groupuscule & Manual Cam.

Annecy 2014 - "Hors Champ"

Hors Champ (Off camera) takes a much darker, grittier tone in it's approach by recreating a World War I style scene, complete with the 1:1 aspect ratio hearkening to camera technology of that era. Faceless men huddle together in the trenches, desperate rushes are made into oncoming fire, and eventually the camera man meets his maker as well.

The sound treatment for such a bite sized short was especially cool, going for a mostly silent route until a bullet makes contact with it's intended target. Directed by Hugo De Faucompret, Arthus Pilorget Pierre Pinon, Ravit Johan and Valentin Stoll.