One artist that has been really inspiring me for the past few months is Neill Blomkamp (IMDb, Wikipedia). Blomkamp is a 29 year old South African who has just made his first feature length film: District 9 (trailer 1, trailer 2). He started in the business at a very early age working in visual effects. He did visual effects for small animation studios (working on such titles as , Stargate SG-1, Dark Angel, and Smallville), and made his own short films on the side. One short film; "Alive in Joburg" gained him fame. He eventually started directing commercials for large companies and music videos (a round up of some of his work - a few have been removed). In 2005 he was offered the director's chair for the Peter Jackson produced Halo live action movie. Blomkamp created a very popular short film titled "Halo: Landfall," showcasing what he could do with the film. Despite having huge fan support the movie fell apart due to alleged funding issues (no one wanted to fund a $125 mil + videogame adaptation) and possible problems with the script. Knowing what a talent Jackson had under his wing he offered to produce another movie conceived and directed by Blompkamp. Jackson's wife Fran Walsh suggested Blomkamp adapt his popular short "Alive in Jo'burg" into a feature length film. District 9 was born.
Blomkamp has actually been inspiring me since 2006 when my brother showed me one of his shorts; Tetra Vaal, a very impressive CGI robot cop in a third world country. Blomkamp appeals to me because he is such a great artist achieving things most of us can only dream of at such a young age. He has a vision unlike any director before him. His big ideas involve technology and sci-fi, culture, and human identity. District 9 isn't the first time he's worked with ideas of what it means to be human, if all humans have the same rights, and whether only humans have rights. He has a great video called Tempbot that deals with a robot temp agent working a desk job at a company. The robot deals with human interaction and is in many ways treated as a human. I find his work inspiring because it deals with tough issues like these. Many questions arise, such as; what does it mean to be human? can robots be treated as people? do robots have the same rights as humans? how about aliens, do they have rights and human qualities? Many of these questions come up in District 9 but it is up for the viewer to decide. I've seen the movie twice now and I think I liked it even more the second time.
*Spoilers*
I'm considering using these themes in my final project. One idea I have is to make my face half human, and half alien like the lead in District 9 near the end.
*End Spoilers*
A digital artist that has recently gotten me excited about art is Daniel Kvasznicza (deviantART, IMDb, Professional Site). Kvasznicza shows what a true professional in the digital arts can achieve. He's worked on several films (e.g. 300 and Beverly Hills Chihuahua) and videogames (e.g. Fallout 3 and Assassin's Creed 2) as a matte painter. His work appeals to me on many levels. He's has an immense amount of talent and can create art that looks and feels lifelike. He works with big ideas that I really enjoy, such as sci-fi, fantasy, and cityscapes (maybe a theme). Everytime I view his work I'm inspired to think big and aim for something spectacular.
Links to some of my favorite of his artwork:
AION Asmodia
Fallout 3 - DC
Speedpaint: Green hills
ORBIT
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