Feng Zhu

[Production Designer]

Meet Feng Zhu.

Founder of Zhu Design Inc. (1999), and known also, for his 12 years independent contribution to the
entertainment industry.
His most prolific work involved collaborating with Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Sony, Activision, Warner
Brothers, Lucas Film, Bay films etc., with movie, game, commercial and toy production design.
Such work includes Transformers with Michael Bay, Star Wars III- Revenge of the Sith with Lucas,
Tron Evolution with Disney, Sims 3 with EA Maxis, Dead Space with EA Vancouver, etc.
Hes also known for opening the Feng Zhu Design School of Entertainment Design, (2009), in
Singapore, in response to the high demand of designers and the fast growing CG and Visual Effects
industry, within Asia [i].
The entertainment industry is exploding here in Asia. Im excited to be part of this growth and
Singapore is the perfect location to establish our design school. Together with 3dsense and the
Singapore government, we hope to elevate the design industry here and make a huge impact on the
over-all educational system.
Ive chosen this artist to see what it means to be a production designer, or someone who makes
production art within the body of concept art. Using his work as reference so to discuss and look at
future work processes I could use for next years project. Post-What If? Metropolis.

i.
Examples of some of his students work, as posted recently on
his blog: http://fengzhudesign.blogspot.co.uk/
More can be found on the school site:
http://fzdschool.com/

Sen Lai, Director, 3dsense Media School, said, The partnership with Feng Zhu for FZD School of
Entertainment Design marks a new milestone in the history of Singapore's CG and Media landscape.
Feng brings with him massive industry experiences at the highest level from Hollywood, and by
starting a school here in Singapore not only ensures the long term sustainability of the labor force
eco system for the media industry, but also makes Singapore a very attractive and viable place for
the CG and Visual Effects industry.

Production Art differs from Concept Art, in that its

specifically used to illustrate the mechanics so to help
in the physical production stage. Further down the
line.
This means exploring the textures, what the design is
made of, how its made and how it works technically.
The more believable an object, creature, building
(etc.), the better the designs tend to be.
The intention being that the production designer can
unify the final, overarching, visual concept of the film.
To do this, they often work quite closely with director,
and oversee each stage during the pre-production
stage, to help translate their concept into visual
design, (concept designs, the
compositions/storyboards, or and set designs when
crystallising the final physical product etc.), and
eventually a physical product.
It seems the key is to work with the viewers own ideas
and imagination, to have them picture how it works
themselves. To have them in some way, contribute to
the world your creating.
We can see here the visual difference between a
production piece and a concept drawing.
Often the formers meant to translate clear information
about how we might go about creating this work [ii],
(whether this be reconstructing it in a 3D
environment, or in context of the overarching story)
While the concept attempts to capture the mood and
feel of the overall scene [iii].

ii. (1)

iii. (2)

Production Designers are major heads of department on film crews, and are responsible for
the entire Art Department. They play a crucial role in helping Directors to achieve the film's
visual requirements. The look of a set or location is vital in drawing the audience into the story,
and is an essential element in making a film convincing and evocative. A great deal of work and
imagination goes into constructing an appropriate backdrop to any story. (Skillset, 2010)

iv. (3)

Combination of both concept and production in one of the composition made for
the Star Wars III, Revenge of the Sith preproduction art.

In relation to Feng Zhus own work, we have here a collection of

designs that illustrate how textures are marked, and presented
clearly for the next stage of production. Often we use our own
knowledge as a means of understanding new vehicles, or
structures, whether it be from existing sci-fi conventions. Or
existing structures that exists as part of our culture.
His orthographs designs give the viewer a better idea of the same
components from different angles [V], and, as seen below [VI],
these components can be separated so everything is identified
[even the smallest things that are part of the bigger design].

v.

vi.

Values and Presentation.

Feng Zhus work process involves discussing ideas with the main director, and making quick thumbnails in his own personal sketchbooks [Vii], to try
and figure out ideas (not to show to the client completely for myself. Just to get as many ideas on paper).
Often the designs that best illustrate the world hes helping to make are then reproduced in his presentation sketchbook [viii], made purely for the
purpose of professionalism, to help promote his designs to the director.
The paper is brownish to allow a more diverse tonal value, (i.e. white highlights, that wouldnt normally be applied since it wouldn't show up on most
sketchbooks were familiar with).
Using tonal values helps give more of a sense of the space, scale and texture of the character, creature or landscape youre attempting to create.
It can also indicate the reflectivity of that texture/surface- having a tight specular highlight (indicating plastic, water etc). While a duller tonal value, a
more organic creature or muted surface, as captured in Zhus spider drawing,[ix] as seen below).

vii.
ix.

viii.

[Feng Zhu explains his work process, across different stages of pre-production in more depth on his youtube channel, which I
found was worth checking out.
Fengs YouTube channels doesnt focus on the fundamentals as much as the others, however he shows more of the process
that he goes through as a designer for making concepts, at his school he says that they focus on the fundamentals so he
avoids it on his YouTube channel. Feng first started as a designer, work with companies such as LucasFilms, Warner Bros. and
he had also worked with James Cameron. ]

X.
Alternatively, as seen on his page (http://fengzhudesign.com/gallery_page_24.htm), we can also present work across a single spread. Here we see variations in
designs, alternative views (orthography), and experimentation in the texture, colour and general feel of the world hes attempting to create. The very page itself
seems to enforce that.

Colours and Light.

An example would be Star Wars III, where across the most of the films has an obvious emphasis on good and bad as represented by colours.
The use of white in show an almost clinical cleanliness of the death star and storm troopers, that appear detached from humanity [XI] (destroying planets
without blinking an eye),

sits as a stark contrast to

the emotional turmoil of
Anakin [XII]. Particularly
when seen in the burnt
waste land of Mustafar,
before falling into the
molten pit of lava, the
blazing red contrasts.
Additionally that same
white juxtaposes as well
against the earthly, beiges
and green tones of the Jedi
attireand even the dusty
Tatooine where Anakin was
born.
Each one seems to
represent for each
aspect/group. Though
colour can be brought down
to a single palete as well.

XII.

XI.

Materials and Mark-making.

iV.

In the context of concept art, production art

can also be used to show these textures in play,
alongside the general feeling that intended to
be in that scene.
Notice here, how we can get a sense of
distance, and rocky texture. The way the rock
then dips back with its almost manmade
looking engraved, inclined surface.

Note his use of paintbrushes to achieve

different/certain effects. This green
settlement has a soft, fuzzy look to the wild
grass growing across its surface. We can
almost feel the sponginess, and could
imagine how our hand presses down on it.
Id tried in my own project to show texture
through specific brush marks, as seen above,
though I dont believe I captured the chalky
texture as successfully as I could of.
I need to identify more how and what makes
a surface look the way it does (and how can I
capture this better, in my own designs).

Angles and Space.

i.

i.

Another thing thats important in his production design is to clearly

indicate the scale of whatever hes visualising.
This can be done either by 1-using comparison between something
we have a set idea of (could be a car from our world, i.e. or in this
case, a person, beside the design), so to show their relation in size.
Or 2- using aerial perspective and varying tonal ranges (i.e. a lack of
detail the greater the distance), to help push the image back and
give a sense of distance.
Additionally, use of line, leading into the picture (space, and general
feel of image/style of place), can help give a sense for those who
may be working from it (3D modellers. i.e), the intended scale.
Additionally the weight of the line, also can help indicate the weight
of the object- again defining the mass of that physical object.

i.

Note the use of Foreground, Midground and background, to give the impression of scale, and recession in the image.

Designing also means a lot of exploration and varying designs to get to get the final version. Whether it be a building, creature, landscape, character etc. Whatever
best captures the mood, and original intention.
Sometimes however, budget can be quite restrictive, so its not always possible to keep the finalised product as close as youd like to what youd wanted. Feng Zhu
here, explains how this impacted upon one of his projects:
Often we worked on something we called bid projects, which is when the studios have a script idea but dont know what it is going to look like. Until they do, it is
very hard to get that project made. So they go to a studio like Blur to visualize the concept and the first person that this kind of job lands on is the concept guy.
For the Tutenstein project I read the pitch and it was about a little kid that had died a long time ago in Egypt and who is being shown in a museum. Somehow at
night, he wakes up and hes got little cat with him, and they control everything in the museum. It sounded like a very cool idea for a kids show and reminded me a
little bit of Calvin and Hobbes, because Calvin also has a cat or tiger and they do imaginary friends stuff. So I liked that because Calvin and the Hobbes is my
favourite comic.
The original concept for this project was actually going to be in 3D, I believe, but the real show ended up being done in flash or 2D. When I designed it, I added a lot
of details to make sure that it was very iconic and would appeal to kids. But there was also a bit of evilness in there for the older generation. It was quite fun, but I
think the final product strayed a little bit away from the original idea, mostly, I believe, due to budget.

Progression in design stages, when creating a concept design with production art elements.

So whats the standard process for you when you come to do a concept? Do you start off traditionally then move to the computer or do you hit the Wacom first?
I guess its both. When I started from about 97 all the way to 2003, I was working traditionally,
meaning I was drawing on paper and finishing stuff on paper. But in about June or July of 2003, I made the decision to completely switch over to digital. This was mainly for efficiency
reasons because in our industry, the saying that time is money is very, very true. If you can deliver something fast that also looks good then you can make more income that way.
Working on a computer increases your speed tremendously because you have things like the ability to texture, to undo and all these brushes so you dont have to carry around
equipment. It was very hard at first, but after about three months I felt like paper was no longer necessary. So I actually havent drawn a single thing on paper for professional reasons
since, I guess, 03. For the past six years, it has been all digital and everything, including the rough thumbnails, has been done on a Wacom.
Thats the beauty of digital art. Its something I call the first generation pass, which means a thumbnail to a rough to a final image can actually take place in the exact same drawing. You
can start something very rough, clean it up a little bit, paint on it and turn into a painting,
all from the initial sketch.

References.

http://www.designophy.com/newslog/design-article-1000001409-hollywood.s-leading-concept-designer-feng-zhu-to-launch-new-school-of-entertainmentdesign-in-singapore.htm

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=feng+zhu&rlz=1C1DSGZ_enGB647GB647&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=950&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwipur25s5fRAh
WRN1AKHdiGAtgQ_AUIBSgA&dpr=1

http://fengzhudesign.com/about.html

http://fengzhudesign.blogspot.co.uk/2015_03_01_archive.html

http://fengzhudesign.blogspot.co.uk/p/characters.html

http://fengzhudesign.com/images/gallery_image_446.jpg

http://blog.digitaltutors.com/understanding-difference-texture-maps/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0zl5NnEAyU

http://www.designophy.com/newslog/design-article-1000001409-hollywood.s-leading-concept-designer-feng-zhu-to-launch-new-school-of-entertainmentdesign-in-singapore.htm

https://nicholaswalsh96.wordpress.com/inspiration/culminating-artist-inspirations/

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/job-profiles/production-designer-theatre-television-film

http://fengzhudesign.com/about.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3lApsNmdwM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=129imhg6kys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhkfPiZfMMc

http://fengzhudesign.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/bugs-perspective-sketching.html

http://quanghieuart.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/interview-with-feng-zhu.html