Making of “Tales of Mystery And Confusion” with Clemens Ascher

“In this series, I show mystical figures from a vaguely remembered tale performing cryptic gestures and ominous rituals.” – Clemens Ascher.

Collaboration with Clemens is always an extraordinary journey. In this series, retouching combines CGI with fine art.

The concept was to have the look of a 2D collage, with fabric and other props produced in 3D and then combined with the figures which were shot in the studio.

As CG artists, normally we are purely concerned with getting an image as close to reality as possible. In this case, Clemens wanted a combination of photo-realism with perspectives that are just a little ‘off’, to give a surreal, disjointed feel. This is a fine line to walk in post-production, and an exciting challenge for us, with a huge amount of creative freedom and input. The details of our renderings and lighting were very much an integral part of the artistic process.

For instance, the floors for some images are correct in 3D space for shadows etc., but their texture is applied almost like a 2D collage, without much depth in the perspective depth happening. “Amber Queen”, below, is a very good example for this effect.

Conceptually this references medieval art with its odd sizes and perspectives, which is also referred to in some of the props we created like armour and shoes. These tensions of opposites are present in many aspects of the series, producing the effect of strangeness that Clemens wanted.

Technical Process:

We began each image by setting up a CG space as a match for the camera and model, for shadows, indirect light and reflections.

Clemens provided a sketch for each figure, and from this, we began to block out shapes, exploring forms and thinking about the silhouette. With every element, we started with reality.

“Amber Queen”

Here for instance, for the armoured dress, we looked at real armour, how it’s made and jointed, and how this would wear – before working with the shapes to give it uniquely unreal, skewing asymmetry.

Substance Painter gave us the possibility to create a realistic, used appearance for our materials, and we then used our virtual lighting rig, adjusting the original settings to make them work for the completely different properties of armour.

 

We had previously developed our own system for making realistic amber with flaws, shapes and colour all generated from our own observations. Using this ultra-realistic natural material to make a hat was typical of the tension between reality and unreality that Clemens was looking for.

“EXORCIZE”

We generated the amber again for this image and also a mysterious mountain range to set the figures in.

For “EXORCIZE” we used Houdini again for the pink hair, inputting geometrical parameters to produce a true natural feel – a great opportunity to push this software in an unusual environment.

“MELANCHOLY”

We built this tutu in a completely different way, as if this was a real life fashion project with the correct crinoline construction underneath it. We tested this with different materials such as lace, bringing our machines very close to their computational limit!

Working like a fashion designer would, we tried many different fabrics to get the rich, ruffled texture that we wanted, to complement the severe geometric shape of the skirt itself. Here you can see two other options in lace and chiffon.

With the final decision to use a light tulle, we achieved the affect we wanted: a solid block of fabric with a light, foamy texture, that tension of opposites working again to destabilise perception. Zoom in for the details that make the difference

Grading

With the series complete in structure, the files went from Germany to Recom Farmhouse London for Creative Supervisor Kate Brown to fine tune the compositing from all the different applications, and colour grade the images.

For the grade, she took inspiration once again from paintings – ranging from medieval icons to renaissance masterpieces in oils. A simplified, painterly treatment, giving the sense of collage whilst bringing detail out of the blacks, and enhancing the sense of archetypal forms. Here’s a view of the full process from original sketch to finished image.

We’ll leave you with some thoughts from Clemens Ascher:

“Seeing these naturally raises some crucial questions:
What is their message?
Can they protect us?
Will they guide us in our search for salvation?
And can we even trust them? – Probably not.
But you can worship them, let them take important decisions or cure your agonised bodies – good luck! “

 

See the whole series on our site here and on Behance here

Photographer: Clemens Ascher
Creative Director: Kate Brown / Recom Farmhouse London
CGI Artists: Sebastian Schierwater, Richard Jenkinson, Dennis Brinkmann / Recom Stuttgart
Post Artists: Jonas Braukmann, Stephanie O’Connor / Recom Berlin

Making “Of Rainbows And Other Monuments” with Clemens Ascher

Photographer: Clemens Ascher CGI Artists: Kristian Turner, Anna Toropova Post Artists: Pepe Alram, Aljaz Bezjak Stylist: Alice Whiting Make-up: Amy Conley Hair: Brooke Neilson

Clemens Ascher dreamt up “this surrealistic and graphic world featuring mysterious monuments, the legendary Ferrari Rainbow and its furious drivers” – a minimalistic and metaphysical series in three subtly muted primary colours.

The ultra-distinctive stylings of Bertone cars are epitomised by the angular Ferrari Rainbow. This astonishing wedge-shaped concept car from 1976 never went into production and the prototype remains concealed in Bertone’s private collection.

Photos by Rainer Schlegelmilch and story on this largely forgotten legend here:
https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/cars/classic-concepts-1976-ferrari-rainbow

Through CGI we set out to bring it into a uniquely imagined world. Clemens began by sketching  a deceptively simple series of shapes, exploring balance, colour and volume.

In the Recom Farmhouse London studio, we took Clemens’ initial sketches and began to work with them in CGI, turning the blocked volumes into architectural elements and experimenting with the placement of the car.

Gathering references for the concrete and asphalt. We spent time observing how the materials age, plants, water, sand and other natural forces work on the angular forms of buildings.

.Collaboratively, we created the monuments, making the abstract shapes work intriguingly but believably together. And we incorporated some pre-shot elements from Clemens – for instance, skies and figures.

Working closely at every stage with the photographer, we created the perfect setting and mood for this mysterious supercar. See how the yellow image was built up in this video:

View the rest of the series here

Photographer: Clemens Ascher
Stylist: Alice Whiting
Model: Jacopo Ugolini
Make-up Artist: Amy Conley
Hair Stylist: Brooke Neilson and Craig McAtear

CGI Artists: Kristian Turner, Anna Toporova / Recom Farmhouse
Retouching: Aljaz Bezyak, Pêpe Alram / Recom Farmhouse

GoSee AWARDS : Gold and Bronze for C. Ascher and A.Kila

We are very pleased to announce that “In the Garden” by Clemens Ascher and “Exogenesis (or Life outside of Earth) by Alessandra Kila have respectively won gold and bronze at the GoSee Awards in the categories “Art” and “Stills“. We have helped Clemens build his dystopian visions by adding some CGI architectural elements to his images and we we have added some magic to Alessandra’s otherworldly images.

Check out the making-of here and here.

Photographer: Clemens Ascher Fashion Stylist: Alice Whiting

Hair Stylist: Craig McAtear CGI Director: Kristian Turner / Recom Farmhouse 
CGI Artist: Florian Einfalt / Recom Farmhouse Post Artist: Pepe Alram, Kate Brown, Andrea Tosello / Recom Farmhouse
Photographer: Clemens Ascher Fashion Stylist: Alice Whiting

Hair Stylist: Craig McAtear CGI Director: Kristian Turner / Recom Farmhouse 
CGI Artist: Florian Einfalt / Recom Farmhouse Post Artist: Pepe Alram, Kate Brown, Andrea Tosello / Recom Farmhouse

Above : “In the Garden” by Clemens Ascher – CGI and Retouching : Recom Farmhouse

RecomFarmhouse_A_Kila-3
RecomFarmhouse_A_Kila-4
RecomFarmhouse_A_Kila-2

Above: Exogenesis (or Life Outside of Earth) by Alessandra Kila – Retouching : Recom Farmhouse

Making of : IN THE GARDEN by Clemens Ascher

RecomFarmhouse_Ascher-3

Clemens Ascher’s latest series “IN THE GARDEN” depicts scenes from an indoor garden complex.
The world he represents appears to be entirely artificial, a plastic utopia carefully designed to deliver happiness and comfort to its inhabitants. The bright and saturated colours in these pictures are seemingly trying to compensate for the void in which these people live.

We have helped our friend Clemens in constructing this dystopian vision by adding some CG elements to his pictures. Together we discussed the set prior to his shoot and we came to the conclusion that models, plastic plants, carpets and placeholders for walls were going to be photographed, whilst windows, final walls and all other architectural elements would be created in CG.

Photographer: Clemens Ascher Fashion Stylist: Alice Whiting

Hair Stylist: Craig McAtear CGI Director: Kristian Turner / Recom Farmhouse 
CGI Artist: Florian Einfalt / Recom Farmhouse Post Artist: Pepe Alram, Kate Brown, Andrea Tosello / Recom Farmhouse

Read more

Making of : Pleasure Grounds by Clemens Ascher

Look at these images and look again because what first appears to be a theme park is in reality a carefully constructed world balancing on the threshold of leisure and order.
Shot by photographer Clemens Ascher, the series Pleasure Grounds depicts scenes where people are shown in a moment of leisure but the space they inhabit is bleak and slightly threatening. Military weapons and wild domesticated animals populate this landscape and as viewers we are unsure what is real and what is ficticious. 

Pleasure Grounds
Pleasure Grounds

We have collaborated with Clemens in the realization of this fine art project, playing with altering the proportions of objects and people, choosing slightly off-putting poses for the models and using extremely bleak lighting to take the scene to the limits of reality. Clemens wanted to create an artificial world, nearly two-dimensional, where missiles, animals and people would function like interchangeable figurines, marionettes playing on a theatrical stage.

Pleasure Grounds

Whilst the background and animals were shot in different parts of the world from Austria and Switzerland to the US, the models were shot in a studio in East London. Aside from Clemens, part of the creative team on set was Christoph, our creative director, fashion stylist Alice Whiting, prop stylist Elena Riccabona, hair and make-up artist Brooke Neilson who all greatly contributed to the realization of the project with an exquisite selection of props, costumes and style.

Pleasure Grounds

Here are some snaps taken by Christoph during the shoot.

Our CGI artists created the missiles in Maya and added some texture (such as rust, dust and scratches) in Mari for extra reality.

Below are some screenshots from Maya.

aceifgab
gdhehdbj
hfbjdidc

And here are some screenshots from Mari.

idjgdcce
cgahcfff

After shooting the individual elements, Clemens created the layouts for each image. Following his directions, we started to assemble all the pieces from background to architecture, to the armament and the people. Here’s a short gif animation of how it all came together.

 

See the whole project here

CREDITS:

Photography: Clemens Ascher
Fashion Stylist: Alice Whiting
Props Stylist: Elena Riccabona
Hair and Make-up: Brooke Neilson
CGI Director: Christoph Bolten
CGI Artists: Kristian Turner, Richard Jenkinson, Florian Einfalt
Post Artists: Pepe Alram, Kate Brown, Riikka Eiro

The making of: LINCOLN

13-117_ASCH_HudsonRouge_Lincoln_SHOT11_COMP08_DAV_FlatFinalSent

All images: Clemens Ascher

Before Christmas I met with photographer Clemens Ascher, who was very kindly helping me with a photographic shoot in Austria, his native land. Clemens has shot for Lincoln a very strong photographic series of images. I told him I intended to write something on him in our blog and when I asked what was his experience of shooting this job, he said: “please do not write about the difficulties of shooting in the heat of the California desert, everybody focusses on that… write about the team, it was a great team to work with and it was the team that made these images what they are” Read more