ILLUSTRATION
2018

I've always been a superhero fan, grew up reading comics and still have a bin full of old classics. I took upon myself to draw a superhero character for each letter of the alphabet, created polls on my Instagram where followers could decide which comic book character I’d draw next. It turned out to be a ton of fun, I got to experiment with different illustration techniques and styles, not to mention it gave me practice drawing characters.

ADVERTISING
2016

"The Heineken Trailblazers spot is a feature-film scale project with the level of craft it required"
- Dirk Riesenfeld

Copied from article on AWN :
MJZ director Matthijs van Heijningen and a crew of 70 artists spread across the London, Amsterdam and Bangalore studios of MPC spent three months creating six intensely detailed worlds in this epic romp for Heineken thru Publicis Italy.

Dirk Riesenfeld, MPC Amsterdam VFX lead :"The Heineken Trailblazers spot is a feature-film scale project with the level of craft it required. It’s the type of project that every VFX artist wants to work on. Whilst immersing our audience into the extreme worlds – we had to keep reality at the front of people's minds.

"Just some of the tasks involved included building two entirely CG ships, which required extensive pre-vis before the shoot itself, a spacecraft – which van Heijningen wanted to shoot up close – and a sequence where the guys scale Mount Everest with a Himalayas backdrop. Not forgetting the feat of creating a 10,000-strong Roman army from a cast of 100 actors.

THEME PARK RIDE
2013

"Upon entering the visitor is immediately blown away by a never seen before thrill rides"
- Yannick Maes

The first of eight parks designed by KCC Entertainment Design has opened to the public after two years of design and construction. Wanda Nanjing Theme Park in China welcomed 260,000 visitors on the first day.

The indoor Theme Park contained 22 attractions that catered to all members of the family, and made the park a center of leisure experience. The park was closed Indefinitely before we had the chance to finish up the rides.

TRADING CARD GAME
2015

Take to the skies! Defend the freedom of your people in honorable combat, or fight dirty in search of power and glory. In SkyLords, a game of airborne jousting, the choice is yours. Will you overwhelm your opponent with force, or will you use cunning to strike at just the right instant? The game is about strategy, and only those who can adapt will survive.

After the heroes of the Crusades returned home, weary from war, they decided to settle their disputes with the ultimate form of combat: jousting tournaments where the fighters leap from great towers and clash in mid-air. The fates of many are decided in these tournaments. Do you have what it takes to become a Warrior of the Wind?

SkyLords is an exciting trading card game designed for short duels and quick games.  This core deck includes 26 ready-to-play cards. The rules are easy to learn, gameplay is fast and fun, and all you need to get started is a single core deck. Pick up your copy here.

SERIES
2015

"The Shannara Chronicles' is a step in the right direction for MTV and fantasy TV"
- Forbes

Based on the best-selling fantasy book series by Terry Brooks, "The Shannara Chronicles" follows heroes in the Four Lands as they embark on a quest to stop an evil Demon army from destroying the universe. Thousands of years after the fall of humankind, the world's fate rests on the shoulders of an unlikely trio: Elvin Princess Amberle, who dreams of a life outside of the palace walls; beautiful, wild and wily Human Rover Eretria, and half-elf Wil, who knows nothing of the great destiny that runs through his veins.

FILM
2013

"The design team was charged with creating an entirely new look for the Klingons."
- Bruno Werneck

In the first act of Star Trek Into Darkness, Captain Kirk and his crew journey to the Klingon planet of Kronos in order to hunt down a terrorist attacking Starfleet. In one of the film's most exciting action sequences, a landing party are chased through a decaying, abandoned city. The chase ends in a phaser battle between the landing party, the Klingons, and the terrorist they've been sent to hunt. Pixomondo, where I worked at the time, handled the entire sequence.

This film marks the first time in the rebooted Star Trek franchise that the Klingons make an appearance. Virtually nothing of the Klingons from past incarnations of Trek were carried over, so the design team was charged with creating an entirely new look for the Klingons, their weapons, armor, ships, and cities. Though the sequence is very fast, it took eight months working with J.J. Abrams and his team to develop the new look.

INDEPENDENT FILM
2013

"White Storm marks my first foray into filmmaking, and it was an enlightening experience."
- Bruno Werneck

After years of realizing other people's visions, my creative partners, John Juarez, Perry Kain, and I decided to take the time to breed something of our own. We created a three-part science fiction saga that charts the course of a dying civilization and the struggle to revive it.

These dramatic adventure stories follow the people of the planet Veridia. At the peak of their golden age, they discover their world is dying. In order to survive their coming extinction, they must push their technology, and themselves, to the limit.

White Storm Saga is told in three stand-alone segments. In each, our heroes must persist in the face of chaos to battle the greatest threat of their, or any, generation. The fast pace of each chapter is designed to tell a compelling story while appealing to a wide audience, playing on themes of family and friendship on the precipice of disaster.

The concept trailer was created by me, in conjunction with amazingly talented and resourceful artist John Juarez, and with the help of VFX producer Perry Kain. White Storm marks my first foray into filmmaking (Yay!), and it was an enlightening experience. I learned a lot about the process, and it gave me a greater respect for the creators I work with on the job.

For more information on licensing White Storm Saga, click here.

FILM
2012

"The ship had to be high-tech yet made from earthy, organic materials. It had to be futuristic but still be recognizable as a space shuttle."
- Bruno Werneck

When filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan needed help designing the Hesper spaceship from After Earth, he turned to Pixomondo.  Aside from the basic shape, the ship hadn't been Look Deved. It had to be high-tech yet made from earthy, organic materials. It had to be futuristic but still be recognizable as a space shuttle. It took a few iterations, but eventually we got it right. The director wrote a personal thank-you note to the team, praising the work we did for his film.

VIDEOGAME
2011

"Every level had to look good not only from the low-level perspective of a foot soldier, but also from the cockpit of a Titan, several stories off the ground."
- Bruno Werneck

After many years of making gritty military shooters, Respawn Entertainment branched out with Titanfall, a sci-fi multiplayer shooter with a twist: on-demand giant mechs. Call down a giant walking tank, and suddenly the battlefield completely changes. It's a great game concept that presented some interesting challenges. Every level had to look good not only from the low-level perspective of a foot soldier, but also from the cockpit of a Titan, several stories off the ground.

This all had to work with a design aesthetic that was part-heavy industrial, part-Constructivist Russian, evoking a frontier society, carving a living for itself away from the comfort of Earth. This very specific combination of elements made the project very challenging, but also very fun.

FILM
2010

"Digital Domain is a top notch VFX house, always raising the bar for what's possible in movies, which encouraged me to do my very best."
- Bruno Werneck

Working at Digital Domain was a great learning experience. They are a top-notch VFX house, always raising the bar for what's possible in movies, which naturally encouraged me to do my very best. While working there, I had opportunities to contribute to some of the biggest projects in Hollywood.

During a break from Tron: Legacy, I helped create the look for the unforgiving ice planet Jotunheim, realm of the Frost Giants, for Marvel's epic fantasy Thor. The initial designs resembled Superman's Fortress of Solitude (from the 1978 film), but eventually, under the guidance of VFX Supervisor Kelly Port, the team created the harsh landscape that served as the setting for an epic battle. The final sequence is a combination of live actors, CG characters, real sets, and digital set extensions.

BOOK ILLUSTRATION
2012

"This project was a dream come true. I got to work on Star Wars. Specifically, the 'war' part."
- Bruno Werneck

One of the great things about being a concept artist is that occasionally you get to play in a universe you love. This project was a dream come true. I got to work on Star Wars. Specifically, the 'war' part. The book covers military conflicts across the Star Wars universe; not just in the movies, but in the Clone Wars and graphic novels too. This was one project where all the research was just as much fun as making the art. I had a great time working with Random House Publishing, and I'm grateful to them for letting me play in this universe.

FILM
2010

"The bold new look for Tron has beautiful aesthetics, and yet very dark."
- Bruno Werneck

TRON: Legacy was a massive project that spanned many studios. The film's art department created a vision, and it was up to the VFX studios, Digital Domain among them, to expand the world of The Grid and give it the depth and scale as seen in the final film. The job was referred to me by Ben Procter (amazing artist, production designer for Avatar), and it gave me the opportunity to work with a legendary VFX house. Under the supervision of Eric Barba and Darren Gilford, many different pieces of this massive project came together for an all-out visual feast.

The actual work I did on the project was quite interesting. The bold new look for Tron has beautiful aesthetics, and yet very dark. Sometimes I had to turn off the lights, when I was working, to see better.

FILM
2010

"The art department was a fast-paced environment, which presented a new challenge for me, but one I was happy to accept."
- Bruno Werneck

Unlike a lot of my other Hollywood blockbuster projects, where I worked with VFX houses, on Transformers: Dark of the Moon, I joined the art department, working under the supervision of production designer Nigel Phelps. It was a fast-paced environment, which presented a new challenge for me, but one I was happy to accept. I got to work on the Paramount lot with both the set and prop departments.

One of the things I really enjoyed about the job was doing concept work based around scenes set in Chicago, a city where I lived for 10 years and got my formal art education.

FILM
2010

"Some of the design cues look like they belong in the futuristic Spider-Man 2099."
- Bruno Werneck

When Sony Pictures decided to reboot the Spider-Man film franchise, they contacted Eddie Yang Studio, where I was working at the time, for help designing the new costume. The initial art direction was heavily influenced by Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight films. Parts of the concept made it into the final design, but ultimately my versions of the suit were not believable, in that Peter Parker would not have been able to afford the materials necessary to create them.

I was not a fan of the direction of the design at that stage (a sentiment echoed by negative fan response to the designs), but I designed the coolest-looking suits I could. In any case, I'm glad Sony Pictures took the time to explore all options before settling on the right design.

There are some classic elements in the concept, like the underarm webbing that goes all the way back to the character’s very first incarnation. But some of the design cues look a lot more like they belong in the futuristic Spider-Man 2099 than anywhere else, and the last one looks a bit like Peter Parker’s version of an Iron Man suit.

Above all else, these suits all look like they’re built for fighting, which Spidey does, and often. But Spider-Man is also affable and disarming, cracking jokes during fights. He's “your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man,” and there’s no way someone wearing one of these suits would seem non-threatening out of combat. In the final costume, however, everything clicks.

ANIMATION
2010

"What's so fun about working on projects at such an early stage is that I can really let my imagination run free."
- Bruno Werneck

Not many people know this, but about half the art created by concept artists doesn't end up in a finished film or game, which means people outside the production rarely see it. In 2010, I spent a few weeks at Universal, working with Pirates Of The Caribbean director Gore Verbinski, brainstorming ideas in the very early stages of a crazy-fun, R-rated animated project, which, sadly, seems to have stalled.

What's so fun about working on projects at such an early stage is that I can really let my imagination run free. In these cases, the concept art is part of the idea-generating process. On this project, I got to experiment with different tones, color palettes, designs, and even whole worlds. It was like working on multiple projects at once.

VIDEOGAME
2009

"This promising game was going to bring a more mature, future-noir vibe to Star Wars."
- Bruno Werneck

One of the casualties of the closure of LucasArts was the highly-anticipated Star Wars 1313, a game set in a little-seen part of the Star Wars universe: the criminal underbelly of Coruscant.  This promising game was going to bring a more mature, future-noir vibe to Star Wars, making it feel more like Blade Runner. The gameplay was built around bounty hunter tools and tactics rather than Jedi powers and lightsabers. It was an exciting challenge to reinterpret a universe that is so familiar to so many people and give them something while staying true to what they love about it in the first place.

The game was generating excitement, but it did not fit in with Disney's plans after the acquisition of Lucasfilm. Star Wars 1313 is on indefinite hold.  Yet "the force is strong with this one"...

VIDEOGAME
2005-2009

"Even though we were designing video games, the visual inspiration was drawn from the real world, so the art had to be grounded in that."
- Bruno Werneck

My first job as a concept artist was at Midway Games (now NetherRealm Studios, owned by Warner Bros.).  The company was developing several triple-A titles and I had the opportunity to explore many different styles.  Each game brought a new set of challenges and creative obstacles, pushing me to be creative within the restrictions of the different titles.

The overall visual inspiration was drawn from the real world, so the art had to be grounded in that. I really grew as an illustrator, and I learned a lot from working with art directors Stephan Martiniere and Vincent Proce.  By far the most fun Midway property to work on was their most successful one: Mortal Kombat.

ILLUSTRATION
2005-2011

Of all the projects I've done, some of my favorites have been book covers.  They are a labor of love for me, and part of the reason I wanted to become an artist.  A well-designed cover can enhance the reader's experience, giving them a jumping-off point for their imagination while they take in the author's words.  Sometimes I buy books and graphic novels just because I like their covers.

If you're like me, check out my bio, which includes a list books where my cover art is featured.

DRAWING
2014-2016

Over the last few years, the digital pen and tablet have replaced traditional media in the professional concept art world. Many advances have been made in hardware and software that allow artists to paint in a digital space, producing results that equal, if not exceed, what is possible with brush and paper. In these pieces, I started experimenting with new Photoshop brushes that mimic calligraphy pens and brushes.