The Tower
2018
Digital, Film
“It is a time of Warring States within the territory of the former Empire.
A reconnaissance scout explores a derelict tower during a routine mission within a forsaken desert simply known as “The Redlands”…”
The Tower is an experimental animatic and motion comic taking place within a Hellenistic-Cyberpunk world.
Stills
Design Process
Originally titled The Red Necropolis, The Tower aims to accomplish two challenges: tell a story without spoken dialogue nor even text of any kind, and create a motion comic prototype within one week.
Visually and thematically, The Tower is inspired by Luc Besson’s debut feature Le Dernier Combat, Mamoru Oshii’s Avalon, the Metal Gear Solid: Digital Graphic Novel, and Ghost in the Shell.
The motive behind the “Hellenistic-Cyberpunk” setting is to create a unique world aesthetically distinct from others within the genre. The weapons depicted are based off late 20th-century weaponry, with visual modifications to match the aesthetic.
The visuals were created by drawing the assets with a pencil and brush marker. Later, these illustrations would be scanned and retouched in Photoshop and manipulated in AfterEffects. In addition, “sprites” would be created for a few scenes to accentuate an action—particularly for quick movement.
One of the aforementioned sprites
A collection of conceptual drawings
The Dunes of the Redlands: Illustrated background plate used in the final film
