Despite the fact that the first episode of avatar was released in 2009, filmmaker James Cameron had been working on the film for years, waiting for the search for advanced technology that would give him tools to create the world of Pandora. A few years in which the Canadian began to create the image of the Na’vi, the main bluish characters, thanks to a team made up of professionals such as Joseph C. Pepe, who was commissioned to create the first statue of the Na’vi, that could have been very different from the one we know now.
The visual artist has shared a more menacing and crude first version of what the inhabitants of Polyphemus’ moon could have beenthe protagonists of avatarand also tells the story behind the first sketches.
Pepe, who worked on the first film as part of the special effects team and was promoted to lead character designer for the secondexplained what it was like his first meeting with James Cameron in 2004, along with other members of the then Stan Winston Studio. A visit to Lightstorm Entertainment in Santa Monica, California (USA) to read the script avatar and receive information and graphics.
“That was our introduction to begin with a two-week “acid test” for our version of the Na’vi characters projects 880the provisional name of avatar. They gave us 14 days to show Cameron “something new, develop the characters and give them new life.” At the same time, Cameron had said the film would be photorealistic once finished and I felt tremendous pressure to illustrate something that would impress him,” Pepe shared on his Instagram account.
“Cameron expressed no emotion during the review, only acknowledging the bioluminescence of the sea slug I wore on the forehead. Cameron said, ‘That’s a pelagic nudibranch, Phylliroe bucephala.’ My jaw dropped in amazement that he not only recognized what kind of animal bioluminescence he had used, but also knew its scientific name.concludes the artist, who also praises the figure of Cameron as a lover of science and technology.
Pepe also shared these months the sketches made for the creation of Walker and Lo’ak in Avatar: the feeling of water, that he would perfect the use of special effects, showcasing his great talent and ensure a great future with the appearance of new characters in the next three confirmed episodes of avatar.
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