Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kong: Skull Island) is directing the Metal Gear Solid movie, and to get the pre-production ball rolling he got some of the best artists on the planet to create some very early concept art.
Vogt-Roberts personally commissioned the artists — many of whom we’ve featured here on Fine Art previously — as part of the visual development phase of the film’s production, after finding that most of the Metal Gear art that’s floating around online were character pieces and sketches.
“I wanted cinematic key frames to express the world so people could reference the script and understand the world of the film without having to be knowledgeable with the game’s cut scenes, characters or environments,” Vogt-Roberts tells me.
He also did it to help get the film written, as art can help influence the direction the script takes as much as the script dictates what’s getting drawn.
“I brought on many artists I worked with on Kong: Skull Island, as well as other titans of concept art who wanted to work on this; we bonded over our excitement for the movie and love of this franchise. Metal Gear Solid inspired many of these guys to enter the industry. It was an amazing experience getting into the visual trenches of this film, and this art just scratches the surface.”
Note that while some of this art is referencing scenes and moments Vogt-Roberts has in mind for the actual film’s script, others are simply “an exploration of mood and tone”.
In a rare move, Vogt-Roberts has decided to release a ton of this art publicly, sharing a piece a day on Twitter over the past month. This has been a nice treat for fans, who have not only got to enjoy some amazing work, but also get an insight into the earliest stages of film development. It’s also meant that fans could join in by replying with their own work, leading to 31 days of feel-good Metal Gear art showcasing.
“It has been absolutely amazing watching the outpour of love as the MGS community came together as we celebrated the work of Hideo Kojima and Yoji Shinkawa,” he says.
I’ve included most of the pieces commissioned by Vogt-Roberts below, but you can see all of them in this Twitter thread.
Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video game artists, showcasing the best of both their professional and personal portfolios.
Oh, and as a special treat for fans for making it through the month, Vogt-Roberts called in some help from some old series favourites to create a couple of codecs:
❗️We’re entering the FINAL WEEK of #METALGEAR31st❗️
I have a special message from someone we haven’t heard from in a while…
As a teen, it was as if she showed up in MGS1 and sent me a love letter. It was bullet, straight from her gun to my heart.
Thank you @TasiaValenza pic.twitter.com/I1cfcq7Lqa
— Jordan Vogt-Roberts (@VogtRoberts) August 6, 2018
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