Image Above shows the cgi wireframe and final rendered image

Agency: KLP
CGI & retouching: Tapestry

Tapestry were delighted to work with GBH Design on the new Mar Mostro (Monster of the Sea) 70 foot yacht which will be racing in the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. The boat displays a giant octopus grasping the hull and deck with an enormous Puma emerging from the waves (dubbed the Aqua Cat).

Mark Bonner, creative director at GBH explains,
“We wanted to create a livery that represents the non-stop battle between the team and the elements, but to do that in a fun way,”

“Back in 2008, for Puma’s boat Il Mostro (The Monster), we designed the boat as if it was a giant shoe in the water,” he continues. “This time, its been very much the other way round. Every element of the livery’s design is made up from either the monster’s red tentacles or with illustrated waves of water. Our aim was to create an interplay that really comes alive in photography when the boat’s design connects with the real waterline of the sea, especially at high speed.”

Tapestry set about creating the Aqua cat first. Using cgi to create a wire frame model allowed us to bring to life a 2d brand logo into a solid 3d form. We could vary the turbulence of the water to create a sleek flowing cat rising from the waves and by also changing the light setup we could define the shape in a very graphic way.

The Aqua Cat was then illustrated further with a continuous waterline which spanned the length of the boat. The graphic waves and spray were created in photoshop and merged with the cgi renders. The tentacle formstrip that  emerges from the waves was also created in cgi and manipulated to exactly resemble the iconic puma stripe that adorns their classic footwear. Great care was taken to precisely position the tentacles and suckers so that they made a perfect shape that not only wrapped up over the hull but also curled over onto the top deck and twisted around the cabin, pulleys and other equipment. A base tentacle mesh was created which was rigged to follow a simple spline which could be bent and twisted to any shape with the added ability to increase or reduce the thickness of the arm. Additional graphics and icons were also created using photoshop which were used throughout the boat.

To enable us to wrap the boat and position the graphics with precision, Puma supplied us with CAD files of the boat shell which we UV mapped and used as our virtual reality guide. It was from this 3d file that we were able to create a full unwrapped artwork image. This image was used create a virtual representation in the form of a Quicktime VR which could be spun and viewed from any angle. This gave everyone involved a very clear idea of how the boat would look and enabled any alterations to be made before the final production.

The final procedure of how to put the graphics onto the boat threw up it’s own set of problems.

The medium in which the livery was applied had to be considered very carefully.

“Weight is crucially important, so it was decided very early on that the less the livery weighed, the better. In the end, after testing two panels, it was decided that the carbon fibre boat would be painted by hand rather than apply vinyl graphics. This turned out to be a massively intense process, it took 600 hours to airbrush paint the livery onto the hull.” explains Mark Bonner.

For more information about the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012, visit volvooceanrace.com or see more on the Creative Review Blog

And for more from GBH follow their blog at http://gregorybonnerhale.blogspot.com/

Look out for later posts for the outdoor campaign that has been designed to follow the Race as it heads around the globe.

Client: Puma
Design Agency: GBH Design
Design and Art Direction: Mark Bonner & Phil Bold
CGI and Graphic Illustration: Danny Holden

The project began with supplied CAD data which was converted and setup for an actual life size rendition. The image was populated with real local people from the Clapham area who were photographed by our photographic department in Tapestry’s new Farringdon studio. CGI and photography were combined making sure that camera data was matched between the two processes to ensure that each shot blended perfectly into the 3d environment. The 3d model was then rendered with textures and lighting so the photographic elements could be retouched in.

Client: Cathedral
Creative: Realise Creative
Photography: Tapestry @ Farringdon Studio
CGI & Retouching: Danny Holden

Natalie Perkins @ Realise Creative
“As an independent and innovative property development and investment company, Cathedral Group have become pioneers of Public Private Partnership; developing vibrant mixed-use, exciting schemes throughout the UK. To illustrate their dynamic work in this field, we created a series of images of current projects; revealing the potential, possibilities and beauty of what are seen by many as derelict, run-down and ugly buildings.”

Creative: Realise Creative
Client: Cathedral
Photography: Luke Hayes
Cgi & retouching: Danny Holden