John Carter of Mars Movie Project

[vfxme]

I am making a movie, or several movies, of the John Carter of Mars fictional novel series by Edgar Rice Burroughs (from the 1912 - 1940's). There are 11 books in the series. I will attempt to finish the first movie of the first book before Pixar does, projected to be in theaters in 2012 sometime.

This is the author who originated Tarzan. His John Carter of Mars series inspired such movies as Star Wars.

I will be adding works in progress of the various characters as I work on them. Eventually I will animate the movies, and with a lot of luck, turn out something that hopefully many of the fans of this series will enjoy. :)

[vfxme]

This is John Carter of Mars, so far. John Carter was a soldier in the civil war, and after the war found himself out of a job, and in need of money and some sort of occupation. He and a war buddy trek off to Arizona to mine for gold. I still need to make a shirt, his horse, and some Arizona country side, and his buddy of course.

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/JCOM_wip2.jpg

[vfxme]

After some native Indians kill his buddy, John Carter finds refuge in a cave, and after the Indians have left, he steps outside the cave and sees the red planet of his vocation, Mars, the god of war. Pulled to the planet with a sort of mental telepathy, John Carter finds himself alone and naked on the planet Mars. One of the first inhabitants he finds on Mars is a green being that towers over 12 feet in height and has two sets of arms, later known to him as a thark. I still need to make the harness the beasts wear as clothes.


http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/D_Thark01.jpg

Kind of gives you a feeling of double vision, doesn't it?

[DjVoyager]

Hey, that's pretty good, vfxme. The characters do fit the description. So this is going to be a dark survival story or is Carter going to try and settle on Mars? :)

[vfxme]

John Carter will have his challenges and his battles against huge beasts and huge odds, but he will also have his triumphs and rewards. One reward is being able to rescue and serve the most beautiful woman he has ever seen, the Princess of Helium, the capitol city among the red men of Mars, Dejah Thoris. :bow

She is described as perfect in form, copper-red skin, wearing only golden chains and bracelets, otherwise basically nude. I will create 2 versions of her, one with basically a golden swimsuit (to protect the innocent) and the gold and jewels, the other, for the director's cut of the movie, with no swimsuit. :redface: :yes :bang

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/Dejah4.jpg

[DjVoyager]

Of course, she would be. You got two of the most common male fantasies covered; battling hideous monsters and saving nekked women :D

[vfxme]

Here is a link I found of the first book, A Princess of Mars.

It's a good read. Enjoy! :)

eBook (http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/6/62/62.txt)

[Kyle_Studios]

wow i have never heard of this story! I gotta read up about it.

Great character models though! Real nice work :) Especially good on the details! Humans are not easy to model and you have done good with it!

[vfxme]

Hey thanks Kyle. Yah, details on people are tough. The first rendition of the girl had an odd look to her. I simply made her eyelids more wide open and that made a huge difference. Now she has a cute look. :)

Yah, you should give it a read. I read half of the book again while at work Sunday. Such a drag to have to work on Sundays, so it was uplifting to read the story again to refresh my memory of what I have to build next. Got to make some multi-legged beasts next. That's gonna be brutal to animate. I haven't even tried rigging or animating my 4 legged weiner dog yet, and gonna tackle a 10 legged beast that is the watch dog of the huge green martians. I will be rigging and animating a couple horses first, so at least I will be going step by step before jumping on the 10 legged monster work. There are also 8 legged pack animals to do. I may have to set up set driven keys so that one leg moves many legs at a time. :)

[vfxme]

Kinda cool working on this Mars project at night. Looking out my window I can see the moon and Mars following close behind in the sky. How appropriate. :bang

[vfxme]

A nice side by side comparison of John Carter of Virginia and Tars Tarkas of Thark. JC will be wearnig similar attire as Tars Tarkas once he teleports to Mars, or Barsoom, as the natives call it. :D






http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/JC_and_Thark.jpg

[vfxme]

Okay, some more progress. The main character, John Carter, wearing his war harness. :bang



http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/JC_Warlord2.jpg

[Kyle_Studios]

you sure are a great character modeler! Nice stuff! Very detailed modeles!

[vfxme]

Well, here she is, my completed Dejah Thoris, Princess of Mars. :bow


http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/DejahThoris04.jpg





http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/DejahThoris06backside.jpg

[vfxme]

Here is the latest critter for my movies. This is Woola, a watch dog of sorts for the green thark warriors, which they call a calot. It is about the size of a shetland pony, and Woola becomes a dedicated and true friend of John Carter on his stay on Mars. I still have a bit to do on the textures and bump maps, etc.

Should be a big challenge to rig and animate this ol' boy. :)

http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/a_Woola01.jpg

[vfxme]

Hey guys. Sorry I have nothing new at present, except for a horse with no mane or tail. I bought a fixer-upper house and have another 3 or 4 weeks of fixer-upping left to do before I can move in. I should be back at it after that. :)

[danlefeb]

Have you heard of Andrew Stanton's first venture into live action with this story?

http://www.firstshowing.net/2009/06/12/andrew-stantons-john-carter-of-mars-shooting-in-november/

[vfxme]

Yes, very familiar. I blog with other fans of the book series on IMdb under "John Carter of Mars 2012" blog. We have all been discussing the prospects of a movie for several years now. We have read the news of casting of the two leads already. a snippet from there:

"Taylor Kitsch (friday Night Lights, Gambit in Wolverine) and Lynne Collins (Silverfox in Wolverine) are cast as John and Dejah according to Hollywood Reporter. Link:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i45a4bf33efc1791759741019c8d1d2d7"

I haven't seen the Wolverine movie yet, nor Friday Night Lights, so I am not sold yet on the two selected. We're all very excited about any tidbit about the unfolding of the movie though.

Hadn't read that bit you linked before, but I am glad Tom Cruise passed on the role, being only 5'7, and John Carter being 6"2. Kitsch is only 6", but is close enough and pretty ripped physically. Many of us at the blog were hoping Josh Duamel of Transformers, the lead Marine, at 6"3 would get the role, but was tested for the role and Taylor was chosen. We'll see how it goes.

[vfxme]

Here is an updated thoat, the beast of burden for the Tharks. Looks like I have to post links now. I have met a quota for this post apparently. I may need to start a second post for this project.

Thoat (http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/aThoat2.jpg)

[brandeil]

Nice work :)

[vfxme]

Thanks brandeil.

My next character is about half or three quarters done. It is a giant white gorilla or ape that is supposed to be 10 or 15 feet tall and have two sets of arms. I plan on trying out the fur feature in Maya to properly finish this bad boy off.

Things left to do before blocking in the movie:

1. finish giant white ape
2. finish horse
3. create a zitidar (an elephantine-like animal used to pull large chariots)
4. create chariots
5. create indians (and indian village) for the beginning of the story
6. create hatchling Tharks and a hatchery
7. finalize the calots (and Woola), the 10 legged frog-like watch dog of the Tharks
8. create airships (battle cruisers and flyers)
9. create confederate army camp
10. create mining claim camp
11. create mysterious Arizona cave and country side (probably a still photo for AZ)
12. create Martian dead sea bottoms (the roads of the inhabitants of Mars)
13. create crumbling city of air battle scene
14. clone tharks to make the rest of the horde
15. create a banth (an 8 or 10 legged lion of Mars)

Hmmm, I think that's about it. That should take care of the first 6 major scenes. Should be about the first 30 minutes of the movie. Wow that's a lot to do. I was making the list for myself to see what I have left. If I can get the modeling done in the next 4 or 5 months I'll be very happy. Then probably 6 months of rigging and animating. Then I will have to find people to do some of the voice-overs. Should be great. :confused: :eyeRoll

[vfxme]

Here is the giant white ape of Mars for the movie. He stands between 10 and 15 feet tall, according to the story. I still plan on adding some fur to his arms and legs and such, and add some bump.

Ape (http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/Ape_of_Barsoom.jpg)

[vfxme]

Actually here is a roughed up version with scars and such

Ape2 (http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/Ape_of_Barsoom2.jpg)

[vfxme]

I did some tweeks to the male ape of Barsoom, and made his mate as well.

Apes Of Barsoom (http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/Apes_of_Barsoom2.jpg)

[vfxme]

I decided to work on one of the mechanical components of this little movie, the Barsoomian scout flier. It has bouyancy tanks filled with the Barsoomian ray of repulsion, which allow the craft to rise into the air, and scoot around very efficiently.


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[Gadgetfun]

Somebody has fun :)

That is a really really big project man :headbang:

[vfxme]

Thanks guys. Yes, much fun. I will hopefully be enlisting some new friends at a.m. to assist me with the animations, after I find some good pro rigging advice. :)

[purplemikey]

nice modeling =)
hope the movie will be nice =o
can't give you pro advice for animating or rigging cuz I really don't know how lol
but I hope your caracters will be rigged soon as possible =)

[vfxme]

I have tried DT's rigging setup tutorial, and the legs work great, but I always seem to have problems with the shoulders popping when the arms swing in a walk cycle, and the IK to FK doesn't work quite right. The character I used for the portal animation has a pro rig. Got it from a tutorial I bought from a guy who works for Dreamworks. I changed the mesh topology to have an original character, but man, the rig works soooooo nice. I look at the rig in wireframe mode and cannot figure it out. And there are no weights on the verticies, so not even sure how the thing has been bound. Confusing stuff. :confused:

Cool, I found a Maya plug-in that creates a pro level rig in just a few minutes. On with the show.

[vfxme]

Alright. I have some new work to post links to, since the box is full.

I have started a battleship, which floats through the air, due to almost no water on Mars, and lifted by bouyancy tanks filled with the ray of repulsion. The ships are 300meters long, and 50 wide.

Battleship (http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/Vehicles/JCOMBattleship6.jpg)

And a pic of two of the main characters standing on the deck of the ship.

Battleship2 (http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/Vehicles/JCOMBattleship2.jpg)

And I have updated the Thark warrior, making hime a little bulkier and more fierce, and updating his armor a bit.

Tars Tarkas (http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/TarsTarkas.jpg)

[saied]

can i ask a question. are you doing advanced shading or just regular. i know render times can be longer but would be great to see a good quality work

[vfxme]

The backgrounds, like for the battleships, are simple jpg files on a backdrop, so when they are sized up, they tend to look fuzzy. I am not working on detailed environments yet. That will be the last thing I do after all the moving parts are assembled and ready to go. I just prefer to have something behind my objects to give perspective. I am also doing fairly basic shading too, at this stage. I'm a fulltime animation student, and work on my personal project as I have time. The details will be added eventually. :)

[The Barsoomian]

To the designers of the John Carter of Mars digital movie, remember that the Martians do not have navels. They all hatch from eggs, check the story line.
Good luck with the project.

Ray L.

[vfxme]

Hey there Barsoomian.
My fellow bloggers and I on IMBD had a discussion about this topic, concluding that the attachment of the egg sack might leave an abreviated belly button, so I decided to include one. It will be interesting to see what Disney does in this regard for their adaptation. My guess, at least for the red Barsoomians is they will have belly buttons, since they will be live actors. :dont know

Here is my latest update on Tars Tarkas, with his abreviated belly button. Just a test to make sure all the parts and armor are doing what they should. :laugh
A nice green emotocon in his honor.

Thark Test (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08g8PJLgzn0)

[vfxme]

Here is one of the Thark young, and the egg they hatch out of. The eggs, according to the story, start out the size of a goose egg, and in the heat of the Mars days, and a period of 5 years, grows to a diameter of a couple feet or so, to produce a fully functional 4 foot tall Thark.

Link (http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/Thark_youth02.jpg)

[purplemikey]

I like the animation test think your rig look good
think you could use a better shader on the egg to get more "realism" and maybe pull the top a little bit cuz it look a bit too spherical to me...

[vfxme]

Thanks Mikey.

I was trying to decide whether to go sphericle, like some reptile eggs are, or oblong like birds eggs, and went with a subtle oblong shape, which may or may not change. Harder to tell with the little egg holder device. Haven't done the actual shader I will use for the movie, just a quicky material.

Here is an updated Woola, the martian hound of the giant green tharks. His eyes are closed for rigging, cause the plug-in I use requires it. He's just a big o' grinnin dawg. :laugh

Woola (http://i204.photobucket.com/albums/bb10/vfxme/3D%20Characters/woola2.jpg)

[purplemikey]

what is that about? a bd? anime?
I'd like to learn a bit about that I think you're doing an mazing job doing all these models =)
can't wait to see the final shot!

and now I understand what you tried to get for the egg

[vfxme]

Thanks. :D

What is what about, Mikey?

I hope to have all the creatures walk out together as a parade of creatures of Barsoom (Mars) very soon.

[vfxme]

wow, hitting the 10,000 views mark. :eek:

I should have something new soon. I'm currently rigging the 10 legged Woola character. I just need to paint weights and add his face rig, and then I will try to animate him walking and running around. He is described as being the fastest running animal on Barsoom (Mars), so I will need to find some good cheetah running footage. Maybe even go to the San Diego zoo and film my own footage.

[vfxme]

Here's a new bit of animation, getting back to this project after a year off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQbAj5xD5CE

You can see my Great White Ape animation on the "next" page shown.