Neuromancer Sequence

Back in 2006 my very talented friend and director Joseph Kahn was busy developing the movie version of William Gibson's Neuromancer. This was a tough one because Neuromancer is the source of what are now clichés in sci-fi films: The Matrix, Jacking in, Virtual Reality. They're all concepts originally introduced in Neuromancer. The challenge was to make it all fresh and exciting. What you see below is an action sequence that I did for Joe.

The process that I used was kinda nuts: First I would pencil on this paper I found in France called "Maxi". The pads are now available here in the states. (Let the jokes begin). 

What's great about this paper is that it's pretty durable. It'll take multiple processes and keep its composure.

The next step I would do was ink wash. To do this, I'd use a watercolor pallet like this one:

I'd put a drop of ink in each circle, then add water progressively to each. One drop in the first, two in the second, three in the third..(you get the idea) Then I would have 10 values to do the wash in. Here's where the paper's durability came into play. After I'd do the wash, the paper would shrink, buckle up and become a wrinkled mess. Not a problem. I'd let it dry, then I would, using copy paper and t-shirts as a barrier, iron the wrinkled art. When I was done ironing, a completely flat and smooth piece would come out. I'd let it cool off and go right into inking all of the details. Then add blacks, and white effects, and voila!

I hope you enjoyed a peek into how this one was done.

Until next time....

~FRAGABOOM!